Feature Photo” Jongleur100, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Our Top 100 Songs Of 1950 goes back to the first year of a decade that would see the birth of rock and roll. Up to 1950, music was dominated by crooners as well as jazz and blues artists. Of course, in 1950, those types of artists would still rule the charts. No one knew any other style of music besides classical, county, Broadway, and gospel which of course were all very popular forms of music. Yet, in the south, the sounds of blues, mixed with the northern jazz swing styles and gospel music would eventually intertwine and come together to form a new style of music that would turn the world upside down and very much inside out.
Our Top 100 Songs Of 1950 were chosen based on popularity, sales charts, and artistic merit. It’s a combination of many factors that we believe represents the best songs that the year 1950 had to offer across all musical genres. While many of these songs may have been written before 1950, all songs on this list were recordings made and released in 1950.
# 100 – You Do Something to Me – Frank Sinatra
# 99 – Sweet Georgia Brown – Bud Powell
# 98 – Orange Colored Sky – Stan Kenton and Nat King Cole
# 97 – The Cry of the Wild Goose – Frankie Laine
# 96 – Long About Sundown – Roy Brown
# 95 – I Just Don’t Like This Kind Of Livin’ – Hank Williams
# 94 – I’m Going To Have Myself A Ball – Tiny Bradshaw
# 93 -Rag Mop – Ames Brothers
# 92 – I’ll Never Be Free – Tennessee Ernie Ford & Kay Starr
# 91 – You Do Something to Me – Frank Sinatra
# 90 – Rockin’ With Red – Piano Red
# 89 – Big Fat Mamas Are Back In Style – Bullmoose Jackson
# 88 – If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked a Cake – Eileen Barton with the New Yorkers
# 87 – Perdido – Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn
# 86 – Count Every Star – Ravens
# 85 – Safronia B – Calvin Boze
# 84 -Information Blues – Roy Milton
# 83 -Cuban Episode – Stan Kenton
# 82 – Good Morning Judge – Wynonie Harris
# 81 -Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool – Lionel Hampton
# 80 – “It Isn’t Fair” – Sammy Kaye & Don Cornell
# 79 – My Foolish Heart – Billy Eckstine
# 78 – Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe – Ruth Brown
# 77 – I Like My Baby’s Pudding – Wynonie Harris
# 76 – Detroit City Blues – Fats Domino
# 75 – I’m So Crazy For Love – Cap-Tans
# 74 – Little Red Rooster – Griffin Brothers
# 73 – Hot Rod Race – Tiny Hill
# 72 -Birmingham Bounce – Red Foley
# 71 – Rock Mr. Blues – Wynonie Harris
# 70 – I’ll Remember April – Charlie Parker
# 69 -“Where Can I Go” – Ruth Brown
# 68 – Hey La Bas Boogie – Fats Domino
# 67 – Nevertheless – Mills Brothers
# 66 – Blue Shadows – Lowell Fulson
# 65 – Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere – Joe Morris
# 64 – Blues In My Shower – Nat King Cole
# 63 – I Wanna Be Loved – Dinah Washington
# 62 – Sad Journey Blues – Floyd Dixon
# 61 – Foggy Mountain Breakdown – Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs
# 60 – Cadillac Baby – Roy Brown
# 59 – Go Back To The One You Love – T-Bone Walker
# 58 – Million Dollar Secret – Helen Humes
# 57 – Lemon Squeezer – Four Barons
# 56 – Why – Ruth Brown
# 55 – Three Little Words – Nat King Cole
# 54 – Peas And Rice – Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson
# 53 -Breaking Up The House – Tiny Bradshaw
# 52 – Stack-A-Lee – Archibald
# 51 – Do Something For Me – Dominoes
# 50 – They Can’t Take That Away from Me – Charlie Parker
# 49 – When You’re Smiling – Frank Sinatra
# 48 – Little Bee – Fats Domino
# 47 – Golden Rocket – Hank Snow
# 46 – Bon Ton Roula – Clarence Garlow
# 45 – Saturday Night Boogie Woogie Man – Jimmy Liggins
# 44 – Bewitched – Bill Snyder
# 43 – Daddy’s Little Girl – Mills Brothers
# 42 – Mambo # 5 – Perez Prado
# 41 – Mother Earth – Memphis Slim
# 40 – Flamingo – Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn
# 39 – Lonesome Christmas – Lowell Fulson
# 38 – My Baby’s Gone – Charles Brown
# 37 – Dear Hearts and Gentle People – Bing Crosby
# 36 – Blue Light Boogie – Louis Jordan
# 35 – Carnival Day – Dave Bartholomew
# 34 – Teardrops From My Eyes – Ruth Brown
# 33 – Every Night About This Time – Fats Domino
# 32 -There’s No Tomorrow – Tony Martin
# 31 – Why Don’t You Love Me – Hank Williams
# 30 – Double Crossing Blues – Johnny Otis
# 29 – “Tzena, Tzena, Tzena” – Gordon Jenkins & The Weavers
# 28 – Hoop-Dee-Doo – Perry Como
# 27 – Harbor Lights – Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye, Tony Alamo and the Kaydets
# 26 – Mardi Gras In New Orleans – Professor Longhair
# 25 – Take the “A” Train – Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn
# 24 – The Thing – Phil Harris
# 23 – “I Can Dream, Can’t I? – The Andrew Sisters
# 22 – Rollin’ Stone – Muddy Waters
# 21 – Simple Melody – Gary & Bing Crosby
# 20 – April in Paris – Bud Powell
# 19 – My Blue Heaven – Frank Sinatra
# 18 – If I Were a Bell – Frank Loesser
# 17 – Cotton Tail – Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn
# 16 – It’s Only a Paper Moon – Frank Sinatra
# 15 -Bad Bad Whiskey – Amos Milburn
# 14 – “Music, Music, Music” – Teresa Brewer
# 13 – Bonaparte’s Retreat – Kay Starr
# 12 -Sentimental Me – Ames Brothers
# 11 – Please Send Me Someone To Love – Percy Mayfield
Top 10 Songs From Top 100 Songs Of 1950
# 10 -My Foolish Heart – Gordon Jenkins
# 9 – Dancing in the Dark – Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker’s influence on soloing is unmatched in history. Here is his tender side.
# 8 – Third Man Theme – Anton Karas
# 7 – Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy – Red Foley
# 6 – Sam’s Song – Gary & Bing Crosby
# 5 – Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Gene Autry
Yes, Christmas songs count, especially one like this.
# 4 – Tennessee Waltz – Patti Page
# 3 – The Fat Man – Fats Domino
Released in December at the end of 1949, but the popularity of the song in 1950 was hege
# 2 – Goodnight Irene – Gordon Jenkins & The Weavers
# 1 – Mona Lisa – Nat King Cole
Top 100 Songs Of 1950 article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2022
Classicrockhistory.com claims ownership of all its original content and Intellectual property under United States Copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries. No one person, business, or organization is allowed to re-publish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. All photos used are either public domain creative commons photos or licensed officially from Shutterstock under license with ClassicRockHistory.com.
All photo credits have been placed at the end of the article. Album Cover Photos are affiliate links and the property of Amazon and are stored on the Amazon server. Any theft of our content will be met with swift legal action against the infringing websites.
