Billboard Top Country & Western Records of 1953 is made up of two year-end charts compiled by Billboard magazine ranking the year's top country and western records based on record sales and juke box plays.
Hank Williams died on January 1, 1953, but still dominated the 1953 country and western charts. He had five songs on the year-end charts, and "Kaw-Liga" and "Your Cheating Heart" were the year's No. 1 and No. 2 selling country records. In addition, Jack Cardwell's "The Death of Hank Williams" ranked No. 19 on the year-end chart.
On the juke box chart, "Mexican Joe" by newcomer Jim Reeves was the No. 1 most-played record of 1953.
| Retail year-end |
Juke box year-end |
Peak | Title | Artist(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 1 | "Kaw-Liga" | Hank Williams | M-G-M |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | "Your Cheating Heart" | Hank Williams | M-G-M |
| 3 | 4 | 1 | "No Help Wanted | The Carlisles | Mercury |
| 4 | 7 | 1 | "A Dear John Letter" | Jean Shepard, Ferlin Husky | Capitol |
| 5 | 6 | 1 | "Hey Joe" | Carl Smith | Columbia |
| 6 | 1 | 1 | "Mexican Joe" | Jim Reeves | Abbott |
| 7 | 10 | 1 | "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know" | The Davis Sisters | RCA Victor |
| 8 | 9 | 1 | "It's Been So Long" | Webb Pierce | Decca |
| 9 | 8 | 1 | "Take These Chains from My Heart" | Hank Williams | M-G-M |
| 10 | 14 | 3 | "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I | Hank Snow | RCA Victor |
| 11 | 18 | 1 | "Eddy's Song" | Eddy Arnold | RCA Victor |
| 12 | 25 | 4 | "Last Waltz" | Webb Pierce | Decca |
| 13 | 5 | 1 | "Rub-A-Dub-Dub" | Hank Thompson | Capitol |
| 14 | 17 | 1 | "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" | Hank Williams | M-G-M |
| 15 | 15 | 5 | "Bumming Around" | T. Texas Tyler | Decca |
| 16 | 26 | 2 | "(How Much Is) That Hound Dog in the Window" | Homer & Jethro | RCA Victor |
| 17 | 20 | 4 | "Crying in the Chapel" | Rex Allen | Decca |
| 18 | 15 | 1 | "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" | Hank Williams | M-G-M |
| 19 | NR | 3 | "The Death of Hank Williams" | Jack Cardwell | M-G-M |
| 20 | 21 | 1 | "Caribbean" | Mitchell Torok | Abbott |
| 21 | NR | "Let Me Be the One" | Hank Locklin | 4 Star | |
| 22 | NR | 2 | "Trademark" | Carl Smith | Columbia |
| 23 | NR | 1 | "There Stands the Glass" | Webb Pierce | Decca |
| 24 | NR | 4 | "This Orchid Means Goodbye" | Carl Smith | Columbia |
| 25 | 27 | 3 | "Spanish Fire Ball" | Hank Snow | RCA Victor |
| 26 | NR | "I'll Go Alone" | Webb Pierce | Decca | |
| 27 | NR | "Tennessee Wig Walk" | Bonnie Lou | King | |
| 28 | NR | 4 | "Free Home Demonstration" | Eddy Arnold | RCA Victor |
| 29 | NR | "Seven Lonely Days" | Bonnie Lou | King | |
| 30 | 11 | "Back Street Affair" | Webb Pierce | Decca | |
| NR | 12 | "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" | Skeets McDonald | Capitol | |
| NR | 13 | "I Let the Stars Get in My Eyes" | Goldie Hill | Decca | |
| NR | 19 | "Keep It a Secret" | Slim Whitman | Imperial | |
| NR | 22 | "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" | Slim Willet | 4 Star | |
| NR | 23 | "I Couldn't Keep From Crying" | Marty Robbins | Columbia | |
| NR | 24 | "Crying in the Chapel" | Darrell Glenn | Valley | |
| NR | 28 | "Midnight" | Red Foley | Decca | |
| NR | 29 | "That's Me Without You" | Webb Pierce | Decca | |
| NR | 30 | 4 | "Gal Who Invented Kissing" | Hank Snow | RCA Victor |
See also
- List of Billboard number-one country songs of 1953
- Billboard year-end top 30 singles of 1953
- 1953 in country music
Notes
- This column recites the record's peak position on Billboard's weekly charts.
References
- ^ "1953's Top C & W Records". The Billboard. December 19, 1953. p. 29.
- Joel Whitburn (1995). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Billboard Books. ISBN 0823076326.
| Billboard Year-End hot country singles | |
|---|---|
| 1946–1949 | |
| 1950–1959 | |
| 1960–1969 | |