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 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, 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 was based on a formula combining sales data of commercially available

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

and

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

on American radio stations, the ''

'' used to publish several song popularity charts weekly. Throughout most of the 1940s the magazine published the following three charts: *''Best Selling Singles'' – ranked the biggest selling singles in retail stores, as reported by merchants surveyed throughout the country. *''Most Played Juke Box Records'' (debuted January 1944) – ranked the most played songs in

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...

es across the United States. *''Most Played by Jockeys'' (debuted February 1945) – ranked the most played songs on United States radio stations, as reported by radio disc jockeys and radio stations. The list below includes the ''Best Selling Singles'' chart only.

Number ones

;Key : – Number-one single of the year BingCrosbyTheBellsofSaintMarysTrailerScreenshot1945

Statistics by decade

By artist

The following artists achieved three or more number-one hits from 1940–1949. A number of artists had number-one singles on their own, as well as part of a collaboration.

Artists by total number of weeks at number-one

The following artists were featured at the top of the chart for the highest total number of weeks from 1940 to 1949.

Singles by total number of weeks at number-one

The following singles were featured at the top of the chart for the highest total number of weeks from 1940 to 1949.

References

{{Number-one singles in the United States

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...