1942 in country music - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1942.

Events

August 1 — The American Federation of Musicians
American Federation of Musicians
The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada is a labor union of professional musicians in the United States and Canada...

authorizes a ban on recording by bands following a dispute over musicians' royalties; many country and popular music singers opt to continue recording without musical backing. The strike - which came to be known as the Petrillo ban - lingers into 1943.
October 3 — Acuff-Rose Music
Acuff-Rose Music
Acuff-Rose Music was an American music publishing firm formed by Roy Acuff and Fred Rose in Nashville, Tennessee. Acuff-Rose's honest behavior towards their writers set them apart from other music publishing firms at the time and lead them to fame throughout the 50's, 60's, 70's.-History:Acuff-Rose...

is formed. Fred Rose
Fred Rose (musician)
Fred Rose was an American Hall of Fame songwriter and music publishing executive.-Biography:Born in Evansville, Indiana, Fred Rose started playing piano and singing as a small boy. In his teens, he moved to Chicago, Illinois where he worked in bars busking for tips, and finally vaudeville...

is the chief of creative activities, while Mildred Acuff takes care of business matters.

Top hits of the year

"1942 Turkey in the Straw" - Carson Robison
Carson Robison
Carson Jay Robison was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although his impact is generally forgotten today, he played a major role in promoting country music in its early years through numerous recordings and radio appearances. He was also known as Charles Robison and sometimes...
"Cherokee Maiden
Cherokee Maiden
"Cherokee Maiden" is a Western swing love song written by Cindy Walker. The title comes from a refrain in the chorus:Merle Haggard recorded "Cherokee Maiden" in 1976 . It spent 11 weeks on the charts, reaching #1....

"- Bob Wills
Bob Wills
James Robert Wills , better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western Swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western Swing and universally known as the pioneering King of Western Swing.Bob Wills' name will forever be associated with...
"Deep in the Heart of Texas
Deep in the Heart of Texas
"Deep in the Heart of Texas" is an American popular song elaborating on the merits of the state of Texas.The 1941 song features lyrics by June Hershey and music by Don Swander. The song was recorded by Perry Como with Ted Weems and His Orchestra on December 9 of that year for Decca Records in Los...

"- Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
"Deep in the Heart of Texas" - Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
"Fireball Mail" - Roy Acuff
Roy Acuff
Roy Claxton Acuff was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the King of Country Music, Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown" format to the star singer-based format that helped make it internationally successful.Acuff...
"Goodbye Mama I'm Off To Yokohama" - Teddy Powell
"The Honey Song" - Louise Massey and the Westerners
"I Ain't Honky Tonkin Anymore"- Ernest Tubb
Ernest Tubb
Ernest Dale Tubb , nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" , marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music...
"I'm A Prisoner Of War"- Johnny Bond
Johnny Bond
Cyrus Whitfield Bond , known professionally as Johnny Bond, was a popular American country music entertainer of the 1940s through the 1960s.-Biography:...
"Jingle Jangle Jingle
Jingle Jangle Jingle
Jingle Jangle Jingle is a song written by Joseph J. Lilley and Frank Loesser, and published in 1942. It was featured in the film The Forest Rangers, in which it was sung by Dick Thomas....

" - Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
"I'll Always Be Glad To Take You Back"-[Ernest Tubb]
"My Life's Been a Pleasure" - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
Bob Wills
James Robert Wills , better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western Swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western Swing and universally known as the pioneering King of Western Swing.Bob Wills' name will forever be associated with...
"Mussolini's Letter to Hitler" - Carson Robison
Carson Robison
Carson Jay Robison was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although his impact is generally forgotten today, he played a major role in promoting country music in its early years through numerous recordings and radio appearances. He was also known as Charles Robison and sometimes...
"Please Don't Leave Me" - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
Bob Wills
James Robert Wills , better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western Swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western Swing and universally known as the pioneering King of Western Swing.Bob Wills' name will forever be associated with...
"Remember Pearl Harbor"- Carson Robinson
"Ten Years" - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
Bob Wills
James Robert Wills , better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western Swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western Swing and universally known as the pioneering King of Western Swing.Bob Wills' name will forever be associated with...
"There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere
There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere
"There's A Star-Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere" is a patriotic anthem written in 1942 by Paul Roberts and Shelby Darnell . The song was written during World War II and was enjoyed its greatest popularity during the war years. The somewhere in the title of the song refers to an idealistic version...

