Billboard Charts 1926 to 2025 - Most Successful Artists

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Billboard first published a list called "Last Week's Ten Best Sellers Among the Popular Songs" in July 1913. Since then many of Billboard's lists have appeared on the internet and I have collected all Billboard Songs (and Albums) charts since 1945 to the present.

Joel Whitburn made a career of collating Billboard and other American popular music charts. He published many books on early and late 20th century popular music based on these charts. I have used one of his books to merge Songs charts from 1926 to 1944 with the data I have collected from 1945 to the present.

Here is a definitive listing of the most successful recording artists over the last 100 years, from 1926 to 2025.



1926 George Olsen & His Orchestra

George Olsen was a popular band leader who had his first hit in 1925 and in 1926 was the most successful artist in America. His wife, Ethel Shurra, was often the lead vocalist. They played in several hit Broadway musicals, such as Sunny, and scored hits until 1945.

Their biggest hit of 1926 "Who?" was from the musical, Sunny. It was their second ever release and the second biggest hit of their career.

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1927 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

The most popular bandleader of the pre-swing era, Paul Whiteman, played violin in the Denver and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestras before forming his band in 1919. Almost immediately after the blockbuster debut hit, "Whispering", the Whiteman band become the dominant force in American popular recording with a profusion of hits.

In 1924, Whiteman commissioned and premiered George Gershwin's classic, "Rhapsody In Blue".

Paul Whiteman was the most successful artist in 1927 and significantly more successful than George Olsen had been the year before.

Between 1926-1927, Paul Whiteman was easily the most popular recording artist. He nurtured and introduced young unknowns, like Bing Crosby and Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, on his hits during this period.

His biggest hit during 1927, "In A Little Spanish Town", was with his regular band only.





1926 - 1927

1 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

2 George Olsen & His Orchestra

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1928 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

Who could be more successful than Paul Whiteman was in 1927? Only Paul Whiteman in 1928 with 30 charting songs, 12 more than he had the year before. The biggest of which was "My Angel".




Gene Austen was the most popular singer of the late 1920's and the 2nd most popular recording artist of the period 1926-1928.

His recording of "My Blue Heaven" was his biggest hit of this period. It sold over five million copies and was the 2nd biggest non-holiday record seller of the entire pre-1955 era.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tT4BoEh5gA



1926 - 1928

1 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

2 Gene Austin

3 George Olsen & His Orchestra

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1929 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees

Rudy Vallee was the most successful artist of 1929 and it was only the first year of his charting career. He was a sensationally successful bandleader and singer over the depression era.

His biggest of many hits in 1929 was "Honey".




Nat Shilkret was originally a classical clarinetist who served as Victor's director of Light Music and was the 3rd most successful artist over the period 1926-1929 during which his biggest hit was "You Were Meant For Me".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRE51IyY6fY


No other bandleader made more recordings than Ben Selvin did during 1919-1934. During 1926-1929, Ben was the 4th most successful artist. His biggest hit of the period was "I Can't Give You Anything But Love".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AKeVshTXTQ



1926 - 1929

1 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

2 Gene Austin

3 Nat Shilkret & The Victor Orchestra

4 Ben Selvin & His Orchestra

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1930 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians

Guy Lombardo is the only bandleader who ever sold over 100 million records. He with his brother Carmen, who was lead saxophonist and singer, formed their band in 1925 and had their first hit in 1927. By 1930 they had become the most successful recording artists in America.

Their biggest hit of 1930 was "You're Driving Me Crazy! (What Did I Do?)".




Ben Selvin meanwhile rose to become the 3rd most successful artist of this period. He had many hits in 1930 and collaborated widely. His biggest hit of the year "When It's Springtime In The Rockies", was with a young and talented trombonist by the name of Tommy Dorsey.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nqi3gruesM


George Olsen was only midway through his recording career and still the 5th most successful artist of this period. Since 1926 his biggest success was the number 1 hit from 1927 "At Sundown (When Love Is Calling Me Home)".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh0ipOWgUhA



1926 - 1930

1 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

2 Gene Austin

3 Ben Selvin & His Orchestra

4 Nat Shilkret & The Victor Orchestra

5 George Olsen & His Orchestra

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1931 Bing Crosby

Harry Lillis Crosby was the most popular entertainer of the first half of the 20th century. He was hired to sing for Paul Whiteman's band where he gained a following, but split in 1930. By 1931, Bing was scoring many solo hits and was already the most successful artist in America for the year, and he enjoyed more success that year than any artist since Paul Whiteman did in 1928.

