This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1949.
Specific locations 1949 in British music 1949 in Norwegian music
Specific genres 1949 in country music 1949 in jazz
Events January 12 – Maro Ajemian, to whom the work is dedicated, gives one of the first performances of the complete cycle of John Cage's Sonatas and Interludes at Carnegie Hall. February 4 – Ljuba Welitsch makes her Metropolitan Opera début in Salome. February 11 – London Mozart Players give their first concert, at the Wigmore Hall. April – Goree Carter records "Rock Awhile", which is considered to be the first rock and roll record. June 25 – The Philharmonic Piano Quartet make their New York City debut at Lewisohn StadiumThe New York Times (27 June 1949). "Piano Unit Makes Debut at Stadium", p. 19. September 5 – English Wagnerian tenor Walter Widdop appears at The Proms, singing "Lohengrin's Farewell", the day before his sudden death at the age of 51."Mr. Walter Widdop – A Fine English Tenor", The Times, 7 September 1949, p. 7 December 15 – Birdland jazz club opens in New York City. December 24 – At the start of the Holy Year, Charles Gounod's Inno e Marcia Pontificale is adopted as the new papal anthem. December 29 – Les Paul and Mary Ford marry. The Boccherini Quintet is formed in Rome. Ravi Shankar becomes music director of All India Radio. Mitch Miller begins his career as one of the 20th century's most successful record producers at Mercury Eddie Fisher is "discovered" by Eddie Cantor and signs with RCA. Bob Hope suggests that Anthony Benedetto change his stage name from "Joe Bari" to "Tony Bennett" Frankie Laine records "Mule Train", considered by some critics as marking the beginning of the rock era. Teresa Brewer makes her first recording on the London label. The Ames Brothers become the first artists to record for Coral Records, a subsidiary of Decca. Johnnie Ray performs at the Flame Showbar in Detroit. The legendary Al Jolson records the soundtrack to "Jolson Sings Again," the sequel to his hugely successful biopic "The Jolson Story" (1946) 45 rpm discs are introduced Gorni Kramer starts working for musical impresarios Garinei and Giovannini. Country singer Bill Haley enters into a partnership with musicians Johnny Grande and Billy Williamson to form Bill Haley and His Saddlemen; in 1952 the group is renamed Bill Haley & His Comets. The International Rostrum of Composers is founded.
Albums released Goree Carter – Rock Awhile Der Bingle – Bing Crosby Jerome Kern Songs – Bing Crosby Merry Christmas – Bing Crosby Stephen Foster Songs – Bing Crosby Lights, Cameras, Action – Doris Day You're My Thrill – Doris Day Frankie Laine – Frankie Laine Frankie Laine Favorites – Frankie Laine Songs from the Heart – Frankie Laine The Return of the Wayfaring Stranger – Burl Ives Dinah Shore – Dinah Shore Jo Stafford with Gordon MacRae – Jo Stafford & Gordon MacRae
US No. 1 hit singles These singles reached the top of the US charts in 1949.
First weekNumber of weeksTitleArtistJanuary 8, 19491"All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth"Spike JonesJanuary 15, 19491"Buttons and Bows"Dinah ShoreJanuary 22, 19497"A Little Bird Told Me"Evelyn KnightMarch 12, 19492"Cruising Down the River"Blue BarronMarch 26, 19497"Cruising Down the River"Russ MorganMay 14, 194911"(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend"Vaughn MonroeJuly 30, 19495"Some Enchanted Evening"Perry ComoSeptember 3, 19494"You're Breaking My Heart"Vic DamoneOctober 1, 19498"That Lucky Old Sun"Frankie LaineNovember 26, 19496"Mule Train"Frankie Laine
Top popular records
