Billboard number-one singles chart (which preceded the Billboard Hot 100 chart), which was updated weekly by the Billboard magazine, was the main singles chart of the American music industry since 1940 and until the Billboard Hot 100 chart was established in 1958.
Before the Billboard Hot 100 chart was established in August 1958, which was based on a formula combining sales data of commercially available singles and airplay on American radio stations, the Billboard used to publish several song popularity charts weekly. Throughout most of the 1940s the magazine published the following three charts:
The list below includes the Best Selling Singles chart only.
| Reached number one | Artist(s) | Single | Record label | Weeks at number one | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | ||||||
| July 27, 1940 | "I'll Never Smile Again" | Victor | 12 | [1] | ||
| October 19, 1940 | "Only Forever" | Decca | 9 | [2] | ||
| December 21, 1940 | "Frenesi" | Victor | 12 | [3] | ||
| 1941 | ||||||
| March 15, 1941 | "Song of the Volga Boatmen" | Bluebird | 1 | [4] | ||
| March 22, 1941 | "Frenesi" | Victor | 1 | [5] | ||
| March 29, 1941 | "Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy)" | Decca | 10 | [6] | ||
| June 7, 1941 | "My Sister and I" | Decca | 1 | [7] | ||
| June 14, 1941 | "Maria Elena" | Decca | 1 | |||
| June 21, 1941 | "Daddy (Papito)" | Victor | 1 | |||
| June 28, 1941 | "My Sister and I" | Decca | 1 | |||
| July 5, 1941 | "Maria Elena" | Decca | 1 | |||
| July 12, 1941 | "Daddy (Papito)" | Victor | 7 | |||
| August 30, 1941 | "Green Eyes (Aquellos Ojos Verdes)" | Decca | 4 | |||
| September 27, 1941 | "Blue Champagne" | Decca | 1 | [8] | ||
| October 4, 1941 | "Piano Concerto in B Flat" | Bluebird | 8 | |||
| November 29, 1941 | "Chattanooga Choo Choo" | Bluebird | 3 | |||
| December 20, 1941 | "Elmer's Tune" | Bluebird | 1 | |||
| December 27, 1941 | "Chattanooga Choo Choo" | Bluebird | 6 | |||
| 1942 | ||||||
| February 7, 1942 | "A String of Pearls" | Bluebird | 1 | |||
| February 14, 1942 | "Blues in the Night" | Decca | 1 | |||
| February 21, 1942 | "A String of Pearls" | Bluebird | 1 | |||
| February 28, 1942 | "Moonlight Cocktail" | Bluebird | 10 | |||
| May 9, 1942 | "Tangerine" | Decca | 6 | |||
| June 20, 1942 | "Sleepy Lagoon" | 4 | ||||
| July 18, 1942 | "Jingle Jangle Jingle" | Columbia | 8 | |||
| September 12, 1942 | "(I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo" | Victor | 7 | |||
| October 31, 1942 | "White Christmas" | Decca | 11 | |||
| 1943 | ||||||
| January 16, 1943 | "There Are Such Things" | Victor | 4 | |||
| February 13, 1943 | "I Had the Craziest Dream" | Columbia | 2 | |||
| February 27, 1943 | "There Are Such Things" | Victor | 1 | |||
| March 6, 1943 | "I've Heard That Song Before" | Columbia | 12 | |||
| May 29, 1943 | "That Old Black Magic" | Victor | 1 | |||
| June 5, 1943 | "I've Heard That Song Before" | Columbia | 1 | |||
| June 12, 1943 | "Taking A Chance On Love" | Columbia | 3 | |||
| July 3, 1943 | "Comin' In On A Wing And A Prayer" | Decca | 3 | |||
| July 24, 1943 | "You'll Never Know" | Decca | 4 | |||
| August 21, 1943 | "In the Blue of Evening" | Victor | 3 | |||
| September 11, 1943 | "Sunday, Monday Or Always" | Decca | 7 | |||
| October 30, 1943 | "Pistol Packin' Mama" | 1 | ||||
| November 6, 1943 | "Paper Doll" | Decca | 12 | |||
| 1944 | ||||||
