Editing 1946 in music (section)

==Top popular records of 1946==
For each Year in Music (beginning 1940) and Year in Country Music (beginning 1939), a comprehensive Year End Top Records section can be found at mid-page (popular), and on the Country page.

The charts are compiled from data published by Billboard magazine, using their formulas, with slight modifications. Most important, there are no songs missing or truncated by Billboard's holiday deadline. Each year, records included enter the charts between the prior November and early December. Each week, fifteen points are awarded to the number one record, then nine points for number two, eight points for number three, and so on. This system rewards songs that reach the highest positions, as well as those that had the longest chart runs. This is our adjustment to Mr. Whitburn's formula, which places no. 1 records on top, then no 2 and so on, ordered by weeks at that position. This allows a record with 4 weeks at no. 1 that only lasted 6 weeks to be rated very high. Here, the total points of a song's complete chart run determines its position. Our chart has more songs, more weeks and may look nothing like Billboard's, but it comes from the exact same surveys. 

Before the [[Billboard Hot 100#History|Hot100]] was implemented in 1958, Billboard magazine measured a record's performance with three charts, 'Best-Selling Popular Retail Records', 'Records Most-Played On the Air' or 'Records Most Played By Disk Jockeys' and 'Most-Played Juke Box Records'. As Billboard did starting in the 1940s, the three totals for each song are combined, with that number determining the final year-end rank. For example, 1944's "[[A Hot Time in the Town of Berlin]]" by Bing and the Andrews Sisters finished at no. 19, despite six weeks at no. 1 on the 'Most-Played Juke Box Records'(JB) chart. It scored 126 points, to go with its Best-Selling chart (BS) total of 0. Martha Tilton's version of "I'll Walk Alone" peaked at no. 4 on the Juke Box chart, which only totalled 65 points, but her BS total was also 65, for a final total of 130, ranking no. 18. Examples like this can be found in "The Billboard" magazine up to 1958. The 'Records Most-Played On the Air' chart didn't begin until January 1945, which is why we only had two sub-totals.

Our rankings are based on Billboard data, but we also present info on recording and release dates, global sales totals, RIAA and BPI certifications and other awards. Rankings from other genres like '[[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs]]' or 'Most Played Juke Box Race Records', Country charts including 'Most Played Juke Box Folk (Hillbilly) Records', 'Cashbox magazine', and other sources are presented if they exist. We supplement our info with reliable data from the "[[Discography of American Historical Recordings]]" website, Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954<ref name=PopMemories>{{Cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |title=Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 |publisher=Record Research |year=1986}}</ref> and other sources as specified.

