List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1940s explained

The following lists the number one singles on the Australian Singles Chart during the 1940s.

The source for this decade is the "Kent Music Report". These charts were calculated in the 1990s in retrospect, by David Kent, using archival data. Before 1949, charts in Australia were only available on a monthly basis.

Note: during the 1940s, often more than one version of a particular song by different artists charted at the same time, thus more than one artist may be listed for a song. Different versions are separated by a semi-colon ;

1940

	Date		Artist		Single		Months at number one
January	Joe Loss Carson Robison	"South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)"	3 months
February
March
April	The Andrews Sisters Joe Loss	"Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out The Barrel)"	1 month
May	Joe Loss Glenn Miller	"Blue Orchids"	3 months
June
July
August	Joe Loss	"Till the Lights of London Shine Again"	3 months
September
October
November	Kate Smith Glenn Miller	"The Woodpecker Song"	5 months
December

See also: 1940 in music.

1941

	Date		Artist		Single		Months at number one
January	Kate Smith Glenn Miller	"The Woodpecker Song"	5 months
February
March
April	The Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra Dick Robertson	"Ferryboat Serenade"	1 month
May	Vera Lynn West End Players	"A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square"	4 months
June
July
August
September	Shep Fields West End Players	"Down Argentina Way"	1 month
October	Judy Garland The Jesters	"It's a Great Day for the Irish"	2 months
November	George Formby	"Bless 'em All"	1 month
December	Judy Garland; The Jesters	"It's a Great Day for the Irish"	2 months

See also: 1941 in music.

1942

	Date		Artist		Single		Months at number one
January	Glenn Miller & Joe Loss	"In the Mood"	5 months
February
March
April
May
June	The Andrews Sisters Sammy Kaye	"Daddy"	1 month
July	Vera Lynn Jean Cerchi	"(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover"	3 months
August
September
October	Horace Heidt Ink Spots	"I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire"	2 months
November
December	Gene Autry Horace Heidt	"Deep in the Heart of Texas"	2 months

See also: 1942 in music.

1943

	Date		Artist		Single		Months at number one
January	Gene Autry Horace Heidt	"Deep in the Heart of Texas"	2 months
February	Harry James	"I Don't Want to Walk Without You"	4 months
March
April
May
June	Bing Crosby	"White Christmas"	5 months
July
August
September
October
November	Dinah Shore	"Why Don't You Fall in Love With Me"	1 month
December	Vera Lynn Harry James	"I Had the Craziest Dream"	1 month

See also: 1943 in music.

1944

	Date		Artist		Single		Months at number one
January	Ink Spots	"Ev'ry Night About This Time"	1 month
February	Vera Lynn & Joe Loss	"You'll Never Know"	3 months
March
April
May	Frank Sinatra George Trevare	"Sunday, Monday or Always"	2 months
June
July	Ink Spots	"Whispering Grass (Don't Tell the Trees)"	1 month
August	Dinah Shore Glenn Miller	"Happy In Love"	1 month
September	Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters	"Vict'ry Polka"	1 month
October	Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters	"Pistol Packin' Mama"	1 month
November	Joe Loss Vera Lynn	"No Other Love"	1 month
December	Ink Spots Frank Sinatra	"A Lovely Way to Spend An Evening"	1 month

See also: 1944 in music.

1945

	Date		Artist		Single		Months at number one
January	Geraldo Lale Andersen	"Lili Marlene"	1 month
February	Bing Crosby	"Amor, Amor"	2 months
March
April	Bing Crosby & Joe Loss	"Swinging on a Star"	1 month
May	Bing Crosby Dinah Shore	"Long Ago (and Far Away)"	1 month
June	Bing Crosby Dinah Shore	"It Could Happen to You"	2 months
July
August	Bing Crosby Joe Loss	"I'll Be Seeing You"	1 month
September	Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters	"Don't Fence Me In"	3 months
October
November
December	Bing Crosby	"(Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral) That's an Irish Lullaby"	1 month

See also: 1945 in music.

1946

	Date		Artist		Single		Months at number one
January	The Organ, The Dance Band and Me Les Brown	"My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time"	1 month
February	The Andrews Sisters	"Rum and Coca-Cola"	2 months
March
April	Ink Spots & Ella Fitzgerald	"Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall"	1 month
May	Bing Crosby Frank Sinatra	"A Friend of Yours"	2 months
June
July	Ella Fitzgerald & The Ink Spots; Duke Ellington	"I'm Beginning to See the Light"	1 month
August	Bing Crosby Judy Garland	"On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe"	2 months
September
October	Bing Crosby Freddy Martin	"Symphony"	2 months
November
December	Bing Crosby Kate Smith	"Sioux City Sue"	1 month

See also: 1946 in music.

