1968 in country music
Encyclopedia
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1968.

Events

  • January 13 — Johnny Cash
    Johnny Cash
    John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...

     records his legendary concert at Folsom State Prison
    Folsom State Prison
    Folsom State Prison is a California State Prison located in the city of Folsom, California, northeast from the state capital of Sacramento. Opened in 1880, Folsom is the second-oldest prison in the state of California after San Quentin and was the first in the country to have electricity...

    . The resulting album, At Folsom Prison, becomes a huge international success and a cornerstone of his music catalog; the lead single, "Folsom Prison Blues
    Folsom Prison Blues
    "Folsom Prison Blues" is the title of a song written and recorded by American country music artist Johnny Cash. The song combines elements from two popular folk genres, the train song and the prison song, both of which Cash would continue to use for the rest of his career...

    " (an update of his 1956 hit) becomes one of the most famous recordings of his career.
  • February 1 — Elvis Presley
    Elvis Presley
    Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

    's only child, Lisa Marie
    Lisa Marie Presley
    Lisa Marie Presley is an American singer and songwriter, also known as the "Princess of Rock and Roll". She is the only child of Elvis Presley, and daughter of Priscilla Presley.-Early life:...

    , is born in Memphis, Tennessee.
  • March 1 — Johnny Cash and June Carter
    June Carter Cash
    Valerie June Carter Cash was an American singer, dancer, songwriter, actress, comedienne and author who was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash...

     are married.
  • November — The Country Music Association
    Country Music Association
    The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...

     Awards are aired on television for the first time. Hosted by Roy Rogers
    Roy Rogers
    Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...

     and Dale Evans
    Dale Evans
    Dale Evans, was an American writer, movie star, and singer-songwriter. She was the third wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers.-Early life:...

    , the awards show is taped in October and aired on NBC
    NBC
    The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

     a month later.
  • December 3 — Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special
    Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special
    Elvis, starring Elvis Presley, was the title of a 1968 United States television special. Sponsored by The Singer Sewing Machine Company, it aired on December 2, 1968 on the NBC television network...

    airs on NBC. Although this special focuses more on the pop/rock side of his musical talents, the special will reinvigorate Presley's career in both the country and mainstream pop genres.

United States

(as certified by Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

)

Date Single Name Artist Wks. No.1 CAN peak Spec. Note
January 20 Sing Me Back Home
Sing Me Back Home (song)
"Sing Me Back Home" is a 1967 single written and recorded by Merle Haggard. "Sing Me Back Home" would be Merle Haggard's third number one. The single spent two weeks at number one and a total of seventeen weeks on the country chart...

Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...

2
February 3 Skip a Rope
Skip a Rope
"Skip a Rope is a 1967 single by Henson Cargill. The single was Cargill's debut release on the country charts and also his most successful single. "Skip a Rope" was Cargill's sole No. 1 on the country charts, spending five weeks at the top and a total of 16 weeks on the chart.The song asked...

Henson Cargill
Henson Cargill
Henson Cargill was an American country music singer best known for the 1968 No. 1 hit, "Skip a Rope". His music career began in Oklahoma in clubs around Oklahoma City and Tulsa...

5 [C]
March 9 Take Me to Your World
Take Me to Your World
"Take Me to Your World" is a 1968 single written by Billy Sherrill and Glenn Sutton and recorded by Tammy Wynette. "Take Me to Your World" would be Tammy Wynette's second number one on the country charts as a solo artist. The single stayed at number one for a single weeks and spent a total of...

Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette
Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....

1
March 16 A World of Our Own
A World of Our Own
"A World of Our Own" is a 1968 single by Sonny James. The song was written in 1965 by Tom Springfield and was an international hit for The Seekers. "A World of Our Own" was Sonny James' sixth number one in a row, and twenty-sixth hit on the U.S. country music chart. The single spent three weeks at...

Sonny James
Sonny James
James Loden , known professionally as Sonny James, is an American country music singer and songwriter best known for his 1957 hit, "Young Love". Dubbed the Southern Gentleman, James had 72 country and pop chart hits from 1953 to 1983, including a five-year streak of 16 straight among his 23 No. 1...

3
April 6 How Long Will My Baby Be Gone
How Long Will My Baby Be Gone
"How Long Will My Baby Be Gone" is a 1968 song written and recorded by Buck Owens. "How Long Will My Baby Be Gone" was the last of eight number ones on the country chart in a row for Buck Owens. The single spent a single week at number one and a total of thirteen weeks on the country chart...

Buck Owens
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...

1
April 13 You Are My Treasure
You Are My Treasure
"You Are My Treasure is a 1968 single by Jack Greene. "You Are My Treasure" was Jack Greene's third number one on the country chart. The single spent spent a single week at number one and a total of twelve weeks on the country chart .-Chart performance:...

Jack Greene
Jack Greene
Jack Greene is an American country musician nicknamed the "Jolly Green Giant" and well known for his 1966 hit "There Goes My Everything."-Early career:...

1
April 20 Fist City
Fist City
"Fist City" is a country music song written and performed by Loretta Lynn, released in 1968. Inspired by her husband's dalliances with other women who pursued him while she was busy touring, Lynn wrote the song as a warning for other women to stay away from him if they do not wish to be soundly...

Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...

1
April 27 The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde
The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde (song)
"The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde" is the title of a song written by Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens and performed by Merle Haggard. "The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde" was Haggard's fourth number one on the U.S. country singles chart...

Merle Haggard 2 3
May 11 Have a Little Faith
Have a Little Faith (song)
"Have a Little Faith" is a 1968 song written by Billy Sherrill and Glenn Sutton and recorded by David Houston. "Have a Little Faith" was David Houston's fourth number one single on the country charts. The single stayed at number one for a single week and spent a total of thirteen weeks on the...

David Houston
David Houston (singer)
Charles David Houston was an American country music singer. His peak in popularity came between the mid-1960s through the early 1970s.-Biography:...

1
May 18 I Wanna Live
I Wanna Live (Glen Campbell song)
"I Wanna Live" is the title of a song written by John D. Loudermilk and recorded by American country music singer Glen Campbell. It was released in March 1968 as the lead single from the album, Hey Little One. The song was Glen Campbell's sixth release on the country charts and his first of five...

Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...

3 [2], [A]
  • Returned to Number One on June 15.
May 25 Honey
Honey (Bobby Goldsboro song)
"Honey," also known as "Honey ," is a song written by Bobby Russell. He first produced it with former Kingston Trio member Bob Shane...

Bobby Goldsboro
Bobby Goldsboro
Bobby Goldsboro is an American country and pop singer-songwriter. He had a string of Pop and Country hits during the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature #1 classic "Honey," which sold well over one million copies in the United States.-Early life:Goldsboro was born in Marianna, Florida...