His biggest hit of the year, and only his 4th solo release was "Just One More Chance".




Guy Lombardo rose to become the 4th most successful artist over the period 1926-1931. The hits kept coming, like "By The River, St. Marie", the biggest of his three number 1 hits of the year.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=juUr20hGZLk


Ruth Etting was one of Broadway's greatest torch singers. She started in Chicago nightclubs and became a star through the "Ziegfeld Follies of 1927". Her recording career started in 1926 and by 1931 she was the 6th most successful artist and most successful female artist of the period.

Her biggest hit during this period was her trademark song "Love Me Or Leave Me", which reached number 2 in 1929.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eSveiHt8jI



1926 - 1931

1 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

2 Gene Austin

3 Ben Selvin & His Orchestra

4 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians

5 Nat Shilkret & The Victor Orchestra

6 Ruth Etting

[jdanton2]

very interesting list . some of these names i have never heard of but others like Bing Crosby and Paul Whiteman i have . also Guy Lombardo continued to have success as host of the biggest New Years Eve TV show until his death in the 70's.

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Sept 8, 2024 5:53:45 GMT -5 jdanton2 said:

... also Guy Lombardo continued to have success as host of the biggest New Years Eve TV show until his death in the 70's ...

Yes. I read that too. I have learned a lot about these artists since I started this project.

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1932 Bing Crosby

Bing was again the most successful artist in 1932. He matched Paul Whiteman's achievement of leading the charts for 2 years in a row and so had established himself as a major artist and the 5th most successful in the period 1926-1932.

By far his biggest hit of 1932 was "Please", a number 1 hit that led the charts for 6 weeks.




Guy Lombardo also had a great year and became the 2nd most successful artist over the period. His number 1 hit "Paradise", was his biggest of the year.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_CnWgvdY70


Ted Lewis was a colorful and long popular bandleader since 1920. By 1932 he had achieved enough success to be 6th overall of this period, partly because he had his biggest hit of this period during the year.

"In A Shanty In Old Shanty Town" was number 1 for 10 weeks in 1932.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmtkUTDpQL8


Rudy Vallee was not to be forgotten. He continued to have hits since his best year in 1929, like his huge 1930 hit that spent 10 weeks at number 1, "Stein Song (University Of Maine)". He accumulated enough success by 1932 to be 7th most successful artist over this period.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6CIDved-bY



1926 - 1932

1 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

2 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians

3 Gene Austin

4 Ben Selvin & His Orchestra

5 Bing Crosby

6 Ted Lewis & His Band

7 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees

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1933 Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby surpassed his mentor, Paul Whiteman, in 1933, when he became the first artist to lead the charts for 3 years in a row. Bing Crosby was now the 3rd most successful artist of the period 1926-1933.

Bing's biggest hit in 1933 was a collaboration with Guy Lombardo called "You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me".




Ted Lewis rose to become the 4th most successful artist over this period. His biggest hit of the year was "Lazybones".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvrOKKQDTu4


George Olsen re-entered the most successful list of artists at 6th position, thanks mostly to having his biggest hit of his career "The Last Round-Up" in 1933. The last song he released that reached number 1.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=A828KJT31h4


Rudy Vallee remained at 7th position by overtaking Ben Selvin in 1933 by releasing a number of moderate hits. The biggest of which was "The Shadow Waltz".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6sFJv3-3sQ



1926 - 1933

1 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

2 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians

3 Bing Crosby

4 Ted Lewis & His Band

5 Gene Austin

6 George Olsen & His Orchestra

7 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees

8 Ben Selvin & His Orchestra

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1934 Bing Crosby

Bing had a great year again in 1934. He had dominated the charts for 4 years in a row and was almost as successful this year as he was in his best year of 1931. He was now the 2nd most successful artist of the period and clearly challenging Paul Whiteman for the title.

Bing had the 3rd biggest hit of his career to date in 1934. A song called "Love In Bloom".




Rudy Vallee had many more moderate hits in 1934 like "Orchids In The Moonlight", and twice the success he had the previous year. He quickly rose to 4th position overall during the period 1926-1934.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2jlh3TRPaY


Ben Selvin also rose to 6th position overall in 1934. His 1934 number 2 hit "I Only Have Eyes For You", was his biggest success since 1931, but it was also the second last release of his career to chart.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYWNldhpIKk


Leo Reisman was a violinist and bandleader with a long career from 1921 to 1941. He introduced future stars such as Eddy Duchin on piano and accompanied Fred Astaire on his biggest hits.

