I’m a paleontologist listening to all the Billboard top 100s so I can learn something about popular music and history. Here are my previous years : 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946.

The seventh year of my run through the history of pop music, 1947, is really at the beginning of the Cold War. We get a top 47 songs this year.

As I wrote in 1946, the period between WW2 and the Doo-wop era of the 1950s gets very little coverage in US popular culture, so I’m interested in building my knowledge of both the music and the evolution of US politics and culture through this time. Here are some contextual details:

The top grossing movie in 1947 was Welcome Stranger ($6.1M), where Bing Crosby plays a young singing doctor who fills in for a country doctor who’s on vacation. Gentleman’s Agreement, a film about anti-Semitism in New York, won the Best Picture Oscar for the year. 1947 saw the murder of the Black Dahlia, the first animals in space (fruit flies), the demonstration of the first Polaroid instant camera, Jackie Robinson sign with the Dodgers, the first Tony Awards, the “Cold War” mentioned for the first time, an extremely destructive earthquake and tsunami in Alaska, Truman begin the “Truman Doctrine” of containing communism, the Marshall Plan begin to rebuild Europe, the first UFO sightings, the Roswell Incident, the CIA officially formed, the US split Plutonium (opening the way for nuclear power generation), the Air Force become a separate branch of the military, the House Un-American Activities Committee begin its investigations into communism in Hollywood, the World Series first broadcast on TV, Chuck Yeager brake the sound barrier, the Spruce Goose fly its only flight, and the first electronic transistor demonstrated. The Baby Boom had started the year before, but I’m not sure how much people realized its significance yet.

As I go through the songs each year, I note the race and gender of the artists, so I can track how representation changes over the years. You might expect 50% of tunes to be performed by women if they were a random sample of the population, but I include the genders of all folks in the named artist on the track, so women could be on 100% of the tracks if all the named artists included both men and women. That hasn’t been the case at all so far: men dominate the charts. Based on the racial mix of the USA in the 1940s, you would expect about five of the top 47 tunes to be by a Black artist or artists and maybe one or two by another non-White racial group. Similarly, you would expect one or two songs by Latinx artists.

As before, I’m going to go through the songs in reverse order so I can count down to the big hits.

TL;DR notes:

1. The 1946 chart was dominated by Vaughn Monroe, with four of the 47 tunes, followed by Eddy Howard with three. There were 26 artists with only one tune in the top 47, so it was pretty even.
2. Black artists were 4 of the 35 artists on the 1947 charts, so 11%. When you go by tracks, Black folks are on 4 out of 47, so 9%. The expected rate for the 1940s would be 10%, so Black artists are represented about as expected in tracks. Compare that track percentage to 1941-46: 8, 5, 20, 28, 18, and 8%. It looks like Black artists got a big boost during the war and returned to expected representation afterwards.
3. There are no Latinx artist(s) on the 1947 charts (0%), and Latinx folks were about 1.5% of the US at the time, so they’re underrepresented on the charts.
4. Women are in 7 of the 35 named artists (20%), and 7 of the 47 tracks (15%). You would, of course, expect them to be in half of the groups on average (maybe more: no reason you couldn’t have all the groups have men and women, after all), so women are underrepresented. Compare these numbers to 1941-46: 9, 12, 15, 38, 18, 21%. Women have a big bump in 1944, which could be because of the war, or it could be related to the musicians’ strike.
5. Notable songs include: #38 Feudin’ and Fightin’, #33 Civilization Bongo Bongo Bongo, #26 I Love You for Sentimental Reasons, #14 Chi-Baba Chi-Baba, and #2 Peg O’ My Heart. My favorite is #5 Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (That Cigarette) by Tex Williams. I gave 27 of 47 (57%) a <3 this year. Compare that to 46% in 1946, 65% in 1945, 60% in 1944, 63% in 1943, 45% in 1942, and 41% in 1941. It ticked back up this year; we’ll see if that trend continues (I really like 1950s music, and I’m waiting for that sound to show up).
6. Two interesting trends this year:
   1. Two of the top 7 songs (#2 and #7) are instrumental covers of “Peg O’ My Heart”, but they’re both strange: one is an electric guitar/accordian duo, and the other is a harmonica trio. America is trying to find its new sound after the war and we’re getting some strange experiments.
   2. There are two songs, #24 “Huggin’ and Chalkin’” and #21 “Too Fat Polka”, that are novelty songs that rely on body-shaming large-bodied women in a way that I find pretty gross. I wonder what it was about 1947 that led to those two being popular.

