# List of Billboard number-one R&B songs of 1945

At the start of 1945, Billboard magazine published a chart ranking the "most popular records in Harlem" under the title of the Harlem Hit Parade. Placings were based on a survey of record stores primarily in the Harlem district of New York City, an area which has historically been noted for its African American population and called the "black capital of America". This chart was published for the final time in the issue dated February 10. The following week the magazine launched a new chart in its place, Most Played Juke Box Race Records, based not on retail sales but on the number of times songs had been played in jukeboxes, although records' peak positions and numbers of weeks on chart were carried over; "race records" was a term then in common usage for recordings by black artists. The two charts are considered 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 6, the Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald topped the Harlem Hit Parade with "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall", retaining the top spot from the previous week. The song remained at number one through the issue dated February 3 for a final total of 11 weeks atop the chart. It was displaced by "Somebody's Gotta Go" by Cootie Williams and his Orchestra on the final chart published under the Harlem Hit Parade title. It was the first number one for Williams but would prove to be the final charting song of his career. The following week, Pvt. Cecil Gant topped the first Most Played Juke Box Race Records listing with "I Wonder". Gant spent two weeks at number one before being displaced by Roosevelt Sykes with his recording of the same song. Both versions would be the only number one for their respective artists.
The only act with more than one number one in 1945 was Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five, who spent a single week atop the chart with "Mop! Mop!" in April and six weeks in the top spot with "Caldonia" beginning in June. Having first reached number one in 1943, Jordan was by far the most successful artist of the 1940s on Billboard's R&B charts. His tally of 18 chart-toppers was a record which would stand until the 1980s, and he spent 113 weeks at number one, a record which would still stand in the 21st century. Jordan's success fell away in the 1950s, but his music is considered to have been hugely influential on the development of both R&B and rock and roll. In the issue of Billboard dated September 8, Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers reached number one with "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2), which remained atop the chart for the rest of the year. The track would spend one further week in the top spot in 1946 for a final total of 18 weeks at number one, a record for an R&B chart-topper which would be equalled by Louis Jordan in 1946 and Drake in 2016 but not broken until "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X spent a 19th week atop the modern Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart in 2019.

## Chart history
### Harlem Hit Parade

Harlem Hit Parade chart :
| Issue date | Title | Artist(s) |
| January 6 | "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" | The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald |
| January 13 | "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" | The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald |
| January 20 | "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" | The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald |
| January 27 | "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" | The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald |
| February 3 | "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" | The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald |
| February 10 | "Somebody's Gotta Go" | Cootie Williams and his Orchestra |

### Most Played Juke Box Race Records

Most Played Juke Box Race Records chart :
| Issue date | Title | Artist(s) |
| February 17 | "I Wonder" | Pvt. Cecil Gant |
| February 24 | "I Wonder" | Pvt. Cecil Gant |
| March 3 | "I Wonder" | Roosevelt Sykes |
| March 10 | "I Wonder" | Roosevelt Sykes |
| March 17 | "I Wonder" | Roosevelt Sykes |
| March 24 | "I Wonder" | Roosevelt Sykes |
| March 31 | "I Wonder" | Roosevelt Sykes |
| April 7 | "I Wonder" | Roosevelt Sykes |
| April 14 | "Tippin' In" | Erskine Hawkins and his Orchestra |
| April 21 | "Mop! Mop!" | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five |
| April 28 | "Tippin' In" | Erskine Hawkins and his Orchestra |
| May 5 | "Tippin' In" | Erskine Hawkins and his Orchestra |
| May 12 | "Tippin' In" | Erskine Hawkins and his Orchestra |
| May 19 | "Tippin' In" | Erskine Hawkins and his Orchestra |
| May 26 | "Tippin' In" | Erskine Hawkins and his Orchestra |
| June 2 | "Caldonia" | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five |
| June 9 | "Caldonia" | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five |
| June 16 | "Caldonia" | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five |
| June 23 | "Caldonia" | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five |
| June 30 | "Caldonia" | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five |
| July 7 | "Caldonia" | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five |
| July 14 | "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well" | Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra |
| July 21 | "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well" | Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra |
| July 28 | "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well" | Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra |
| August 4 | "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well" | Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra |
| August 11 | "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well" | Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra |
| August 18 | "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well" | Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra |
| August 25 | "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well" | Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra |
| September 1 | "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well" | Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra |
| September 8 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |
| September 15 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |
| September 22 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |
| September 29 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |
| October 6 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |
| October 13 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |
| October 20 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |
| October 27 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |
| November 3 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |
| November 10 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |
| November 17 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |
| November 24 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |
| December 1 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |
| December 8 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |
| December 15 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |
| December 22 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |
| December 29 | "The Honeydripper" (Parts 1 & 2) | Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers |