# 1952 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1952.

## Events

* July 14 — The Eddy Arnold Show, a brief summer replacement series, debuts on CBS-TV.
* August 23 — Kitty Wells becomes the first female solo artist to score a No. 1 hit on the Billboard country charts with "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels." The song, an answer to Hank Thompson's "The Wild Side of Life," spends two weeks atop the chart and forever changes how women were seen, both in song and professionally.
* November 22 — Nashville's first Disc Jockey Convention takes place.

### No dates

* The life of Hank Williams continues its downward spiral. Even though he enjoys several major hits, his drug and alcohol problems ruin his marriage to Audrey (the divorce was finalized on May 29), and in October, he is fired from the Grand Ole Opry. Williams marries Billie Jean Jones Eshliman in October in New Orleans, Louisiana, and rejoins Louisiana Hayride about that same time. Also during the year, he makes what turn out to be his final recordings.

### Top Hits Of 1952
#### United States

(as certified by Billboard)
| Year End Rank | Single Name | Artist | Peak Date | Weeks At Peak | Spec. Note |
| 001 | The Wild Side of Life | Hank Thompson and His Brazo Valley Boys | May 10 | 15 | |
| 002 | Jambalaya (On the Bayou) | Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys | Sept 6 | 14 | |
| 003 | (When You Feel Like You're in Love) Don't Just Stand There | Carl Smith | March 29 | 8 | |
| 004 | It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels | Kitty Wells | August 23 | 6 | The answer song to "The Wild Side of Life" |
| 005 | Wondering | Webb Pierce | March 1 | 4 | |
| 006 | Back Street Affair | Webb Pierce | Dec 6 | 4 | |
| 007 | A Full-Time Job | Eddy Arnold | August 16 | 4 |
| 008 | Give Me More, More, More (Of Your Kisses) | Lefty Frizzell | February 2 | 3 | |
| 009 | That Heart Belongs to Me | Webb Pierce | July 12 | 3 | |
| 010 | Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes | Skeets McDonald | Dec 27 | 3 | |
| 011 | Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes | Slim Willet | Dec 6 | 1 | |
| 012 | Are You Teasing Me | Carl Smith | July 19 | 1 |
| 013 | Easy on the Eyes | Eddy Arnold | May 3 | 1 |

##### Notes

* 1^ No. 1 song of the year, as determined by Billboard.
* 2^ Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot.
* A^ First Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.
* B^ Only Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.

### Other major hits

| US | Single | Artist |
| 2 | Almost | George Morgan |
| 4 | Baby, We're Really in Love | Hank Williams |
| 6 | Blackberry Boogie | Tennessee Ernie Ford |
| 5 | Blue Christmas | Ernest Tubb |
| 4 | Bundle of Southern Sunshine | Eddy Arnold |
| 8 | Busybody | Pee Wee King |
| 9 | Call Her Your Sweetheart | Eddy Arnold |
| 4 | Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes | Ray Price |
| 2 | Don't Stay Away (Till Love Grows Cold) | Lefty Frizzell |
| 6 | Forever (And Always) | Lefty Frizzell |
| 5 | Fortunes in Memories | Ernest Tubb |
| 2 | The Gold Rush Is Over | Hank Snow |
| 2 | Half as Much | Hank Williams |
| 2 | Honky Tonk Blues | Hank Williams |
| 7 | How Long Will It Take (To Stop Loving You) | Lefty Frizzell |
| 7 | I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus | Jimmy Boyd |
| 3 | I Went to Your Wedding | Hank Snow |
| 9 | I'd Trade All of My Tomorrows (For Just One Yesterday) | Eddy Arnold |
| 2 | Indian Love Call | Slim Whitman |
| 5 | It's a Lovely, Lovely World | Carl Smith |
| 2 | Lady's Man | Hank Snow |
| 2 | Let's Live a Little | Carl Smith |
| 10 | Love Song of the Waterfall | Slim Whitman |
| 8 | Married by the Bible, Divorced by the Law | Hank Snow |
| 8 | Milk Bucket Boogie | Red Foley |
| 3 | Missing in Action | Ernest Tubb |
| 4 | Music Makin' Mama from Memphis | Hank Snow |
| 10 | My Heart Is Broken in Three | Slim Whitman |
| 10 | The New Wears Off Too Fast | Hank Thompson |
| 6 | Our Honeymoon | Carl Smith |
| 8 | Salty Dog Rag | Red Foley |
| 2 | Settin' the Woods on Fire | Hank Williams |
| 5 | Silver and Gold | Pee Wee King |
| 7 | Slow Poke | Hawkshaw Hawkins |
| 9 | Somebody's Stolen My Honey | Ernest Tubb |
| 3 | Talk to Your Heart | Ray Price |
| 7 | Three Ways of Knowing | Johnnie & Jack |
| 10 | Till the End of the World | Bing Crosby and Grady Martin |
| 8 | 'Tis Sweet to Be Remembered | Cowboy Copas |
| 9 | 'Tis Sweet to Be Remembered | Flatt & Scruggs |
| 5 | Too Old to Cut the Mustard | Ernest Tubb and Red Foley |
| 6 | Too Old to Cut the Mustard | The Carlisles |
| 3 | Waiting in the Lobby of Your Heart | Hank Thompson |
| 6 | The Wild Side of Life | Burl Ives and Grady Martin |
| 10 | You Win Again | Hank Williams |

## Births

* January 12 — Ricky Van Shelton, honky tonk-styled vocalist of the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s.
* January 22 — Teddy Gentry, member of Alabama.
* February 18 — Juice Newton, pop-styled country vocalist of the 1980s.
* February 29 — Billy Joe Walker Jr., American musician, record producer, and songwriter (d. 2017).
* May 10 — Kikki Danielsson, Swedish female country singer.
* May 18 — George Strait, country giant since the early 1980s, who helped revitalize the genre.
* July 31 — K.W. Turnbow, drummer of the Western Underground.
* October 11 — Paulette Carlson, female lead vocalist with the band Highway 101 during the peak of its success in the 1980s.
* October 13 — Mundo Earwood, country singer of the 1970s and 1980s. (d. 2014)
* October 19 — Charlie Chase, radio and television personality, one half of Crook & Chase.
* October 24 — Mark Gray, one-time member of Exile who became a solo star in the mid-1980s. (d. 2016)

## Deaths

* March 22 — Uncle Dave Macon, 81, country music pioneer; comedian and banjo player; the first major star of the Grand Ole Opry.
* May 4 – J.L. "Joe" Frank, 52, music executive.
* December 4 – Rabon Delmore, 36, one half of the old-time harmony duo Delmore Brothers.