3 [C]
  • Also peaked at Number One on the Billboard Pop
    Billboard Hot 100
    The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

     and Adult Contemporary
    Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
    The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...

     charts.
  • June 29 D-I-V-O-R-C-E
    D-I-V-O-R-C-E
    "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" is an American country music song written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman, and made famous by Tammy Wynette. Wynette's version was a number one country hit in 1968.-Background:...

    Tammy Wynette 3
    July 20 Folsom Prison Blues
    Folsom Prison Blues
    "Folsom Prison Blues" is the title of a song written and recorded by American country music artist Johnny Cash. The song combines elements from two popular folk genres, the train song and the prison song, both of which Cash would continue to use for the rest of his career...

    Johnny Cash
    Johnny Cash
    John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...

    4 [1]
  • Originally the B-side single of "So Doggone Lonesome" in 1956, "Folsom Prison Blues" was re-released as a live cut, becoming the more-remembered version of the song.
  • August 17 Heaven Says Hello
    Heaven Says Hello
    "Heaven Says Hello" is a 1968 single by Sonny James. "Heaven Says Hello" went to number one on the country charts for one week, and spent a total of sixteen weeks on the chart.-Chart performance:...

    Sonny James 1 26
    August 24 Already It's Heaven
    Already It's Heaven
    "Already it's Heaven" is a 1968 single written by Billy Sherrill and Glenn Sutton and recorded by David Houston. The single was David Houston's sixteenth release on the country charts. "Already It's Heaven" spent one week at the top of the country charts and total of fifteen weeks on the chart...

    David Houston 1
    August 31 Mama Tried
    Mama Tried (song)
    "Mama Tried" is an American country music song written and recorded by Merle Haggard. Released in July 1968, the song became one of the cornerstone songs of his career...

    Merle Haggard 4
    September 28 Harper Valley PTA
    Harper Valley PTA
    "Harper Valley PTA" is a country song written by Tom T. Hall that was a major international hit single for country singer Jeannie C. Riley in 1968. Riley's record sold over six million copies as a single. The song made Riley the first woman to top both Billboard's Hot 100 and the U.S...

    Jeannie C. Riley
    Jeannie C. Riley
    Jeannie C. Riley is an American country music and gospel singer. She is best known for her 1968 country and pop hit "Harper Valley PTA" , which missed becoming the Billboard Country and Pop number one hit at the same time...

    3 [C]
  • Also peaked at Number One on the Billboard Pop and Adult Contemporary charts.
  • October 19 Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye
    Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye
    "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" is the title of a doo-wop song written by John D. Loudermilk. It was first released in 1962 by Don Cherry, and again in 1967 by the group The Casinos on its album of the same name, becoming a #6 pop hit that year...

    Eddy Arnold
    Eddy Arnold
    Richard Edward Arnold , known professionally as Eddy Arnold, was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a so-called Nashville sound innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the Billboard country music charts, second only to George Jones. He sold more...

    2 [B]
  • Cover of The Casinos
    The Casinos
    The Casinos was a nine-member doo-wop group from Cincinnati, Ohio, led by Gene Hughes. They are best-known for their John D. Loudermilk-penned song "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye," which hit number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1967, well after the end of the doo-wop era.The group was based...

    ' 1967 doo-wop
    Doo-wop
    The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...

     hit.
  • November 2 Next in Line
    Next in Line (Conway Twitty song)
    "Next in Line" is a 1968 single written by Wayne Kemp and Curtis Wayne and recorded by Conway Twitty. "Next in Line" was Conway Twitty's sixth entry to make the country charts and his first of 40 number ones on the country charts. The single spent a single week at number one and spent a total of...

    Conway Twitty
    Conway Twitty
    Conway Twitty , born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, was an American country music artist. He also had success in early rock and roll, R&B, and pop music. He held the record for the most number one singles of any act with 55 No. 1 Billboard country hits until George Strait broke the record in 2006...

    1 2 [A]
  • Originally known as a Rock & Roll singer in the early 60s, Conway Twitty crossed over into country music in the mid-60s, with this song becoming the first of 45 Number One hits of his career.
  • November 9 I Walk Alone
    I Walk Alone (Marty Robbins song)
    "I Walk Alone" is a 1968 song by Marty Robbins. "I Walk Alone" was Robbins' thirteenth number one on the U.S. country singles chart. The single spent two weeks at number one and a total of fifteen weeks on the chart.-Chart performance:...

    Marty Robbins
    Marty Robbins
    Martin David Robinson , known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist...

    2 3
    November 23 Stand by Your Man
    Stand By Your Man
    "Stand by Your Man" is a song co-written by Tammy Wynette and Billy Sherrill and originally recorded by Tammy Wynette, released as a single in September 1968 in the USA...

    Tammy Wynette 3
  • Released during the height of the women's rights movement
    Feminist movement
    The feminist movement refers to a series of campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment and sexual violence...

    , "Stand by Your Man" was often derided by many feminist supporters.
  • December 14 Born to Be with You
    Born to Be with You (song)
    "Born to Be with You" is a song written by Don Robertson. It was published in 1956.The biggest hit version was by The Chordettes in 1956. In 1968, Sonny James recorded a version of the song which reached number one on the country charts...

    Sonny James 1 9
    December 21 Wichita Lineman
    Wichita Lineman
    "Wichita Lineman" is a popular song written by Jimmy Webb in 1968, first recorded by Glen Campbell and widely covered by other artists. Campbell's version, which appeared on his 1968 album of the same name, reached #3 on the U.S. pop chart, remaining in the Top 100 for 15 weeks...

    Glen Campbell 2
  • Also reached Number One on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.

  • ^ No. 1 song of the year, as determined by Billboard
    Billboard (magazine)
    Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

    .
    • 2^ Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot.
    • A^ First Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.
    • B^ Last Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.
    • C^ Only Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist to date.


    Canada

    (as certified by RPM
    RPM (magazine)
    RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...

    )

    Date Single Name Artist Wks. No.1 U.S. peak Spec. Note
    May 4 You Are My Treasure
    You Are My Treasure
    "You Are My Treasure is a 1968 single by Jack Greene. "You Are My Treasure" was Jack Greene's third number one on the country chart. The single spent spent a single week at number one and a total of twelve weeks on the country chart .-Chart performance:...

    Jack Greene
    Jack Greene
    Jack Greene is an American country musician nicknamed the "Jolly Green Giant" and well known for his 1966 hit "There Goes My Everything."-Early career:...