| January 29, 1944 | "My Heart Tells Me (Should I Believe My Heart?)" | Decca | 5 | |||
| March 4, 1944 | "Besame Mucho (Kiss Me Much)" | Decca | 7 | |||
| April 22, 1944 | "It's Love-Love-Love" | Decca | 2 | |||
| May 6, 1944 | "I Love You" | Decca | 5 | |||
| June 10, 1944 | "I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)" | Columbia | 3 | |||
| July 1, 1944 | "I'll Be Seeing You" | Decca | 1 | |||
| July 8, 1944 | "I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)" | Columbia | 1 | |||
| July 15, 1944 | "I'll Be Seeing You" | Decca | 3 | |||
| August 5, 1944 | "Swinging On A Star" | Decca | 9 | |||
| October 7, 1944 | "You Always Hurt The One You Love" | Decca | 1 | |||
| October 14, 1944 | "I'll Walk Alone" | Victor | 1 | |||
| October 21, 1944 | "You Always Hurt The One You Love" | Decca | 2 | |||
| November 4, 1944 | "I'll Walk Alone" | Victor | 3 | |||
| November 25, 1944 | "You Always Hurt The One You Love" | Decca | 2 | |||
| December 9, 1944 | "I'm Making Believe" | Decca | 2 | |||
| December 23, 1944 | "Don't Fence Me In" | Decca | 8 | |||
| 1945 | ||||||
| February 17, 1945 | "Rum and Coca-Cola" | Decca | 7 | |||
| April 7, 1945 | "My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time" | Columbia | 7 | |||
| May 26, 1945 | "Sentimental Journey" | Columbia | 9 | |||
| July 28, 1945 | "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" | 7 | ||||
| September 15, 1945 | "Till The End Of Time" | Victor | 9 | |||
| November 17, 1945 | "Chickery Chick" | Victor | 1 | |||
| November 24, 1945 | "It's Been A Long, Long Time" | Columbia | 2 | |||
| December 8, 1945 | "It's Been A Long, Long Time" | Decca | 1 | |||
| December 15, 1945 | "Chickery Chick" | Victor | 1 | |||
| December 22, 1945 | "It's Been A Long, Long Time" | Columbia | 1 | |||
| December 29, 1945 | "Chickery Chick" | Victor | 1 | |||
| 1946 | ||||||
| January 5, 1946 | "Symphony" | Victor | 2 | |||
| January 19, 1946 | "I Can't Begin To Tell You" | Decca | 1 | |||
| January 26, 1946 | "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" | Victor | 5 | |||
| March 2, 1946 | "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief" | Capitol | 1 | |||
| March 9, 1946 | "Personality" | Capitol | 1 | |||
| March 16, 1946 | "Oh! What it Seemed to Be" | Columbia | 6 | |||
| April 27, 1946 | "I'm A Big Girl Now" | RCA Victor | 1 | |||
| May 4, 1946 | Perry Como | "Prisoner of Love"♪ | RCA Victor | 3 | ||
| May 25, 1946 | "The Gypsy" | Decca | 10 | |||
| August 3, 1946 | "Surrender" | RCA Victor | 1 | |||
| August 10, 1946 | "To Each His Own" | Majestic | 3 | |||
| August 31, 1946 | "To Each His Own" | RCA Victor | 2 | |||
| September 14, 1946 | "Five Minutes More" | Columbia | 1 | |||
| September 21, 1946 | "To Each His Own" | Decca | 1 | |||
| September 28, 1946 | "Five Minutes More" | Columbia | 1 | |||
| October 5, 1946 | "To Each His Own" | Majestic | 2 | |||
| October 19, 1946 | "Rumors Are Flying" | Columbia | 8 | |||
| December 14, 1946 | "Ole Buttermilk Sky" | Columbia | 2 | |||
| December 28, 1946 | "The Old Lamp-Lighter" | RCA Victor | 7 | |||
| 1947 | ||||||
| February 15, 1947 | "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" | Capitol | 1 | |||
| February 22, 1947 | "Open The Door, Richard!" | RCA Victor | 1 | |||
| March 1, 1947 | "Managua, Nicaragua" | RCA Victor | 2 | |||
| March 15, 1947 | "Heartaches" | RCA Victor | 12 | |||
