Billboard Top Country & Western Records of 1952 is made up of two year-end charts compiled by Billboard magazine ranking the year's top country and western records based on record sales and juke box plays.[1]
Hank Thompson's "The Wild Side of Life" spent 15 weeks at No. 1 and was the No. 1 record of 1952 based on both retail sales and juke box plays. Kitty Wells' "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", which was an answer song to "The Wild Side of Life, ranked No. 4 on the retail sales chart.
Hank Williams, led all artists with five records included on the year-end charts. His record of "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" was No. 3 on the year-end retail sales chart while "Half as Much" ranked No. 11 on the same chart.
Carl Smith had four records on the year-end charts. His recording of "Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way" ranked No. 2 based on both retail sales and juke box plays.
Lefty Frizzell also had four records on the year-end charts, including the year's No. 6 juke box record, "Give Me More, More, More (Of Your Kisses)".
Columbia Records led the other labels with 11 records on the year-end charts, followed by RCA Victor with nine, and Decca with seven.[1]
| Retail year-end | Juke box year-end | Peak[2] [3] | Title | Artist(s) | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | "The Wild Side of Life" | Capitol | ||
| 2 | 2 | 1 | "Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way" | Columbia | ||
| 3 | 8 | 1 | "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" | M-G-M | ||
| 4 | 9 | 1 | "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" | Decca | ||
| 5 | 5 | 1 | "Slow Poke" | RCA Victor | ||
| 6 | 13 | 2 | "Indian Love Call" | Imperial | ||
| 7 | 7 | 1 | Decca | |||
| 8 | 4 | 1 | "(When You Feel Like You're in Love) Don't Just Stand There" | Carl Smith | Columbia | |
| 9 | 12 | 2 | "Almost" | George Morgan | Columbia | |
| 10 | 6 | 1 | "Give Me More, More, More (Of Your Kisses)" | Columbia | ||
| 11 | 14 | 2 | "Half as Much" | Hank Willaims | M-G-M | |
| 12 | 3 | 1 | "Easy on the Eyes" | RCA Victor | ||
| 13 | 10 | 2 | "The Gold Rush Is Over" | RCA Victor | ||
| 14 | 11 | 1 | "Are You Teasing Me" | Carl Smith | Columbia | |
| 15 | 21 | 1 | "A Full Time Job" | Eddy Arnold | RCA Victor | |
| 16 | NR | 3 | "Missing in Action" | Ernest Tubb | Decca | |
| 17 | 15 | 3 | "Waiting in the Lobby of Your Heart" | Hank Thompson | Capitol | |
| 18 | NR | 5 | "Too Old to Cut the Mustard" | Red Foley, Ernest Tubb | Decca | |
| 19 | 17 | 2 | "Don't Stay Away (Till Love Grows Cold)" | Lefty Frizzell | Columbia | |
| 20 | 24 | 1 | "That Heart Belongs to Me" | Decca | ||
| 21 | 29 | 2 | "Lady's Man" | RCA Victor | ||
| 22 | 20 | 1 | "Back Street Affair" | Webb Pierce | Decca | |
| 23 | NR | 2 | "Mom and Dad's Waltz" | Lefty Frizzell | Columbia | |
| 24 | 16 | 4 | "Bundle of Southern Sunshine" | Eddy Arnold | RCA Victor | |
| 25 | NR | 5 | "It's a Lovely, Lovely World" | Carl Smith | Columbia | |
| 26 | NR | 1 | "Always Late (With Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | Columbia | |
| 27 | 28 | 2 | "Wild Side of Life" | Columbia | ||
| 28 | 19 | 2 | "Honky Tonk Blues" | Hank Williams | M-G-M | |
| 29 | 30 | 3 | "Talk to Your Heart" | Columbia | ||
| 30 | 18 | 5 | "Silver and Gold" | Pee Wee King | RCA Victor | |
| NR | 22 | 3 | "Alabama Jubilee" | Red Foley | Decca | |
| NR | 23 | 4 | "Baby, We're Really in Love" | Hank Williams | M-G-M | |
| NR | 25 | 4 | "Music Makin' Mama From Memphis" | Hank Snow | RCA Victor | |
| NR | 26 | 3 | "I Went to Your Wedding" | Hank Snow | RCA Victor | |
| NR | 27 | 4 | "Crazy Heart" | Hank Williams | M-G-M |