# 1943 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1943.

## Events

* September – Decca Records is the first label to come to terms with the American Federation of Musicians, which had been on strike since August 1942 over music royalties. The first song that was released was "Pistol Packin' Mama" by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters.
* October - Pistol Packin' Mama by Al Dexter goes where no "Hillbilly" record has ever gone, to the top of the National Best Selling Retail Records chart, on October 30. Dexter's publishing company sued "The Hit Parade" radio show for ignoring their record!
* Mother Maybelle Carter reformed the Carter Family. This time, she was joined by daughters Anita, June and Helen.

## Top Hillbilly-Folk (Country) Recordings 1943

1941 was a great year for the United States recording industry, as bad memories of the Depression-tainted 1930s were replaced by record-setting sales. Then came Pearl Harbor, and on August 1, 1942, a strike by the American Federation of Musicians, which ended all recording sessions. Record companies kept business going by releasing promising recordings from their vaults, but by mid-1943, alternate sources were running dry, as the strike continued. Decca was the first company to settle with the union in September, but year-end statistics showed a 50% drop in charted records from 1942. Scan down the "recorded"(date) column, you won't see 1943 very often.
"Pistol Packin' Mama" by Al Dexter was easily the top record of the year, becoming the first #1 Hillbilly-Folk record to cross over and reach #1 on the Popular Chart as well. 1943 featured two of the greatest double-sided Country records ever, "PPM/Rosalita" by Dexter, and the close runner-up, "No Letter Today / Born To Lose" by Ted Daffan, also a top ten crossover hit. Both records stayed on the Hillbilly-Folk chart for over a year, and all four sides made the Popular chart too.
The Top Hillbilly-Folk Records of the Year chart is, like 1942, mostly derived from The Billboard's weekly "American Folk Records" columns of 1943, with raw reports from nationwide jukebox operators, and summaries of the top records in the nation. Supplemental information came from 'Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954', record sales reported on the "Discography of American Historical Recordings" website, and other sources as specified. As always, numerical rankings are approximate.
| Rank | Artist | Title | Label | Recorded | Released | Chart Positions |
| 1 | Al Dexter and His Troopers | "Pistol Packin' Mama" | Okeh 6708 | March 20, 1942 (1942-03-20) | April 10, 1943 (1943-04-10) | US Billboard 1943 #9, US Pop #1 for 1 week, 36 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1943 #1, Hillbilly #1 for 27 weeks, 50 total weeks, 2,500,000 sales, Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000 |
| 2 | Ted Daffan's Texans | "No Letter Today" | Okeh 6706 | February 20, 1942 (1942-02-20) | February 1943 (1943-02) | US Billboard 1943 #64, US Pop #13 for 1 week, 20 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1943 #2, Hillbilly #1 for 6 weeks, 53 total weeks, 1,000,000 sales |
| 3 | Al Dexter and His Troopers | "Rosalita" | Okeh 6708 | March 18, 1942 (1942-03-18) | April 10, 1943 (1943-04-10) | US Billboard 1943 #178, US Pop #22 for 1 week, 47 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1943 #3, Hillbilly #1 for 2 weeks, 58 total weeks |
| 4 | Ted Daffan's Texans | "Born To Lose" | Okeh 6706 | February 20, 1942 (1942-02-20) | February 1943 (1943-02) | US Billboard 1943 #124, US Pop #19 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1943 #4, Hillbilly #2 for 6 weeks, 72 total weeks, 1,000,000 sales |
| 5 | Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters | "Pistol Packin' Mama" | Decca 23277 | September 27, 1943 (1943-09-27) | October 14, 1943 (1943-10-14) | US Billboard 1943 #22, US Pop #2 for 4 weeks, 14 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1943 #5, Hillbilly #1 for 12 weeks, 25 total weeks |
| 6 | Louise Massey and the Westerners | "Honey Song" | Okeh 6687 | January 26, 1941 (1941-01-26) | August 15, 1942 (1942-08-15) | US Billboard 1943 #123, US Pop #19 for 1 week, 2 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1943 #6, Hillbilly #1 for 3 weeks, 61 total weeks |
