Prior to the introduction of the Hot 100, The Billboard compiled multiple weekly record charts ranking the performance of singles in the United States. In 1945, the magazine published the following four all-genre national singles charts:
Note: In the issues dated February 10, April 14, May 5, and November 17, The Billboard reported a tie for the number-one single on one of its charts.
Issue date | Best-Selling Popular Retail Records | Records Most-Played on the Air | Most-Played Juke Box Records | Honor Roll of Hits | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
January 6 | "Don't Fence Me In" Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and His Orchestra | Introduced on January 27 | "Don't Fence Me In" Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and His Orchestra | Introduced on March 24 | [7] |
January 13 | [8] | ||||
January 20 | [9] | ||||
January 27 | "Don't Fence Me In" Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and His Orchestra | [10] | |||
February 3 | [11] | ||||
February 10 | "Don't Fence Me In" Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and His Orchestra "Rum and Coca-Cola" The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and His Orchestra | "Rum and Coca-Cola" The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and His Orchestra | [12] | ||
February 17 | "Rum and Coca-Cola" The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and His Orchestra | [13] | |||
February 24 | [14] | ||||
March 3 | [15] | ||||
March 10 | [16] | ||||
March 17 | "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra | [17] | |||
March 24 | "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" | [5] [18] | |||
March 31 | "Candy" Johnny Mercer, Jo Stafford and the Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra | "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" | [18] | ||
April 7 | "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" Les Brown and His Orchestra with Doris Day | "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" Les Brown and His Orchestra with Doris Day | [19] | ||
April 14 | "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" Les Brown and His Orchestra with Doris Day "I'm Beginning to See the Light" Harry James and His Orchestra with Kitty Kallen | [20] | |||
April 21 | "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" Les Brown and His Orchestra with Doris Day | "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" Les Brown and His Orchestra with Doris Day | [21] | ||
April 28 | "I'm Beginning to See the Light" Harry James and His Orchestra with Kitty Kallen | [22] | |||
May 5 | "Dream" The Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra "Sentimental Journey" Les Brown and His Orchestra with Doris Day | [23] | |||
May 12 | "There! I've Said It Again" Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra with Vaughn Monroe and the Norton Sisters | [24] | |||
May 19 | [25] | ||||
May 26 | "Sentimental Journey" Les Brown and His Orchestra with Doris Day | [26] | |||
June 2 | "Sentimental Journey" | [27] | |||
June 9 | "Candy" Johnny Mercer, Jo Stafford and the Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra | [28] [29] | |||
June 16 | "Sentimental Journey" Les Brown and His Orchestra with Doris Day | "Sentimental Journey" Les Brown and His Orchestra with Doris Day | [28] | ||
June 23 | [30] | ||||
June 30 | [31] | ||||
July 7 | [32] | ||||
July 14 | [33] | ||||
July 21 | [34] | ||||
July 28 | "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra | "There! I've Said It Again" Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra with Vaughn Monroe and the Norton Sisters | [35] | ||
August 4 | "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra | "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra | [36] | ||
August 11 | "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" | [37] | |||
August 18 | [38] | ||||
August 25 | [39] | ||||
September 1 | [40] | ||||
September 8 | [41] | ||||
September 15 | "Till the End of Time" Perry Como with Russ Case and His Orchestra | "Till the End of Time" Perry Como with Russ Case and His Orchestra | [42] | ||
September 22 | "Till the End of Time" | [43] | |||
September 29 | "Till the End of Time" Perry Como with Russ Case and His Orchestra | [44] | |||
October 6 | [45] | ||||
October 13 | [46] | ||||
October 20 | [47] | ||||
October 27 | [48] | ||||
November 3 | [49] | ||||
November 10 | [50] | ||||
November 17 | "Till the End of Time" Perry Como with Russ Case and His Orchestra "Chickery Chick" Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye with Nancy Norman, Billy Williams and the Kaye Choir | "Chickery Chick" Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye with Nancy Norman, Billy Williams and the Kaye Choir | "It's Been a Long, Long Time" | [51] | |
November 24 | "It's Been a Long, Long Time" Harry James and His Orchestra with Kitty Kallen | "It's Been a Long, Long Time" Harry James and His Orchestra with Kitty Kallen | [52] | ||
December 1 | "Chickery Chick" Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye with Nancy Norman, Billy Williams and the Kaye Choir | "It's Been a Long, Long Time" Bing Crosby with Les Paul and His Trio | [53] | ||
December 8 | "It's Been a Long, Long Time" Bing Crosby with Les Paul and His Trio | [54] | |||
December 15 | "Chickery Chick" Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye with Nancy Norman, Billy Williams and the Kaye Choir | "Chickery Chick" Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye with Nancy Norman, Billy Williams and the Kaye Choir | [55] | ||
December 22 | "It's Been a Long, Long Time" Harry James and His Orchestra with Kitty Kallen | "It's Been a Long, Long Time" Harry James and His Orchestra with Kitty Kallen | "I Can't Begin to Tell You" Bing Crosby with Carmen Cavallaro | [56] | |
December 29 | "Chickery Chick" Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye with Nancy Norman, Billy Williams and the Kaye Choir | "White Christmas" Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers and John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra | "Chickery Chick" Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye with Nancy Norman, Billy Williams and the Kaye Choir | [57] | |
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in Billboard magazine. Billboard biz, the online extension of the Billboard charts, provides additional weekly charts, as well as year-end charts. The two most important charts are the Billboard Hot 100 for songs and Billboard 200 for albums, and other charts may be dedicated to a specific genre such as R&B, country, or rock, or they may cover all genres. The charts can be ranked according to sales, streams, or airplay, and for main song charts such as the Hot 100 song chart, all three data are used to compile the charts. For the Billboard 200 album chart, streams and track sales are included in addition to album sales.