    1 [C]
    May 11 Fist City
    Fist City
    "Fist City" is a country music song written and performed by Loretta Lynn, released in 1968. Inspired by her husband's dalliances with other women who pursued him while she was busy touring, Lynn wrote the song as a warning for other women to stay away from him if they do not wish to be soundly...

    Loretta Lynn
    Loretta Lynn
    Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...

    1 [A]
    May 18 Have a Little Faith
    Have a Little Faith (song)
    "Have a Little Faith" is a 1968 song written by Billy Sherrill and Glenn Sutton and recorded by David Houston. "Have a Little Faith" was David Houston's fourth number one single on the country charts. The single stayed at number one for a single week and spent a total of thirteen weeks on the...

    David Houston
    David Houston (singer)
    Charles David Houston was an American country music singer. His peak in popularity came between the mid-1960s through the early 1970s.-Biography:...

    1 [A]
    May 25 Wild Weekend
    Wild Weekend
    "Wild Weekend" is a single by American country music artist Bill Anderson. Released in March 1968, it was the first single from his album Wild Weekend. The song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It also reached number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.-Chart...

    Bill Anderson 1 2 [A]
    June 1 Honey
    Honey (Bobby Goldsboro song)
    "Honey," also known as "Honey ," is a song written by Bobby Russell. He first produced it with former Kingston Trio member Bob Shane...

    Bobby Goldsboro
    Bobby Goldsboro
    Bobby Goldsboro is an American country and pop singer-songwriter. He had a string of Pop and Country hits during the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature #1 classic "Honey," which sold well over one million copies in the United States.-Early life:Goldsboro was born in Marianna, Florida...

    2 [A]
    June 15 I Wanna Live
    I Wanna Live (Glen Campbell song)
    "I Wanna Live" is the title of a song written by John D. Loudermilk and recorded by American country music singer Glen Campbell. It was released in March 1968 as the lead single from the album, Hey Little One. The song was Glen Campbell's sixth release on the country charts and his first of five...

    Glen Campbell
    Glen Campbell
    Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...

    2 [A]
    June 29 D-I-V-O-R-C-E
    D-I-V-O-R-C-E
    "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" is an American country music song written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman, and made famous by Tammy Wynette. Wynette's version was a number one country hit in 1968.-Background:...

    Tammy Wynette
    Tammy Wynette
    Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....

    3 [A]
    July 20 Folsom Prison Blues
    Folsom Prison Blues
    "Folsom Prison Blues" is the title of a song written and recorded by American country music artist Johnny Cash. The song combines elements from two popular folk genres, the train song and the prison song, both of which Cash would continue to use for the rest of his career...

    Johnny Cash
    Johnny Cash
    John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...

    2 [A]
    • RPM didn't publish on July 27 or August 12.
    August 19 What's Made Milwaukee Famous
    (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)
    What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)
    "What's Made Milwaukee Famous " is the title of a song written by Glenn Sutton. The song's title is a reference to Schlitz beer's slogan.In 1968, Jerry Lee Lewis released his version as a single...

    Jerry Lee Lewis
    Jerry Lee Lewis
    Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...

    1 2 [A]
    August 26 Already It's Heaven
    Already It's Heaven
    "Already it's Heaven" is a 1968 single written by Billy Sherrill and Glenn Sutton and recorded by David Houston. The single was David Houston's sixteenth release on the country charts. "Already It's Heaven" spent one week at the top of the country charts and total of fifteen weeks on the chart...

    David Houston 1
    September 2 Dreams of the Everyday Housewife
    Dreams of the Everyday Housewife
    "Dreams of the Everyday Housewife" is the title of a song written by Chris Gantry and recorded by American country music artist Glen Campbell. It was released in July 1968 as the first single from his album Wichita Lineman. The song peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart...

    Glen Campbell 2 3
    September 16 Harper Valley PTA
    Harper Valley PTA
    "Harper Valley PTA" is a country song written by Tom T. Hall that was a major international hit single for country singer Jeannie C. Riley in 1968. Riley's record sold over six million copies as a single. The song made Riley the first woman to top both Billboard's Hot 100 and the U.S...

    Jeannie C. Riley
    Jeannie C. Riley
    Jeannie C. Riley is an American country music and gospel singer. She is best known for her 1968 country and pop hit "Harper Valley PTA" , which missed becoming the Billboard Country and Pop number one hit at the same time...

    2 [A]
    September 30 Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line
    Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line
    "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" is the title of a song written by Ivy J. "Jimmy" Bryant and recorded by American country music singer Waylon Jennings...

    Waylon Jennings
    Waylon Jennings
    Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...

    1 2 [A]
    October 7 Applesauce Lynn Jones 2 [C]
    October 21 Big Girls Don't Cry
    Big Girls Don't Cry (Lynn Anderson song)
    "Big Girls Don't Cry" is a single by American country music artist Lynn Anderson. Released in July 1968, it was the first single from her album Big Girls Don't Cry. The song peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It also reached number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in...

    Lynn Anderson
    Lynn Anderson
    Lynn Rene Anderson is an American country music singer and equestrian known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, most notably her Grammy Award-winning, worldwide mega-hit, " Rose Garden." Helped by her regular exposure on national television, Anderson was one of the most...

    1 12 [A]
    October 28 I Just Came to Get My Baby
    I Just Came to Get My Baby
    "I Just Came to Get My Baby" is a single by American country music artist Faron Young. Released in July 1968, it was the second single from his album Here's Faron Young. The song peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It also reached number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart...

    Faron Young
    Faron Young
    Faron Young was an American country music singer and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s and one of its most successful and colorful stars...

    1 8 [A]
    November 4 Happy State of Mind
    Happy State of Mind
    "Happy State of Mind" is a single by American country music artist Bill Anderson. Released in July 1968, it was the first single from his album Happy State of Mind. The song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It also reached number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in...

    Bill Anderson 1 2
    November 11 Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye
    Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye
    "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" is the title of a doo-wop song written by John D. Loudermilk. It was first released in 1962 by Don Cherry, and again in 1967 by the group The Casinos on its album of the same name, becoming a #6 pop hit that year...

    Eddy Arnold
    Eddy Arnold
    Richard Edward Arnold , known professionally as Eddy Arnold, was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a so-called Nashville sound innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the Billboard country music charts, second only to George Jones. He sold more...

    1 [C]
    November 18 When You Are Gone
    When You Are Gone
    "When You Are Gone" is a single by American country music artist Jim Reeves. Released in September 1968, it was the first single from his album A Touch of Sadness. The song peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It also reached number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in...

    Jim Reeves
    Jim Reeves
    James Travis Reeves , better known as Jim Reeves, was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well-known for being a practitioner of the Nashville sound...

    1 7
    November 25 Mama Tried
    Mama Tried (song)
    "Mama Tried" is an American country music song written and recorded by Merle Haggard. Released in July 1968, the song became one of the cornerstone songs of his career...

