| Artist: | Louis Jordan |
| Studio: | 10 |
| Live: | 1 |
| Compilation: | 10+ |
| Singles: | 125 |
Louis Jordan was an American popular music innovator who recorded from the 1930s until the 1970s. During the 1940s, he was the most popular recording artist of the soon-to-be-called rhythm and blues music.[1] Jordan had eighteen No. 1 hits, which places him as the third most successful singles artist in Billboard R&B charts history.[2] His 1946 recording of "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" is tied for second place for spending the most weeks (eighteen) at No. 1.[3] Jordan's success was not limited to the R&B market — he also had No. 1 hits on the Billboard Pop and Country charts.
The peak of Jordan's popularity occurred when the two-song record single was the typical format, before the emergence of the long-playing record album. As a result, although he recorded prolifically, he had relatively few albums until compilations began appearing after his death in 1975. Listed here are the singles and albums Jordan recorded during his career, as well as the more current and notable compilations.
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [4] | ||||||
| 1939 | "Honey in the Bee Ball" |
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| 1939 | "Barnacle Bill the Sailor" |
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| 1939 | "Flat Face" |
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| 1939 | "Doug the Jitterbug" |
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| 1939 | "Keep a-Knockin’" |
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| 1939 | "At the Swing Cat’s Ball" |
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| 1939 | "Sam Jones Done Snagged His Britches" |
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| 1939 | "Swinging in a Cocoanut Tree" |
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| 1939 | "Honeysuckle Rose"[5] |
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| 1939 | "But I’ll Be Back" |
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| 1939 | "‘Fore Day Blues" |
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| 1939 | "You Ain’t Nowhere" |
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| 1939 | "You’re My Meat" |
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| 1939 | "Jake, What a Snake" |
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| Blank in chart positions indicates release that did not chart. | ||||||
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions[6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&B | Pop | C&W | ||||
| 1940 | "Hard Lovin’ Blues"[7] |
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| 1940 | "You Run Your Mouth and I’ll Run My Business"[8] |
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| 1940 | "I'm Alabama Bound" |
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| 1940 | "June Teenth Jamboree" |
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| 1940 | "You Got to Go When the Wagon Comes"[9] |
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| 1940 | "After School Swing Session (Swinging with Symphony Sid)" |
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| 1940 | "Lovie Joe"[10] |
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| 1940 | "Somebody Done Hoodooed the Hoodoo Man" |
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| 1940 | "Bounce the Ball (Do Da Little Um Day)" |
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| 1940 | "Don’t Come Crying on My Shoulder" |
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| 1940 | "Never Let Your Left Hand Know What Your Right Hand’s Doin’" |
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| 1940 | "Penthouse in the Basement" |
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| 1940 | "Oh Boy, I’m in the Groove |
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| 1940 | "Waitin’ for the Robert E. Lee" |
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| 1940 | "Do You Call that a Buddy? (Dirty Cat)" |
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| 1940 | "Pompton Turnpike" |
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| 1940 | "I Know You (I Know What You Wanna Do)" |
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| 1940 | "A Chicken Ain't Nothin' but a Bird" |
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| 1941 | "T-Bone Blues" |
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| 1941 | "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie"[11] |
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| 1941 | "The Two Little Squirrels (Nuts to You)" |
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| 1941 | "Pan-Pan" |
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| 1941 | "Saxa-Woogie" |
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| 1941 | "Brotherly Love (Wrong Ideas)" |
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| 1941 | "Boogie Woogie Came to Town" |
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| 1941 | "Saint Vitus Dance" |
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| 1942 | "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town"[12] |
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| 1942 | "Knock Me a Kiss" |
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| 1942 | "How 'Bout That?" |
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| 1942 | "The Green Grass Grows All Around" |
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| 1942 | "Mama Mama Blues (Rusty Dusty Blues)"[13] |
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| 1942 | "Small Town Boy" |
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| 1942 | "I'm Gonna Leave You on the Outskirts of Town" |
| 3 | |||
