Events
Albums released
No. 1 hit singles
These singles reached the top of Billboard magazine's charts in 1950.
| First week |
Number of weeks |
Title |
Artist |
| January 6, 1950 |
|
"I Can Dream, Can't I?" |
The Andrews Sisters |
| February 3, 1950 |
1 |
"Rag Mop" |
The Ames Brothers |
| February 10, 1950 |
4 |
"Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" |
Red Foley |
| March 10, 1950 |
4 |
"Music! Music! Music!" |
Teresa Brewer |
| April 7, 1950 |
2 |
"If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake" |
Eileen Barton |
| April 21, 1950 |
11 |
"The Third Man Theme" |
Anton Karas |
| July 7, 1950 |
5 |
"Mona Lisa" |
Nat King Cole |
| August 11, 1950 |
13 |
"Goodnight, Irene" |
Gordon Jenkins & The Weavers |
| November 10, 1950 |
2 |
"Harbor Lights" |
Sammy Kaye |
| November 24, 1950 |
4 |
"The Thing" |
Phil Harris |
| December 22, 1950 |
9 |
"The Tennessee Waltz" |
Patti Page |
Biggest hit singles
The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the limited set of charts available for 1950.
| # |
Artist |
Title |
Year |
Country |
Chart Entries |
| 1 |
Nat King Cole |
Mona Lisa |
1950 |
 |
US 1940s 1 - Jun 1950, US 1 for 5 weeks Jul 1950, Oscar in 1950, US BB 2 of 1950, RYM 2 of 1950, POP 2 of 1950, DDD 4 of 1950, Italy 48 of 1951, RIAA 109, Acclaimed 1292 |
| 2 |
Patti Page |
Tennessee Waltz |
1950 |
|
US 1940s 1 - Nov 1950, US 1 for 9 weeks Dec 1950, US BB 4 of 1950, DDD 5 of 1950, Global 7 (10 M sold) - 1950, POP 7 of 1950, RYM 77 of 1951, RIAA 198, Acclaimed 1447 |
| 3 |
Phil Harris |
The Thing |
1950 |
|
US 1940s 1 - Nov 1950, US 1 for 4 weeks Dec 1950, Peel list 1 of 1950, US BB 12 of 1950, POP 12 of 1950, RYM 108 of 1950 |
| 4 |
Red Foley |
Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy |
1950 |
|
US 1940s 1 - Jan 1950, US 1 for 4 weeks Feb 1950, DDD 17 of 1950, US BB 18 of 1950, POP 25 of 1950, RYM 117 of 1950 |
| 5 |
Teresa Brewer |
Music! Music! Music! |
1950 |
|
US 1940s 1 - Feb 1950, US 1 for 4 weeks Mar 1950, US BB 3 of 1950, POP 3 of 1950 |
Top hit records
- "A-Razz-A-Ma-Tazz" - Georgia Gibbs
- "All My Love (Bolero)" - Patti Page
- "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" - Al Jolson
- "Ballin' The Jack", recorded by
- "Be My Love" - Mario Lanza
- "Bewitched" - Doris Day
- "Black Lace" - Frankie Laine
- "Boo-Hoo" - Guy Lombardo & The Lombardo Trio
- "A Bushel And A Peck" - Perry Como & Betty Hutton
- "Can Anyone Explain? (No, No, No!)" - The Ames Brothers
- "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" - Red Foley
- "Cry Of The Wild Goose" - Frankie Laine
- "Daddy's Little Girl" - The Mills Brothers
- "Dear, Dear, Dear" - Frankie Laine
- "Dream a Little Dream of Me" - Frankie Laine
- "A Dreamer's Holiday" - Buddy Clark & The Girlfriends
- "Enjoy Yourself" - Guy Lombardo (Kenny Gardner & The Lombardo Trio vocals)
- "Goodnight, Irene" - The Weavers with Gordon Jenkins
- "Harbor Lights" - Sammy Kaye
- "Here Comes Santa Claus" - Andrews Sisters
- "L'Hymne à L'Amour (Hymn To Love)" - Édith Piaf
- "I Can Dream, Can't I?" - The Andrews Sisters
- "I Love You For That" - Patti Page & Frankie Laine
- "I Wanna Be Loved" - The Andrews Sisters
- "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake" - Eileen Barton
- "I'm Movin' On" - Hank Snow
- "It Isn't Fair" - Sammy Kaye (Don Cornell vocal)
- "Let's Go West Again" - Al Jolson
- "A Man Gets Awfully Lonesome" - Frankie Laine
- "Mona Lisa" - Nat King Cole
- "Music, Maestro, Please" - Frankie Laine
- "Music! Music! Music!" - Teresa Brewer
- "My Foolish Heart, recorded by
- "My Heart Cries For You" - Guy Mitchell
- "Nevertheless" - The Mills Brothers
- "No Other Love" - Jo Stafford
- "The Old Piano Roll Blues" Al Jolson & The Andrews Sisters
- "Patricia" - Perry Como
- "Peter Cottontail" - Gene Autry
- "Play A Simple Melody" - Gary Crosby & Friend (Bing Crosby)
- "Rag Mop" - The Ames Brothers
- "Red Hot Mama" - Georgia Gibbs
- "The Roving Kind" - Guy Mitchell
- "Sentimental Me" - The Ames Brothers
- "Sleepy Ol' River" - Frankie Laine
- "Someday", recorded by
- "Sometime" - The Mariners
- "Stars & Stripes Forever" - Frankie Laine
- "Swingin' In A Hammock" - Guy Lombardo (Don Rodney & The Lombardo Trio vocals)
- "The Tennessee Waltz" - Patti Page
- "There's No Tomorrow" - Tony Martin
- "The Thing" - Phil Harris
- "Thinking of You" - Don Cherry
- "The Third Man Theme", recorded by
- "With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming" - Patti Page
Top R&B hits on record
Published popular music
- "Adelaide's Lament" w.m. Frank Loesser
- "African Bolero" m. John Serry, Sr.