    Merle Haggard
    Merle Haggard
    Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...

    1 [A]
    December 2 Where Love Used to Live
    Where Love Used to Live
    "Where Love Used to Live" is a single by American country music artist David Houston. Released in September 1968, it was the first single from his album Where Love Used to Live/My Woman's Good to Me. The song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It also reached number 1 on...

    David Houston 1 2
    December 9 Stand by Your Man
    Stand By Your Man
    "Stand by Your Man" is a song co-written by Tammy Wynette and Billy Sherrill and originally recorded by Tammy Wynette, released as a single in September 1968 in the USA...

    Tammy Wynette 1
    December 16 Little Arrows
    Little Arrows
    "Little Arrows" is a single by English artist Leapy Lee. Released in 1968, it was the first single from his album Little Arrows. The song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It also reached number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.-Chart performance:...

    Leapy Lee
    Leapy Lee
    Leapy Lee is an English singer, best known for his 1968 single "Little Arrows", which reached Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart and was a Top 40 country and pop hit in the United States.-Career:The song "Little Arrows", written by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazelwood, was also...

    1 11 [C]
    December 23 I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am
    I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am
    "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" is a 1968 song written and performed by Merle Haggard. It was released in October 1968 as the only single from his album, Pride in What I Am. "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It reached...

    Merle Haggard 3 3 [2]
  • Fell to #2 on the week of January 13, 1969.

  • ^ Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot.
    • A^ First RPM
      RPM (magazine)
      RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...

      No. 1 hit for that artist.
    • C^ Only RPM No. 1 hit for that artist.


    Singles released by American artists

    US CAN Single Artist
    20 24 Age of Worry Billy Walker
    Billy Walker (musician)
    William Marvin Walker , better known as Billy Walker, was an American country music singer and guitarist best-known for his 1962 hit, " Charlie's Shoes"...

    19 6 Ain't Got Time to Be Unhappy Bob Luman
    Bob Luman
    Bob Luman was an American country and rockabilly singer.-Early life and career:...

    16 13 Angry Words Stonewall Jackson
    Stonewall Jackson (musician)
    Stonewall Jackson is an American country singer and musician who achieved his greatest fame during country's "golden" honky tonk era in the 1950s and early 1960s.-Early years:...

    5 Another Place Another Time Jerry Lee Lewis
    Jerry Lee Lewis
    Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...

    12 Anything Leaving Town Today Dave Dudley
    Dave Dudley
    Dave Dudley , born David Darwin Pedruska, was an American country music singer best-known for his truck-driving country anthems of the 1960s and 1970s and his semi-slurred baritone. His signature song was "Six Days on the Road," and he is also remembered for "Vietnam Blues," "Truck Drivin'...

    3 6 As Long as I Live George Jones
    George Jones
    George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....

    15 2 Autumn of My Life Bobby Goldsboro
    Bobby Goldsboro
    Bobby Goldsboro is an American country and pop singer-songwriter. He had a string of Pop and Country hits during the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature #1 classic "Honey," which sold well over one million copies in the United States.-Early life:Goldsboro was born in Marianna, Florida...

    7 7 Baby's Back Again Connie Smith
    Connie Smith
    Connie Smith is an American country music artist. She began her career in 1963 after winning a local talent contest near Columbus, Ohio, which attracted the attention of country songwriter Bill Anderson...

    14 7 Ballad of Two Brothers Autry Inman
    Autry Inman
    Robert Autry Inman , was an American country and rockabilly musician.-Biography:Inman was born in Florence, Alabama, and was performing on local radio station WLAY by age 14. He used his middle name "Autry" as his stage name. After completing school he worked as a reporter for the Lauderdale Co...

    16 Be Proud of Your Man Porter Wagoner
    Porter Wagoner
    Porter Wayne Wagoner was a popular American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. He introduced the young Dolly Parton near the beginning of her career on his long-running television show, and they were a well-known duet throughout the late 1960s and...

    11 Blue Lonely Winter Jimmy C. Newman
    Jimmy C. Newman
    Jimmy Yves Newman , better known as Jimmy C. Newman , is an American singer and a long time star of the Grand Ole Opry.-Biography:Newman was born near Big Mamou, Louisiana...

    21 8 Born a Fool Freddie Hart
    Freddie Hart (musician)
    Frederick Segrest , known professionally as Freddie Hart, is an American country musician and songwriter best-known for his No. 1 hit "Easy Loving," which won the Country Music Association Song of the Year award in 1971 and 1972....

    20 35 Born to Love You Jimmy C. Newman
    2 By the Time I Get to Phoenix
    By the Time I Get to Phoenix
    "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" is the title of a song written by Jimmy Webb. Originally recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1965, it was made famous by American country music singer Glen Campbell, appearing as the opening track on the latter's 1967 album of the same name. Campbell's version reached #2 on...

    Glen Campbell
    Glen Campbell
    Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...

    50 3 The Canadian Railroad Trilogy/It's My Time George Hamilton IV
    George Hamilton IV
    George Hege Hamilton IV is an American country musician. He began performing in the late 1950s as a teen idol, later switching to country music in the early 1960s.-Biography:Hamilton was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina...

    41 17 Christopher Robin The Stonemans
    Ernest Stoneman
    Ernest Van "Pop" Stoneman ranked among the prominent recording artists of country music's first commercial decade.-Biography:...

    16 6 Count Your Blessings, Woman Jan Howard
    Jan Howard
    Lula Grace Johnson , known professionally as Jan Howard, is an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry star. She attained moderate success as a country female vocalist during the 1960s and early 1970s...

    15 5 Country Girl Dottie West
    Dottie West
    Dottie West was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and co-recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most influential and groundbreaking female artists...

    8 The Country Music Hall of Fame Hank Locklin
    Hank Locklin
    Lawrence Hankins Locklin , better known as Hank Locklin, was an American country music singer-songwriter...

    20 Cry, Cry, Cry Connie Smith
    4 The Day the World Stood Still Charley Pride
    Charley Pride
    Charley Frank Pride is an American country music singer. His smooth baritone voice was featured on thirty-nine number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His greatest success came in the early- to mid-1970s, when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis...

    2 2 The Easy Part's Over Charley Pride
    13 11 The Enemy Jim Ed Brown
    Jim Ed Brown
    Jim Ed Brown is an American country music singer who achieved fame in the 1950s with his two sisters as a member of The Browns. He later had a successful solo career from 1965 to 1974, followed by a string of major duet hits with Helen Cornelius through 1981...

    15 5 Find Out What's Happening Bobby Bare
    Bobby Bare
    Robert Joseph Bare is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is the father of Bobby Bare, Jr., also a musician.-Early career:...

