# List of Billboard number-one R&B songs of 1949

In 1949, Billboard magazine published two charts ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in African-American-oriented musical genres. The Most Played Juke Box Race Records chart had been published since 1945; placings were based on a weekly survey among jukebox operators. The Best Selling Retail Race Records listing had been launched in 1948, based on a survey of record stores nationwide in which the majority of customers purchased what were then referred to as "race records". With effect from the issue of the magazine dated June 25, the term Race Records in the titles of the charts was replaced with Rhythm & Blues. The two charts are considered to be part of the lineage of the magazine's multimetric R&B chart, which since 2005 has been published under the title Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs.
In the issue of Billboard dated January 1, 1949, different versions of the song "Bewildered" topped the two charts: Amos Milburn's rendition was at number one on the juke box chart while the recording by the Red Miller Trio held the peak position on the best sellers listing. The following week, Milburn's version of the song took the top spot on the best seller chart, and another of his songs, "Chicken Shack Boogie", moved up to number one on the juke box listing. Despite the success of Miller's version of "Bewildered", it would prove to be the only charting song of his career. Milburn returned to number one on the juke box chart in September with "Roomin' House Boogie" and was the only artist with three R&B chart-toppers during 1949.
Three records had lengthy runs at number one in 1949, each topping both the juke box and best sellers charts for ten weeks or more. Between March and June, "The Huckle-Buck" by Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers topped the best sellers chart for 12 non-consecutive weeks and the juke box listing for 14 non-consecutive weeks, although it would prove to be the saxophonist's only number one. The song that replaced it at number one on both charts, "Trouble Blues" by the Charles Brown Trio, topped the juke box chart for a total of 10 weeks and held the peak position on the best sellers listing for 15 consecutive weeks, the year's longest unbroken run at number one on either chart and the longest run at number one on the best sellers chart since it launched the previous year. Finally, beginning in October, Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five topped the juke box chart for 10 weeks and the best sellers listing for 11 weeks with "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II). The final number one of the year on both charts was "For You My Love" by Larry Darnell. The song gave Darnell, who had only been signed by a record label three months earlier, a number one with his first charting song, but his success was short-lived and his chart career lasted less than two years.

## Chart history

Chart history :
| Issue date | Juke Box | Juke Box | Best Sellers | Best Sellers | Ref. |
| Issue date | Title | Artist(s) | Title | Artist(s) | Ref. |
| January 1 | "Bewildered" | Amos Milburn | "Bewildered" | Red Miller Trio | |
| January 8 | "Chicken Shack Boogie" | Amos Milburn | "Bewildered" | Amos Milburn | |
| January 15 | "Bewildered" | Red Miller Trio | "Bewildered" | Red Miller Trio | |
| January 22 | "Bewildered" | Red Miller Trio | "Chicken Shack Boogie" | Amos Milburn | |
| January 29 | "Bewildered" | Red Miller Trio | "Bewildered" | Red Miller Trio | |
| February 5 | "Chicken Shack Boogie" | Amos Milburn | "Chicken Shack Boogie" | Amos Milburn | |
| February 12 | "Bewildered" | Red Miller Trio | "Chicken Shack Boogie" | Amos Milburn | |
| February 19 | "Boogie Chillen" | John Lee Hooker | "The Deacon's Hop" | Big Jay McNeely's Blue Jays | |
| February 26 | "Chicken Shack Boogie" | Amos Milburn | "Bewildered" | Amos Milburn | |
| March 5 | "The Deacon's Hop" | Big Jay McNeely's Blue Jays | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | |
| March 12 | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | "Chicken Shack Boogie" | Amos Milburn | |
| March 19 | "Bewildered" | Amos Milburn | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | |
| March 26 | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | |
| April 2 | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | |
| April 9 | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | |
| April 16 | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | |
| April 23 | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | |
| April 30 | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | |
| May 7 | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | |
| May 14 | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | |
| May 21 | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | |
| May 28 | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | |
| June 4 | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | |
| June 11 | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | |
| June 18 | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | |
| June 25 | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | |
| July 2 | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | |
| July 9 | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | |
| July 16 | "The Huckle-Buck" | Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | |
| July 23 | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | |
| July 30 | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | |
| August 6 | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | |
| August 13 | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | |
| August 20 | "Ain't Nobody's Business" (Parts 1 & 2) | Jimmy Witherspoon | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | |
| August 27 | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | |
| September 3 | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | |
| September 10 | "Roomin' House Boogie" | Amos Milburn | "Trouble Blues" | Charles Brown Trio | |
| September 17 | "Roomin' House Boogie" | Amos Milburn | "Tell Me So" | The Orioles | |
| September 17 | "All She Wants to Do Is Rock" | Wynonie Harris | "Tell Me So" | The Orioles | |
| September 24 | "Baby Get Lost" | Dinah Washington | "Baby Get Lost" | Dinah Washington | |
| October 1 | "All She Wants to Do Is Rock" | Wynonie Harris | "All She Wants to Do Is Rock" | Wynonie Harris | |
| October 8 | "Beans and Corn Bread" | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | "Baby Get Lost" | Dinah Washington | |
| October 15 | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | |
| October 22 | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | |
| October 29 | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | |
| November 5 | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | |
| November 12 | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | |
| November 19 | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | |
| November 26 | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | |
| December 3 | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | |
| December 10 | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | |
| December 17 | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | |
| December 24 | "For You My Love" | Larry Darnell | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Parts I & II) | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | |
| December 31 | "For You My Love" | Larry Darnell | "For You My Love" | Larry Darnell | |
a. ^ Two songs tied for number one on the Juke Box chart in this issue.