List of Hot C&W Sides number ones of 1959

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine since 1958, when the magazine amalgamated its separate C&W Best Sellers in Stores and Most Played C&W by Jockeys charts.^[1] In 1959, eleven different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot C&W Sides, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.^[1]

Faron Young topped the chart in the fall with "Country Girl".

At the start of the year the song at number one was "City Lights" by Ray Price. The song had been in the top spot since the issue of Billboard dated October 20, 1958,^[2] the first in which the magazine combined country sales and airplay into a single chart,^[1] and remained at number one until the issue dated January 19, 1959. Four artists achieved a number one country single for the first time in 1959: Johnny Horton with "When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)",^[3] George Jones with "White Lightning",^[4] which replaced Horton's song at number one, Stonewall Jackson with "Waterloo",^[5] and the Browns with "The Three Bells".^[6] Of these, Jones would prove to have the most prolific career, topping the Hot Country chart in four consecutive decades. At the time of his death in 2013, he had placed more singles on Billboard's charts than any other artist in any genre.^[7]

Following Jones' spell at number one, Johnny Horton returned to the top spot with "The Battle of New Orleans", which spent ten weeks at the peak of the chart. His total of eleven weeks at number one was the most by any artist; he and Ray Price were the only artists to place more than one song at number one during the year. "The Battle of New Orleans" tied with "The Three Bells" for the most weeks spent at number one by a song during the year. Both tracks also topped Billboard's all-genres chart, the Hot 100.^[8] Despite the success of "The Three Bells", it would prove to be the only country number one for the Browns.^[6] Of the nine acts who topped the chart in 1959, seven have been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame: Ray Price, Jim Reeves, Johnny Cash, George Jones, the Browns, Faron Young and Marty Robbins.^[9] Robbins ended the year at number one with "El Paso", another crossover hit which also topped the Hot 100.^[10]

Chart history

Johnny Cash had a six-week run at number one in the spring.

George Jones (pictured in 2002) had his first number one in 1959.

Marty Robbins ended the year at number one.

Issue date	Title	Artist(s)	Ref.
January 5	"City Lights"	Ray Price	[11]
January 12			[12]
January 19	"Billy Bayou"	Jim Reeves	[13]
January 26			[14]
February 2			[15]
February 9			[16]
February 16			[17]
February 23	"Don't Take Your Guns To Town"	Johnny Cash	[18]
March 2			[19]
March 9			[20]
March 16			[21]
March 23			[22]
March 30			[23]
April 6	"When It's Springtime In Alaska (It's Forty Below)"	Johnny Horton	[24]
April 13	"White Lightning"	George Jones	[25]
April 20			[26]
April 27			[27]
May 4			[28]
May 11			[29]
May 18	"The Battle of New Orleans"	Johnny Horton	[30]
May 25			[31]
June 1			[32]
June 8			[33]
June 15			[34]
June 22			[35]
June 29			[36]
July 6			[37]
July 13			[38]
July 20			[39]
July 27	"Waterloo"	Stonewall Jackson	[40]
August 3			[41]
August 10			[42]
August 17			[43]
August 24			[44]
August 31	"The Three Bells"	The Browns	[45]
September 7			[46]
September 14			[47]
September 21			[48]
September 28			[49]
October 5			[50]
October 12			[51]
October 19			[52]
October 26			[53]
November 2			[54]
November 9	"Country Girl"	Faron Young	[55]
November 16			[56]
November 23			[57]
November 30			[58]
December 7	"The Same Old Me"	Ray Price	[59]
December 14			[60]
December 21	"El Paso"	Marty Robbins	[61]
December 28			[62]

See also

• 1959 in music
• 1959 in country music
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. country chart