| 7 | Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys | "New San Antonio Rose" | Okeh 6274 | April 16, 1940 (1940-04-16) | July 1942 (1942-07) | US Billboard 1943 #127, US Pop #19 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1943 #7, Hillbilly #2 for 1 week, 56 total weeks |
| 8 | Carson Robison | "That Old Grey Mare Is Back Where She Used to Be" | Bluebird 30-0808 | July 17, 1942 (1942-07-17) | January 8, 1943 (1943-01-08) | US Billboard 1943 #128, US Pop #19 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1943 #8, Hillbilly #1 for 3 weeks, 31 total weeks |
| 9 | Floyd Tillman | "They Took the Stars Out of Heaven" | Decca 6090 | April 30, 1941 (1941-04-30) | May 25, 1943 (1943-05-25) | US Hillbilly 1943 #9, Hillbilly #1 for 2 weeks, 35 total weeks |
| 10 | Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys | "Home in San Antone" | Okeh 6710 | July 14, 1942 (1942-07-14) | November 30, 1942 (1942-11-30) | US Billboard 1943 #160, US Pop #21 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1943 #10, Hillbilly #1 for 3 weeks, 36 total weeks |
| 11 | Bob Atcher and Bonnie Blue Eyes | "Pins and Needles (In My Heart)" | Okeh 6689 | May 5, 1942 (1942-05-05) | July 1942 (1942-07) | US Billboard 1943 #132, US Pop #19 for 1 week, 47 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1943 #11, Hillbilly #2 for 1 week, 60 total weeks |
| 12 | Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys | "Night Train to Memphis" | Okeh 6693 | May 28, 1942 (1942-05-28) | September 14, 1942 (1942-09-14) | US Hillbilly 1943 #12, Hillbilly #4 for 1 week, 51 total weeks |
| 13 | Gene Autry | "I Hang My Head And Cry" | Okeh 6627 | December 13, 1941 (1941-12-13) | March 27, 1942 (1942-03-27) | US Hillbilly 1943 #13, Hillbilly #4 for 1 week, 34 total weeks |
| 14 | Ernest Tubb | "You Nearly Lose Your Mind" | Decca 6067 | July 17, 1942 (1942-07-17) | August 17, 1942 (1942-08-17) | US Hillbilly 1943 #14, Hillbilly #2 for 1 week, 38 total weeks |
| 15 | Gene Autry | "It Makes No Difference Now" | Okeh 6274 | June 18, 1941 (1941-06-18) | July 1941 (1941-07) | US Hillbilly 1943 #15, Hillbilly #3 for 2 weeks, 33 total weeks |
| 16 | Jimmie Davis | "Columbus Stockade Blues" | Decca 6083 | July 27, 1942 (1942-07-27) | March 18, 1943 (1943-03-18) | US Hillbilly 1943 #16, Hillbilly #2 for 1 week, 23 total weeks |
| 17 | Ernest Tubb | "I Hate To See You Go" | Decca 6684 | November 17, 1941 (1941-11-17) | March 11, 1943 (1943-03-11) | US Hillbilly 1943 #17, Hillbilly #4 for 1 week, 18 total weeks |
| 18 | Elton Britt | "Buddy Boy" | Bluebird 9023 | March 19, 1942 (1942-03-19) | July 24, 1942 (1942-07-24) | US Hillbilly 1943 #18, Hillbilly #3 for 2 weeks, 33 total weeks |
| 19 | Dick Kuhn Orchestra | "Put Your Arms Around Me Honey" | Decca 4337 | November 26, 1941 (1941-11-26) | October 1943 (1943-10) | US Billboard 1943 #45, US Pop #8 for 1 week, 12 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1943 #19, Hillbilly #2 for 1 week, 11 total weeks |
| 20 | Ernest Tubb | "I'll Get Along Somehow" | Decca 5825 | November 29, 1940 (1940-11-29) | December 29, 1940 (1940-12-29) | US Hillbilly 1943 #20, Hillbilly #4 for 2 weeks, 26 total weeks |
Because of the lack of fresh material, many hits from past years made chart returns.
| "Wabash Cannonball 1939" | Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys |
| "New San Antonio Rose 1940" | Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys |
| "Back In the Saddle Again 1939" | Gene Autry |
| "It Makes No Difference Now 1941" | Gene Autry |
| "I'm Knocking At Your Door Again 1941" | Jimmie Davis |
| "Sitting on Top of the World 1936" | Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys |
| "Sitting on Top of the World 1935" | Shelton Brothers |
| "The Precious Jewel 1941" | Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys |

## Births

* February 4 – Jimmy Johnson, American musician (Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section) and record producer (died 2019).
* April 23 – Richard Sterban, member of the country-gospel group The Oak Ridge Boys (he's the bass).
* April 29 – Duane Allen, member of the country-gospel group The Oak Ridge Boys (he's the second tenor).
* October 11 – Gene Watson, honky tonk-styled vocalist of the 1970s and 1980s.