- "American Beauty Rose" w.m. Hal David, Redd Evans & Arthur Altman
- "Be My Love" w. Sammy Cahn m. Nicholas Brodszky
- "The Best Thing For You" w.m. Irving Berlin
- "Blind Date" w.m. Sid Robin
- "A Bushel And A Peck" w.m. Frank Loesser
- "Candy And Cake" w.m. Bob Merrill
- "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" w.m. Harry Stone & Jack Stapp
- "Choo'n Gum" w. Mann Curtis m. Vic Mizzy
- "Cold, Cold Heart" w.m. Hank Williams
- "The Cry Of The Wild Goose" w.m. Terry Gilkyson
- "Dearie" w.m. Bob Hilliard & David Mann
- "Freight Train" w. Paul James & Fred Williams m. trad arr. Elizabeth Cotton
- "The French Can-Can Polka" w. Jimmy Kennedy m. Jacques Offenbach
- "From This Moment On" w.m. Cole Porter
- "Frosty the Snowman" w.m. Steve Nelson & Jack Rollins
- "Fugue For Tinhorns" w.m. Frank Loesser
- "Get Out Those Old Records" w.m. Carmen Lombardo & John Jacob Loeb
- "Gone Fishin"' w.m. Nick Kenny & Charles Kenny
- "Guys and Dolls" w.m. Frank Loesser
- "Home Cookin"' w.m. Jay Livingston & Ray Evans
- "Hoop-Dee-Doo" w. Frank Loesser m. Milton De Lugg
- "The Hostess With The Mostes' On The Ball" w.m. Irving Berlin
- "I Almost Lost My Mind" w.m. Ivory Joe Hunter
- "I Didn't Slip, I Wasn't Pushed, I Fell" w.m. Edward Pola & George Wyle
- "I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine" w.m. Mack David
- "I Leave My Heart in an English Garden" w.m. Harry Parr-Davies and Christopher Hassall from the musical Dear Miss Phoebe
- "I Taut I Taw A Puddy Tat" w.m. Alan Livingston, Billy May & Warren Foster
- "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked A Cake" w.m. Al Hoffman, Bob Merrill & Clem Watts
- "If I Were A Bell" w.m. Frank Loesser
- "I'll Know" w.m. Frank Loesser
- "I'll Never Be Free" w.m. Bennie Benjamin & George David Weiss
- "I'm Movin' On" w.m. Hank Snow
- "It Is No Secret" w.m. Stuart Hamblen
- "It's A Lovely Day Today" w.m. Irving Berlin
- "I've Never Been In Love Before" w.m. Frank Loesser
- "Ivory Rag" Lou Busch, Jack Elliott
- "La Culebra" m. John Serry, Sr.
- "Little White Duck" w.m. Walt Barrows & Bernard Zaritsky
- "The Loveliest Night Of The Year" w. Paul Francis Webster m. Juventino P. Rosas
- "Luck Be a Lady" w.m. Frank Loesser
- "Lucky Lucky Lucky Me" Berle, Arnold
- "Marry The Man Today" w.m. Frank Loesser
- "Marrying For Love" w.m. Irving Berlin
- "More I Cannot Wish You" w.m. Frank Loesser
- "My Heart Cries For You" w.m. Carl Sigman & Percy Faith
- "My Time Of Day" w.m. Frank Loesser
- "No Other Love" adapt from Chopin's Etude No 3 in E, Opus 10. w.m. Bob Russell & Paul Weston
- "The Old Piano Roll Blues" w.m. Cy Coben
- "The Oldest Established" w.m. Frank Loesser
- "Orange Colored Sky" w.m. Milton De Lugg & William Stein
- "Patricia" w.m. Benny Davis
- "Remember Me (I'm The One Who Loves You)" w.m. Stuart Hamblen
- "The Roving Kind" adapt. w.m. Jessie Cavanaugh & Arnold Stanton
- "Sam's Song" w. Jack Elliott m. Lew Quadling
- "Shot Gun Boogie" w.m. Tennessee Ernie Ford
- "Silver Bells" w.m. Jay Livingston & Ray Evans. Introduced by Bob Hope in the 1951 Musical film The Lemon Drop Kid.