By 1934, Leo rose to become the 8th most successful artist of the period 1926-1934. His biggest hit of this period was the blockbuster "Night And Day" with Fred Astaire, which was number 1 for 10 weeks in 1932.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBWQqzkHjn4

1926 - 1934

1 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

2 Bing Crosby

3 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians

4 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees

5 Ted Lewis & His Band

6 Ben Selvin & His Orchestra

7 Gene Austin

8 Leo Reisman & His Orchestra

9 George Olsen & His Orchestra

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1935 Dorsey Brothers Orchestra (& Tommy Dorsey)

Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey were two of the hottest session musicians in America during the period 1928-1933. They formed a permanent band in 1934 with arrangements by Glenn Miller, but they split soon after in 1935, and each found individual glory with their own orchestras.

In 1935, the Dorsey Brothers but Tommy in particular, one of the greatest trombonists in jazz history, had the most successful year of any artist since, and almost equaling, Paul Whiteman from 1928.

The biggest hit by the brothers in 1935 was Tommy's first solo release "On Treasure Island".




But the big news of 1935 was the changing of the guard when Bing Crosby finally surpassed the success of his mentor Paul Whiteman and became the most successful artist of this period. He achieved this feat by releasing number 1 hits like "Soon" in 1935.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk4ODUGa3o8


Leo Reisman had many hits in 1935 and rose to become the 5th most successful artist overall. But his biggest hit of the year, and of his career to date, was far and away another collaboration with Fred Astaire. A song called "Cheek To Cheek".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvLNN6NQnrI


Ray Noble led the most popular and acclaimed British Band of the 1930's. He found success as early as 1931 and by 1935 was the 10th most successful artist of this period. He went on to record hits for Fred Astaire, and with Glenn Miller. Glenn Miller assembled a top-flight U.S. orchestra for Ray, filled with great musicians, that extended Ray's career until 1949.

By 1935, Ray's biggest hit to date was in 1933 with "The Old Spinning Wheel".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkypcZua3-E



1926 - 1935

1 Bing Crosby

2 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

3 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians

4 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees

5 Leo Reisman & His Orchestra

6 Ted Lewis & His Band

7 Ben Selvin & His Orchestra

8 Gene Austin

9 George Olsen & His Orchestra

10 Ray Noble & His Orchestra

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1936 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra

Benny Goodman was a professional clarinetist from the age of 16 who spent many years of busy studio work before finally have two minor hits in 1931 and 1933. But he formed his band in 1934 and by 1936 he hit big. The Swing Era had been launched.

Benny dominated the charts in 1936 and he had already become the 8th most successful artist of this period, with a series of chart-toppers, the biggest of which was "The Glory Of Love" in 1936.



Guy Lombardo was still a hugely successful artist and a had a great year in 1936 with a major number 1 hit like "When Did You Leave Heaven?". He was now the 2nd most successful artist only behind Bing Crosby.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvPkADln20o


And Leo Reisman rose to 4th position overall replacing Rudy Vallee, by releasing some moderate hits in 1936 like the number 7 hit "It's De-Lovely".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wufWrSYFWao


But Tommy Dorsey was a major rising star. His orchestra had quickly risen to be 6th most successful overall, with more huge hits that year, like "Alone". The biggest hit of his career to date.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hMtKIsZdms

The rise of Tommy Dorsey also over-shadowed his sometime collaborator Ben Selvin, whose success was now re-calculated to below that of Gene Austen and George Olsen.


Eddie Duchin was a famous pianist and bandleader who started his career working with Leo Reisman but formed his own band and started scoring hits in 1932.

In 1936 he was enjoying more success than Leo, and became the 7th most successful artist of the period. His biggest hit of this period was "Lovely To Look At" from 1935.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-9Xum70LmE



1926 - 1936

1 Bing Crosby

2 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians

3 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

4 Leo Reisman & His Orchestra

5 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees

6 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra

7 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra

8 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra

9 Ted Lewis & His Band

10 Gene Austin

11 George Olsen & His Orchestra

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1937 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra

Tommy was very successful in 1937. More successful than any other artist in any year between 1926 and 1937. By year's end, he became the 3rd most successful artist of this period.

Tommy Dorsey had multiple number 1 hits during the year. The biggest of which was "The Dipsy Doodle".




