1940 in country music
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This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1940.
Events
- 1940 marked first year that sales exceeded 1929 levels
- April 4 – Ernest Tubb makes his first recordings for Decca Records, a label where he will remain for more than 30 years.
Top Hillbilly (Country) Recordings 1940
The following songs achieved the highest positions in Billboard magazine's 'Best Sellers in Stores' chart, monthly 'Hillbilly Hits' chart, supplemented by 'Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954' and record sales reported on the "Discography of American Historical Recordings" website,[1] and other sources as specified, during 1940. Numerical rankings are approximate.
| Rank | Artist | Title | Label | Recorded | Released | Chart Positions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Atcher and Bonnie Blue Eyes | "You Are My Sunshine"[2] | Vocalion 05370 | January 17, 1940 | February 1940 | US Hillbilly 1940 #1, US Hillbilly #1 for 5 weeks, 37 total weeks |
| 2 | Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys | "San Antonio Rose"[3] | Vocalion 04755 | November 28, 1938 | April 1939 | US Hillbilly 1940 #2, Hillbilly #1 for 3 week, 18 total weeks, 1,000,000 sales[1] |
| 3 | Gene Autry | "Goodbye Little Darlin' Goodbye"[2] | Vocalion 05463 | March 12, 1940 | April 1940 | US Billboard 1940 #264, US #20 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1940 #3, US Hillbilly #1 for 2 weeks, 27 total weeks |
| 4 | Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys | "New San Antonio Rose"[4][5] | Okeh 05694 | April 16, 1940 | August 1940 | US Billboard 1941 #126, US #16 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1940 #4, Hillbilly #1 for 2 week, 29 total weeks |
| 5 | Jimmie Davis | ""You Are My Sunshine"[6][5] | Decca 7004 | February 5, 1940 | March 24, 1940 | US Hillbilly 1940 #5, Hillbilly #1 for 2 weeks, 18 total weeks, 1,000,000 sales,[1] Grammy Hall of Fame 1999, Library of Congress artifact added 2012 |
| 6 | Bob Skyles and His Skyrockets | "Only in Dreams"[7] | Decca 5887 | April 9, 1940 | September 1940 | US Hillbilly 1940 #6, Hillbilly #1 for 3 weeks, 15 total weeks |
| 7 | Gene Autry | "Were You Sincere"[8] | Vocalion 05693 | October 15, 1937 | August 1940 | US Hillbilly 1940 #7, Hillbilly #1 for 2 weeks, 18 total weeks |
| 8 | Shelton Brothers | "I'll Be Seein' You In Dallas, Alice"[9] | Decca 5844 | April 6, 1940 | May 29, 1940 | US Hillbilly 1940 #8, Hillbilly #1 for 3 week, 13 total weeks |
| 9 | Cliff Bruner And His Boys | "The Girl You Loved Long Ago"[10] | Decca 5827 | September 1, 1939 | December 1939 | US Hillbilly 1940 #9, US #1 for 2 weeks, 16 total weeks |
| 10 | Cliff Bruner And His Boys | "Sorry (I'll Say I'm Sorry)"[11] | Decca 5860 | April 8, 1940 | June 20, 1940 | US Hillbilly 1940 #10, Hillbilly #1 for 3 weeks, 20 total weeks |
| 11 | Jimmie Davis | "I'd Love to Call You My Sweetheart"[12] | Decca 5803 | February 5, 1940 | February 1940 | US Hillbilly 1940 #11, Hillbilly #1 for 3 week, 15 total weeks |
| 12 | Roy Newman And His Boys | "Take Me Back To My Home In The Mountains"[2] | Vocalion 5486 | December 1, 1938 | April 1940 | US Hillbilly 1940 #12, Hillbilly #1 for 3 week, 14 total weeks |
| 13 | Texas Jim Lewis and His Lone Star Cowboys | "Rock And Rye Polka"[13] | Decca 5875 | August 23, 1940 | September 1940 | US Hillbilly 1940 #13, Hillbilly #1 for 1 week, 14 total weeks |
| 14 | Gene Autry | "I'm Beginning To Care"[2] | Vocalion 5257 | September 12, 1939 | January 2, 1940 | US Hillbilly 1940 #14, Hillbilly #1 for 2 weeks, 13 total weeks |
| 15 | Texas Jim Lewis and His Lone Star Cowboys | "Seven Beers With The Wrong Woman"[14] | Decca 5874 | August 8, 1940 | September 1940 | US Hillbilly 1940 #15, Hillbilly #1 for 1 week, 20 total weeks |
| 16 | Shelton Brothers | "I’m a Handy Man to Have Around"[15] | Decca 5833 | April 6, 1940 | May 1940 | US Hillbilly 1940 #16, Hillbilly #1 for 2 weeks, 14 total weeks |
| 17 | Hank Penny's Radio Cowboys | "Cowboy Swing"[2] | Vocalion 5438 | November 9, 1938 | March 1940 | US Hillbilly 1940 #17, Hillbilly #1 for 2 weeks, 12 total weeks |
| 18 | Cliff Bruner And His Boys | "Jessie"[16] | Decca 5769 | August 26, 1939 | December 6, 1939 | US Hillbilly 1940 #18, Hillbilly #2 for 2 weeks, 19 total weeks |
| 19 | Ted Daffan's Texans | "Worried Mind"[4] | Okeh 5668 | April 25, 1940 | July 1940 | US Hillbilly 1940 #19, Hillbilly #1 for 2 weeks, 17 total weeks, sold over 350,000 copies[17] |
| 20 | Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys | "Time Changes Everything"[4] | Okeh 05753 | April 15, 1940 | August 1940 | US Hillbilly 1940 #20, Hillbilly #1 for 2 weeks, 16 total weeks |
Births
- January 8 – Cristy Lane, Christian singer who also enjoyed secular success as a country performer in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
- June 23 – Diana Trask, Australian-born singer who enjoyed American success in the early 1970s.
- August 5 – Bobby Braddock, prominent songwriter with more than 40 years of success; later, producer for Blake Shelton.
- August 10 – Jerry Kennedy, prominent producer from the 1960s through early 1990s.
Deaths
Further reading
- Kingsbury, Paul, "Vinyl Hayride: Country Music Album Covers 1947–1989," Country Music Foundation, 2003 (ISBN 0-8118-3572-3)
- Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993 (ISBN 0-06-273244-7)
- Whitburn, Joel. "Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954: The History of American Popular Music," Record Research Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, 1986 (ISBN 0-89820-083-0).