    8 Flower of Love Leon Ashley
    Leon Ashley
    Leon Walton is an American country music artist, known profressionally as Leon Ashley. He is known mainly for his number 1 single "Laura ", which topped the country singles charts in 1967. This single was distributed on his own label...

    10 Foggy River Carl Smith
    Carl Smith (country musician)
    Carl Milton Smith was an American country music singer. Known as "Mister Country," Smith was the husband of June Carter and Goldie Hill, the drinking companion of Johnny Cash, and the father of Carlene Carter...

    10 10 From Heaven to Heartache Bobby Lewis
    Bobby Lewis (country singer)
    Bobby Lewis is an American country music singer-songwriter. Between 1963 and 1985, Lewis released ten albums and charted more than twenty-five songs on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. His biggest hit, "How Long Has It Been," peaked at Number 6 in 1966.-Albums:-Singles:-External links:*[...

    30 20 Gentle on My Mind Glen Campbell
    52 17 Gypsy King Kitty Wells
    Kitty Wells
    Ellen Muriel Deason , known professionally as Kitty Wells, is an American country music singer. Her 1952 hit recording, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", made her the first female country singer to top the U.S. country charts, and turned her into the first female country star...

    22 10 Happy Street Slim Whitman
    Slim Whitman
    Ottis Dewey Whitman, Jr. , known professionally as Slim Whitman, is an American country music singer and songwriter, known for his yodelling abilities. He has sold in excess of 120 million albums in unit sales and has had numerous successful recordings...

    24 18 Harper Valley P.T.A. (Later That Same Day) Ben Colder
    Sheb Wooley
    Shelby F. "Sheb" Wooley was a character actor and singer, best known for his 1958 novelty song "Purple People Eater"...

    18 Heaven Help the Working Girl Norman Jean
    Norma Jean (singer)
    Norma Jean Beasler , better known as Norma Jean, is an American country music singer who was a member of The Porter Wagoner Show from 1961–1967. She had a number of country singles in the Top 10 and Top 20 between 1963 and 1967, including "Go Cat Go" and "The Game of Triangles", and was...

    2 Here Comes Heaven Eddy Arnold
    Eddy Arnold
    Richard Edward Arnold , known professionally as Eddy Arnold, was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a so-called Nashville sound innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the Billboard country music charts, second only to George Jones. He sold more...

    4 Here Comes the Rain, Baby Eddy Arnold
    15 21 Hey Daddy Charlie Louvin
    Charlie Louvin
    Charles Elzer Loudermilk , known professionally as Charlie Louvin, was an American country music singer and songwriter. He is best known as one of the Louvin Brothers, and was a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1955.-Biography:Born in Henagar, Alabama, Louvin was one of 7 children...

    13 6 Hey Little One Glen Campbell
    7 17 Holding on to Nothin' Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
    Dolly Parton
    Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

    10 30 I Believe in Love Bonnie Guitar
    Bonnie Guitar
    Bonnie Guitar is an American Country-Pop Singer. She is best remembered for her 1957 Country-Pop crossover hit "Dark Moon"...

    4 2 I Got You Waylon Jennings
    Waylon Jennings
    Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...

     and Anita Carter
    Anita Carter
    Ina Anita Carter , the youngest daughter of Ezra and Mother Maybelle Carter, was a versatile American singer who experimented with several different types of music and played stand-up bass with her sisters Helen Carter and June Carter Cash as The Carter Sisters...

    9 I Heard a Heart Break Last Night Jim Reeves
    Jim Reeves
    James Travis Reeves , better known as Jim Reeves, was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well-known for being a practitioner of the Nashville sound...

    14 6 I Keep Coming Back for More Dave Dudley
    26 13 I Promised You the World Ferlin Husky
    Ferlin Husky
    Ferlin Eugene Husky was an early American country music singer who was equally adept at the genres of traditional honky honk, ballads, spoken recitations, and rockabilly pop tunes...

    27 8 I Still Believe in Love Jan Howard
    11 I'd Give the World (To Be Back Loving You) Warner Mack
    Warner Mack
    Warner MacPherson , known professionally as Warner Mack, is an American country music singer-songwriter. Mack had many hits on the country charts from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, some of which crossed over to the pop charts....

    10 I'll Love You More (Than You Need) Jeannie Seely
    Jeannie Seely
    Jeannie Seely is an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry star. She is best-known for her 1966 Grammy award-winning Country hit, "Don't Touch Me", which peaked at No...

    38 11 I'm Coming Back Home to Stay The Buckaroos
    The Buckaroos
    The Buckaroos were a Grammy-winning band led by Buck Owens in the 1960s and early '70s, who were heavily involved in the development and presentation of the "Bakersfield Sound." Their peak of success was from 1965-1970. In 2005, CMT named the Buckaroos No...

    7 10 I'm Gonna Move On Warner Mack
    11 35 I've Been There Before Ray Price
    Ray Price (musician)
    Ray Price is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. His wide-ranging baritone has often been praised as among the best male voices of country music...

    5 6 I've Got You on My Mind Again Buck Owens
    Buck Owens
    Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...

    5 2 The Image of Me Conway Twitty
    Conway Twitty
    Conway Twitty , born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, was an American country music artist. He also had success in early rock and roll, R&B, and pop music. He held the record for the most number one singles of any act with 55 No. 1 Billboard country hits until George Strait broke the record in 2006...

    16 14 In Love Wynn Stewart
    Wynn Stewart
    Winford Lindsey Stewart , better known as Wynn Stewart, was an American country music performer. He was one of the progenitors of the Bakersfield sound...

    2 It Takes People Like You (To Make People Like Me) Buck Owens
    12 20 It's a Long, Long Way to Georgia Don Gibson
    Don Gibson
    Donald Eugene "Don" Gibson was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson penned such country standards as "Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjoyed a string of country hits from 1957 into the early 1970s.-Biography:Don Gibson was...

    11 It's All Over David Houston
    David Houston (singer)
    Charles David Houston was an American country music singer. His peak in popularity came between the mid-1960s through the early 1970s.-Biography:...

     and Tammy Wynette
    Tammy Wynette
    Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....

    3 3 It's All Over but the Crying Hank Williams, Jr.
    Hank Williams, Jr.
    Randall Hank Williams , better known as Hank Williams, Jr. and Bocephus, is an American country singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of Southern rock, blues, and traditional country...

    4 15 It's Over Eddy Arnold
    24 9 Jody and the Kid Roy Drusky
    Roy Drusky
    Roy Frank Drusky Jr., was an American country music singer popular from the 1960s through the early 1970s. Known for his baritone voice, he was known for incorporating the Nashville sound. His highest-charting single was the No. 1 "Yes Mr. Peters", a duet with Priscilla Mitchell.-Early life and...

