By location |
---|
By genre |
By topic |
| |||
---|---|---|---|
+... |
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1941.
For each Year in Music (beginning 1940) and Year in Country Music (beginning 1939), a comprehensive Year End Top Records section can be found at mid-page (popular), and on the Country page.
The charts are compiled from data published by Billboard magazine, using their formulas, with slight modifications. Most important, there are no songs missing or truncated by Billboard's holiday deadline. Each year, records included enter the charts between the prior November and early December. Each week, fifteen points are awarded to the number one record, then nine points for number two, eight points for number three, and so on. This system rewards songs that reach the highest positions, as well as those that had the longest chart runs. This is our adjustment to Mr. Whitburn's formula, which places no. 1 records on top, then no 2 and so on, ordered by weeks at that position. This allows a record with 4 weeks at no. 1 that only lasted 6 weeks to be rated very high. Here, the total points of a song's complete chart run determines its position. Our chart has more songs, more weeks and may look nothing like Billboard's, but it comes from the exact same surveys.
Before the Hot100 was implemented in 1958, Billboard magazine measured a record's performance with three charts, 'Best-Selling Popular Retail Records', 'Records Most-Played On the Air' or 'Records Most Played By Disk Jockeys' and 'Most-Played Juke Box Records'. As Billboard did starting in the 1940s, the three totals for each song are combined, with that number determining the final year-end rank. For example, 1944's "A Hot Time in the Town of Berlin" by Bing and the Andrews Sisters finished at no. 19, despite six weeks at no. 1 on the 'Most-Played Juke Box Records'(JB) chart. It scored 126 points, to go with its Best-Selling chart (BS) total of 0. Martha Tilton's version of "I'll Walk Alone" peaked at no. 4 on the Juke Box chart, which only totalled 65 points, but her BS total was also 65, for a final total of 130, ranking no. 18. Examples like this can be found in "The Billboard" magazine up to 1958. By the way, the 'Records Most-Played On the Air' chart didn't begin until January 1945, which is why we only had two sub-totals.
Our rankings are based on Billboard data, but we also present info on recording and release dates, global sales totals, RIAA and BPI certifications and other awards. Rankings from other genres like 'Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs' or 'Most Played Juke Box Race Records', Country charts including 'Most Played Juke Box Folk (Hillbilly) Records', 'Cashbox magazine', and other sources are presented if they exist. We supplement our info with reliable data from the "Discography of American Historical Recordings" website, Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 [3] and other sources as specified. The following songs appeared in The Billboard's 'Best Selling Retail Records' chart during 1941.
Rank | Artist | Title | Label | Recorded | Released | Chart positions |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Glenn Miller and His Orchestra | "Chattanooga Choo Choo" [4] | Bluebird 11230 | May 7, 1941 | July 25, 1941 | US BB 1941 #1, US #1 for 9 weeks, 28 total weeks, 253 points, Grammy Hall of Fame 1996, ASCAP song of 1941, Oscar Nomination 1941 (film 'Sun Valley Serenade') |
2 | Freddy Martin and His Orchestra | "Piano Concerto In B Flat" [5] | Bluebird 11211 | June 16, 1941 | July 3, 1941 | US BB 1941 #2, US #1 for 8 weeks, 26 total weeks, 230 points |
3 | Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra | "Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy)" [6] | Decca 3629 | February 3, 1941 | February 1941 | US BB 1941 #3, US #1 for 10 weeks, 18 total weeks, 171 points, 1,000,000 sales [7] |
4 | Swing And Sway With Sammy Kaye | "Daddy" [8] | Victor 27391 | March 31, 1941 | April 25, 1941 | US BB 1941 #4, US #1 for 8 weeks, 19 total weeks, 170 points |
5 | Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra | "Green Eyes" [9] | Decca 3698 | March 19, 1941 | April 1941 | US BB 1941 #5, US #1 for 4 weeks, 28 total weeks, 153 points, 1,000,000 sales [7] |
6 | Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra | "Maria Elena" [10] | Decca 3698 | March 19, 1941 | April 1941 | US BB 1941 #6, US #1 for 2 weeks, 19 total weeks, 142 points, 1,000,000 sales [7] |
7 | Glenn Miller and his Orchestra | "Elmer's Tune" [11] | Bluebird 11274 | August 11, 1941 | August 29, 1941 | US BB 1941 #7, US #1 for 1 week, 21 total weeks, 126 points |
8 | Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra (Vocal Frank Sinatra) | "This Love of Mine" [12] | Victor 27508 | May 28, 1941 | July 11, 1941 | US BB 1941 #8, US #3 for 4 weeks, 27 total weeks, 111 points |
9 | Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra | "Blue Champagne" [13] | Decca 3775 | April 29, 1941 | June 1941 | US BB 1941 #9, US #1 for 1 week, 20 total weeks, 84 points |
10 | Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra (Vocal Frank Sinatra & Connie Haines & Pied Pipers) | "Oh Look At Me Now" [14] | Victor 27274 | January 16, 1941 | February 1941 | US BB 1941 #10, US #2 for 6 weeks, 14 total weeks, 81 points |
11 | Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra | "My Sister and I" [15] | Decca 3710 | March 19, 1941 | April 1941 | US 1941 #11, US #1 for 2 weeks, 13 total weeks, 79 points |
12 | Horace Heidt And His Musical Knights | "I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire" [16] | Columbia 36295 | July 24, 1941 | August 1941 | US BB 1941 #12, US #2 for 2 week, 17 total weeks, 77 points |
13 | Charlie Barnet and his Orchestra | "I Hear a Rhapsody" [17] | Bluebird 10934 | October 14, 1940 | November 1940 | US BB 1941 #13, US #2 for 6 weeks, 18 total weeks, 76 points |