Rudy Vallee was still scoring number 1 hits in 1937 like "Vieni, Vieni", and overtook Leo Resiman to remain 5th place overall.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3Ikvv-Zs7w


Benny Goodman kept scoring number 1 hits in 1937 like "Goodnight, My Love" with Ella Fitzgerald on vocals. Benny rose that year to become the 6th most successful artist overall.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDDNnRefLBY


Eddie Duchin continued to out-perform Leo Reisman. In 1937 he proved to be the more successful artist and rose to 7th place overall, with hits like "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" which reached number 2 on the charts.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBgAHK36sx4


Ray Noble had an under-whelming 1936 but returned in 1937 with number 1 hits like "Nice Work If You Can Get It" which he performed with Fred Astaire. Ray had risen to 9th position overall, a career high to date.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEPfQVMZoEE



1926 - 1937

1 Bing Crosby

2 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians

3 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra

4 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

5 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees

6 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra

7 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra

8 Leo Reisman & His Orchestra

9 Ray Noble & His Orchestra

10 Ted Lewis & His Band

11 Gene Austin

12 George Olsen & His Orchestra

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1938 Larry Clinton & His Orchestra

Larry Clinton was a composer and arranger for both Dorsey brothers but formed his own band in 1937 and by 1938 was the most successful artist of the year.

His biggest hit of the year was "My Reverie". A number 1 hit for 8 weeks.




Benny Goodman replaced Rudy Vallee to be 5th overall with more number 1 hits like "Don't Be That Way".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQYl93Ke1FQ


And Eddy Duchin overtook Rudy Vallee to 6th position with a number 2 hit "Ol' Man Mose".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvHsoApvLJ8


Meanwhile Ray Noble rose to 8th position with more hits like "I Hadn't Anyone Till You" which reached number 4 on the charts.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko3MsRP19-k


Thomas "Fats" Waller worked as a piano and organ accompanist during the 1920's until his first big break collaborating on Broadway musical scores. In 1934 he burst through as one of America's most popular entertainers. By 1938 he was the 13th most successful overall. His biggest hit from this period was in 1935, a number 1 hit called "Truckin'".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNPX6GM8DGE



1926 - 1938

1 Bing Crosby

2 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians

3 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra

4 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

5 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra

6 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra

7 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees

8 Ray Noble & His Orchestra

9 Leo Reisman & His Orchestra

10 Ted Lewis & His Band

11 Gene Austin

12 George Olsen & His Orchestra

13 Fats Waller

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1939 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra

Then there was Glenn Miller, the leader of the most universally loved of the big bands. He played trombone for Benny Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers and became the de facto leader of Ray Noble's 1935 American band.

Then he started his own band in 1937 and it failed. He started another band in 1938 which also failed. But in 1939, Glenn developed his trademark reed sound (four saxophones and clarinet) and soared to the top.

In 1939, Glenn Miller was more successful than anyone had ever been in a single year during this period. His biggest hit of the year was a little song that was number 1 for 12 weeks, called "In The Mood".

But unfortunately for Glenn, he was not amongst the most successful artists of the period 1926-1939, yet.




The hits did not stop coming for Tommy Dorsey. He rose to 2nd position in 1939 and was the only artist that could challenge Bing Crosby.

Tommy Dorsey had three number 1's and many other hits since 1937. His biggest hit over those two years was "Music, Maestro, Please" from 1938.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9mHlXjJNac


Hal Kemp became the 12th most successful artist of the period in 1939. His orchestra had been releasing hits since 1930 and had a few number 1 hits over that time, like his biggest, "Where Or When" from 1937.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycHmnv5XXI0



1926 - 1939

1 Bing Crosby

2 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra

3 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians

4 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

5 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra

6 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra

7 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees

8 Ray Noble & His Orchestra

9 Leo Reisman & His Orchestra

10 Ted Lewis & His Band

11 Gene Austin

12 Hal Kemp & His Orchestra

13 George Olsen & His Orchestra

14 Fats Waller

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1940 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra

America had never seen an artist dominate the charts over this period, like Glenn Miller did in 1940, when he was significantly more successful than even he was the year before. He was now easily the 4th most successful artist of this period.

Glenn scored multiple number 1 hits in 1940, like "Tuxedo Junction" which led the charts for 9 of the phenomenal total of 31 weeks, over which Glenn's hits sat on top of the charts.