The 1947 Charts:

1. Kay Kyser – Ole Buttermilk Sky – I gave this one a heart when it was on the 1946 chart. White Male artist.
2. Peggy Lee – Golden Earrings – I also gave this one a heart when it was on the 1946 chart. The first four of these tunes are the same as in 1946, so either they were sticking around or something is fishy in my source for charts. I should go find the old Billboards in the university online archives and look… White female artist.
3. Eddy Howard – I Love You For Sentimental Reasons – No love from me for this one in 1946. White male artist.
4. Dusty Fletcher – Open The Door, Richard – Still good, from 1946. It got a heart. Black male artist.
5. Vaughn Monroe – How Soon – This one was no good in 1946 (where it was also #43!). White male artist.
6. Bing Crosby – The Whiffenpoof Song – This one was no good as #44 in 1946, and I stick by that opinion. White male artist.
7. Tex Beneke and The Glenn Miller Orchestra – Anniversary Song – Our first new song of 1947! Saxophones start us out as the big band builds to a crescendo, then swoops around setting a dramatic scene. Now into a walking beat, sounding jazzy and sophisticated. This suggests a noir cityscape and hard-boiled city people. I wonder if there will be words? Yes, after one minute. We get a male chorus singing about how you dance like the day you were wed. This is, overall a solid swing tune played well by a big band. It gets a heart. White male artist.
8. Guy Lombardo – Managua, Nicaragua – I liked this one as #42 in 1946. White male artist.
9. Charlie Spivak – Linda – YouTube to the rescue. Whiny trumpet sets us up with a walking beat and a big band sound, as is typical of Spivak. Crisp male vocals: he doesn’t count sheep when he goes to sleep, he counts the charms about Linda. Poor dude, Linda doesn’t know he exists. It’s an unrequited love song, I guess. It’s pretty solid, and I would give it a heart if it were on Spotify. White male artist.
10. Dorothy Shay – Feudin’ And Fightin’ – Piano and female vocals right from the start. She’s singing about the way they fight in the lands outside the city. The vocals are crisp and sound very classical, but the words are country. “Why’d they have to shoot poor grandma?” seems to be part of the refrain. It’s another song that seems to be teasing about lower class Whites’ lack of civilization. It’s pretty funny, and it’s not as offensive to me as the one from last year, “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly”, so I’ll give it a heart. White female artist.
11. Margaret Whiting – You Do – Strings build for a sentimental song. I’m already dreading it. “Who knows how much I love you? You dooooo.” It’s just not for me, alas. White female artist.
12. Count Basie – Open The Door, Richard – YouTube to the rescue. Starts with the sound of people talking at a party and now goes into the familiar knocking and “OPEN THE DOOR, RICHARD!”. This is a fun song, and Count Basie and his band do a great job with it, but nothing inventive. I would give it a heart if it were on Spotify. Black male artist.
13. Art Lund – Peg O’ My Heart – YouTube to the rescue. This is a crooning tune with the emphasis on the a’s: Peg o’ my heaaaaart. It doesn’t make me interested. White male artist.
14. Kay Kyser – The Old Lamplighter – I didn’t like this one when it was #34 in 1946, either. White male artist.
15. Andrews Sisters and Danny Kaye – Civilization Bongo Bongo Bongo – I like these artists, but this title makes me concerned… Starts well, with a fast beat. And with a riff, I recognize this tune, I think. Or maybe the tune has been used for other lyrics? It’s about a native person who has decided that civilization isn’t for him, and is mostly a parody of American culture. So maybe it’s OK? It’s a fun tune from a musical perspective, and I’m not sure whether the punching up is enough to make up for the punching down… I’ll give it a heart. White male and female artists.
16. Mills Brothers – Across The Alley From The Alamo – Strummy guitar, then into the harmony of the four Mills Brothers. It’s about a pinto horse and a Navajo who live across the alley from the Alamo. They seem to have been squished by a train because they didn’t look before crossing the tracks. It’s a Black band, but the song is punching down at Native folks, so I’m not sure where this song falls on the social justice spectrum. Musically, it’s good, but I don’t think I can heart it. Apparently, the song became a jazz standard. Black male artists.
17. Dinah Shore – Anniversary Song – Dinah shore has a great voice, and she makes this song sound very different from the Tex Beneke swing version. This version is like a sad eastern European love song. It’s good, but not the sort of song I usually like. I’ll give it a heart because of Dinah’s voice. White female artist.
18. Bing Crosby – White Christmas – This song was #4 in 1942. I gave it a heart then, and I still love it now. White male artist.
