# 1951 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1951.

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

(As certified by Billboard magazine)
| US | Single | Artist |
| January 6 | "I Love You a Thousand Ways" | Lefty Frizzell |
| January 6 | "The Golden Rocket" | Hank Snow and His Rainbow Ranch Boys |
| January 13 | "The Shotgun Boogie" | Tennessee Ernie Ford |
| February 10 | "There's Been a Change in Me" | Eddy Arnold |
| March 31 | "The Rhumba Boogie" | Hank Snow and His Rainbow Ranch Boys |
| May 12 | "Cold Cold Heart" | Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys |
| May 19 | "Kentucky Waltz" | Eddy Arnold |
| May 26 | "I Want to Be With You Always" | Lefty Frizzell |
| July 14 | "I Wanna Play House With You" | Eddy Arnold |
| August 11 | "Hey, Good Lookin'" | Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys |
| September 1 | "Always Late with Your Kisses" | Lefty Frizzell |
| November 3 | "Slow Poke" | Pee Wee King and His Golden West Cowboys (feat. Redd Stewart) |
| December 22 | "Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way" | Carl Smith |
    Note: Several songs were simultaneous No. 1 hits on the separate "Most Played Juke Box Folk (later Country & Western) Records," "Best Selling Retail Folk (later Country & Western) Records) and – starting December 10 – "Country & Western Records Most Played by Folk Disk Jockeys" charts.

### Other major hits

| US | Single | Artist |
| 3 | Alabama Jubilee | Red Foley |
| 5 | Beautiful Brown Eyes | Jimmy Wakely and the Les Baxter Chorus |
| 9 | Blue Christmas | Ernest Tubb |
| 4 | Bluebird Island | Hank Snow and Anita Carter |
| 7 | Cherokee Boogie (Eh-Oh-Aleena) | Moon Mullican |
| 8 | Chew Tobacco Rag | Zeb Turner |
| 4 | Crazy Heart | Hank Williams |
| 5 | Cryin' Heart Blues | Johnnie & Jack |
| 8 | Dear John | Hank Williams |
| 9 | Don't Stay Too Long | Ernest Tubb |
| 2 | Down the Trail of Achin' Hearts | Hank Snow and Anita Carter |
| 5 | Down Yonder | Del Wood |
| 7 | Driftwood On the River | Ernest Tubb |
| 5 | Heart Strings | Eddy Arnold |
| 6 | Hey La La | Ernest Tubb |
| 8 | Hobo Boogie | Red Foley |
| 5 | Hot Rod Race | Arkie Shibley |
| 7 | Hot Rod Race | Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan |
| 7 | Hot Rod Race | Red Foley |
| 7 | Hot Rod Race | Tiny Hill |
| 3 | Howlin' at the Moon | Hank Williams |
| 2 | I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You) | Hank Williams |
| 5 | I Don't Want to Be Free | Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely |
| 8 | I Love You a Thousand Ways | Hawkshaw Hawkins |
| 10 | I'll Sail My Ship Alone | Tiny Hill |
| 8 | I'm Waiting Just for You | Hawkshaw Hawkins |
| 8 | If Teardrops Were Pennies | Carl Smith |
| 8 | It Is No Secret | Stuart Hamblen |
| 9 | Lonesome Whistle | Hank Williams |
| 4 | Look What Thoughts Will Do | Lefty Frizzell |
| 8 | May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You | Eddy Arnold |
| 3 | Mockin' Bird Hill | The Pinetoppers |
| 7 | Mockin' Bird Hill | Les Paul and Mary Ford |
| 2 | Mom and Dad's Waltz | Lefty Frizzell |
| 2 | Mr. and Mississippi | Tennessee Ernie Ford |
| 4 | Mr. Moon | Carl Smith |
| 6 | My Heart Cries for You | Evelyn Knight and Red Foley |
| 7 | My Heart Cries for You | Jimmy Wakely |
| 9 | Old Soldiers Never Die | Gene Autry |
| 8 | On Top of Old Smoky | The Weavers and Terry Gilkyson |
| 4 | Poison Love | Johnnie & Jack |
| 7 | Shine, Shave, Shower (It's Saturday) | Lefty Frizzell |
| 7 | Sick, Sober and Sorry | Johnny Bond |
| 2 | Somebody's Been Beating My Time | Eddy Arnold |
| 4 | Something Old, Something New | Eddy Arnold |
| 10 | Sparrow in the Treetop | Rex Allen |
| 5 | The Strange Little Girl | Cowboy Copas |
| 9 | The Strange Little Girl | Red Foley and Ernest Tubb |
| 9 | The Strange Little Girl | Tennessee Ernie Ford |
| 8 | Tailor Made Woman | Tennessee Ernie Ford and Joe "Fingers" Carr |
| 2 | Tennessee Waltz, 6,000,000 sold by 1967 | Patti Page |
| 6 | Tennessee Waltz | Pee Wee King |
| 5 | (There'll Be) Peace in the Valley (For Me) | Red Foley |
| 6 | Travelin' Blues | Lefty Frizzell |
| 6 | Unwanted Sign Upon Your Heart | Hank Snow |
| 7 | When You and I Were Young, Maggie Blues | Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely |

## Births

* January 19 — Crystal Gayle, younger sister of Loretta Lynn who became a star in her own right, mainly in the country-pop vein.
* May 23 — Judy Rodman, backing vocalist who enjoyed fame in the 1980s as a solo performer.
* December 7 — Lyle Evans, bass guitarist of the Western Underground.