This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1944.

Events

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

from The Billboard's "Most Played Juke Box Folk Records" chart (As certified by Billboard magazine)

Top Hillbilly-Folk (Country) Recordings 1944

On August 1, 1942, a strike by the American Federation of Musicians ended all recording sessions. Record companies kept business going by releasing recordings from their vaults, but by mid-1943, alternate sources were running dry, as the strike continued. Decca was the first company to settle in September 1943, but RCA Victor and Columbia held on until November 1944. It comes as no surprise that eleven of the top twenty records of 1944 were released by Decca, with two more by Capitol, the second company to settle. The remaining seven were released by Okeh, the label revived in 1940 by CBS to replace Vocalion, now the C&W division of Columbia Records, and apparently unaffected by the strike. Sadly, it would be put to sleep again in 1945, when releases were switched to the parent label. In response to the growing popularity of Hillbilly (Country) music, The Billboard's "Most Played Juke Box Folk Records" chart, began on January 8, 1944, but for reasons unknown, included "Race" records, despite a chart already existing for those. On September 2, race records were abruptly removed, including the two top records from the prior week. Our chart does not include R&B records, and is also supplemented with record sales information (the new chart only rates jukebox plays) and other factors. As always, numerical rankings are approximate.

Top new album releases

Births

Deaths