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Billboard's Hot 100 & Best Sellers in Stores; number-one singles by decade
	Before August 1958; 1940-1949 • 1950-1958 After August 1958; 1958-1969 • 1970-1979 • 1980-1989 • 1990-1999 • 2000-2009 • 2010-2019
	US Singles Chart • Billboard magazine

This article is about the US number-one songs chart held during the 1940s.

Billboard number-one singles chart (which preceded the Billboard Hot 100 chart), which was updated weekly by the Billboard magazine, was the main singles chart of the American music industry since 1940 and until the Billboard Hot 100 chart was established in 1958.

Before the Billboard Hot 100 chart was established (in August 1958), which would solely be based on the sales data and airplay on American radio stations, the Billboard magazine used to published several weekly charts every time. Throughout most of the 1950s the magazine published the following three charts:

Best Sellers in Stores – ranked the biggest selling singles in retail stores, as reported by merchants surveyed throughout the country.
Most Played by Jockeys – ranked the most played songs on United States radio stations, as reported by radio disc jockeys and radio stations.
Most Played in Jukeboxes – ranked the most played songs in jukeboxes across the United States. At that time, this chart used to be one of the most important channels for measuring the popularity of a song among the younger generation of listeners, as many US radio stations resisted adding rock 'n roll music to their playlists for many years.

The list below includes the Best Sellers in Stores singles chart only (for the expanded detailed lists of the three charts, see articles of individual years in the Billboard charts).

Number ones

Key: ♪ – Number-one single of the year

Contents
1940 • 1941 1942 • 1943 • 1944 • 1945 • 1946 • 1947 • 1948 • 1949 • 1950s →

Bing Crosby had the highest number of hits at the top of the Billboard number-one singles chart during the 1940s (9 songs). In addition, Crosby remained the longest at the top of the Billboard number-one singles chart during the 1940s (55 weeks).