| June 7, 1947 | "Mam'selle" | MGM | 2 | |||
| June 21, 1947 | "Peg O' My Heart" | Vitacoustic | 1 | |||
| June 28, 1947 | "Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba (My Bambino Go to Sleep)" | RCA Victor | 3 | |||
| July 19, 1947 | "Peg O' My Heart" | Vitacoustic | 3 | |||
| August 9, 1947 | "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" | Capitol | 6 | |||
| September 20, 1947 | Francis Craig | "Near You"♪ | Bullet | 12 | ||
| December 13, 1947 | "Ballerina" | RCA Victor | 10 | |||
| 1948 | ||||||
| February 21, 1948 | "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" | MGM | 3 | |||
| March 13, 1948 | "Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)" | Capitol | 9 | |||
| May 15, 1948 | "Nature Boy" | Capitol | 7 | |||
| July 3, 1948 | "Woody Wood-Pecker" | Columbia | 6 | |||
| August 14, 1948 | "You Call Everybody Darlin'" | Regent | 2 | |||
| August 28, 1948 | "Twelfth Street Rag" | Capitol | 6 | |||
| October 9, 1948 | "A Tree In The Meadow" | Capitol | 2 | |||
| October 23, 1948 | Pee Wee Hunt | "Twelfth Street Rag"♪ | Capitol | 2 | ||
| November 6, 1948 | "Buttons And Bows" | Columbia | 9 | |||
| 1949 | ||||||
| January 8, 1949 | "All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)" | RCA Victor | 1 | |||
| January 15, 1949 | "Buttons and Bows" | Columbia | 1 | |||
| January 22, 1949 | "A Little Bird Told Me" | Decca | 7 | |||
| March 12, 1949 | "Cruising Down the River" | MGM | 2 | |||
| March 26, 1949 | "Cruising Down the River" | Decca | 7 | |||
| May 14, 1949 | Vaughn Monroe | "Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)"♪ | RCA Victor | 11 | ||
| July 30, 1949 | "Some Enchanted Evening" | RCA Victor | 5 | |||
| September 3, 1949 | "You're Breaking My Heart" | Mercury | 4 | |||
| October 1, 1949 | "That Lucky Old Sun" | Mercury | 8 | |||
| November 26, 1949 | "Mule Train" | Mercury | 6 | |||
The following artists achieved three or more number-one hits from 1940–1949. A number of artists had number-one singles on their own, as well as part of a collaboration.
| Artist | Number-one hits |
|---|---|
| Bing Crosby | 9 |
| Jimmy Dorsey | 7 |
| Glenn Miller | 7 |
| Harry James | 5 |
| Perry Como | 5 |
| Sammy Kaye | 4 |
| Freddy Martin | 4 |
| Vaughn Monroe | 3 |
| Tommy Dorsey | 3 |
| Ink Spots | 3 |
The following artists were featured at the top of the chart for the highest total number of weeks from 1940 to 1949.
| Artist | Weeks at number-one | |
|---|---|---|
| Bing Crosby | 55 | |
| Jimmy Dorsey | 32 | |
| Glenn Miller | 31 | |
| Harry James and Vaughn Monroe | 26 | |
| Perry Como | 21 | |
| Tommy Dorsey | 20 | |
| Sammy Kaye | 19 | |
| Mills Brothers | 17 |
The following singles were featured at the top of the chart for the highest total number of weeks from 1940 to 1949.
| Weeks at number one | Song | Artist(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | "Frenesi" | Artie Shaw | |
| 13 | "I've Heard That Song Before" | Harry James | |
| 12 | "Heartaches" | Ted Weems | |
| 12 | "Near You" | Francis Craig | |
| 12 | "Paper Doll" | Mills Brothers | |
| 12 | "I'll Never Smile Again" | Tommy Dorsey | |
| 11 | "Riders In The Sky" | Vaughn Monroe | |
| 11 | "White Christmas" | Bing Crosby | |
| 10 | "Amapola" | Jimmy Dorsey | |
| 10 | "Moonlight Cocktail" | Glenn Miller | |
| 10 | "The Gypsy" | The Ink Spots | |
| 10 | "Ballerina" | Vaughn Monroe |