14 | Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra | "Yes, Indeed!" [18] | Victor 27421 | February 17, 1941 | May 23, 1941 | US BB 1941 #14, US #4 for 3 weeks, 24 total weeks, 73 points |
15 | Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra | "Yours" [19] | Decca 3657 | February 3, 1941 | March 1941 | US BB 1941 #15, US #2 for 2 weeks, 18 total weeks, 73 points |
16 | Xavier Cugat and His Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra | "Perfidia (Tonight)" [20] | Victor 26334 | December 19, 1940 | January 7, 1941 | US BB 1941 #16, US #3 for 4 weeks, 16 total weeks, 70 points |
17 | Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra | "I Hear A Rhapsody" [21] | Decca 3570 | October 14, 1940 | November 1940 | US BB 1941 #17, US #3 for 4 weeks, 10 total weeks, 55 points |
18 | Glenn Miller and his Orchestra | "Song Of The Volga Boatmen" [22] | Bluebird 11029 | April 24, 1941 | February 1941 | US BB 1941 #18, US #1 for 1 week, 10 total weeks, 53 points |
19 | Freddy Martin and his Orchestra | "The Hut-Sut Song (A Swedish Serenade)" [23] | Bluebird 11147 | April 24, 1941 | May 16, 1941 | US BB 1941 #19, US #2 for 1 week, 13 total weeks, 53 points |
20 | Bing Crosby | "Dolores" [24] | Decca 3644 | December 23, 1940 | February 1941 | US BB 1941 #20, US #2 for 1 week, 15 total weeks, 52 points |
Additional recordings of historical interest, and songs that crossed over from Hillbilly (Country) and Race (R&B):
Rank | Artist | Title | Label | Recorded | Released | Chart positions |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
23 | Andrews Sisters | "(I'll Be with You) In Apple Blossom Time" [25] | Decca 3622 | November 14, 1940 | February 1941 | US BB 1941 #23, US #5 for 5 weeks, 18 total weeks, 48 points |
25 | Harry James and His Orchestra | "You Made Me Love You" [16] | Columbia 36296 | May 20, 1941 | August 1941 | US BB 1941 #25, US #5 for 2 weeks, 22 total weeks, 41 points, Grammy Hall of Fame 2010 |
46 | Artie Shaw and His Orchestra | "Star Dust" [26] | Victor 27230 | October 7, 1940 | December 6, 1940 | US 1941 #46, US #6 for 1 week, 10 total weeks, 12 points, Grammy Hall of Fame 1988 |
56 | Bing Crosby | "San Antonio Rose" [27] | Decca 3590 | December 16, 1940 | February 1941 | US BB 1941 #56, US #7 for 1 week, 12 total weeks, 9 points, 1,000,000 sales [7] |
87 | Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys | "New San Antonio Rose" [28] | OKeh 05694 | April 16, 1940 | August 1940 | US BB 1941 #87, US #11 for 2 weeks, 18 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1940 #9, USHB #1 for 2 weeks, 29 total weeks, 1,000,000 sales, [3] Grammy Hall of Fame 1998, Library of Congress artifact added 2003 |
86 | Dinah Shore | "Yes, My Darling Daughter" [29] | Bluebird 10920 | October 4, 1940 | November 8, 1940 | US BB 1941 #86, US #11 for 4 weeks, 10 total weeks |
88 | Andrews Sisters | "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" [30] | Decca 3598 | January 2, 1941 | January 20, 1941 | US BB 1941 #88, US #11 for 1 week, 7 total weeks, Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000 |
91 | Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra | "Take the "A" Train" [31] | Victor 27380 | February 15, 1941 | April 11, 1941 | US BB 1941 #91, US #12 for 1 week, 9 total weeks, Grammy Hall of Fame 1976 |
95 | Larry Clinton and His Orchestra | "Because of You" [32] | Bluebird 11094 | December 12, 1940 | March 28, 1941 | US 1941 #95, US #12 for 1 week, 1 total weeks |
99 | Louise Massey and the Westerners | "My Adobe Hacienda" [33] | Okeh 6077 | January 27, 1941 | March 1941 | US BB 1941 #99, US #13 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1941 #10, USHB #1 for 1 week, 21 total weeks |
131 | Gene Autry | "You Are My Sunshine" [33] | Okeh 6274 | June 18, 1941 | July 10, 1941 | US BB 1941 #131, US #16 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1941 #1, USHB #1 for 20 weeks, 50 total weeks, 1,000,000 sales [3] |
142 | Sons of the Pioneers | "Cool Water" [34] | Decca 5939 | March 27, 1941 | April 1941 | US BB 1941 #142, US #17 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1941 #12, USHB #1 for 1 week, 18 total weeks |
167 | Bing Crosby | "You Are My Sunshine" [35] | Decca 3952 | July 8, 1941 | August 1941 | US BB 1941 #167, US #19 for 1 week, 1 total weeks |
147 | Gene Autry | "Be Honest with Me" [28] | Okeh 5980 | August 20, 1940 | January 17, 1941 | US BB 1941 #147, US #17 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1941 #3, USHB #1 for 6 weeks, 58 total weeks |
154 | Ernest Tubb | "Walking the Floor Over You" [36] | Decca 5958 | April 26, 1941 | May 28, 1941 | US BB 1941 #154, US #18 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1941 #2, USHB #1 for 10 weeks, 72 total weeks |
251 | Bing Crosby | "It Makes No Difference Now" [37] | Decca 3590 | December 16, 1940 | February 1941 | US BB 1941 #251, US #23 for 1 week, 1 total weeks |
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1942.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1949.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1945.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1946.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1947.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1943.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1944.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1929.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1928.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1927.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1925.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1936.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1940.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1939.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1932.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1926.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1923.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1941.
For music from an individual year in the 1940s, go to 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1934.