Reached number one	Artist(s)	Single	Record label	Weeks at number one	Ref
1940
July 27, 1940	Tommy Dorsey	"I'll Never Smile Again"	—	12	^[1]
October 19, 1940	Bing Crosby	"Only Forever"	—	9	^[1]
December 21, 1940	Artie Shaw	"Frenesi"	RCA Victor	12	^[1]
1941
March 15, 1941	Glenn Miller	"Song Of The Volga Boatmen"	—	1	^[1]
March 22, 1941	Artie Shaw	"Frenesi"	RCA Victor	1	^[1]
March 29, 1941	Jimmy Dorsey	"Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy)"	—	10	^[1]
June 7, 1941	Jimmy Dorsey	"My Sister And I"	—	1	^[1]
June 14, 1941	Jimmy Dorsey	"Maria Elena"	—	1	^[1]
June 21, 1941	Sammy Kaye	"Daddy"	—	1	^[1]
June 28, 1941	Jimmy Dorsey	"My Sister And I"	—	1	^[1]
July 5, 1941	Jimmy Dorsey	"Maria Elena"	—	1	^[1]
July 12, 1941	Sammy Kaye	"Daddy"	—	7	^[1]
August 30, 1941	Jimmy Dorsey	"Green Eyes (Aquellos Ojos Verdes)"	—	4	^[1]
September 27, 1941	Jimmy Dorsey	"Blue Champagne"	—	1	^[1]
October 4, 1941	Freddy Martin	"Piano Concerto In B Flat"	—	8	^[1]
November 29, 1941	Glenn Miller	"Chattanooga Choo Choo"	—	3	^[1]
December 20, 1941	Glenn Miller	"Elmer's Tune"	—	1	^[1]
December 27, 1941	Glenn Miller	"Chattanooga Choo Choo"	—	6	^[1]
1942
February 7, 1942	Glenn Miller	"A String Of Pearls"	—	1	^[1]
February 14, 1942	Woody Herman	"Blues In The Night (My Mama Done Tol' Me)"	—	1	^[1]
February 21, 1942	Glenn Miller	"A String Of Pearls"	—	1	^[1]
February 28, 1942	Glenn Miller	"Moonlight Cocktail"	—	10	^[1]
May 9, 1942	Jimmy Dorsey	"Tangerine"	—	6	^[1]
June 20, 1942	Harry James	"Sleepy Lagoon"	—	4	^[1]
July 18, 1942	Kay Kyser	"Jingle Jangle Jingle"	—	8	^[1]
September 12, 1942	Glenn Miller	"(I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo"	—	7	^[1]
October 31, 1942	Bing Crosby	"White Christmas"	—	11	^[1]
1943
January 16, 1943	Tommy Dorsey	"There Are Such Things"	—	4	^[1]
February 13, 1943	Harry James	"I Had The Craziest Dream"	—	2	^[1]
February 27, 1943	Tommy Dorsey	"There Are Such Things"	—	1	^[1]
March 6, 1943	Harry James	"I've Heard That Song Before"	—	12	^[1]
May 29, 1943	Glenn Miller	"That Old Black Magic"	—	1	^[1]
June 5, 1943	Harry James	"I've Heard That Song Before"	—	1	^[1]
June 12, 1943	Benny Goodman	"Taking A Chance On Love"	—	3	^[1]
July 3, 1943	The Song Spinners	"Comin' In On A Wing And A Prayer"	—	3	^[1]
July 24, 1943	Dick Haymes	"You'll Never Know"	—	4	^[1]
August 21, 1943	Tommy Dorsey	"In The Blue Of Evening"	—	3	^[1]
September 11, 1943	Bing Crosby	"Sunday, Monday Or Always"	—	7	^[1]
October 30, 1943	Al Dexter	"Pistol Packin' Mama"	—	1	^[1]
November 6, 1943	Mills Brothers	"Paper Doll"	—	12	^[1]
1944
January 29, 1944	Glen Gray	"My Heart Tells Me (Should I Believe My Heart)"	—	5	^[1]
March 4, 1944	Jimmy Dorsey	"Besame Mucho (Kiss Me Much)"	—	7	^[1]
April 22, 1944	Guy Lombardo	"It's Love-Love-Love"	—	2	^[1]
May 6, 1944	Bing Crosby	"I Love You"	—	5	^[1]
June 10, 1944	Harry James	"I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)"	—	3	^[1]
July 1, 1944	Bing Crosby	"I'll Be Seeing You"	—	1	^[1]
July 8, 1944	Harry James	"I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)"	—	1	^[1]
July 15, 1944	Bing Crosby	"I'll Be Seeing You"	—	3	^[1]
August 5, 1944	Bing Crosby	"Swinging On A Star"	—	9	^[1]
October 7, 1944	Mills Brothers	"You Always Hurt The One You Love"	—	1	^[1]
October 14, 1944	Dinah Shore	"I'll Walk Alone"	—	1	^[1]
October 21, 1944	Mills Brothers	"You Always Hurt The One You Love"	—	2	^[1]
November 4, 1944	Dinah Shore	"I'll Walk Alone"	—	3	^[1]
November 25, 1944	Mills Brothers	"You Always Hurt The One You Love"	—	2	^[1]
December 9, 1944	The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald	"I'm Making Believe"	—	2	^[1]
December 23, 1944	Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters	"Don't Fence Me In"	—	8	^[1]
1945
February 17, 1945	The Andrews Sisters	"Rum and Coca-Cola"	—	7	^[1]
April 7, 1945	Les Brown	"My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time"	—	7	^[1]
May 26, 1945	Les Brown	"Sentimental Journey"	—	9	^[1]