19. Guy Lombardo – Anniversary Song – Third cover of this tune for the year. This one sounds more like the Dinah Shore version, with that eastern European flair. It has more warbly woodwinds, I think. Oh, and a piano. It’s going for the long musical introduction, unlike the Dinah Shore version. We get male vocals after 1:30. They are not impressive. White male artist.
20. Vaughn Monroe – You Do – Big band intro builds us up to a crooner male voice. It’s still not for me. White male artist.
21. Dick Haymes – Mam’selle – Building warbly strings set us up for another sentimental tune, alas. The male vocalist is pretty good, but it’s too croony for me. White male artist.
22. The King Cole Trio – I Love You For Sentimental Reasons – Piano starts us out, and we get Nat King Cole’s great voice. This song is a classic and still gets lots of play today. This song was #43 in 1946, and I liked it then, too. <3. Black male artists.
23. Hoagy Carmichael – Ole Buttermilk Sky – Rollicking piano starts us out. It has a distinct country music feel. I like it. It has a fast pace and goes well, and I don’t find the “Country” style to be problematic. <3. White male artist.
24. Hoagy Carmichael – Huggin’ And Chalkin’ – Big sound starts us out, big band but country feel. It seems to be a song about loving a very large woman. He has to mark her with chalk to make sure he knows how much of her he’s loved already. Then he ran into another man hugging his way around this lady. It’s catchy and clever, but it’s also punching down at large folks. I don’t think this would fly today. Maybe it shouldn’t be surprising how much of the music from this era uses putting people down as a theme. White male artists.
25. Eddy Howard – My Adobe Hacienda – Bright opening, setting up a clear big band sound. Now we have male harmony from the chorus. It’s about how he has a touch of Mexico in his house, with little things like a orchid and the sounds of guitars. I think it’s a Latinx-positive song, but the artist is not Latinx, according to my limited research. <3. White male artist.
26. Eddy Howard – I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder – Slow walk pace, big band sound, muted trumpets. The feel of this song is very much like the last one, with male harmony for the main lyrical line and a big band back up sound. It seems to be a solid song, well written, well-orchestrated, well performed. <3. White male artist.
27. Arthur Godfrey – Too Fat Polka – The title immediately makes me worry. Unsurprisingly it’s not on Spotify. It’s on YouTube… It’s a story song, singing about the song. OMG. “I don’t want her, you can have her, she’s too fat for me.” Seems to be most of the song. I can’t even listen to the whole thing. What about 1947 makes it the year of making fun of overweight women? White male artist.
28. Jack Owens – How Soon – YouTube to the rescue. I didn’t like the other version. And I don’t like this version, either. It’s a croooony sooooong. Ugh. White male artist.
29. Perry Como – When You Were Sweet Sixteen – Harp sets us up for a sentimental song. I’m worried because of the title of the song… He’s singing about when he first saw the love light in her eyes, but then they drifted apart, but he still carries a torch for her. I think he’s still in love with his high school sweetheart. At least I hope he was 16 when she was. That’s not clear from the lyrics. All that’s clear is that he loves you the same as he did when you were sweet sixteen. It’s overall a crooning song and it doesn’t get my less-than-three. White male artist.
30. Sammy Kaye – The Old Lamplighter – I didn’t like this one when it was #18 in 1946. White male artist.
31. The Andrews Sisters – Near You – Piano sets us up for a fast walking pace, then the Andrews sisters come in quickly. They’re singing about how they want to be near you, using a solid four beat. It’s not as urgent as their music from 1941-42, but that may reflect the national attitude in 1947. I still like it. <3. White female artists.
32. Ted Weems and Perry Como – I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now – The title is worrisome, but maybe it’s just a falling out of love song? It has a good big band sound, with a solid four beat. The clarinet is carrying the tune through the extended introduction. We get male vocals after 1:23. It’s a solid lead with a good chorus, and not too croony. It sounds a bit old fashioned for 1947, but I like it. It is, indeed, a song about a lost love and carrying a torch. <3. White male artists.
33. Red Ingle and Jo Stafford – Temptation (Tim-tayshun) – Starts out with a hoe-down sound, like a called square dance. It’s very country-sounding, but I like it. It has fiddles and a oom-pah beat like you might hear for a square dance. It also has an accordion and an electric guitar. And a penny whistle, apparently. It’s overall good. <3. White male and female artists.
34. Perry Como – Chi-Baba Chi-Baba – Twinkly sounds from strings and xylophone. Perry is singing a lullaby, with a wrap-around story in the song. It’s nonsense (I think?) as an Italian lullaby. It’s catchy and not too croon-y. It transitions into a solid four section at the midpoint of the song. <3. White male artist.
