Billboard Top Race Records of 1948 is a year-end chart compiled by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine ranking the year's top race records based on record sales.''Billboard'' assigned point totals to each record based on its sales. " Long Gone", an instrumental by

Sonny Thompson Sonny Thompson (probably August 23, 1916 – August 11, 1989), born Alfonso Thompson or Hezzie Tompson, was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B bandleader and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Biography There is some uncertainty over Thomps ...

with the "Sharps and Flats" was the year's No. 1 race record with 195 points. Thompson had another instrumental record, " Late Freight", that made the year-end list at No. 13. " Good Rocking Tonight" by

Wynonie Harris Wynonie Harris (August 24, 1915 – June 14, 1969) was an American blues shouter and rhythm-and-blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. He had fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952. Harris is attributed by ma ...

finished in the No. 2 spot with 145 points. The song anticipated elements of rock and roll music and has been cited as one of the candidates for the title of the first rock and roll record. " Tomorrow Night", a blues record by Lonnie Johnson, finished third with 129 points. The record was a remake of a 1939 version by Horace Heidt. Johson's version held the No. 1 spot on the race chart for seven weeks and crossed over to reach the No. 19 spot on the pop chart. " Nature Boy" by

King Cole Coel (Old Welsh: ''Coil''), also called ''Coel Hen'' (Coel the Old) and King Cole, is a figure prominent in Welsh literature and legend since the Middle Ages. Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen, a 4th-century leader in Roman or Sub-Roman ...

, with an orchestra conducted by Frank De Vol, was the only song to be included in ''Billboard''s year-end lists for both race and pop records. It finished at No. 11 among the year's race records and No. 14 among the pop records. King Records led all other labels with six records on the year-end chart, followed by Miracle and Capitol with three records each.

References

{{Billboard year-end top R&B hits 1948 record charts Billboard charts 1948 in American music

See also

References