Before the Hot100 was implemented in 1958, Billboard magazine measured a record's performance with three charts, 'Best-Selling Popular Retail Records', 'Records Most Played By Disk Jockeys' and 'Most-Played Juke Box Records'. We use the same data, with several modifications. Having no commercial deadlines, year-end data does not end December 31, chart-runs are ever truncated, and every hit song has a year to call home. With few exceptions, records included entered the charts between November 1948 and December 1949. Each week fifteen points were awarded to the number one record, then nine points for number two, eight points for number three, and so on. This system rewards songs that reach the highest positions, as well as those that had the longest chart runs. Each record's three point totals are combined, with that number determining the year-end rank. Number of weeks at number one or total weeks on the chart do not include duplicates; if a record was #1 on all 3 charts on July 15, that counts as one week, not three. Additional information from other sources is reported, but not used for ranking. This includes dates from the "Discography of American Historical Recordings" website, cross-over information from R&B and Country charts, 'Cashbox', and other sources as noted. Rank Artist Title Label Recorded Released Chart positions 1 Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra "Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)" RCA Victor 20-3411 US Billboard 1949 #1, US #1 for 12 weeks, 22 total weeks, US Country 1949 #43, USHB #2 for 1 weeks, 3 total weeks, 627 points, CashBox #1 2 Frankie Laine "That Lucky Old Sun" Mercury 5316 US Billboard 1949 #2, US #1 for 8 weeks, 22 total weeks, 510 points, CashBox #4 3 The Andrews Sisters with Gordon Jenkins Orchestra "I Can Dream, Can't I?" Decca 24705 US Billboard 1949 #3, US #1 for 5 weeks, 25 total weeks, 496 points 4 Evelyn Knight "A Little Bird Told Me" Decca 24514 US Billboard 1949 #4, US #1 for 7 weeks, 21 total weeks, 473 points, CashBox #8 5 Perry Como "Some Enchanted Evening" RCA Victor 20-3402 US Billboard 1949 #7, US #1 for 5 weeks, 26 total weeks, 468 points, CashBox #2 6 Vic Damone "You're Breaking My Heart" Mercury 5271 US Billboard 1949 #6, US #1 for 4 weeks, 26 total weeks, 467 points, CashBox #7 7 Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely "Slippin' Around" Capitol 40224 US Billboard 1949 #10, US #1 for 3 weeks, 23 total weeks, US Country 1949 #2, USHB #1 for 16 weeks, 32 total weeks, 428 points 8 Blue Barron and His Orchestra "Cruising Down the River" MGM 10346 US Billboard 1949 #8, US #1 for 7 weeks, 20 total weeks, 409 points, CashBox #5 9 Frankie Laine "Mule Train" Mercury 5345 US Billboard 1949 #6, US #1 for 6 weeks, 13 total weeks, 385 points, CashBox #9 10 Russ Morgan and His Orchestra "Cruising Down The River" Decca 24568 US Billboard 1949 #10, US #1 for 7 weeks, 22 total weeks, 360 points, CashBox #3 11 Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra "Again" Decca 24602 US Billboard 1949 #11, US #2 for 3 weeks, 23 total weeks, 295 points 12 Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra "Someday (You'll Want Me To Want You)" RCA Victor 20-3510 US Billboard 1949 #12, US #1 for 2 weeks, 18 total weeks, 287 points 13 Russ Morgan and His Orchestra "Forever and Ever" Decca 24569 US Billboard 1949 #13, US #1 for 3 weeks, 26 total weeks, 263 points 14 Perry Como "Forever and Ever" RCA Victor 20-3347 US Billboard 1949 #14, US #2 for 1 weeks, 25 total weeks, 245 points 15 Swing And Sway With Sammy Kaye (Vocal Don Cornell) "Room Full of Roses" RCA Victor 20-3441 US Billboard 1949 #15, US #2 for 1 weeks, 24 total weeks, 220 points 16 Evelyn Knight "Powder Your Face with Sunshine" Decca 24530 US Billboard 1949 #16, US #1 for 1 week, 20 total weeks, 208 points 17 Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra "Don't Cry, Joe (Let Her Go, Let Her Go, Let Her Go)" Decca 24720 US Billboard 1949 #17, US #3 for 1 week, 19 total weeks, 181 points 18 Bing Crosby "Far Away Places" Decca 24532 US Billboard 1949 #18, US #2 for 3 weeks, 19 total weeks, 171 points 19 Al Morgan "Jealous Heart" London 30001 US Billboard 1949 #19, US #4 for 5 weeks, 26 total weeks, 166 points 20 Margaret Whiting "Far Away Places" Capitol 15278 US Billboard 1949 #20, US #2 for 6 weeks, 23 total weeks, 152 points 21 Russ Morgan "So Tired" Decca 24521 US Billboard 1949 #21, US #3 for 1 weeks, 25 total weeks, 146 points 22 Perry Como and the Fontane Sisters ""A" – You're Adorable (The Alphabet Song)" RCA Victor 20-3381 US Billboard 1949 #22, US #1 for 2 