List of Billboard number-one R&B singles of the 1940s
Number-one R&B songs
An asterisk (*) after a song title means that the song lost and then regained the number-one spot.

List of Billboard number-one R&B singles of the 1940s

Section Title: Number-one R&B songs
Table Section Text: An asterisk (*) after a song title means that the song lost and then regained the number-one spot.

Issue date	Song	Artist(s)	Weeks at No. 1

1942

October 24	"Take It and Git"	Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy	1 week

October 31	"Mr. Five by Five"	Freddie Slack and His Orchestra featuring Ella Mae Morse	2 weeks*

November 7	"Trav'lin' Light"	Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra featuring Billie Holiday	3 weeks*

November 14	"Stormy Monday Blues"	Earl Hines and His Orchestra featuring Billy Eckstine	1 week

November 28	"When the Lights Go on Again"	Lucky Millinder and His Orchestra	2 weeks*

December 19	"White Christmas"	Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter and Ken Darby	3 weeks

1943

January 16	"See See Rider Blues"	Bea Booze	4 weeks*

January 23	"What's the Use of Getting Sober (When You Gonna Get Drunk Again)"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	1 week

January 30	"That Ain't Right"	Nat King Cole Trio	1 week

February 13	"Apollo Jump"	Lucky Millinder and His Orchestra	2 weeks

March 6	"Don't Stop Now"	Bonnie Davis and the Bunny Banks Trio	5 weeks*

March 27	"Don't Get Around Much Anymore"	The Ink Spots	2 weeks*

April 17	"I've Heard That Song Before"	Harry James and His Orchestra	1 week

April 24	"I Can't Stand Losing You"	The Ink Spots	7 weeks*

May 29	"Don't Get Around Much Anymore" ("Never No Lament")	Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra	3 weeks*

July 17	"You'll Never Know"	Dick Haymes	4 weeks

August 14	"Don't Cry Baby"	Erskine Hawkins and His Orchestra	14 weeks*

September 25	"A Slip of the Lip (Can Sink a Ship)"	Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra	1 week

October 2	"Sentimental Lady"	Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra	1 week

November 20	"All for You"	The Nat King Cole Trio	2 weeks*

December 18	"ShooShoo Baby"	Ella Mae Morse	2 weeks*

December 25	"Sweet Slumber"	Lucky Millinder and His Orchestra	1 week

1944

January 1	"Ration Blues"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	1 week

January 15	"Do Nothing till You Hear from Me"	Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra	8 weeks*

January 22	"G.I. Jive"	Johnny Mercer with Paul Weston And His Orchestra	1 week

March 11	"Solo Flight"	Benny Goodman and His Orchestra	1 week

March 25	"Cow-Cow Boogie (Cuma-Ti-Yi-Yi-Ay)"	The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald	1 week

April 1	"Main Stem"	Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra	4 weeks*

April 15	"When My Man Comes Home"	Buddy Johnson and His Band	1 week

April 29	"Straighten Up and Fly Right"	The Nat King Cole Trio	10 weeks*

July 15	"G.I. Jive"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	6 weeks*

August 19	"Till Then"	The Mills Brothers	1 week

September 2	"Hamp's Boogie Woogie"	Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra	6 weeks*

September 30	"I'm Lost"	Benny Carter and His Orchestra	2 weeks*

October 21	"Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You"	The Nat King Cole Trio	4 weeks

November 18	"Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall"	The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald	11 weeks*

1945

February 10	"Somebody's Gotta Go"	Cootie Williams and His Orchestra	1 week

February 17	"I Wonder"	Pvt. Cecil Gant	2 weeks

February 24	"I Wonder"	Roosevelt Sykes	7 weeks

April 14	"Tippin' In"	Erskine Hawkins and His Orchestra	6 weeks*

April 21	"Mop! Mop!"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	1 week

June 2	"Caldonia"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	7 weeks

July 14	"Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well"	Lucky Millinder and His Orchestra	8 weeks

September 8	"The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2)	Joe Liggins and His Honeydrippers	18 weeks

1946

January 12	"Buzz Me"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	9 weeks

March 16	"Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop"	Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra	16 weeks*

March 23	"Don’t Worry 'bout That Mule"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	1 week

June 29	"The Gypsy"	The Ink Spots	3 weeks*

July 10	"Stone Cold Dead in the Market"	Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	5 weeks

August 24	"Choo Choo Ch'Boogie"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	18 weeks*

November 23	"Ain't That Just Like a Woman"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	2 weeks*

1947

17 January	"Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	17 weeks*

26 April	"Texas and Pacific"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	2 weeks*

17 May	"I Want to Be Loved"	Savannah Churchill and the Sentimentalists	8 weeks*

24 May	"Old Maid Boogie"	Eddie Vinson and His Orchestra	2 weeks*

28 June	"Jack You’re Dead"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	7 weeks*

30 August	"Boogie Woogie Blue Plate"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	14 weeks*

22 November	"Snatch and Grab It"	Julia Lee and Her Boy Friends	12 weeks*

1948

21 January	"I Love You Yes I Do"	Bull Moose Jackson and His Buffalo Bearcats	3 weeks*

20 March	"King Size Papa"	Julia Lee and Her Boy Friends	9 weeks

22 May	"Tomorrow Night"	Lonnie Johnson	7 weeks*

19 June	"Good Rockin' Tonight"	Wynonie Harris	1 week

10 July	"Long Gone (Parts I & II)"	Sonny Thompson	3 weeks*

10 July	"Run Joe"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	2 weeks*

24 July	"I Can't Go on Without You"	Bull Moose Jackson and His Buffalo Bearcats	8 weeks

4 September	"Messin' Around"	Memphis Slim and His House Rockers	2 weeks*

11 September	"My Heart Belongs to You"	Arbee Stidham	1 week

18 September	"Pretty Mama Blues"	Ivory Joe Hunter	3 weeks

2 October	"Corn Bread"	Hal Singer Sextette	4 weeks*

2 October	"Late Freight"	Sonny Thompson Quintet	1 week

9 October	"Am I Asking Too Much"	Dinah Washington	1 week

6 November	"Blues After Hours"	Pee Wee Crayton	3 weeks*

27 November	"It's Too Soon to Know"	The Orioles	1 week

4 December	"Chicken Shack Boogie"	Amos Milburn	5 weeks*

4 December	"Bewildered"	Red Miller Trio	5 weeks*

18 December	"'Long About Midnight"	Roy Brown	1 week

25 December	"Bewildered"	Amos Milburn	3 weeks*

1949

19 February	"Boogie Chillen"	John Lee Hooker	1 week

26 February	"The Deacon's Hop"	Big Jay McNeeley's Blue Jays	1 week

5 March	"The Huckle-Buck"	Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers	14 weeks*

4 June	"Trouble Blues"	The Charles Brown Trio	15 weeks

20 August	"Ain't Nobody's Business" (Parts 1 & 2)	Jimmy Witherspoon	1 week

10 September	"Roomin' House Boogie"	Amos Milburn	2 weeks

17 September	"All She Wants to Do Is Rock"	Wynonie Harris	2 weeks*

17 September	"Tell Me So"	The Orioles	1 week

24 September	"Baby Get Lost"	Dinah Washington	2 weeks

8 October	"Beans and Corn Bread"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	1 week

15 October	"Saturday Night Fish Fry"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	12 weeks*

24 December	"For You My Love"	Larry Darnell	8 weeks*

Sentence(s)

"Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well" reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart on July 14 and staying there for eight weeks.

final_sentence: "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well" reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart on July 14 and staying there for eight weeks.