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List of Billboard number-one singles of 1940

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:List of Billboard number-one singles of 1940}}

File:Tommy dorsey playing trombone.jpg achieved the first Billboard number-one single with "I'll Never Smile Again", which topped the National Best Selling Retail Records chart for twelve consecutive weeks.]]

File:Bing Crosby 1942.jpg topped the chart for nine consecutive weeks with "Only Forever".]]

File:Artie Shaw Gottlieb 07771 cropped.jpg", an instrumental recorded by clarinetist Artie Shaw, occupied the number one position on the chart during the final two weeks of 1940.]]

In 1940, The Billboard began compiling and publishing the National Best Selling Retail Records chart. Debuting in the issue dated July 27, it marked the beginning of the magazine's nationwide tracking of record sales in the United States. Initially titled the "National List of Best Selling Retail Records", the weekly ten-position chart was tabulated using sales figures received from a selection of merchants across the country. Prior to its introduction, The Billboard had produced lists ranking music by various metrics such as performance in vaudeville venues, jukebox plays, sheet music sales, and regional airplay.{{cite web |last1=Trust |first1=Gary |title=On Billboard{{'}}s 117th Birthday, a Look Back at the Magazine's Beginnings |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/billboards-117th-birthday-a-look-256116 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=November 2011 |publisher=Prometheus Global Media |accessdate=7 November 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107080613/http://web.archive.org/screenshot/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/billboards-117th-birthday-a-look-256116 |archivedate=7 November 2019 |url-status=live}}{{cite magazine |last1=Hajdu |first1=David |title=Tearing Up the Pop Charts |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/121202/billboard-and-history-pop-charts-why-are-songs-so-sad |magazine=The New Republic |date=6 March 2015 |accessdate=7 November 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306090145/https://newrepublic.com/article/121202/billboard-and-history-pop-charts-why-are-songs-so-sad |archivedate=6 March 2015 |url-status=live}}

The first National Best Selling Retail Records number-one single was "I'll Never Smile Again" by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra. Featuring vocals by Frank Sinatra and the vocal group the Pied Pipers, the song topped the chart for twelve consecutive weeks and elevated Sinatra to national popularity.{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/10/frank-sinatra-201010|title=The Night Sinatra Happened|first=James|last=Kaplan|date=September 20, 2010|work=Vanity Fair|publisher=Condé Nast|accessdate=August 28, 2019|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828042938/https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/10/frank-sinatra-201010|archivedate=August 28, 2019}}

Chart history

class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

!Issue date

!Song

!Artist(s)

!{{abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

scope="row"|July 27

|style="text-align: center;" rowspan="12"|"I'll Never Smile Again"

|style="text-align: center;" rowspan="12"|Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra with Frank Sinatra and the Pied Pipers

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=27 July 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional List of Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-07-27.pdf |access-date=6 August 2020 |magazine=The Billboard |page=11}}

scope="row"|August 3

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=3 August 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional List of Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/BB-1940-08-03.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=11 |access-date=6 August 2020}}

scope="row"|August 10

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=10 August 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional List of Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-08-10.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=11 |access-date=6 August 2020}}

scope="row"|August 17

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=17 August 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional List of Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-08-17.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=11 |access-date=6 August 2020}}

scope="row"|August 24

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=24 August 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional List of Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/BB-1940-08-24.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=11 |access-date=6 August 2020}}

scope="row"|August 31

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=31 August 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional List of Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/BB-1940-08-31.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=19 |access-date=6 August 2020}}

scope="row"|September 7

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=7 September 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional List of Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-09-07.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=19 |access-date=7 August 2020}}

scope="row"|September 14

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=14 September 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-09-14.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=12 |access-date=7 August 2020}}

scope="row"|September 21

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=21 September 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/BB-1940-09-21.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=13 |access-date=7 August 2020}}

scope="row"|September 28

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=28 September 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/BB-1940-09-28-I.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=11 |access-date=8 August 2020}}

scope="row"|October 5

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=5 October 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-10%2005.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=11 |access-date=8 August 2020}}

scope="row"|October 12

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=12 October 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-10-12.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=12 |access-date=8 August 2020}}

scope="row"|October 19

|style="text-align: center;" rowspan="9"|"Only Forever"

|style="text-align: center;" rowspan="9"|Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=19 October 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-10%2019.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=12 |access-date=8 August 2020}}

scope="row"|October 26

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=26 October 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-10%2026.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=14 |access-date=8 August 2020}}

scope="row"|November 2

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=2 November 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-11-02.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=10 |access-date=9 August 2020}}

scope="row"|November 9

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=9 November 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-11-09.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=11 |access-date=9 August 2020}}

scope="row"|November 16

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=16 November 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-11-16.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=11 |access-date=9 August 2020}}

scope="row"|November 23

| style="text-align: center;" |{{cite magazine |date=23 November 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-11-23.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=11 |access-date=19 August 2020}}

scope="row"|November 30

|style="text-align: center;"|

scope="row"|December 7

|style="text-align: center;"| {{cite magazine |date=7 December 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-12-07.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=12 |access-date=19 August 2020}}

scope="row"|December 14

|style="text-align: center;"| {{cite magazine |date=14 December 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-12-14.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=11 |access-date=24 August 2020}}

scope="row"|December 21

|style="text-align: center;" rowspan="2"|"Frenesi"

|style="text-align: center;" rowspan="2"|Artie Shaw and His Orchestra

|style="text-align: center;"|{{cite magazine |date=21 December 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-12-21.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=10 |access-date=24 August 2020}}

scope="row"|December 28

|style="text-align: center;"|{{cite magazine |date=28 December 1940 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart: National and Regional Best Selling Retail Records |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1940/Billboard-1940-12-28.pdf |magazine=The Billboard |page=62 |access-date=24 August 2020}}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

{{Number-one singles in the United States}}

1940

Category:1940 record charts

Category:1940 in American music