weeks, 15 total weeks, 144 points 23 Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" RCA Victor 20-3319 US Billboard 1949 #23, US #3 for 2 weeks, 22 total weeks, 131 points 24 Perry Como and the Fontane Sisters "A Dreamer's Holiday" RCA Victor 20-3543 US Billboard 1949 #24, US #3 for 1 week, 19 total weeks, 118 points 25 Bing Crosby "Mule Train" Decca 24798 US Billboard 1949 #25, US #4 for 2 weeks, 12 total weeks, 109 points 40 Gene Autry and the Pinafores "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" Columbia 38610 US Billboard 1949 #40, US #1 for 1 week, 6 total weeks, US Country 1949 #25, USHB #1 for 4 weeks, 5 total weeks, 55 points, Grammy Hall of Fame 1985, 7,000,000 sold by 1969 248 Gene Autry "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" Columbia 20377 US Billboard 1949 #248, US #24 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Country 1949 #61, USHB #8 for 1 week, 3 total weeks, 3 points, 1,000,000 sales
Top R&B and country hit records Don't Rob Another Man's Castle performed by Eddy Arnold; words and music by Jenny Lou Carson The Fat Man, by Fats Domino, first record with back beat all the way through My Bucket's Got a Hole in It by Hank Williams and later by T. Texas Tyler "When Things Go Wrong With You (It Hurts Me Too)" by Tampa Red, later covered by Elmore James among others
Published popular music "Again", words: Dorcas Cochran, music: Lionel Newman "Bali Ha'i" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers introduced by Juanita Hall in the musical South Pacific "Beyond the Reef" w.m. Jack Pitman "Blame My Absent-Minded Heart" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne "Bloody Mary" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers from the musical South Pacific "Blue Ribbon Gal" Irwin Dash & Ross Parker "Bluebird on Your Windowsill" w.m. Elizabeth Clarke & Robert Mellin "Bonaparte's Retreat" w.m. Pee Wee King "Bye Bye Baby" w. Leo Robin m. Jule Styne introduced by Carol Channing and Jack McCauley in the musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Performed in the film version by Marilyn Monroe. "Cafe Mozart Waltz" m. Anton Karas played by Karas on the soundtrack of the film The Third Man. "Clopin Clopant" Bruno Coquatrix, Pierre Dudan & Kermit Goell "A Cock-Eyed Optimist" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers introduced by Mary Martin in the musical South Pacific. Mitzi Gaynor sang it in the film version. "Count Every Star" w. Sammy Gallop m. Bruno Coquatrix "Crazy, He Calls Me" w. Bob Russell m. Carl Sigman "Daddy's Little Girl" w.m. Bobby Burke & Horace Gerlach "Dear Hearts and Gentle People" w. Bob Hilliard m. Sammy Fain "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" w. Leo Robin m. Jule Styne. Introduced by Carol Channing in the musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Marilyn Monroe performed the number in the film version. "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?" w.m. Buddy Johnson "Dirty Old Town" w.m. Ewan MacColl "Dites-Moi" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers introduced by Michael de Leon and Barbara Luna in the musical South Pacific "Don't Cry, Joe (Let Her Go, Let Her Go, Let Her Go)" w.m. Joe Marsala "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" w.m. Mack David, Al Hoffman & Jerry Livingston. Ilene Woods provided the vocal for the animated film Cinderella. "A Dreamer's Holiday" w. Kim Gannon m. Mabel Wayne "Enjoy Yourself (It's Later than You Think)" w. Herb Magidson m. Carl Sigman "The Fat Man" w. Antoine Domino m. Dave Bartholomew "The Four Winds And The Seven Seas" w. Hal David m. Don Rodney "Happy Talk" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers introduced by Juanita Hall in the musical South Pacific. "He's a Real Gone Guy" w.m. Nellie Lutcher "Homework" w.m. Irving Berlin "Honey Bun" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers. Introduced by Mary Martin in the musical South Pacific. Performed in the 1958 film version by Mitzi Gaynor. "Hop-Scotch Polka" w.m. William "Billy" Whitlock, Carl Sigman & Gene Rayburn