R&B Jukebox Hits 1942

by Various Artists

The American trade magazine Billboard first inaugurated a popularity chart exclusively for sales amongst the black population in their edition of the week ending October 24th 1942. The chart was entitled 'The Harlem Hit Parade' and initially the chart was indeed compiled from a comparatively tiny sample of shops and jukeboxes situated in the Harlem borough of New York. In 1942 the racial lines were much less defined when it came to popular music and Southern Blacks were as equally fond of Country and Hillbilly music as blues and R & B. By contrast the comparatively sophisticated residents of Harlem were equally happy to drop a coin in the slot to listen to Frank Sinatra singing with The Dorsey Band or buying the platter in such quantities that it was able to climb as high as No 2 alongside more down home sides from Chicago based artists like Tampa Red and Lil Green. The very first No 1 was Andy Kirk's "Take It And Git" and most of the decade's biggest stars featured in the charts first 11 weeks, The Ink spots, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Louis Jordan.