Benny Goodman scored two number 1 hits since 1938, of which "And The Angels Sing" released in 1939 was the biggest. By the end of 1940, Benny Goodman surpassed Paul Whiteman to remain the 5th most successful artist of this period.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hKwEf-rSZs


Leo Reisman managed to remain in 9th position by over-taking Ray Noble, with moderate hits that year like "Down Argentina Way".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=phTpkb1re0c


Hal Kemp only had one hit in 1940. "The Little Red Fox" achieved very little. It only reached number 14 on the charts, but it was enough for Hal to over-take Gene Austin and remain the 12th most successful artist of this period.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4llyqoy8RE


And Fats Waller only had 1 hit during 1940 as well. "Little Curly Hair In A High Chair" did better though than "The Little Red Fox". It reached number 6 on the charts and Fats was able to overtake George Olsen and retain 14th place.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRS9ARvXcMU



1926 - 1940

1 Bing Crosby

2 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra

3 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians

4 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra

5 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra

6 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

7 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra

8 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees

9 Leo Reisman & His Orchestra

10 Ray Noble & His Orchestra

11 Ted Lewis & His Band

12 Hal Kemp & His Orchestra

13 Gene Austin

14 Fats Waller

15 George Olsen & His Orchestra

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1941 Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra

Only the Dorsey brothers could challenge Glenn Miller in the early 1940's. Their combined success in 1939 and 1940 was 2nd only to Glenn, but in 1941 it was Jimmy's turn to shine when he achieved not only more success than his brother, but also Glenn. Jimmy was not as successful as Glenn was in 1939 or 1940, but he must have been pleased to surpass the success Tommy enjoyed in 1937.

Jimmy had vast skills on the alto saxophone and clarinet. He had been a coveted session musician like his brother and he collaborated widely with artists like Ted Lewis and Ben Selvin. In 1941, Jimmy proved to be a greater success than Ted Lewis and rose to 8th position overall. This re-calculation saw Ted Lewis fall from the Top 15 and Hal Kemp, Fats Waller, Gene Austen and George Olsen benefited as their positions amongst the most successful were higher than they otherwise would have been.

The success of the Dorsey brothers during this period should not be under-estimated. Tommy was 2nd only to the colossal Bing Crosby, but hypothetically, if the Dorsey brothers had never split up, their combined success would have been much greater than Bing's.

Jimmy had 7 number 1 hits in 1941, the biggest of which was "Green Eyes".




Fats Waller overtook Gene Austen to reach 13th place in 1941. He only had one hit during 1941. "Come And Get It" only reached number 22 on the charts and it was one of the last hits of his career,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=svnvuXIe-Mk



1926 - 1941

1 Bing Crosby

2 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra

3 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians

4 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra

5 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra

6 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

7 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra

8 Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra

9 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees

10 Leo Reisman & His Orchestra

11 Ray Noble & His Orchestra

12 Hal Kemp & His Orchestra

13 Fats Waller

14 Gene Austin

15 George Olsen & His Orchestra

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1942 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra

But Glenn Miller easily beat the combined success of the Dorsey brothers in 1942. Glenn was now the 3rd most successful artist of this period only behind Tommy Dorsey and of course Bing Crosby.

At his peak and after 4 years of extraordinary popularity, Glenn chose to enlist in the Army Air Force in 1942. He formed the war's most popular service band, but on a flight on the 15th of Dec 1944, his plane was lost over the English Channel. Glenn Miller's superlative career had been cut short.

In 1942, Glenn had many more number 1 hits like "Moonlight Cocktail" which topped the charts for 10 weeks.




Jimmy Dorsey's success continued and he was now the 6th most successful artist in his own right, with number 1 hits like "Tangerine".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yt8v3hdBY4


Kay Kyser started scoring hits with his band in 1935 and after consistent success he became the 10th most successful artist of this period in 1942, the year he released his biggest hit to date "Who Wouldn't Love You".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbpFqotX5PE


Ray Noble had only one hit in 1942. "By The Light Of The Silv'ry Moon" only reached number 12 on the charts, but it was his biggest hit since 1938 and Ray had now surpassed Leo Reisman to remain 11th of all artists over this period.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zuVQa_U91o