| 1942 | "It's a Low Down Dirty Shame" |
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| 1942 | "What's the Use of Getting Sober (When You're Gonna Get Drunk Again)"[14] |
| 1 | |||
| 1943 | "The Chicks I Pick Are Slender and Tender and Tall" |
| 10 | |||
| 1943 | "Five Guys Named Moe"[15] |
| 3 | |||
| 1943 | "That'll Just 'Bout Knock Me Out" |
| 8 | |||
| 1943 | "Ration Blues"[16] |
| 1 | 11 | 1 | |
| 1944 | "Deacon Jones" |
| 7 | |||
| 1944 | "G.I. Jive" |
| 1 | 1 | ||
| 1944 | "Is You Is or Is You Ain't (Ma' Baby)" |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| 1945 | "Mop! Mop | " |
| 1 | ||
| 1945 | "You Can't Get That No More" |
| 2 | 11 | ||
| 1945 | "Caldonia"[17] [18] |
| 1 | 6 | ||
| 1945 | "Somebody Done Changed the Lock on My Door" |
| 3 | |||
| 1945 | "My Baby Said Yes (Yip, Yip de Hootie)"[19] |
| 14 | |||
| 1945 | "Your Socks Don't Match" |
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| 1946 | "Buzz Me" |
| 1 | 9 | ||
| 1946 | "Don't Worry 'Bout That Mule" |
| 1 | |||
| 1946 | "Salt Pork, West Virginia" |
| 2 | |||
| 1946 | "Reconversion Blues" |
| 2 | |||
| 1946 | "Beware"[20] |
| 2 | 20 | ||
| 1946 | "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'" |
| 3 | |||
| 1946 | "Stone Cold Dead in the Market (He Had It Coming)"[21] |
| 1 | 7 | ||
| 1946 | "Petootie Pie" |
| 3 | |||
| 1946 | "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" |
| 1 | 7 | ||
| 1946 | "That Chick's Too Young to Fry" |
| 3 | |||
| 1946 | "Ain't That Just Like a Woman (They'll Do It Every Time)" |
| 1 | 17 | ||
| 1946 | "If It's Love You Want, Baby That's Me" |
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| 1946 | "Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens" |
| 1 | 6 | ||
| 1946 | "Let the Good Times Roll" |
| 2 | |||
| 1947 | "Texas and Pacific" |
| 1 | 20 | ||
| 1947 | "I Like 'Em Fat Like That" |
| 5 | |||
| 1947 | "Open the Door, Richard!" |
| 2 | 6 | ||
| 1947 | "It's So Easy" |
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| 1947 | "Jack, You're Dead" |
| 1 | 21 | ||
| 1947 | "I Know What You're Puttin' Down" |
| 3 | |||
| 1947 | "Boogie Woogie Blue Plate" |
| 1 | 21 | ||
| 1947 | "Sure Had a Wonderful Time" |
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| 1947 | "Look Out" |
| 5 | |||
| 1947 | "Early in the Mornin'" |
| 3 | |||
| 1948 | "Barnyard Boogie" |
| 2 | |||
| 1948 | "How Long Must I Wait for You" |
| 9 | |||
| 1948 | "Reet, Petite and Gone" |
| 4 | |||
| 1948 | "Inflation Blues" |
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| 1948 | "Run Joe" |
| 1 | 23 | ||
| 1948 | "All for the Love of Lil" |
| 13 | |||
| 1948 | "Don't Burn the Candle at Both Ends" |
| 4 | |||
| 1948 | "We Can't Agree" |
| 14 | |||
| 1948 | "Daddy-O"[22] |
| 7 | |||
| 1948 | "You're on the Right Track, Baby" |
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| 1948 | "Pettin' and Pokin'" |
| 5 | |||
| 1948 | "Why'd You Do It, Baby?" |
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| 1949 | "Roamin' Blues" |
| 10 | |||
| 1949 | "Have You Got the Gumption?" |
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| 1949 | "You Broke Your Promise" |
| 3 | |||
| 1949 | "Safe, Sane and Single" |
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| 1949 | "Cole Slaw (Sorghum Switch)" |
| 7 | |||
| 1949 | "Every Man to His Own Profession" |
| 10 | |||
| 1949 | "You Run Your Mouth, I’ll Run My Business"[23] |
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| 1949 | "A Chicken Ain’t Nothin’ but a Bird"[24] |
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| 1949 | "Baby, It's Cold Outside" |
| 6 | 9 | ||
| 1949 | "Don't Cry, Cry Baby" |
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| 1949 | "Beans and Corn Bread" |
| 1 | |||
| 1949 | "Chicky-Mo, Craney-Cro" |
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| 1949 | "Saturday Night Fish Fry (Pts. 1 & 2)" |
| 1 | 21 | ||
| Blank in chart positions indicates release that did not chart. | ||||||
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [25] | ||||||
| 1943 | "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" |
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| 1943 | "Knock Me a Kiss" |
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| 1942 | "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town" |
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| 1943 | "I've Found a New Baby" |
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| 1943 | "Five Guys Named Moe" |
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| 1943 | "Jumpin' at the Jubilee" |
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| 1943 | "You Can't Get That No More" |
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| 1943 | "The End of My Worry" |
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| 1944 | "How High Am I" |
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| 1944 | "Hey Now Let's Live" |
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| 1944 | "Deacon Jones" |
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| 1944 | "I Like 'Em Fat Like That" |
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| 1944 | "Bahama Joe" |
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| 1944 | "Nobody but Me" |
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| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions[26] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&B | Pop | C&W | ||||
| 1950 | "School Days" |
| 5 | |||
| 1950 | "I Know What I've Got" |
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| 1950 | "Push-Ka-Pee Shee Pie" |
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| 1950 | "Hungry Man" |
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| 1950 | "Baby's Gonna Go Bye Bye" |