The following songs appeared in [[Billboard Hot 100#History|The Billboard's 'Best Selling Retail Records']], 'Records Most-Played On the Air' and 'Most Played Juke Box Records' charts, starting November 1945 and before December 1946.  
{| class="wikitable"
! Rank
! Artist
! Title
! Label
! Recorded
! Released
! Chart positions
|-
| 1 || [[Eddy Howard|Eddy Howard and His Orchestra]] || "[[To Each His Own (Jay Livingston and Ray Evans song)|To Each His Own]]"<ref>{{Cite web |title=MAJESTIC 78rpm numerical listing discography |url=https://www.78discography.com/Majestic.htm |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=www.78discography.com}}</ref> || Majestic 7188 || {{Start date|1946|4|16}} || {{Start date|1946|6}} || US Billboard 1946 #1, US #1 for 8 weeks, 24 total weeks, 576 points, CashBox #3, 1,000,000 sales<ref name=PopMemories />
|-
| 2 || [[The Ink Spots]] || "[[The Gypsy (1945 song)|The Gypsy]]"<ref name="adp.library.ucsb.edu">{{Cite web |title=Decca matrix 73387. The gypsy / Ink Spots – Discography of American Historical Recordings |url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000301604/73387-The_gypsy |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=adp.library.ucsb.edu}}</ref> || Decca 18817 || {{Start date|1946|2|19}} || {{Start date|1946|3}} || US Billboard 1946 #2, US #1 for 13 weeks, 23 total weeks, CashBox #1, US Most-Played Race Records 1945 #3, Race Records #1 for 3 weeks, 13 total weeks, 548 points, 1,000,000 sales<ref name=PopMemories />
|-
| 3 || [[Frankie Carle|Frankie Carle and his Orchestra]] (vocal by [[Marjorie Hughes]]) || "[[Rumors Are Flying]]"<ref name=Columbia370>{{Cite web |title=Columbia 78rpm numerical listing discography: 37000–37500 |url=https://www.78discography.com/COL37000.htm |access-date=2022-05-03 |website=www.78discography.com}}</ref> || Columbia 37069 || {{Start date|1946|6|20}} || {{Start date|1946|8|19}} || US Billboard 1946 #3, US #1 for 11 weeks, 28 total weeks, 477 points, CashBox #6, 1,000,000 sales<ref name=PopMemories/>
|-
| 4 || [[Frank Sinatra]] || "[[Five Minutes More]]"<ref name=Columbia370/> || Columbia 37048 || {{Start date|1946|5|28}} || {{Start date|1946|7|8}} || US Billboard 1946 #4, US #1 for 7 weeks, 19 total weeks, 453 points
|-
| 5 || [[Sammy Kaye|Swing and Sway With Sammy Kaye]] || "[[The Old Lamp-Lighter]]"<ref name=Victor150>{{Cite web |title=RCA Victor 78rpm numerical listing discography: 20-1500–20-2000 |url=https://www.78discography.com/RCA201500.htm |access-date=2022-05-03 |website=www.78discography.com}}</ref> || RCA Victor 20-1963 || {{Start date|1946|8|21}} || {{Start date|1946|9}} || US Billboard 1946 #5, US #1 for 8 weeks (Juke Box), 21 total weeks, 452 points, CashBox #8
|-
| 6 || Frankie Carle and his Orchestra (vocal by Marjorie Hughes || "[[Oh! What It Seemed to Be]]"<ref name=Columbia365>{{Cite web |title=Columbia 78rpm numerical listing discography: 36500–37000 |url=https://www.78discography.com/COL36500.htm |access-date=2022-05-03 |website=www.78discography.com}}</ref> || Columbia 36892 || {{Start date|1945|10|15}} || {{Start date|1945|12|17}} || US Billboard 1946 #6, US #1 for 11 weeks (Juke Box), 20 total weeks, 436 points, CashBox #5
|-
| 7 || [[Perry Como]] || "[[Prisoner of Love (Russ Columbo song)|Prisoner of Love]]"<ref name=Victor150/> || RCA Victor 20-1814 || {{Start date|1945|12|18}} || {{Start date|1946|3}} || US Billboard 1946 #7, US #1 for 3 weeks, 20 total weeks, 429 points, 1,000,000 sales<ref name=PopMemories />
|-
| 8 || [[Dinah Shore]] || "The Gypsy"<ref name=Columbia365/> || Columbia 36964 || {{Start date|1946|2|12}} || {{Start date|1946|3|25}} || US Billboard 1946 #8, US #1 for 8 weeks, 17 total weeks, 358 points, CashBox #2, Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, 1,000,000 sales<ref name=PopMemories />
|-
| 9 || [[Vaughn Monroe|Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra]] || "[[Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!]]"<ref name=Victor150/> || Victor 20-1759 || {{Start date|1945|10|31}} || {{Start date|1945|11}} || US Billboard 1946 #9, US #1 for 6 weeks, 16 total weeks, 349 points
|-
| 10 || [[Nat King Cole|King Cole Trio]] || "[[(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons]]"<ref name=Capitol/> || Capitol 304 || {{Start date|1946|8|22}} || {{Start date|1946|9|30}} || US Billboard 1946 #10, US #1 for 7 weeks, 16 total weeks, CashBox #1, US Most-Played Race Records 1945 #20, Race Records #3 for 2 weeks, 8 total weeks, 293 points, Grammy Hall of Fame 2018, 1,000,000 sales<ref name=PopMemories />
