# 1947 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 1947.

## Top hits of the year
### Number one hits

(As certified by Billboard magazine)
| US | Single | Artist |
| January 18 | "Rainbow at Midnight" | Ernest Tubb |
| February 8 | "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed" | Merle Travis |
| May 17 | "New Jolie Blonde (New Pretty Blonde)" | Red Foley and the Cumberland Valley Boys |
| May 24 | "What is Life Without Love | Eddy Arnold |
| June 7 | "Sugar Moon" | Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys |
| June 1 | "It's a Sin" | Eddy Arnold |
| July 19 | "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" | Tex Williams |
| Nov 1 | "I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)" | Eddy Arnold |

## Top Hillbilly (Country) Recordings 1947

Here is a year-end list compiled from The Billboard's Most-Played Folk Records weekly chart of 1947. Records that enter the chart in December of the previous year, or remain on the chart after December of the current year, receive points for their full chart runs. Each week, a score of 15 points is assigned for the no. 1 record, 9 points for no. 2, 8 points for no. 3, and so on, and the total of all weeks determined the final rank.
| Rank | Artist | Title | Label | Recorded | Released | Chart Positions |
| 1 | Eddy Arnold and his Tennessee Plowboys | "I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)" | RCA Victor 20-2332 | May 18, 1947 (1947-05-18) | July 10, 1947 (1947-07-10) | US Billboard 1947 #134, US #22 for 1 week, 3 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1947 #1, USHB #1 for 21 weeks, 46 total weeks |
| 2 | Eddy Arnold and his Tennessee Plowboys | "It's a Sin" | RCA Victor 2241 | September 24, 1946 (1946-09-24) | April 21, 1947 (1947-04-21) | US Billboard 1947 #188, US #14, US Hillbilly 1947 #2, USHB #1 for 5 weeks, 38 total weeks |
| 3 | Tex Williams and The Western Caravan | "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" | Capitol 40001 | March 27, 1947 (1947-03-27) | May 10, 1947 (1947-05-10) | US Billboard 1947 #6, US #1 for 6 weeks, 17 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1947 #3, USHB #1 for 16 weeks, 23 total weeks |
| 4 | Merle Travis | "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed" | Capitol 349 | October 19, 1946 (1946-10-19) | January 23, 1947 (1947-01-23) | US Billboard 1947 #161, US #12, US Hillbilly 1947 #4, USHB #1 for 14 weeks, 22 total weeks |
| 5 | Eddy Arnold and his Tennessee Plowboys | "What Is Life Without Love" | RCA Victor 20-2058 | March 20, 1946 (1946-03-20) | December 10, 1946 (1946-12-10) | US Hillbilly 1947 #5, USHB #1 for 1 week, 22 total weeks |
| 6 | Ernest Tubb | "Rainbow at Midnight" | Decca 46018 | September 17, 1947 (1947-09-17) | October 1947 (1947-10) | US Hillbilly 1947 #6, USHB #1 for 2 weeks, 20 total weeks |
| 7 | Red Ingle and The Natural Seven vocal by Cinderella G Stump | "Temptation (Tim-Tayshun)" | Capitol 412 | March 14, 1947 (1947-03-14) | May 1947 (1947-05) | US Billboard 1947 #15, US #1 for 1 week, 15 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1947 #7, USHB #2 for 11 weeks, 18 total weeks |
| 8 | Red Foley and the Cumberland Valley Boys | "New Jolie Blonde (New Pretty Blonde)" | Decca 46034 | January 9, 1947 (1947-01-09) | March 22, 1947 (1947-03-22) | US Hillbilly 1947 #8, USHB #1 for 5 weeks, 15 total weeks |
| 9 | Moon Mullican and The Showboys | "New Pretty Blonde (Jole Blon)" | King 578 | October 2, 1946 (1946-10-02) | December 1946 (1946-12) | US Billboard 1947 #320, US #21 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1947 #9, USHB #1 for 3 weeks, 15 total weeks |
| 10 | Tex Williams and His Western Caravan | "Never Trust A Woman" | Capitol Americana 40054 | November 13, 1945 (1945-11-13) | January 1947 (1947-01) | US BB 1947 #178, US #26, US Hillbilly 1947 #10, USHB #2 for 1 week, 22 total weeks |
| 11 | Eddy Arnold and his Tennessee Plowboys | "To My Sorrow" | RCA Victor 2481 | September 17, 1947 (1947-09-17) | September 29, 1947 (1947-09-29) | US Hillbilly 1947 #11, USHB #2 for 4 weeks, 21 total weeks |