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| 1950 | "Heed My Warning" |
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| 1950 | "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie"[27] |
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| 1950 | "Saxa-Woogie"[28] |
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| 1950 | "Honeysuckle Rose"[29] |
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| 1950 | "T-Bone Blues" |
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| 1950 | "Onion" |
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| 1950 | "Psycho-Loco" |
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| 1950 | "Blue Light Boogie (Pts. 1 & 2)" |
| 1 | |||
| 1950 | "I Want a Roof Over My Head" |
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| 1950 | "Show Me How (You Milk the Cow)" |
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| 1950 | "I'll Never Be Free" |
| 7 | |||
| 1950 | "Ain’t Nobody’s Business but My Own" |
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| 1950 | "Tamburitza Boogie" |
| 10 | |||
| 1950 | "Trouble Then Satisfaction" |
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| 1950 | "Life Is So Peculiar"[30] |
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| 1950 | "(I'll Be Glad When You're Dead) You, Rascal You"[31] |
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| 1951 | "Lemonade" |
| 6 | |||
| 1951 | "(You Dyed Your Hair) Chartreuse" |
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| 1951 | "Tear Drops from My Eyes" |
| 4 | |||
| 1951 | "It's a Great, Great Pleasure" |
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| 1951 | "Weak Minded Blues" |
| 5 | |||
| 1951 | "Is My Pop in There?" |
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| 1951 | "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" |
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| 1951 | "You Will Always Have a Friend" |
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| 1951 | "If You're So Smart How Come You Ain't Rich" |
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| 1951 | "How Blue Can You Get?" |
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| 1951 | "Please Don't Leave Me" |
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| 1951 | "Three-Handed Woman" |
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| 1951 | "Trust in Me" |
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| 1951 | "Cock-a-Doodle Doo" |
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| 1951 | "May Every Day Be Christmas" |
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| 1951 | "Bone Dry" |
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| 1952 | "Lay Something on the Bar (Besides Your Elbows)" |
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| 1952 | "No Sale" |
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| 1951 | "Louisville Lodge Meeting" |
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| 1951 | "Work Baby Work" |
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| 1952 | "Slow Down" |
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| 1952 | "Never Trust a Woman" |
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| 1952 | "Junco Partner" |
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| 1952 | "Azure-Te" |
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| 1952 | "Oil Well, Texas" |
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| 1952 | "Jordan for President" |
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| 1952 | "Friendship" |
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| 1952 | "You're Much Too Fat" |
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| 1953 | "You Didn't Want Me Baby" |
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| 1953 | "A Man's Best Friend" |
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| 1953 | "It's Better to Wait for Love" |
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| 1953 | "Just Like a Butterfly" |
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| 1953 | "Hog Wash" |
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| 1953 | "House Party" |
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| 1953 | "Time Marches On"[32] |
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| 1953 | "There Must Be a Way" |
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| 1953 | "I Want You to Be My Baby" |
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| 1953 | "You Know It Too" |
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| 1953 | "The Soona Baby" |
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| 1953 | "Fat Sam from Birmingham" |
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| 1954 | "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" |
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| 1954 | "Lollypop" |
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| 1954 | "Only Yesterday" |
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| 1954 | "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" |
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| 1954 | "If It's True" |
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| 1954 | "Wake Up Jacob" |
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| 1954 | "Locked Up" |
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| 1954 | "Perdido" |
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| 1954 | "I Want You To Be My Baby"[33] |
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| 1954 | "Come And Get It" |
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| 1954 | "I Gotta Move" |
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| 1954 | "Everything That's Made of Wood (Was Once a Tree)" |