    17 8 Just Because I'm a Woman Dolly Parton
    4 Just for You Ferlin Husky
    17 Last Goodbye Dick Miles
    Dick Miles
    Richard Theodore "Dick" Miles was an American table tennis player who won 10 national championships between 1945 and 1962, more than any other player. After his playing career ended, Miles wrote an instructional guide and continued in his sport by playing match games and doing trick shot...

    7 The Last Thing on My Mind
    The Last Thing on My Mind
    "The Last Thing on My Mind" is a song written by American musician and singer-songwriter Tom Paxton in the early 1960s, which Paxton first recorded in 1964...

    Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
    4 3 Let the Chips Fall Charley Pride
    7 36 Let the World Keep on A-Turnin' Buck Owens and Buddy Alan
    Buddy Alan
    Alvis Alan Owens , known professionally as Buddy Alan, is an American country music artist. The son of Buck Owens and Bonnie Owens and stepson of Merle Haggard, Alan recorded four albums for Capitol Records in the 1970s...

    14 7 Little Bit Later on Down the Line Bobby Bare
    6 33 Little Green Apples
    Little Green Apples
    "Little Green Apples" is a song written by Bobby Russell which was most successful as a 1968 hit single by O. C. Smith.According to Buzz Cason, who partnered Bobby Russell in the Nashville-based Rising Sons music publishing firm, Russell wrote both the songs "Honey" and "Little Green Apples" as "an...

    Roger Miller
    Roger Miller
    Roger Dean Miller was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...

    22 8 Little Things Willie Nelson
    Willie Nelson
    Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...

    18 Little World Girl George Hamilton IV
    5 4 Looking at the World Through a Windshield Del Reeves
    Del Reeves
    Franklin Delano Reeves , better known as Del Reeves, was an American country music singer, best known for his "girl-watching" novelty songs of the 1960s including "Girl on the Billboard" and "The Belles of Southern Bell"...

    10 11 Love Is in the Air Marty Robbins
    Marty Robbins
    Martin David Robinson , known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist...

    14 8 Love Me Love Me Bobby Barnett
    4 4 Love Takes Care of Me Jack Greene
    Jack Greene
    Jack Greene is an American country musician nicknamed the "Jolly Green Giant" and well known for his 1966 hit "There Goes My Everything."-Early career:...

    7 Love's Gonna Happen to Me Wynn Stewart
    14 4 Mental Journey Leon Ashley
    12 Milwaukee, Here I Come George Jones and Brenda Carter
    21 16 Mother, May I Lynn Anderson
    Lynn Anderson
    Lynn Rene Anderson is an American country music singer and equestrian known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, most notably her Grammy Award-winning, worldwide mega-hit, " Rose Garden." Helped by her regular exposure on national television, Anderson was one of the most...

     and Liz Anderson
    Liz Anderson
    Liz Anderson was anAmerican country music singer/songwriter who was one of a wave of a new generation of female vocalists in the genre during the 1960's to write and record her own songs on a regular basis. Writing in The New York Times Bill Friskics-Warren noted, "Like her contemporary Loretta...

    17 My Can Do Can't Keep Up with My Want To Nat Stuckey
    Nat Stuckey
    Nathan Stuckey was an American country singer. He recorded for various labels between 1966 and 1978, charting in the top 10 of Hot Country Songs with "Sweet Thang", "Plastic Saddle", "Sweet Thang and Cisco" and "Take Time to Love Her"-Biography:Raised in Atlanta, Texas, in Cass County, Nat Stuckey...

    11 My Goal for Today Kenny Price
    Kenny Price
    James Kenneth "Kenny" Price was a singer, songwriter, and actor. Nicknamed the "Round Mound of Sound," Price recorded for the Boone and RCA Victor, MRC and Dimension record labels, charting thirty-four singles on the Hot Country Songs charts between 1966 and 1980...

    8 19 No Another Time Lynn Anderson
    7 12 On Tap in the Can or in the Bottle Hank Thompson
    9 8 Plastic Saddle Nat Stuckey
    4 Promises, Promises
    Promises, Promises (Lynn Anderson song)
    "Promises, Promises" is the name of a country song made famous by Lynn Anderson in 1968."Promises, Promises" was Anderson's second major hit. The single was released in late 1967 on the Chart Records label, the distributed by RCA Victor...

    Lynn Anderson
    45 18 Raggedy Ann Charlie Rich
    Charlie Rich
    Charles Rich was an American country music singer and musician. A Grammy Award winner, his eclectic-style of music was often hard to classify in a single genre, playing in the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country, and gospel genres.In the latter part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname The Silver...

    17 6 Rainbows Are Back in Style Slim Whitman
    8 14 Ramona
    Ramona (song)
    "Ramona" is a 1928 song, with lyrics written by L. Wolfe Gilbert and music by Mabel Wayne.-History:It was created as the title song for the 1928 adventure film-romance Ramona . The song was used again in the 1936 remake of the movie...

    Billy Walker
    14 16 Remembering Jerry Reed
    Jerry Reed
    Jerry Reed Hubbard , known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country music singer, innovative guitarist, songwriter, and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films...

    19 6 Reno Dottie West
    10 Repeat After Me Jack Reno
    Jack Reno
    Jack Reno was an American country singer.-Career:Born in Bloomfield, Iowa, Reno appeared at the Grand Ole Opry in the 1960s and played with Waylon Jennings and Dolly Parton...

    2 Rosanna's Going Wild Johnny Cash
    Johnny Cash
    John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...

    11 3 Row Row Row Henson Cargill
    Henson Cargill
    Henson Cargill was an American country music singer best known for the 1968 No. 1 hit, "Skip a Rope". His music career began in Oklahoma in clubs around Oklahoma City and Tulsa...

    10 18 Run Away Little Tears Connie Smith
    8 Say It's Not You George Jones
    2 2 She Still Comes Around (To Love What's Left of Me) Jerry Lee Lewis
    6 7 She Wears My Ring Ray Price
    14 32 She Went a Little Bit Further Faron Young
    Faron Young
    Faron Young was an American country music singer and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s and one of its most successful and colorful stars...

    10 20 Something Pretty Wynn Stewart
    17 Something Special Mel Tillis
    Mel Tillis
    Lonnie Melvin Tillis , known professionally as Mel Tillis, is an American country music singer. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s, with a long list of Top 10 hits....

    41 17 The Sounds of Goodbye Tommy Cash
    Tommy Cash
    Tommy Cash, , is a singer-songwriter and younger brother of Johnny Cash.-Biography:Cash was born in Dyess, Arkansas, youngest of four sons and three daughters of Ray and Carrie Cash, and eight years after his brother, Johnny Cash. He formed his first band in high school. After high school...

