Various Artists - The Greatest Country Hits Of 1950 (CD)

This release continues the series which we re-established a couple of years ago and which comprises selected annual collections of the biggest US country hits of each year. This great value100-track 4-CD collection goes back to the start of the 1950s, when the relevant Billboard chart was called the Best Selling Retail Folk (Country & Western) Records, and apart from a few weeks at the start of the year, when there was a Top 15, was restricted to a published Top 10. The collection comprises many of the records which appeared in the chart during the year. Although there were many records which harked back to the styles of traditional hillbilly and western swing music, many of the artists featured were those who had established themselves during the late 1940s and would enjoy prolific hit-making careers during the '50s until the business changed significantly in the wake of the rock 'n' roll explosion. Artists like Hank Williams, Eddy Arnold, Red Foley, Ernest Tubb and Tennessee Ernie Ford are therefore well represented along with many artists whose musical legacy is less well-known these days, as well as pop artists like Margaret Whiting and Kay Starr making forays into the genre through duets with country stars, which makes it a fascinating snapshot of the business as a new decade dawned. With an in-depth 10,000+ word booklet with background notes on every record, it gives a solid overview of the most popular country music of the year.

Track List:

Disc: 1

1. Margaret Whiting ; Jimmy Wakely - Slipping Around
2. Mule Train (Tennessee Ernie Ford);
3. Anticipation Blues (Tennessee Ernie Ford);
4. C - H
5. I'll Never Slip Around Again (Margaret Whiting ; Jimmy Wakely);
6. Hank Williams - My Bucket's Got a Hole in It
7. Eddy Arnold - Will Santa Come to Shanty Town
8. Ernest Tubb - White Christmas
9. Gene Autry - Here Comes Santa Claus
10. Hank Williams - Lovesick Blues
11. Hank Thompson ; His Brazos Valley Boys - Whoa Sailor
12. Eddy Arnold - I'm Throwing Rice at the Girl I Love
13. Mervin Shiner - Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me
14. Cry Baby Heart (George Morgan);
15. George Morgan - I Love Everything About You
16. I Won't Go Hunting, Jake, But I'll Go Chasin' Women (Stuart Hamblen);
17. Red Foley - Sunday Down in Tennessee
18. I Gotta Have My Baby Back (Red Foley);
19. Leon Payne - I Love You Because
20. I Love You Because (Leon Payne);
21. I Gotta Have My Baby Back (Floyd Tillman);
22. Careless Kisses (Red Foley);
23. Bob Wills - Ida Red Likes the Boogie
24. Bonaparte's Retreat (Pee Wee King);

Disc: 2

1. Long Gone Lonesome Blues (Hank Williams);
2. Peter Cottontail (Jimmy Wakely);

Disc: 3

1. Ain't Nobody's Business But My Own (Kay Starr ; Tennessee Ernie Ford);

Disc: 4

1. Mona Lisa (Jimmy Wakely);
2. Cincinnati Dancing Pig (Red Foley);
3. Margaret Whiting ; Jimmy Wakely - a Bushel and a Peck
4. Bob Wills - Faded Love
5. Eddy Arnold - a Prison Without Walls
6. Hank Williams - Nobody's Lonesome for Me
7. Lefty Frizzell - If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time
8. Gene Autry - Rudolph the Red
9. Daddy's Last Letter (Tex Ritter);
10. A Bushel and a Peck (Margaret Whiting ; Jimmy Wakely);
11. Ernest Tubb - Blue Christmas
12. A Prison Without Walls (Eddy Arnold);
13. Nobody's Lonesome for Me (Hank Williams);
14. Hank Snow ; His Rainbow Ranch Boys - Golden Rocket
15. Lefty Frizzell - I Love You a Thousand Ways
16. Arkie Shibley ; His Mountain Dew Boys - Hot Rod Race
17. Moanin' the Blues (Hank Williams);
18. Frosty the Snowman (Gene Autry);
19. Blue Christmas (Ernest Tubb);
20. Shotgun Boogie (Tennessee Ernie Ford);
21. Mockingbird Hill (Pinetoppers);
22. Golden Rocket (Hank Snow ; His Rainbow Ranch Boys);
23. I Love You a Thousand Ways (Lefty Frizzell);
24. Hot Rod Race (Arkie Shibley ; His Mountain Dew Boys);
25. Tennessee Waltz (Patti Page)