VA - The R&B No. 1s Of The '40s (2023)

Acrobat has devoted a number of collections over the years to anthologies of the biggest hits in different years and decades across different genres, and this one fills a particular gap in the catalogue, bringing together all the records which featured at No. 1 in all of Billboard’s charts relating to the R&B market during the 1940s. In October 1942, Billboard launched the “Harlem Hit Parade”, which was replaced in February 1945 by the “Most Played Juke Box Race Records”, to which in 1948 was added the “Best Selling Retail Race Records”. This 97-track 4-CD collection features every record which reached No. 1 in any of those charts, apart from a few which are unavailable for copyright reasons. We have also included those from 1950, as it is arguably the final year of the decade, and we had space in the 4-CD format to accommodate them for the benefit of collectors who do not have our “R&B No. 1s of the ‘50s” set.

This 97-track collection offers a fascinating spread of music, ranging across the spectrum of a genre which was continually evolving from big band music to solo singers, small group R &B and pure blues, with one or two artists like Louis Jordan and Nat King Cole maintaining a solid presence right through the decade. It’s a hugely entertaining musical journey through what was a momentous decade socially and politically, in which R&B laid the groundwork for the arrival of the musical upheavals of the ‘50s. It contains a 12,000+ word booklet featuring background notes on every record as well as full discographical and chart information.

Tracklist
CD1
01. Andy Kirk & His Clouds of Joy - Take It And Git
02. Freddie Slack - Mr. Five By Five
03. Paul Whiteman & His Orch. - Trav'lin' Light
04. Earl Hines & His Orch. - Stormy Monday Blues
05. Lucky Millinder & His Orch. - When the Lights Go On Again (All Over The World)
06. Bing Crosby - White Christmas
07. Bea Booze - See See Rider Blues
08. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - What's The Use Of Getting Sober
09. King Cole Trio - That Ain't Right
10. Lucky Millinder & His Orch. - Apollo Jump
11. Bonnie Davis - Don't Stop Now
12. Ink Spots - Don't Get Around Much Anymore
13. Harry James Orch. With Helen Forrest - I've Heard That Song Before
14. Ink Spots - I Can't Stand Losing You
15. Duke Ellington, His Orchestra - Don't Get Around Much Anymore
16. Dick Haymes, The Song Spinners - You'll Never Know
17. Erskine Hawkins - Don't Cry Baby
18. Duke Ellington, His Orchestra - A Slip Of The Lip
19. Duke Ellington, His Orchestra - Sentimental Lady
20. King Cole Trio - All For You
21. Ella Mae Morse - Shoo Shoo Baby
22. Lucky Millinder & His Orch. - Sweet Slumber
23. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Ration Blues

CD2
01. Duke Ellington, His Orchestra - Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me
02. Johnny Mercer - G.I. Jive
03. Benny Goodman Orch. - Solo Flight
04. Ella Fitzgerald, Ink Spots - Cow Cow Boogie
05. Duke Ellington, His Orchestra - Main Stem
06. Buddy Johnson - When My Man Comes Home
07. King Cole Trio - Straighten Up And Fly Right
08. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - G.I. Jive
09. Mills Brothers - Till Then
10. Lionel Hampton Orch. - Hamp's Boogie Woogie
11. Benny Carter - I'm Lost
12. King Cole Trio - Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good To You
13. Ella Fitzgerald, Ink Spots - Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall
14. Cootie Williams - Somebody's Got To Go
15. Pvt. Cecil Gant - I Wonder
16. Roosevelt Sykes - I Wonder
17. Erskine Hawkins - Tippin' In
18. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Mop Mop
19. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Caldonia
20. Lucky Millinder, Wynonie Harris - Who Threw The Whiskey In The Well
21. Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers - The Honeydripper Pt. 1
22. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Buzz Me
23. Lionel Hampton, his Orch. - Hey Ba-Ba-Re-Bop
24. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Don't Worry 'Bout That Mule

CD3
01. Ink Spots - The Gypsy
02. Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Stone Cold Dead In The Market (He Had It Coming)
03. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Choo Choo Ch'Boogie
04. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Ain't That Just Like A Woman
05. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens
06. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Texas And Pacific
07. Savannah Churchill - I Want To Be Loved (Only By You)
08. Eddie Vinson - Old Maid Boogie
09. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Jack, You're Dead
10. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Boogie Woogie Blue Plate
11. Julia Lee And Her Boy Friends - Snatch It And Grab It
12. Julia Lee And Her Boy Friends - King Size Papa
13. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Run Joe
14. Sonny Thompson With The Sharps And Flats - Long Gone (Pts. I & II)
15. Memphis Slim and His House Rockers - Messin' Around
16. Arbee Stidham - My Heart Belongs To You
17. Hal Singer Sextette - Corn Bread
18. Dinah Washington - Am I Asking Too Much
19. Ivory Joe Hunter - Pretty Mama Blues
20. Sonny Thompson Quintet - Late Freight
21. Pee Wee Crayton - Blues After Hours
22. The Orioles - It's Too Soon To Know
23. Amos Milburn - Chicken Shack Boogie
24. Red Miller Trio - Bewildered
25. Roy Brown Mighty Men - Long About Midnight

CD4
01. Amos Milburn - Bewildered
02. John Lee Hooker - Boogie Chillen
03. Big Jay McNeely's Blue Jays - Deacon's Hop
04. Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers - The Hucklebuck
05. Charles Brown Trio - Trouble Blues
06. Jimmy Witherspoon - Ain't Nobody's Business (Part 1)
07. Amos Milburn - Roomin' House
08. The Orioles - Tell Me So
09. Dinah Washington - Baby, Get Lost
10. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Beans And Cornbread
11. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Saturday Night Fish Fry (Part 1)
12. Larry Darnell - For You My Love
13. Ivory Joe Hunter - I Almost Lost My Mind
14. Johnny Otis, Little Esther - Double Crossing Blues
15. Little Esther with Mel Walker & The Johnny Otis Orch. - Mistrustin' Blues
16. Ivory Joe Hunter - I Need You So
17. Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers - Pink Champagne
18. Little Esther, Mel Walker - Cupid's Boogie
19. Roy Brown - Hard Luck Blues
20. Nat King Cole - Mona Lisa
21. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Blue Light Boogie (Part 1)
22. Lowell Fulson - Blue Shadows
23. Joe Morris & His Orchestra - Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere
24. Percy Mayfield - Please Send Me Someone To Love
25. Ruth Brown - Teardrops From My Eyes