1947

	Date		Artist		Single		Months at number one
January	Sammy Kaye The Merry Macs	"Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside)"	1 month
February	Ink Spots Perry Como	"Prisoner of Love"	2 months
March
April	Ink Spots Freddy Martin	"To Each His Own"	1 month
May	Frank Sinatra Tex Beneke	"Five Minutes More"	1 month
June	Bing Crosby Dinah Shore	"You Keep Coming Back Like a Song"	1 month
July	Bing Crosby Perry Como	"They Say It's Wonderful"	2 months
August
September	Al Jolson Bing Crosby	"The Anniversary Song"	5 months
October	Frank Sinatra Dick Haymes	"Mam'selle"	1 month
November	Bing Crosby Dick Haymes & The Andrews Sisters	"(There's No Business Like) Show Business"	1 month
December	Al Jolson Bing Crosby	"The Anniversary Song"	5 months

See also: 1947 in music.

1948

• Good-Night Mister Moon by Allan Ryan and William Flynn ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

	Date		Artist		Single		Months at number one
January	Al Jolson Bing Crosby	"The Anniversary Song"	5 months
February
March
April	Bing Crosby Dick Haymes & The Andrews Sisters	"Near You"	4 months
May	Perry Como Joe Loss	"Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba (My Bambino Go to Sleep)"	1 month
June	Bing Crosby Dick Haymes & The Andrews Sisters	"Near You"	4 months
July
August
September	Sammy Kaye Geraldo	"Serenade of the Bells"	1 month
October	Bing Crosby Gracie Fields	"Now Is the Hour (Maori Farewell Song)"	1 month
November	George Trevare Art Mooney	"I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover"	1 month
December	Al Jolson Perry Como	"When You Were Sweet Sixteen"	1 month

See also: 1948 in music.

1949

	Week beginning		Artist		Single		Weeks at number one
1 January	Dick Haymes & The Andrews Sisters	"Teresa"	1 week
8 January	Dinah Shore Gene Autry	"Buttons and Bows"	13 weeks
15 January
22 January
29 January
5 February
12 February
19 February
26 February
5 March
12 March
19 March
26 March
2 April
9 April	Perry Como Tony Pastor	"Rambling Rose"	5 weeks
16 April
23 April
30 April
7 May
14 May	Danny Kaye & The Andrews Sisters; Ray McKinley	"Put 'em in a Box, Tie 'em with a Ribbon"	2 weeks
21 May
28 May	Kay Kyser	"(I'd Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China"	6 weeks
4 June
11 June
18 June
25 June
2 July
9 July	Patty Andrews & Bob Crosby	"The Pussy Cat Song (Nyow! Nyot Nyow!)"	4 weeks
16 July
23 July
30 July
6 August	Ink Spots Joe Loss	"Say Something Sweet to Your Sweetheart"	2 weeks
13 August
20 August	Bing Crosby Joe Loss	"Far Away Places"	5 weeks
27 August
3 September
10 September
17 September
24 September	Evelyn Knight (singer) Sammy Kaye	"Powder Your Face with Sunshine"	2 weeks
1 October
8 October	Buddy Clark Larry Green	"It's a Big, Wide, Wonderful World"	4 weeks
15 October
22 October
29 October
5 November	Vaughn Monroe Bing Crosby	"Riders in the Sky"	5 weeks
12 November
19 November
26 November
3 December
10 December	Evelyn Knight (singer) Joe Loss	"A Little Bird Told Me"	2 weeks
17 December
24 December	Burl Ives Dinah Shore	"Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly)"	6 weeks (4 weeks in 1950)
31 December

See also: 1949 in music.

See also

• Music of Australia
• List of musical events
• List of Billboard number-one singles

References

• charts sourced from David Kent's Australian Chart Book: based on the Kent Music Report
• Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) official site
• OzNet Music Chart

Notes and References

1. News: Allan's7th Song Hit Folio. Allan's Song Hit Folio series. VII. 1. New South Wales, Australia. 1 January 1948. 18 November 2021 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
2. News: THESE TWO ARE AUSTRALIA'S ACE SONG-WRITING TEAM . . XXXI . 42 . New South Wales, Australia . 17 December 1949 . 18 November 2021 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
3. News: BITS AND PIECES . . 9650 . Queensland, Australia . 12 July 1950 . 18 November 2021 . 2 . National Library of Australia.
4. News: Publican Composer . . 3058 . New South Wales, Australia . 29 August 1948 . 19 November 2021 . 32 . National Library of Australia.
5. Parlophone A-7703 copy held at NFSA