# List of Billboard number-one country songs of 1951

In 1951 Billboard magazine published three charts covering the best-performing country music songs in the United States: Most-Played Juke Box (Country & Western) Records, Best-Selling Retail Folk (Country & Western) Records and Country & Western Records Most Played By Folk Disk Jockeys. The juke box chart was compiled based on a "weekly survey among a selected group of jukebox operators whose locations require country and western records", the best sellers chart based on a "survey among a selected group of retail stores, the majority of whose customers purchase country and western records", and the jockeys chart based on a "weekly survey among a select list of over 400 disk jockeys specializing in country and western tunes". The juke box chart would be discontinued in 1957 and the other two charts merged in 1958 to form a multimetric chart, which has been published weekly since that date and since 2005 has been entitled Hot Country Songs.
In the first issue of Billboard of 1951, each chart had a different number one, although two were by the same artist. Lefty Frizzell was atop both the juke box and jockeys charts, with "If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time" and "I Love You a Thousand Ways" respectively, while the best sellers chart was headed by Hank Snow with "The Golden Rocket". During the year, each of the three charts had a song spend more than ten consecutive weeks at number one: Frizzell had an unbroken run of eleven weeks in the top spot of the best sellers chart with "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" and had a similar run at number one on the jockeys chart with "I Want to Be with You Always". The longest run at number one on any of the charts, however, was the fourteen consecutive weeks which Tennessee Ernie spent atop the juke box chart with "Shotgun Boogie". Frizzell reached number one for the first time in late 1950 and achieved five chart-toppers within 18 months, but soon afterwards his chart performance began to decline, his career suffering in part due to issues in his personal life. He was the only artist with four number-one country songs in 1951; Snow and Eddy Arnold each had three. Hank Williams had two number ones on the jockeys chart, but none on either of the other two charts.
Two artists reached number one for the first time in 1951. Carl Smith spent a single week in December atop the jockeys chart with his first number one, "Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way", although the song would return to the top spot, and also top the best sellers and juke box charts, in 1952. Smith, who had only entered the chart for the first time earlier in the year, would go on to reach the top 40 nearly 70 times over a 20-year career before he chose to retire from the music industry. Bandleader Pee Wee King's debut chart-topper "Slow Poke", featuring his band the Golden West Cowboys and lead vocalist Redd Stewart, had lengthy runs in the top spot on all three charts in 1951, and ended the year in the number one position on all the listings. It would, however, prove to be the only number one single for King, whose career went into decline in the mid-1950s. Every artist to top the chart in 1951 has been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, beginning with Hank Williams, who was inducted posthumously in the first group of entrants in 1961.

## Chart history

Chart history :
| Issue date | Juke Box | Juke Box | Best Sellers | Best Sellers | Jockeys | Jockeys | Ref. |
| Issue date | Title | Artist(s) | Title | Artist(s) | Title | Artist(s) | Ref. |
| January 6 | "If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time" | Lefty Frizzell | "The Golden Rocket" | Hank Snow | "I Love You a Thousand Ways" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| January 13 | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "The Golden Rocket" | Hank Snow | "I'm Movin' On" | Hank Snow | |
| January 20 | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "I'm Movin' On" | Hank Snow | "I Love You a Thousand Ways" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| January 27 | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "I'm Movin' On" | Hank Snow | "The Golden Rocket" | Hank Snow | |
| February 3 | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "I Love You a Thousand Ways" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| February 10 | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "I'm Movin' On" | Hank Snow | "There's Been a Change in Me" | Eddy Arnold | |
| February 17 | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "There's Been a Change in Me" | Eddy Arnold | "There's Been a Change in Me" | Eddy Arnold | |
| February 24 | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | |
| March 3 | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "There's Been a Change in Me" | Eddy Arnold | "There's Been a Change in Me" | Eddy Arnold | |
| March 10 | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "There's Been a Change in Me" | Eddy Arnold | "There's Been a Change in Me" | Eddy Arnold | |
| March 17 | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "There's Been a Change in Me" | Eddy Arnold | |
| March 24 | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "There's Been a Change in Me" | Eddy Arnold | "There's Been a Change in Me" | Eddy Arnold | |
| March 31 | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "Rhumba Boogie" | Hank Snow | "There's Been a Change in Me" | Eddy Arnold | |
| April 7 | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "Rhumba Boogie" | Hank Snow | "There's Been a Change in Me" | Eddy Arnold | |
| April 14 | "Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie | "Rhumba Boogie" | Hank Snow | "There's Been a Change in Me" | Eddy Arnold | |
| April 21 | "Rhumba Boogie" | Hank Snow | "Rhumba Boogie" | Hank Snow | "There's Been a Change in Me" | Eddy Arnold | |
| April 28 | "Rhumba Boogie" | Hank Snow | "Rhumba Boogie" | Hank Snow | "Rhumba Boogie" | Hank Snow | |
| May 5 | "Rhumba Boogie" | Hank Snow | "Rhumba Boogie" | Hank Snow | "There's Been a Change in Me" | Eddy Arnold | |
| May 12 | "Rhumba Boogie" | Hank Snow | "Rhumba Boogie" | Hank Snow | "Cold, Cold Heart" | Hank Williams | |
| May 19 | "Rhumba Boogie" | Hank Snow | "Kentucky Waltz" | Eddy Arnold | "Rhumba Boogie" | Hank Snow | |
| May 26 | "Kentucky Waltz" | Eddy Arnold | "Rhumba Boogie" | Hank Snow | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| June 2 | "Kentucky Waltz" | Eddy Arnold | "Kentucky Waltz" | Eddy Arnold | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| June 9 | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| June 16 | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| June 23 | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | "Kentucky Waltz" | Eddy Arnold | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| June 30 | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| July 7 | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| July 14 | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| July 21 | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| July 28 | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| August 4 | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| August 11 | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "Hey Good Lookin'" | Hank Williams | |
| August 18 | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "Hey Good Lookin'" | Hank Williams | |
| August 25 | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "Hey Good Lookin'" | Hank Williams | |
| September 1 | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Hey Good Lookin'" | Hank Williams | |
| September 8 | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "Hey Good Lookin'" | Hank Williams | |
| September 15 | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| September 22 | "I Want to Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| September 29 | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| October 6 | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| October 13 | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Hey Good Lookin'" | Hank Williams | |
| October 20 | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| October 27 | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | |
| November 3 | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Hey Good Lookin'" | Hank Williams | |
| November 3 | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Hey Good Lookin'" | Hank Williams | |
| November 10 | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | |
| November 17 | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Hey Good Lookin'" | Hank Williams | |
| November 24 | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | "Always Late (with Your Kisses)" | Lefty Frizzell | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | |
| December 1 | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | |
| December 8 | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | |
| December 15 | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | |
| December 22 | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | "Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way" | Carl Smith | |
| December 29 | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King | |
a. ^ Two songs tied for number one on the juke box chart.