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| 1954 | "Time Marches On"[34] |
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| 1954 | "Run Joe"[35] |
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| 1954 | “Whiskey Do Your Stuff” |
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| 1954 | “Dad Gum Ya Hide, Boy” |
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| 1954 | “I’ll Die Happy” |
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| 1954 | “Ooo-Wee” |
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| 1954 | “A Dollar Down” |
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| 1954 | “Hurry Home” |
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| 1954 | “I Seen Watcha Done” |
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| 1954 | “Messy Bessy” |
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| 1954 | “Louie's Blues” |
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| 1954 | “If I Had Any Sense, I’d Go Back Home” |
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| 1954 | “Yeah, Yeah Baby!” |
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| 1954 | “Put Some Money in the Pot, Boy (‘Cause the Juice is Running Low)” |
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| 1954 | “Fat Back and Corn Liquor” |
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| 1954 | “The Dripper” |
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| 1954 | “Gal, You Need a Whippin’” |
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| 1954 | “Time is a Passin’” |
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| 1954 | “Gotta Go” |
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| 1954 | “It’s Hard to be Good Without You” |
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| 1955 | “Whatever Lola Wants (Lola Gets)” |
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| 1955 | “It’s Been Said” |
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| 1955 | “Bananas” |
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| 1955 | “Baby Let’s Do It Up” |
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| 1955 | “Chicken Back” |
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| 1955 | “Where Can I Go?” |
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| 1955 | “Rock 'n Roll Call” |
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| 1955 | “Baby, You’re Just Too Much” |
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| 1956 | “Big Bess” |
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| 1956 | “Cat Scratchin’” |
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| 1956 | "Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens (remake) |
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| 1956 | "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" (remake) |
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| 1957 | “Rock Doc” |
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| 1957 | “Morning Light” |
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| 1957 | “Fire” |
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| 1957 | “Ella Mae” |
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| 1957 | "I Found My Piece of Mind" |
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| 1957 | "I Never Had a Chance" |
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| 1958 | “Sweet Hunk of Junk” |
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| 1958 | “Wish I Could Make Some Money” |
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| Blank in chart positions indicates release that did not chart. | ||||||
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions[36] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&B | Pop | C&W | ||||
| 1960 | "Bills" |
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| 1960 | "Fifty Cents" |
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| 1962 | "You're My Mule" |
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| 1962 | "Texarkana Twist" |
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| 1962 | "Workin' Man" |
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| 1962 | "The Meeting" |
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| 1963 | "Hardhead" |
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| 1963 | "Never Know When a Cheating Woman Changes Her Mind" |
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| 1963 | "Don't Send Me Flowers When I'm in the Graveyard" |
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| 1963 | "Point of No Return" |
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| 1964 | "What I Say"[37] |
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| 1964 | "Old Age" |
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| 1964 | "Time Is Running Out" |
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| 1964 | "Troubadour" |
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| 1964 | "Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens" (remake) |
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| 1964 | "Saturday Nite Fish Fry" (remake) |
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| 1965 | "Comin' Down" |
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| 1965 | "65 Bars" |
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| 1968 | "Amen Corner" |
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| 1968 | "Watch The World" |
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| 1968 | "Santa Claus, Santa Claus" |
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| 1968 | "Sakatumi" |
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| Blank in chart positions indicates release that did not chart. | ||||||
. Joel Whitburn. Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. 1988. Record Research, Inc. 0-89820-068-7. 299–230.