1926 - 1942

1 Bing Crosby

2 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra

3 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra

4 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians

5 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra

6 Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra

7 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

8 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra

9 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees

10 Kay Kyser & His Orchestra

11 Ray Noble & His Orchestra

12 Leo Reisman & His Orchestra

13 Hal Kemp & His Orchestra

14 Fats Waller

15 Gene Austin

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1943 Frank Sinatra

In 1943, Frank Sinatra became only the 2nd solo artist to establish himself outside the dominance of the bands, like Bing Crosby last did in 1934. Frank started collaborating with Tommy Dorsey in 1938 and remained in Tommy's popular shadow for years.
But Frank finally had the most successful body of work of any artist in 1943.
Frank's biggest hit in 1943, was a song he collaborated with another bandleader. The song "All Or Nothing At All" was a number 1 hit for Frank Sinatra and Harry James & His Orchestra.



Glen Gray started his career as the alto saxist in this orchestra, named after a Toronto nightclub, but he eventually fronted the band. They started scoring hits in 1931 and by 1943 were the 13th most popular of the period. Their biggest hit to date was "When I Grow Too Old To Dream", a number 1 hit in 1935.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn69Cj5Gcj8


1926 - 1943
1 Bing Crosby
2 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
3 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
4 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians
5 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra
6 Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra
7 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
8 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra
9 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees
10 Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
11 Ray Noble & His Orchestra
12 Leo Reisman & His Orchestra
13 Glen Gray & The Casa Loma Orchestra
14 Hal Kemp & His Orchestra
15 Fats Waller

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1944 Bing Crosby
So what had Bing Crosby been doing since 1935 when he became the most successful artist of this period? The answer of course is that he was still hugely successful.
During the nine years since 1935, Bing had 9 of the biggest hits of his career to date, including a little song he released in 1942, called "White Christmas". He had many other hits, several of which were collaborations with the hugely popular Andrews Sisters. In addition, he was more popular in 1944 than any artist had been since Glenn Miller's phenomenal success in 1940, and it was also the 5th individual year Bing had led the charts.
Bing's biggest hit of his career to date also charted in 1944. "Swinging On A Star" was number 1 for 9 weeks that year.



Harry James was a trumpet star who achieved fame with Benny Goodman. His own band was slow to find success despite using the vocal talents of Frank Sinatra on many songs. Harry started scoring hits in 1938 and by 1944, was the 14th most popular artist of this period, thanks in part to his massive hit of 1943, "I've Heard That Song Before".
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK0j8_N_dBg

1926 - 1944
1 Bing Crosby
2 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
3 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
4 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians
5 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra
6 Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra
7 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
8 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra
9 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees
10 Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
11 Ray Noble & His Orchestra
12 Leo Reisman & His Orchestra
13 Glen Gray & The Casa Loma Orchestra
14 Harry James & His Orchestra
15 Hal Kemp & His Orchestra

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1945 Bing Crosby
Billboard started publishing Album Charts in 1945 and Bing scored hit albums as he enjoyed his 6th year as the most popular artist on the Billboard Charts.
Bing's biggest hit of the year, "Don't Fence Me In", was another collaboration with the Andrews sisters. It went to number 1 but another of Bing's solo records from 1942 returned to the charts. It only reached number 7 in 1945 this time around, but in so doing, "White Christmas" became Bing's biggest hit of his career to date

Harry James kept the hits coming in 1945, like the number 1 hit "It's Been A Long, Long Time" and he rose to 13th place overall.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3F2_Z9G7Ew

1926 - 1945
1 Bing Crosby
2 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
3 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
4 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians
5 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra
6 Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra
7 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
8 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra
9 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees
10 Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
11 Ray Noble & His Orchestra
12 Leo Reisman & His Orchestra
13 Harry James & His Orchestra
14 Glen Gray & The Casa Loma Orchestra
15 Hal Kemp & His Orchestra

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1946 Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby dominated the Billboard Charts in 1946 for an incredible 7th year. Was there any measure by which he was not obviously the most successful artist of this period? Well no, there wasn't. Since 1941, fans of the Dorsey brothers could argue that they had achieved more combined success than Bing had. Well in 1946, that was no longer true. Bing was more successful over this period, than any other artists could even claim to be.
Bing's biggest hit of the year, "South America, Take It Away", was yet another collaboration with the Andrews Sisters.


