1948 in country music

Events

April 3 — Radio station KWKH of Shreveport, Louisiana airs the Louisiana Hayride for the first time.

May 15 — Billboard begins a sales-based Best Selling Folk Retail Records chart, the magazine's second chart to track the popularity of country songs. The new chart complements the existing Most Played Juke Box Folk Records chart, and begins a practice of multiple charts (and possible simultaneous No. 1 songs) that will continue for the next 10 years.

July 24 — Roy Acuff announces his intention to run for governor of Tennessee. Running as the Republican candidate, he will lose to Democratic candidate Gordon Browning in the November election.

No dates

Eddy Arnold dominates the Billboard charts, scoring five No. 1 songs (six, if one counts Arnold's "I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You In My Arms)," which had been No. 1 since November 1947). Only Jimmy Wakely's "One Has My Name (the Other Has My Heart)" breaks Arnold's streak. Four other songs by Arnold also make the country charts.

Number one hits

(As certified by Billboard magazine)

April 8 - "Anytime" - Eddy Arnold

June 5 - "Bouquet of Roses" - Eddy Arnold

June 5 - "Texarkana Baby" - Eddy Arnold

September 18 - "Just a Little Lovin' (Will Go a Long Way)" - Eddy Arnold

November 13 - "One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart)" - Jimmy Wakely

December 25 - "A Heart Full of Love (For a Handful of Kisses)" - Eddy Arnold

Note: Starting on May 15, a second chart - the Best Selling Folk Retail Records chart - begins tracking the popularity of country songs, in addition to the Most Played Juke Box Folk Records chart. This means that for the first time, there could be more than one No. 1 hit on a given date.

Other major hits

"Banjo Polka" - Tex Williams

"Blue Shadows On The Trail" - Roy Rogers

"Bubbles in My Beer" - Bob Wills

"Buttons And Bows" - Gene Autry

"Chime Bells" - Elton Britt

"Cool Water" - Sons Of The Pioneers

"Deck Of Cards" - T. Texas Tyler

"Deck Of Cards" - Tex Ritter

"Doghouse Boogie" - Hawkshaw Hawkins

"Don't Telegraph (Tell A Woman)"- Tex Williams

"Forever Is Ending Today" - Ernest Tubb

"Green Light" - Hank Thompson

"Have You Ever Been Lonely" - Ernest Tubb

"Honky Tonkin'" - Hank Williams

"Humpty Dumpty Heart" - Hank Thompson

"I Love You So Much It Hurts" - Floyd Tillman

"I'm A Long Gone Daddy" - Hank Williams

"I'm My Own Grandpa" - Lonzo and Oscar

"Let's Say Goodbye Like We Said Hello" - Ernest Tubb

"Life Gets Teejus Don't It" - Carson Robinson

"Life Gets Teejus Don't It" - Tex Williams

"Molly Darling" - Eddy Arnold

"My Daddy Is Only A Picture" - Eddy Arnold

"Never Trust A Woman" - Tex Williams

"Peepin' Through The Keyhole" - Cliffie Stone

"Rock and Rye Rag" - Tex Ritter

"Rye Whiskey" - Tex Ritter

"Seaman's Blues" - Ernest Tubb

"Signed Sealed And Delivered" - Cowboy Copas

"Signed Sealed And Delivered" - Jimmy Wakely

"Signed Sealed And Delivered" - Bob Atcher

"Suspicion" - Tex Williams

"Sweeter Than The Flowers" - Moon Mullican

"Tennessee Moon" - Cowboy Copas

"Tennessee Waltz" - Peewee King and Redd Stewart

"Tennessee Waltz" - Cowboy Copas

"Then I Turned And Walked Slowly Away" - Eddy Arnold

"Waltz Of The Wind" - Roy Acuff

"What A Fool I Was" - Eddy Arnold

"Who Me?" - Tex Williams

″That Wild And Wicked Look in Your Eye″ — Ernest Tubb

″Merle`s Boogie Woogie″ — Merle Travis

″Keeper Of My Heart″ — Bob Wills

″Thorn In My Heart″ — Bob Wills

″Dad Gave My Dog Away″ — T. Texas Tyler

″Memories Of France″ — T. Texas Tyler

″Talking Boogie″ — Tex Williams

″Oklahoma Waltz″ — Johnny Bond

″Pan American″ — Hawkshaw Hawkins

Births

February 8 — Dan Seals, singer-songwriter who successfully turned from pop music to country during the 1980s (died 2009).

April 21 — Paul Davis, pop-styled singer-songwriter who had several hits during the 1980s (died 2008).

May 2 — Larry Gatlin, singer-songwriter who enjoyed mainstream success in the 1970s and 1980s.

May 18 — Joe Bonsall, member of the country-gospel group The Oak Ridge Boys (he's the first tenor).

June 3 — Fred LaBour, also known as Too Slim, member of Riders in the Sky.

September 26 — Olivia Newton-John, Australian-born pop vocalist who enjoyed major crossover success in country during the mid-1970s.

October 2 — Chris LeDoux, world champion bareback rider who sang about the rodeo circuit and cowboy life (died 2005).

November 6 — Glenn Frey, one of the founding members of country-rock band Eagles (died 2016).

December 7 — Gary Morris, country-pop singer of the 1980s.

December 25 — Barbara Mandrell, country-pop singer and multi-instrumentalist of the 1970s and 1980s; host of own television series.

Deaths

January 15 — Jack Guthrie, 32, folk-styled country singer best known for "Oklahoma Hills" (tuberculosis).

September 15 — Vernon Dalhart, 55, pioneering influence of the 1920s.