| 12 | Red Foley and the Cumberland Valley Boys | "Never Trust A Woman" | Decca 46074 | March 18, 1947 (1947-03-18) | May 12, 1947 (1947-05-12) | US BB 1947 #226, US #16, US Hillbilly 1947 #13, USHB #2 for 4 weeks, 14 total weeks |
| 13 | Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys | "Sugar Moon" | Columbia 37113 | September 5, 1946 (1946-09-05) | March 23, 1947 (1947-03-23) | US Hillbilly 1947 #15, USHB #3 for 8 weeks, 24 total weeks |
| 14 | Tex Williams and The Western Caravan | "That's What I Like About the West" | Capitol Americana 40031 | January 24, 1947 (1947-01-24) | October 14, 1947 (1947-10-14) | US Hillbilly 1947 #17, USHB #2 for 2 weeks, 13 total weeks |
| 15 | Al Dexter and His Troopers | "Down At The Roadside Inn" | Columbia 37303 | April 4, 1945 (1945-04-04) | January 1947 (1947-01) | US Hillbilly 1947 #22, USHB #2 for 1 week, 15 total weeks |
| 16 | Dorothy Shay | "Feudin' And Fightin'" | Columbia 37189 | July 24, 1945 (1945-07-24) | February 18, 1947 (1947-02-18) | US Billboard 1947 #125, US #4 for 1 week, 11 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1947 #20, USHB #3 for 1 weeks, 22 total weeks |
| 17 | Roy Acuff and His Smoky Mountain Boys | "(Our Own) Jole Blon" | Columbia 37287 | January 28, 1947 (1947-01-28) | March 1947 (1947-03) | US Hillbilly 1947 #14, USHB #4 for 4 weeks, 6 total weeks |
| 18 | Ernest Tubb | "Don't Look Now (But Your Broken Heart Is Showing)" | Decca 46040 | February 10, 1947 (1947-02-10) | April 1947 (1947-04) | US Hillbilly 1947 #4, USHB #1 for 2 weeks, 20 total weeks |
| 19 | Johnny Bond and His Red River Valley Boys | "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed" | Columbia 37255 | November 1, 1946 (1946-11-01) | September 2, 1947 (1947-09-02) | US Hillbilly 1947 #14, USHB #5 for 1 week, 14 total weeks |
| 20 | Merle Travis | "Three Times Seven" | Capitol 384 | March 18, 1947 (1947-03-18) | May 12, 1947 (1947-05-12) | US BB 1947 #226, US #16, US Hillbilly 1947 #19, USHB #3 for 3 weeks, 15 total weeks |
| 21 | Jack Guthrie and His Oklahomans | "Oakie Boogie" | Columbia 36935 | January 3, 1947 (1947-01-03) | February 18, 1947 (1947-02-18) | US Hillbilly 1947 #15, USHB #2 for 1 weeks, 18 total weeks |
| 22 | Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys | "Move It On Over" | MGM 10033 | April 21, 1947 (1947-04-21) | June 1947 (1947-06) | US Hillbilly 1947 #22, USHB #4 for 1 week, 3 total weeks |
| 23 | Merle Travis | "Steel Guitar Rag" | Capitol 384 | March 18, 1947 (1947-03-18) | May 12, 1947 (1947-05-12) | US BB 1947 #226, US #16, US Hillbilly 1947 #23, USHB #4 for 2 weeks, 3 total weeks |
| 44 | Gene Autry | "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" | Columbia 37942 | August 28, 1947 (1947-08-28) | October 6, 1947 (1947-10-06) | US Billboard 1947 #87, US #9 for 1 week, 2 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1947 #44, USHB #5 for 1 week, 1 total weeks |
| 52 | Louise Massey and the Westerners | "My Adobe Hacienda" | Columbia 37332 | January 27, 1941 (1941-01-27) | April 21, 1947 (1947-04-21) | US BB 1947 #201, US #16, US Hillbilly 1947 #52, USHB #5 for 1 week, 1 total weeks |

## Births

* April 2 — Emmylou Harris, country-rock and alternative country-styled singer who enjoyed mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s.
* May 24 — Mike Reid, football player-turned-singer-songwriter during the 1980s.
* July 22 — Don Henley, member of the country-rock group Eagles.
* September 16 - Sonny LeMaire, member of the 1980s group Exile.
* September 26 — Lynn Anderson, top female country singer of the 1970s; best-remembered for her crossover pop smash, "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden" (died 2015).
* November 10 — Dave Loggins, singer-songwriter who wrote a number of successful country songs during the 1980s.
* December 19 — Janie Fricke, 1970s session/backup singer who grew to individual stardom during the early and mid-1980s.