In 1946, Harry James kept up his success, but it was his album "All Time Favorites" that did best in the charts over the year, and helped him rise to 11th place overall.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLZt0F4MI8c

1926 - 1946
1 Bing Crosby
2 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
3 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
4 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians
5 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra
6 Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra
7 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
8 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra
9 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees
10 Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
11 Harry James & His Orchestra
12 Ray Noble & His Orchestra
13 Leo Reisman & His Orchestra
14 Glen Gray & The Casa Loma Orchestra
15 Hal Kemp & His Orchestra

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1947 Al Jolson
Albums were still a novelty in 1947, but the public was warming to the new format and the opportunity to enjoy their favourite artists on a longer format where they can easily play through many of the artists best known songs.
Al Jolson benefited from this wave of interest in Albums and became the most successful artist of 1947.
The "Al Jolson Album" also known as "Songs He Made Famous" was a huge success in 1947 off the back of the first Al Jolson biopic released in 1946.
rateyourmusic.com/release/album/al-jolson/songs-he-made-famous/
The album included "Sonny Boy", released in 1928, and the biggest hit Al Jolson had over the period 1926-1947.




Kay Kyser had another dozen or so hits since 1942. The biggest of which was "Ole Buttermilk Sky", a number 1 hit in 1946, and by 1947 Hal rose to 9th position overall.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFl1Ay3teFE


Ray Noble in 1947 had his biggest hit since 1942 with "Linda" and rose to 11th position.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAZmAv2Xrow


Sammy Kaye led a successful band from 1937 until the 1950's. He played the clarinet and alto saxophone and composed. By 1947, he was the 14th most successful artist of the period. His biggest hit of this period was "Daddy" from 1941.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xY2vd-mNSU

1926 - 1947
1 Bing Crosby
2 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
3 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
4 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians
5 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra
6 Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra
7 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
8 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra
9 Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
10 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees
11 Ray Noble & His Orchestra
12 Harry James & His Orchestra
13 Leo Reisman & His Orchestra
14 Sammy Kaye & His Orchestra
15 Glen Gray & The Casa Loma Orchestra

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1948 Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra
Vaughn Monroe was a big-voiced baritone, trumpeter and bandleader who was popular on radio and in the movies from 1940 until the 50's. In 1948, he had successful albums and songs on the charts and was the most successful artist of the year.
His biggest release of the year was easily the song "Ballerina" which topped the charts for 7 weeks during the year.



Sammy Kaye had a good year in 1948 with an album and a number of hits. His biggest release was the song "Serenade Of The Bells" and he rose to 13th position overall.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-4OxpDQ2to

The Andrews Sisters were hugely popular and the most successful female artists of this period. They were 15th overall but would have been higher but for their many many collaborations with Bing Crosby who over shadowed them in the public eye.
But they had many hits in their own right and their biggest over this period was "Shoo-Shoo Baby" released in 1943.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjrM3E-xSj0

1926 - 1948
1 Bing Crosby
2 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
3 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
4 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians
5 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra
6 Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra
7 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
8 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra
9 Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
10 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees
11 Ray Noble & His Orchestra
12 Harry James & His Orchestra
13 Sammy Kaye & His Orchestra
14 Leo Reisman & His Orchestra
15 Andrews Sisters

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1949 Perry Como
Perry Como established himself in 1949 as a major artist. The 13th most successful artist over this period. He was also the most successful artist of any year since Bing Crosby in 1944.
His biggest release of the entire period was in 1949. "Some Enchanted Evening" was a huge number 1 hit for Perry.



Sammy Kaye scored another major hit in 1949 along with more successful albums and songs. His song "Room Full Of Roses" helped him rise to 10th place overall.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-HK2mX50GI

Vaughn Monroe consolidated his success from 1948 with multiple albums and songs on the charts in 1949, including the huge song "Riders In The Sky" which topped the charts for 11 weeks during the year. He broke into the top 15 as the 12th most successful artist of this period.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAPCxfuBzyo

1926 - 1949
1 Bing Crosby
2 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
3 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
4 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians
5 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra
6 Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra
7 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
8 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra
9 Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
10 Sammy Kaye & His Orchestra
11 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees
12 Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra
13 Perry Como
14 Ray Noble & His Orchestra
15 Harry James & His Orchestra

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1950 Gordon Jenkins & His Orchestra
Gordon Jenkins started having success as a bandleader in 1942 and was the biggest artist of the year in 1950. Gordon had also been an arranger for Benny Goodman, and a composer and orchestral accompanist for Frank Sinatra, as well as collaborating with many artists like the Andrews Sisters.
In 1950, Gordon had the biggest hit of his career to date with "Goodnight, Irene" which was number 1 on the charts for 13 weeks.