July 28, 1945	Johnny Mercer	"On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe"	—	7	^[1]
September 15, 1945	Perry Como	"Till The End Of Time"	—	9	^[1]
November 17, 1945	Sammy Kaye	"Chickery Chick"	—	1	^[1]
November 24, 1945	Harry James	"It's Been A Long, Long Time"	—	2	^[1]
December 8, 1945	Bing Crosby and The Les Paul Trio	"It's Been A Long, Long Time"	—	1	^[1]
December 15, 1945	Sammy Kaye	"Chickery Chick"	—	1	^[1]
December 22, 1945	Harry James	"It's Been A Long, Long Time"	—	1	^[1]
December 29, 1945	Sammy Kaye	"Chickery Chick"	—	1	^[1]
1946
January 5, 1946	Freddy Martin	"Symphony"	—	2	^[1]
January 19, 1946	Bing Crosby and Carmen Cavallaro	"I Can't Begin To Tell You"	—	1	^[1]
January 26, 1946	Vaughn Monroe	"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"	—	5	^[1]
March 2, 1946	Betty Hutton	"Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief"	—	1	^[1]
March 9, 1946	Johnny Mercer	"Personality"	—	1	^[1]
March 16, 1946	Frankie Carle	"Oh! What It Seemed To Be"	—	6	^[1]
April 27, 1946	Sammy Kaye	"I'm A Big Girl Now"	—	1	^[1]
May 4, 1946	Perry Como	"Prisoner Of Love"♪ (1946)	—	3	^[1]
May 25, 1946	The Ink Spots	"The Gypsy"	—	10	^[1]
August 3, 1946	Perry Como	"Surrender"	—	1	^[1]
August 10, 1946	Eddy Howard	"To Each His Own"	—	3	^[1]
August 31, 1946	Freddy Martin	"To Each His Own"	—	2	^[1]
September 14, 1946	Frank Sinatra	"Five Minutes More"	—	1	^[1]
September 21, 1946	The Ink Spots	"To Each His Own"	—	1	^[1]
September 28, 1946	Frank Sinatra	"Five Minutes More"	—	1	^[1]
October 5, 1946	Eddy Howard	"To Each His Own"	—	2	^[1]
October 19, 1946	Frankie Carle	"Rumors Are Flying"	—	8	^[1]
December 14, 1946	Kay Kyser	"Old Buttermilk Sky"	—	2	^[1]
December 28, 1946	Sammy Kaye	"The Old Lamp-Lighter"	—	7	^[1]
1947
February 15, 1947	The King Cole Trio	"(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons"	—	1	^[1]
February 22, 1947	Count Basie	"Open The Door, Richard!"	—	1	^[1]
March 1, 1947	Freddy Martin	"Managua, Nicaragua"	—	2	^[1]
March 15, 1947	Ted Weems	"Heartaches"	—	12	^[1]
June 7, 1947	Art Lund	"Mam'selle"	—	2	^[1]
June 21, 1947	The Harmonicats	"Peg O' My Heart"	—	1	^[1]
June 28, 1947	Perry Como	"Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba (My Bambino Go to Sleep)"	—	3	^[1]
July 19, 1947	The Harmonicats	"Peg O' My Heart"	—	3	^[1]
August 9, 1947	Tex Williams	"Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)"	—	6	^[1]
September 20, 1947	Francis Craig	"Near You"♪ (1947)	—	12	^[1]
December 13, 1947	Vaughn Monroe	"Ballerina"	—	10	^[1]
1948
February 21, 1948	Art Mooney	"I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover"	—	3	^[1]
March 13, 1948	Peggy Lee	"Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)"	—	9	^[1]
May 15, 1948	Nat King Cole	"Nature Boy"	—	7	^[1]
July 3, 1948	Kay Kyser	"Woody Wood-Pecker"	—	6	^[1]
August 14, 1948	Al Trace	"You Call Everybody Darlin'"	—	2	^[1]
August 28, 1948	Pee Wee Hunt	"Twelfth Street Rag"	—	6	^[1]
October 9, 1948	Margaret Whiting	"A Tree In The Meadow"	—	2	^[1]
October 23, 1948	Pee Wee Hunt	"Twelfth Street Rag"♪ (1948)	—	2	^[1]
November 6, 1948	Dinah Shore	"Buttons And Bows"	—	9	^[1]
1949
January 8, 1949	Spike Jones	"All I Want For Christmas (is My Two Front Teeth)"	—	1	^[1]
January 15, 1949	Dinah Shore	"Buttons And Bows"	—	1	^[1]
January 22, 1949	Evelyn Knight	"A Little Bird Told Me"	—	7	^[1]
March 12, 1949	Blue Barron	"Cruising Down the River"	—	2	^[1]
April 2, 1949	Russ Morgan	"Cruising Down the River"	—	7	^[1]
May 14, 1949	Vaughn Monroe	"Riders In The Sky (A Cowboy Legend)"♪ (1949)	—	11	^[1]
July 30, 1949	Perry Como	"Some Enchanted Evening"	—	5	^[1]
September 3, 1949	Vic Damone	"You're Breaking My Heart"	—	4	^[1]
October 1, 1949	Frankie Laine	"That Lucky Old Sun"	—	8	^[1]
November 26, 1949	Frankie Laine	"Mule Train"	—	6	^[1]

Statistics by decade

By artist

The following artists achieved four or more number-one hits during the 1940s. A number of artists had number-one singles on their own as well as part of a collaboration.