|-
| 11 || [[Betty Hutton]] || "[[Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief]]"<ref name=Capitol>{{Cite web |title=Capitol 100–499, 78rpm numerical listing discography |url=https://www.78discography.com/Capitol100.htm |access-date=2022-04-14 |website=www.78discography.com}}</ref> || Capitol 220 || {{Start date|1945|6|29}} || {{Start date|1945|11}} || US Billboard 1946 #10, US #1 for 1 week, 22 total weeks, 299 points
|-
| 12 || Frank Sinatra || "Oh! What It Seemed to Be"<ref name=Columbia365/> || Columbia 36905 || {{Start date|1945|11|19}} || {{Start date|1946|1|14}} || US Billboard 1946 #11, US #1 for 8 weeks, 28 total weeks, 295 points, CashBox #7
|-
| 13 || [[Freddy Martin|Freddy Martin and His Orchestra]] || "Symphony"<ref name=Victor150/> || Victor 20-1747 || {{Start date|1945|10|2}} || {{Start date|1945|11}} || US BB 1945 #12, US #1 for 2 weeks, 13 total weeks
|-
| 14 || [[Johnny Mercer]] and [[The Pied Pipers]] || "[[Personality (Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke song)|Personality]]"<ref name=Capitol/> || Capitol 230 || {{Start date|1945|10|1}} || {{Start date|1945|12}} || US Billboard 1946 #13, US #1 for 1 weeks, 17 total weeks, 289 points, Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998
|-
| 15 || [[Freddy Martin|Freddy Martin and His Orchestra]] || "To Each His Own"<ref name=Victor150/> || RCA Victor 20-1921 || {{Start date|1946}} || {{Start date|1946|7}} || US Billboard 1946 #14, US #1 for 2 weeks, 16 total weeks, 255 points, CashBox #4
|-
| 16 || [[Kay Kyser|Kay Kyser and His Orchestra]] || "[[Ole Buttermilk Sky]]"<ref name=Columbia370/> || Columbia 37073 || {{Start date|1946|6|15}} || {{Start date|1946|8|26}} ||US Billboard 1946 #15, US #1 for 7 weeks, 16 total weeks, 253 points
|-
| 17 || Perry Como || "[[Surrender (Perry Como song)|Surrender]]"<ref name=Victor150/> || RCA Victor 20-1877 || {{Start date|1946|4|2}} || {{Start date|1946|6}} || US Billboard 1946 #16, US #1 for 9 weeks, 17 total weeks, 250 points
|-
| 18 || [[Bing Crosby]] and [[The Andrews Sisters]] || "South America, Take It Away"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Decca matrix L 4178. South America, take it away / The Andrews Sisters; Bing Crosby – Discography of American Historical Recordings |url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000270601/L_4178-South_America_take_it_away |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=adp.library.ucsb.edu}}</ref> || Decca 23569 || {{Start date|1946|5|11}} || {{Start date|1946|6}} || US Billboard 1946 #18, US #2 for 13 weeks, 17 total weeks, 213 points, 1,000,000 sales<ref name="Decca Records 20th Anniversary">{{Cite journal |date=August 28, 1954 |title=Decca Records 20th Anniversary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=liEEAAAAMBAJ&dq=decca+vocalion+brunswick+1941&pg=PA14 |journal=The Billboard |pages=46}}</ref>
|-
| 19 || Hoagy Carmichael and Orchestra || "Ole Buttermilk Sky"<ref>{{Cite web |title=ARA 78rpm numerical listing discography: 100 series |url=https://www.78discography.com/ARA100.htm |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=www.78discography.com}}</ref> || ARA 155 || {{Start date|1946|4|2}} || {{Start date|1946|6}} || US Billboard 1946 #19, US #1 for 1 weeks, 17 total weeks, 182 points, Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998
|-
| 20 || Dinah Shore || "[[Doin' What Comes Natur'lly]]"<ref name=Columbia365/> || Columbia 36976 || {{Start date|1946|3|16}} || {{Start date|1946|4|29}} || US Billboard 1946 #20, US #3 for 1 weeks, 17 total weeks, 159 points, CashBox #3
|-
| 21 || Dinah Shore || "[[Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside)]]"<ref name=Columbia365/> || Columbia 36964 || {{Start date|1946|2|12}} || {{Start date|1946|3|25}} || US Billboard 1946 #21, US #3 for 1 weeks, 17 total weeks, 158 points, CashBox #3
|-
| 22 || Kay Kyser and His Orchestra || "The Old Lamp-Lighter"<ref name=Columbia370/> || Columbia 37095 || {{Start date|1946|7|18}} || {{Start date|1946|10|14}} || US Billboard 1946 #22, US #1 for 7 weeks, 16 total weeks, 143 points, CashBox #9
|-
| 23 || Swing and Sway With Sammy Kaye || "[[I'm a Big Girl Now (song)|I'm A Big Girl Now]]"<ref name=Victor150/> || RCA Victor 20-1812 || {{Start date|1945|12|22}} || {{Start date|1946|2}} || US Billboard 1946 #23, US #1 for 1 week, 18 total weeks, 141 points, CashBox #6, 1,000,000 sales<ref name=PopMemories />
|}