- "Sit Down, You're Rockin' The Boat" w.m. Frank Loesser. Introduced by Stubby Kaye in the musical Guys and Dolls.
- "Sixty Minute Man" w.m. Billy Ward & Rose Marks
- "Sleigh Ride" w. Mitchell Parish m. Leroy Anderson
- "Sue Me" w.m. Frank Loesser
- "The Syncopated Clock" w. Mitchell Parish m. Leroy Anderson
- "Take Back Your Mink" w.m. Frank Loesser. Introduced by Vivian Blaine in the musical Guys and Dolls.
- "The Thing" w.m. Charles R. Grean
- "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena" adapt. trad Hebrew w. (Eng) Mitchell Parish m. Issachar Miron (Stefan Michrovsky) & Julius Grossman
- "You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry" w.m. Bob Merrill & Terry Shand
- "You're Just In Love" w.m. Irving Berlin
Classical music
Musical theatre
- Annie Get Your Gun starring Betty Hutton, Howard Keel, Louis Calhern and Keenan Wynn.
- Cinderella animated film featuring the voice of Ilene Woods and Verna Felton.
- Come Dance with Me featuring Anne Shelton and Anton Karas
- Fancy Pants starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball
- I'll Get By starring June Haver, Gloria DeHaven and Dennis Day, and featuring Harry James.
- Mr Music starring Bing Crosby and featuring Peggy Lee, Groucho Marx and Dorothy Kirsten.
- Pagan Love Song starring Esther Williams and Howard Keel
- Singing Guns released February 28 starring Vaughn Monroe, Ella Raines, Walter Brennan and Ward Bond
- There's a Girl in My Heart starring Lee Bowman, Elyse Knox, Gloria Jean and Peggy Ryan
- Three Little Words starring Fred Astaire, Red Skelton and Vera Ellen, and featuring Helen Kane dubbing for Debbie Reynolds.
- The Toast of New Orleans starring Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza
- Two Weeks With Love starring Jane Powell, Ricardo Montalban, Louis Calhern, Debbie Reynolds and Carleton Carpenter.
- The West Point Story starring James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Doris Day and Gordon MacRae
Births
January - February
March - April
- March 2 - Karen Carpenter, singer (d. 1983)
- March 21 - Roger Hodgson, Supertramp
- March 26 - Teddy Pendergrass, singer
- March 27 - Tony Banks, Genesis
- April 5 - Agnetha Fältskog, ABBA
- April 12 - David Cassidy, singer
- April 15 - Tonio K, singer
- April 22 - Peter Frampton, singer
- April 24 - Rob Hyman, The Hooters
- April 25 - Steve Ferrone, Average White Band
May - June
- May 2 - Lou Gramm, Foreigner
- May 3 - Mary Hopkin, singer
- May 9 - Tom Petersson, Cheap Trick
- May 12 - Billy Squier
- May 13
- May 16 - Ray Condo
- May 18 - Mark Mothersbaugh, Devo
- May 22 - Bernie Taupin
- May 29 - Rebbie Jackson
- May 24 - Terry Scott Taylor, record producer, The Lost Dogs, Daniel Amos, The Swirling Eddies
- June 1 - Graham Russell, Air Supply
- June 2 - Antone Tavares
- June 3 - Suzi Quatro, rock singer
- June 5
- June 19 - Ann Wilson, Heart
- June 21 - Joey Kramer, Aerosmith
July - August
September - October
November - December
Deaths
- January 28 - Kansas Joe McCoy, blues musician and songwriter (born 1905)
- February 26 - Sir Harry Lauder, Scottish singer, comedian and songwriter
- April 3 - Kurt Weill, composer in many styles
- April 8 - Vaslav Nijinsky, ballet dancer
- April 23 - Gemma Bellincioni, operatic soprano (born 1864)
- May 7 - Bertha "Chippie" Hill, blues singer and vaudeville performer (born 1905)
- June 9 - Joe Burke, pianist and composer (born 1884)
- July 1 - Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, developer of eurhythmics
- July 11 - Buddy De Sylva, songwriter (born 1895)
- July 21 - Al Hoffman, songwriter
- July 26 - Papa Charlie McCoy, blues musician
- July 30 - Guilhermina Suggia, cellist
- August 8 - Nikolai Myaskovsky, Soviet composer and teacher of Polish birth
- August 26 - Giuseppe De Luca, operatic baritone
- September 5 - Al Killian, trumpeter and bandleader (born 1916)
- October 15 - Clément Doucet, pianist
- October 23 - Al Jolson
- November 20 - Francesco Cilea, opera composer (born 1866)
- December 26 - Ben Black, songwriter and impresario (born 1889)
- December 31 - Charles Koechlin, composer and teacher (born 1867)
- date unknown
|