" - Elton Britt
Elton Britt
Elton Britt , born James Elton Baker, was a country music guitarist and singer-songwriter.-Biography:Elton Britt was born in Searcy County, Arkansas...
"We're Gonna Slap The Dirty Little Jap"- Carson Robinson
"Wreck on the Highway" - Roy Acuff
Roy Acuff
Roy Claxton Acuff was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the King of Country Music, Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown" format to the star singer-based format that helped make it internationally successful.Acuff...
"Dusty Skies"-[Bob Wills]
"Live And Let Live"- Jimmie Davis
Jimmie Davis
James Houston Davis , better known as Jimmie Davis, was a noted singer of both sacred and popular songs who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 47th Governor of Louisiana...
"When The World Has Turned You Down"-[Ernest Tubb]
"First Year Blues"-[Ernest Tubb]
"Pins And Needles"-(Bob Atcher)
"You Brought Sorrow To My Heart"-[Johnny Bond]
"Modern Cannonball"-[Denver Darling]
"Sorrow On My Mind"- Bob Atcher
Bob Atcher
James Robert Owen "Bob" Atcher was an American country musician.-Biography:Atcher was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, and learned violin and guitar from his father, who was adept at fiddle. He started out on radio in Louisville on WHAS, and was offered spots on a number of other stations in the...
"Don't Make Me Go To Bed And I'll Be Good"- (Bob Atcher
Bob Atcher
James Robert Owen "Bob" Atcher was an American country musician.-Biography:Atcher was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, and learned violin and guitar from his father, who was adept at fiddle. He started out on radio in Louisville on WHAS, and was offered spots on a number of other stations in the...

and Bonnie Blue Eyes]
"I Dreamed Of An Old Love Affair"-[Jimmie Davis]
"I Know What It's Like To Be Lonely"-[Ernest Tubb]
"Tweedle-O-Twill" - [Gene Autry]
"You Nearly Lose Your Mind"- (Ernest Tubb)
"Rainbow On The Rio Colorado"- (Gene Autry)
"Jingle Jangle Jingle"- (Tex Ritter)
"End Of The World" -(Jimmie Davis)
"Fort Worth Jail"- (Jimmy Wakely)
"Modern Cannonball"- (Denver Darling)
"When my Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again"-(Zeke Manners)
"She Gave Her Heart To A Soldier Boy"- (Roy Rogers)
"Meet Me Down In Honky Tonk Town"-(Al Dexter)
"I Hung My Head And Cried"- (Elton Britt)
"She's A Dum Dum Dinger"- (Buddy Jones)
"I Hang My Head And Cry"- (Gene Autry)

Births

January 21 — Mac Davis
Mac Davis
Mac Davis is a country music singer, songwriter, and actor originally from Lubbock, Texas who has enjoyed much crossover success...

, singer-songwriter who rose to prominence in the 1970s.
March 15 — Wayland Holyfield
Wayland Holyfield
Wayland D. Holyfield, , is a prominent American songwriter and leader in the songwriting community.-Early life:Wayland Holyfield was born in Mallettown, Arkansas. He was educated in Arkansas public schools and attended Hendrix College at Conway, Arkansas before graduating from the University of...

, songwriter whose compositions were popular during the 1970s and 1980s.
May 5 — Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette
Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....

, "The First Lady of Country Music" (d. 1998).
May 15 — K. T. Oslin
K. T. Oslin
Kay Toinette "K. T." Oslin is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is known for a series of top-ten country hits during the late 1980s and early 1990s, four of which topped the chart.-Early life and career:...

, singer who rose to fame during the 1980s, after she had reached her mid-40s.
August 7 — B.J. Thomas
B. J. Thomas
Billy Joe "B. J." Thomas is an American popular singer known for his chart-topping hits in the 1960s and 1970s—appearing on the pop, adult contemporary, country and Hot 100 charts.-Career:...

, pop-styled vocalist of the 1970s and 1980s.
September 6 — Mel McDaniel
Mel McDaniel
Mel McDaniel was an American country music artist. His chart making years were mainly the 1980s and his hits from that era include "Louisiana Saturday Night", "Big Ole Brew", "Stand Up", the Number One "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On", "I Call It Love", "Stand on It", and a remake of Chuck Berry's...

, honky tonk-styled singer of the 1980s.
October 27 — Lee Greenwood
Lee Greenwood
Melvin Lee Greenwood is an American country music artist. Active since the early 1980s, he has released more than twenty major-label albums and has charted more than 35 singles on the Billboard country music charts....

, singer-songwriter of the 1980s, best known for the patriotic anthem "God Bless the USA
God Bless the USA
"God Bless the USA" is an American patriotic song written and recorded by country musician Lee Greenwood. The first Greenwood album it appears on is 1984's You've Got a Good Love Comin'. It reached No...

."

Events

Top hits of the year

Births

Further reading