Billboard launched its country music charts in 1944, and the very first No. 1 single in history belonged to Bing Crosby. The legendary “White Christmas” crooner made a surprise leap onto the country chart with the jukebox favorite “Pistol Packin’ Mama,” written by Al Dexter. According to the Western Music Hall of Fame, which inducted Crosby as a member in 2008, Crosby was responsible for “exposing a large and very receptive audience to Western music and laying the groundwork for its acceptance among fans beyond the country genre.”