    13 Stop the Sun Bonnie Guitar
    37 7 The Straight Life Bobby Goldsboro
    18 Sundown Mary Billy Walker
    2 4 Sweet Rosie Jones Buck Owens
    31 11 Take Me Along with You Van Trevor
    8 Take Me As I Am (Or Let Me Go) Ray Price
    9 5 That's When I See the Blues (In Your Pretty Brown Eyes) Jim Reeves
    10 5 There Ain't No Easy Run Dave Dudley
    16 18 There's a Fool Born Every Minute Skeeter Davis
    Skeeter Davis
    Mary Frances Penick , better known as Skeeter Davis, was an American country music singer best known for crossover pop music songs of the early 1960s. She started out as part of The Davis Sisters as a teenager in the late 1940s, eventually landing on RCA Records. In the late '50s, she became a solo...

    21 14 A Thing Called Love
    A Thing Called Love (song)
    "A Thing Called Love" is a song written and originally recorded by Jerry Reed in 1968. This song has been recorded by many artists, including Jimmy Dean, Elvis Presley and Dave Dudley. In 1971, the song was recorded by Johnny Cash and it became a #1 hit in Canada...

    Jimmy Dean
    Jimmy Dean
    Jimmy Ray Dean was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. Although he may be best known today as the creator of the Jimmy Dean sausage brand, he became a national television personality starting in 1957, rising to fame for his 1961 country crossover hit "Big Bad...

    16 21 Town That Broke My Heart Bobby Bare
    15 Tupelo Mississippi Flash Jerry Reed
    10 Undo the Right Johnny Bush
    Johnny Bush
    Johnny Bush, born February 17, 1935 as John Bush Shinn III in Houston, Texas, is a country music singer, songwriter, and drummer. Bush, nicknamed the "Country Caruso," is best-known for his distinctive voice and as the writer of "Whiskey River," a top-ten hit for himself and Willie Nelson's...

    5 5 Walk on Out of My Mind Waylon Jennings
    5 We'll Get Ahead Someday Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
    18 Weakness in a Man Roy Drusky
    25 18 White Fences and Evergreen Trees Ferlin Husky
    18 5 Wild Blood Del Reeves
    20 22 Will You Visit Me on Sundays? Charlie Louvin
    3 With Pen in Hand Johnny Darrell
    Johnny Darrell
    Johnny Darrell was an American country music artist.Darrell was born in Hopewell, Alabama but grew up in Marietta, Georgia. After a stint in the army, he moved to Nashville and began managing a Holiday Inn near Music Row when he was discovered by Kelso Herstin, a producer working for United...

    14 Wonderful World of Women Faron Young
    2 You've Just Stepped In (From Stepping Out on Me) Loretta Lynn
    Loretta Lynn
    Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...

    3 17 Your Squaw Is on the Warpath Loretta Lynn

    Singles released by Canadian artists

    US CAN Single Artist
    3 Calgary Gary Buck
    4 Changing of the Seasons Myrna Lorrie
    Myrna Lorrie
    Myrna Lorrie is a Canadian country singer.Lorrie first sang publicly at age 12 on Fort William radio station CKPR. At age 14 she recorded the song "Are You Mine" with Buddy DuVall, which was released on Abbott Records...

    12 Chaser for the Blues Bernie Early
    68 12 Come on Home Debbie Lori Kaye
    19 For Breaking Up My Heart Wayne King
    20 5 The Late and Great Love (Of My Heart) Hank Snow
    Hank Snow
    Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow was a Canadian-American country music artist. He charted more than 70 singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980...

    19 Such a Lovely Day Jeanie Ward
    50 14 The Sugar from My Candy Ray Griff
    Ray Griff
    Ray Griff is a Canadian country music singer and songwriter from Vancouver, British Columbia. Griff began songwriting in the early 1960s and had early cuts by Johnny Horton, Jim Reeves, and others. Griff moved to Nashville in 1964 to pursue his music career full-time...

    2 Turn Down the Music Myrna Lorrie
    13 The Wife You Save May Be Your Own Dianne Leigh
    Dianne Leigh
    Dianne Leigh is a Canadian country music performer. She was the first recipient of the Gold Leaf Award in 1970....


    Top new album releases

    • The Best of Bobby Bare Vol. 2 - Bobby Bare
      Bobby Bare
      Robert Joseph Bare is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is the father of Bobby Bare, Jr., also a musician.-Early career:...

       (RCA)
    • The Bottom of the BottlePorter Wagoner
      Porter Wagoner
      Porter Wayne Wagoner was a popular American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. He introduced the young Dolly Parton near the beginning of her career on his long-running television show, and they were a well-known duet throughout the late 1960s and...

       (RCA)
    • Country Girl - Dottie West
      Dottie West
      Dottie West was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and co-recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most influential and groundbreaking female artists...

       (RCA)
    • D-I-V-O-R-C-E - Tammy Wynette
      Tammy Wynette
      Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....

       (Epic)
    • Glen Campbell and Bobbie Gentry - Glen Campbell
      Glen Campbell
      Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...

       and Bobbie Gentry
      Bobbie Gentry
      Roberta Lee Streeter , professionally known as Bobbie Gentry, is a former American singer-songwriter notable as one of the first female country artists to compose and produce her own material...

       (Capitol)
    • Harper Valley PTA - Jeannie C. Riley
      Jeannie C. Riley
      Jeannie C. Riley is an American country music and gospel singer. She is best known for her 1968 country and pop hit "Harper Valley PTA" , which missed becoming the Billboard Country and Pop number one hit at the same time...

       (Plantation)
    • Honey - Bobby Goldsboro
      Bobby Goldsboro
      Bobby Goldsboro is an American country and pop singer-songwriter. He had a string of Pop and Country hits during the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature #1 classic "Honey," which sold well over one million copies in the United States.-Early life:Goldsboro was born in Marianna, Florida...

       (United Artists)
    • Just Because I'm a Woman - Dolly Parton
      Dolly Parton
      Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

       (RCA)
    • Liz Anderson Sings Her Favorites - Liz Anderson
      Liz Anderson
      Liz Anderson was anAmerican country music singer/songwriter who was one of a wave of a new generation of female vocalists in the genre during the 1960's to write and record her own songs on a regular basis. Writing in The New York Times Bill Friskics-Warren noted, "Like her contemporary Loretta...

       (RCA)
    • Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash
      Johnny Cash
      John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...

