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The King Cole Trio (pictured in 1947 ) had the first number-one album of the chart with their self-titled album. Furthermore, it was the longest reigning album on the chart with 12 non-consecutive weeks.
The compilation album
Glenn Miller by
Glenn Miller's Orchestra (pictured in 1941 ) topped the charts for a total of eight weeks during the year.
Bing Crosby (pictured in 1951 ) was the only solo artist with two albums atop the chart.
Billboard published its first popular albums chart, at the time known as
Best-Selling Popular Record Albums , in 1945. The chart was first published in the magazine dated March 24 and included ten positions, "based on reports received from more than 200 dealers" throughout the United States.
[1] In the 40 weeks that followed, eight albums by five different artists reached the top.
[a]
The first number-one album on the chart was the
King Cole Trio 's
self-titled debut released by
Capitol .
[2]
[3] It topped the charts for three weeks until it was replaced by the soundtrack of
Song of Norway , an
operetta , written by
Robert Wright and
George Forrest .
[4] The soundtrack reached number one for one more week in May.
Glenn Miller , a compilation album recorded by
Glenn Miller and
His Orchestra released posthumously by
Victor , topped the charts for two weeks in May and later in summer for an additional six weeks. The album was
certified gold 23 years after its release by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 500,000 or more units.
[5]
The second album credited to an original cast to top the chart was
Carousel , released by
Decca . The musical was composed by
Rodgers and Hammerstein and was atop for six consecutive weeks in August and September.
[6]
[7]
Bing Crosby was the only artist to have two albums atop the chart:
Selections from Going My Way for six weeks and
Merry Christmas for four weeks.
[8]
[9]
[10] The latter album was certified gold by the RIAA in November 1970.
[11] The King Cole Trio was the longest reigning album of the year with 12 weeks at number one, followed by Glenn Miller with seven weeks. Albums released by Decca topped the charts for a total of 18 weeks, followed by Capitol at 17 weeks and Victor for 9 weeks.
Chart history
See also
Notes
References
^
a
b
"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . March 24, 1945. p. 65. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
^ Ruhlmann, William.
"Nat King Cole | Biography & History" .
AllMusic .
Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019 .
^ Havers, Richard (March 24, 2017).
"Nat King Cole's Album No.1 On The First Ever Billboard Chart" . Udiscovermusic.
Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2019 .
^ Henahan, Donal (September 5, 1981).
"City Opera: Life of Grieg in 'Song of Norway' " .
New York Times .
Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2018 .
^
"Gold & Platinum: Glenn Miller & His Orchestra" . Recording Industry Association of America. July 2, 1968. Retrieved March 18, 2019 .
^ Ruhlmann, William.
"Rodgers & Hammerstein | Biography & History" .
AllMusic . Retrieved April 26, 2019 .
^
"Carousel [Original Cast Recording] — Jan Clayton / Jean Darling / John Raitt" .
AllMusic . Retrieved April 26, 2019 .
^ Bush, John.
"Bing Crosby | Biography & History" . AllMusic.
Archived from the original on March 1, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2019 .
^
"Bing Crosby – Going My Way " .
AllMusic .
Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2019 .
^
"Bing Crosby – White Christmas " .
AllMusic .
Archived from the original on November 6, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2019 .
^
"Gold & Platinum: Bing Crosby" . Recording Industry Association of America. November 13, 1970. Retrieved March 18, 2019 .
^
"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . March 31, 1945. p. 20. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
^
"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . April 7, 1945. p. 22. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . April 14, 1945. p. 20. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . April 21, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . April 28, 1945. p. 22. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . May 5, 1945. p. 20. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . May 12, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . May 19, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . May 26, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . June 2, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . June 9, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . June 16, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . June 23, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . June 30, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . July 7, 1945. p. 26. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . July 14, 1945. p. 22. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . July 21, 1945. p. 22. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . July 28, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . August 4, 1945. p. 22. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . August 11, 1945. p. 18. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . August 18, 1945. p. 20. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . August 25, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . September 1, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . September 8, 1945. p. 26. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . September 15, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . September 22, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . September 29, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . October 6, 1945. p. 26. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . October 13, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . October 20, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . October 27, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . November 3, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . November 10, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . November 17, 1945. p. 26. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . November 24, 1945. p. 30. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . December 1, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . December 8, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
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"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . December 15, 1945. p. 26. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
^
"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . December 22, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
^
"The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF) . Billboard . December 29, 1945. p. 26. Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
1945–1959 1960–1979 1980–1999 2000–2019 2020–2039 See also