35. Freddy Martin – Managua, Nicaragua – Can this top the Guy Lombardo version? Clarinets start us out with muted trumpets, then into a piano playing the main musical theme. It’s catchy and well-played. This tune has a fast beat, like I like, and the hook is catchy, so it’s hard to dislike it, given its bones. Freddy Martin seems to be doing a good job of it. The singing is squarer and easier to understand than the Guy Lombardo version. I wonder why we get so many Latin tunes but no Latinx artists this year. Actually, I don’t wonder: that’s America. I’ll <3 this song, but not institutional racism. White male artist.
36. Art Lund – Mam’selle – YouTube to the rescue. Strings build to paint a sentimental picture. It’s still a crooner tune, and I really don’t like it. White male artist.
37. Vaughn Monroe – Ballerina – Starts with a big fanfare, then into plinky strings. The song is sung in very formal way, but the music sounds more contemporary. It’s a song about how a ballerina has to work so hard, but her love doesn’t come to see her perform. So sad: it’s because she chose art over love. It’s really not a song for me. White male artist.
38. Sammy Kaye – That’s My Desire – YouTube to the rescue. Starts out quickly with the male vocalist singing about how he wants just one night with you, to reminisce with you. It’s a slow, sappy song with some moderate crooning. It’s really not unpredictable and I find it unexciting. White male artist.
39. Larry Green – Near You – Can it top the Andrews Sisters version? YouTube to the rescue. Rocking piano starts us out, then is backed by strings. They set up the melody. We get a long intro on this one, over a minute, unlike the AS version. It’s not saved by the vocals: they sound trite and saccharine. Ugh. White male artist.
40. Al Jolson – Anniversary Song – Swelling strings set a very emotional stage. Very deep male vocals. It has that eastern European sound. It’s really not as good as the Tex Beneke or Dinah Shore versions. He’s trying too hard with his basso voice to hit the notes in this tune. I’m not sure why it’s ranked so high, especially with those others. There’s no accounting for taste. White male artist.
41. The Three Suns – Peg O’ My Heart – Accordion and electric guitar from the start: this has a very different sound from most of the other music this year. The electric guitar is very “new” sounding compared to the other 40s music I’ve been listening to. We’re getting an extended introduction… Now we have an electric organ! I think this is the beginnings of the 1950s sound I’m used to, but with an accordion. Strange. Overall, this is a strange cover. I’m starting to think it will be an instrumental. It is! <3 for the strangeness. White male artists.
42. Vaughn Monroe – I Wish I Didn’t Love You So – Sounds very typical swing, big band sound. The singing isn’t true crooning, but is more jazzy and fun. It has male vocals leading with a male and female chorus. It’s a pretty innocuous love song, and I can <3 it. White male artist.
43. Tex Williams – Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette – Interesting… That title might not make it today, with what we know about cigarettes. Fast bass to start, and a spoken bass “singing” the song. It’s really funny: it’s about how irritating it is to wait for folks to go on a smoke break while you’re playing poker. It’s a really good song and has a fast feel more like “Hot Rod Lincoln”. I like the way its complaining about cigarettes in the context of the 1940s. I’ll <3 it. White male artist.
44. Ray Noble and Buddy Clark – Linda – I liked the Spivak cover, so maybe this one will be OK. It has a spoken-language intro of a man hitting on a woman on the street in a way that wouldn’t be OK nowadays. The song itself is solid, listing all the great things about Linda, who doesn’t notice the singer. I’ll give it a <3. White male artists.
45. Ted Weems – Heartaches – Fast strings and clarinets carrying the melody… It really has a beat and it’s building to something. Now the piano is carrying the melody over the frantic strings and drums. Now a muted trumpet has picked up the melody, after 1:00, and I am starting to think it’s an instrumental. Now we have whistling taking up the melody, but the pace is just as frantic as ever. Now it’s on to clarinets again with the muted trumpet hitting a syncopated beat and unison for all to finish. It was an instrumental. I like it and I’ll <3 it. White male artist.
46. The Harmonicats – Peg O’ My Heart – Another instrumental cover? It’s a novelty band that does just harmonicas… I’ve heard this before! It’s got a classic Muzak sound like you would expect in an elevator or department store… I’ll <3 it for the novelty factor. White male artists.
47. Francis Craig – Near You – Third cover of this song this year. There’s strong piano to start us out. The album cover suggests that piano may be the main thing here. Ok, after 1:10, we get the male vocalist and the rest of the big band coming in. It’s a great, jazzy tune with a solid four beat and bright vocals. I’ll happily <3 it. I hope we get more like this and less of the crooning as we go forward. We get a piano encore in the third part of the song. White male artist.