Sammy Kaye kept scoring hits in 1950 like "It Isn't Fair" and became the 8th most successful artist overall.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxe0hNrp91Q

Perry Como rose to 11th place in 1950. His biggest hit of the year was "Hoop-Dee-Doo".
www.youtube.com/watch?v=t94upkyJyrU

And Harry James rose to 12th place on the back of "Young Man With A Horn", a very successful album he recorded with Doris Day.
rateyourmusic.com/release/album/doris-day-and-harry-james/young-man-with-a-horn.p/

Patty Andrews had some success as a solo artist after the Andrews Sisters and her body of work with her sisters and on her own was the 14th most successful of this period. The Andrews Sisters were still releasing hits and their biggest since 1948, was "I Can Dream, Can't I" which they collaborated on with Gordon Jenkins and charted between 1949-1950.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pto68TqHxKg

1926 - 1950
1 Bing Crosby
2 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
3 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
4 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians
5 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra
6 Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra
7 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
8 Sammy Kaye & His Orchestra
9 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra
10 Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
11 Perry Como
12 Harry James & His Orchestra
13 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees
14 Andrews Sisters (& Patty Andrews)
15 Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra

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1951 Les Paul (And Mary Ford)
Les Paul with his wife Mary Ford but sometimes on his own, scored many hits when they burst onto the scene in the 1950's. In 1951 they led the charts for the year.
Les Paul was one of the greatest creative talents in modern popular music. He started accompanying Bing Crosby and the Andrews sisters, and then put his electronic wizardry to work in designing the first solid body amplified electric guitar.
1951 was a huge year for Les Paul and Mary Ford (real name Colleen Summers) when they released the biggest hit of their career to date "How High The Moon".



Perry Como's rise was unstoppable. He scored another huge number 1 hit with "If" amongst others, and rose to 9th place overall.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kud15JSV-TQ

Vaughn Monroe released more hits since 1949. "Sound Off" reached number 4 in 1951 and Vaughn returned to 12th place overall.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSZF72jW4rc

1926 - 1951
1 Bing Crosby
2 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
3 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
4 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians
5 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra
6 Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra
7 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
8 Sammy Kaye & His Orchestra
9 Perry Como
10 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra
11 Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
12 Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra
13 Harry James & His Orchestra
14 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees
15 Andrews Sisters (& Patty Andrews)

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1952 Eddie Fisher (& Hugo Winterhalter)
Eddie Fisher with his frequent collaborator Hugo Winterhalter were huge in 1952. More successful than any artist in a single year since Bing Crosby in 1944.
In 1952 they had the biggest hit of their career to date with "Any Time".



Sammy Kaye's biggest hit since 1950 was the minor hit "Walkin' To Missouri" in 1952. Nevertheless Sammy managed to overtake the great Paul Whiteman and rise to 7th place over this period.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=50VyO4ND7tY

1926 - 1952
1 Bing Crosby
2 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
3 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
4 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians
5 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra
6 Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra
7 Sammy Kaye & His Orchestra
8 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
9 Perry Como
10 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra
11 Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
12 Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra
13 Harry James & His Orchestra
14 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees
15 Andrews Sisters (& Patty Andrews)

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1953 Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason the longtime star of Broadway, TV and movies had huge success with his album releases and was the most successful artist in 1953.
His album "Music For Lovers Only" amongst others found a new audience who preferred the longer album format with songs of mood music which flowed smoothly and didn't necessarily need to have hit potential.
rateyourmusic.com/release/album/jackie-gleason/music-for-lovers-only/

Meanwhile, Perry Como resumed his rise and became the 7th most successful artist of this period, with many more hits since 1951, like the number 1 "Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes" which charted between 1952-1953.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmkg_E2evbg

Since 1950, Harry James scored a few minor hit songs and albums, like "Would I Love You?" which he collaborated on with Doris Day. By 1953, Harry surpassed Vaughn Monroe to take 12th place.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaOQxf6xziQ

1926 - 1953
1 Bing Crosby
2 Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
3 Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
4 Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians
5 Benny Goodman & His Orchestra
6 Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra
7 Perry Como
8 Sammy Kaye & His Orchestra
9 Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
10 Eddy Duchin & His Orchestra
11 Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
12 Harry James & His Orchestra
13 Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra
14 Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees
15 Andrews Sisters (& Patty Andrews)