Billboard Top Country & Western Records of 1952 is made up of two year-end charts compiled by Billboard magazine ranking the year's top country and western records based on record sales and juke box plays. [1]
Hank Thompson's " The Wild Side of Life" spent 15 weeks at No. 1 and was the No. 1 record of 1952 based on both retail sales and juke box plays. Kitty Wells' " It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", which was an answer song to "The Wild Side of Life, ranked No. 4 on the retail sales chart.
Hank Williams, led all artists with five records included on the year-end charts. His record of " Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" was No. 3 on the year-end retail sales chart while " Half as Much" ranked No. 11 on the same chart.
Carl Smith had four records on the year-end charts. His recording of " Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way" ranked No. 2 based on both retail sales and juke box plays.
Lefty Frizzell also had four records on the year-end charts, including the year's No. 6 juke box record, " Give Me More, More, More (Of Your Kisses)".
Columbia Records led the other labels with 11 records on the year-end charts, followed by RCA Victor with nine, and Decca with seven. [1]
| Retail year-end [1] |
Juke box year-end [1] |
Peak [note 1] [2] | Title | Artist(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | " The Wild Side of Life" | Hank Thompson | Capitol |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | " Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way" | Carl Smith | Columbia |
| 3 | 8 | 1 | " Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" | Hank Williams | M-G-M |
| 4 | 9 | 1 | " It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" | Kitty Wells | Decca |
| 5 | 5 | 1 | " Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | RCA Victor |
| 6 | 13 | 2 | " Indian Love Call" | Slim Whitman | Imperial |
| 7 | 7 | 1 | " Wonderin' | Webb Pierce | Decca |
| 8 | 4 | 1 | " (When You Feel Like You're in Love) Don't Just Stand There" | Carl Smith | Columbia |
| 9 | 12 | 2 | " Almost" | George Morgan | Columbia |
| 10 | 6 | 1 | " Give Me More, More, More (Of Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | Columbia |
| 11 | 14 | 2 | " Half as Much" | Hank Willaims | M-G-M |
| 12 | 3 | 1 | " Easy on the Eyes" | Eddy Arnold | RCA Victor |
| 13 | 10 | 2 | " The Gold Rush Is Over" | Hank Snow | RCA Victor |
| 14 | 11 | 1 | " Are You Teasing Me" | Carl Smith | Columbia |
| 15 | 21 | 1 | " A Full Time Job" | Eddy Arnold | RCA Victor |
| 16 | NR | 3 | " Missing in Action" | Ernest Tubb | Decca |
| 17 | 15 | 3 | " Waiting in the Lobby of Your Heart" | Hank Thompson | Capitol |
| 18 | NR | 5 | " Too Old to Cut the Mustard" | Red Foley, Ernest Tubb | Decca |
| 19 | 17 | 2 | " Don't Stay Away (Till Love Grows Cold)" | Lefty Frizzell | Columbia |
| 20 | 24 | 1 | " That Heart Belongs to Me" | Webb Pierce | Decca |
| 21 | 29 | 2 | " Lady's Man" | Hank Snow | RCA Victor |
| 22 | 20 | 1 | " Back Street Affair" | Webb Pierce | Decca |
| 23 | NR | 2 | " Mom and Dad's Waltz" | Lefty Frizzell | Columbia |
| 24 | 16 | 4 | " Bundle of Southern Sunshine" | Eddy Arnold | RCA Victor |
| 25 | NR | 5 | " It's a Lovely, Lovely World" | Carl Smith | Columbia |
| 26 | NR | 1 | " Always Late (With Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | Columbia |
| 27 | 28 | 2 | "Wild Side of Life" | Burl Ives | Columbia |
| 28 | 19 | 2 | " Honky Tonk Blues" | Hank Williams | M-G-M |
| 29 | 30 | 3 | " Talk to Your Heart" | Ray Price | Columbia |
| 30 | 18 | 5 | " Silver and Gold" | Pee Wee King | RCA Victor |
| NR | 22 | 3 | " Alabama Jubilee" | Red Foley | Decca |
| NR | 23 | 4 | " Baby, We're Really in Love" | Hank Williams | M-G-M |
| NR | 25 | 4 | " Music Makin' Mama From Memphis" | Hank Snow | RCA Victor |
| NR | 26 | 3 | " I Went to Your Wedding" | Hank Snow | RCA Victor |
| NR | 27 | 4 | " Crazy Heart" | Hank Williams | M-G-M |
See also
- List of Billboard number-one country songs of 1952
- Billboard year-end top 30 singles of 1952
- 1952 in country music
Notes
- ^ This column recites the record's peak position on Billboard's weekly charts.
References
- ^ a b c d "1952's Top C & W Records". The Billboard. December 27, 1952. p. 19.
- ^ Joel Whitburn (1995). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Billboard Books. ISBN 0823076326.