       (Columbia)
    • Promises, Promises - Lynn Anderson
      Lynn Anderson
      Lynn Rene Anderson is an American country music singer and equestrian known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, most notably her Grammy Award-winning, worldwide mega-hit, " Rose Garden." Helped by her regular exposure on national television, Anderson was one of the most...

       (Chart)
    • Walking in Love Land - Eddy Arnold
      Eddy Arnold
      Richard Edward Arnold , known professionally as Eddy Arnold, was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a so-called Nashville sound innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the Billboard country music charts, second only to George Jones. He sold more...

       (RCA)

    Births

    • January 27 — Tracy Lawrence
      Tracy Lawrence
      Tracy Lawrence is an American country music artist. He started at a country music restaurant called "Live At Libby's" where owner Libby Knight would help local talent find their way into country music...

      , singer with a string of hits in the 1990s and 2000s ("Sticks and Stones
      Sticks and Stones (song)
      "Sticks and Stones" is the title of a song written by Elbert West and Roger Dillon, and recorded by American country music artist Tracy Lawrence. It was released in November 1991 as the title track and first single from Lawrence's 1991 debut album...

      ", "Alibis
      Alibis (song)
      "Alibis" is the title of a song written by Randy Boudreaux and recorded by American country music artist Tracy Lawrence. It was released in February 1993 as the lead single from his album Alibis. The song became Lawrence's second Number One country hit in 1993 on the U.S...

      ", "Find Out Who Your Friends Are
      Find out Who Your Friends Are
      "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" is the title of a song written by Casey Beathard and Ed Hill, and recorded by American country music artist Tracy Lawrence. It was the lead-off single for his album For the Love, which was released in early 2007 on Rocky Comfort Records, a label which Lawrence owns...

      ", and others)
    • March 26 — Kenny Chesney
      Kenny Chesney
      Kenneth "Kenny" Arnold Chesney is an American country music singer and songwriter. Chesney has recorded 15 albums, 14 of which have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA. He has also produced more than 30 Top Ten singles on the U.S...

      , became one of the genre's leading superstars from the late 1990s onward.
    • June 3 — Jamie O'Neal
      Jamie O'Neal
      Jamie O'Neal is a contemporary country singer and songwriter who has had success in the United States. She was born Jamie Murphy in Sydney, Australia, to parents Jimmy and Julie Murphy, who were also professional musicians...

      , Australian-born female vocalist of the 2000s.
    • August 5 — Terri Clark
      Terri Clark
      Terri Lynn Sauson , known professionally as Terri Clark, is a Canadian country music artist who has had success in both Canada and the United States. Signed to Mercury Records in 1995, she released her self-titled debut that year...

      , Canadian-born female vocalist since the mid-1990s.
    • November 10 — Chris Cagle
      Chris Cagle
      Chris Cagle is an American country music artist. Signed with Virgin Records Nashville in 2000, Cagle made his debut on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts with the single "My Love Goes On and On", the first single from his debut album Play It Loud...

      , contemporary-styled singer of the 2000s

    Deaths

    • May 8 - George D. Hay
      George D. Hay
      George Dewey Hay was an American radio personality. He was the founder of the original Grand Ole Opry radio program on WSM-AM in Nashville, Tennessee, from which the country music stage show of the same name evolved....

      , 72, "The Solemn Old Judge", legendary announcer, first on WLS
      WLS (AM)
      WLS is a Chicago clear-channel AM station on 890 kHz. It uses C-QUAM AM stereo and transmits with 50,000 watts from transmitter and towers on the south edge of Tinley Park, Illinois....

       and later on WSM
      WSM (AM)
      WSM is the callsign of a 50,000 watt AM radio station located in Nashville, Tennessee. Operating at 650 kHz, its clear channel signal can reach much of North America and various countries, especially late at night...

      's Grand Ole Opry
      Grand Ole Opry
      The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...

       radio program.
    • June 14 — Ernest "Pop" Stoneman
      Ernest Stoneman
      Ernest Van "Pop" Stoneman ranked among the prominent recording artists of country music's first commercial decade.-Biography:...

      , 75, country music pioneer and leader of the Stoneman Family.
    • September 19 — Red Foley
      Red Foley
      Clyde Julian Foley , better known as Red Foley, was an American singer, musician, and radio and TV personality who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II....

      , 58, one of country music's top stars of the 1940s and 1950s (respiratory failure).

    Grammy Awards

    • Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Harper Valley PTA
      Harper Valley PTA
      "Harper Valley PTA" is a country song written by Tom T. Hall that was a major international hit single for country singer Jeannie C. Riley in 1968. Riley's record sold over six million copies as a single. The song made Riley the first woman to top both Billboard's Hot 100 and the U.S...

      ," Jeannie C. Riley
      Jeannie C. Riley
      Jeannie C. Riley is an American country music and gospel singer. She is best known for her 1968 country and pop hit "Harper Valley PTA" , which missed becoming the Billboard Country and Pop number one hit at the same time...

    • Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "Folsom Prison Blues
      Folsom Prison Blues
      "Folsom Prison Blues" is the title of a song written and recorded by American country music artist Johnny Cash. The song combines elements from two popular folk genres, the train song and the prison song, both of which Cash would continue to use for the rest of his career...

      ," Johnny Cash
      Johnny Cash
      John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...

    • Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "Foggy Mountain Breakdown
      Foggy Mountain Breakdown
      "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" is a bluegrass music instrumental by the bluegrass artists Flatt and Scruggs. It is a standard in the bluegrass repertoire. Banjo players consider the ability to deliver a convincing rendition of this piece the mark of an intermediate-level banjo player...

      ," Flatt & Scruggs
      Foggy Mountain Boys
      The Foggy Mountain Boys were an influential bluegrass band founded by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs in 1948, shortly after leaving Bill Monroe’s band. They recorded and performed together up until 1969.-Biography:...

    • Best Country Song — "Little Green Apples," Bobby Russell
      Bobby Russell
      Bobby Russell was an American singer and songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he charted five singles on the Hot Country Songs charts, including the crossover pop hit "Saturday Morning Confusion." Russell was also married to singer and actress Vicki Lawrence from 1972 to 1974.-Career:Russell wrote...

       (Performer: Roger Miller
      Roger Miller
      Roger Dean Miller was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...

      )

    Academy of Country Music

    • Single of the Year — "Little Green Apples," Roger Miller
      Roger Miller
      Roger Dean Miller was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...

    • Album of the YearBobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell
      Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell
      Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell is a 1968 album by Glen Campbell and Bobbie Gentry. Gentry and Campbell's harmonies resulted in a gold record and three hit singles, including a cover of the Everly Brothers' hit "All I Have to Do Is Dream", which rose to #3 on the U.K. Top 40 and #27 on the...

      , Bobbie Gentry
      Bobbie Gentry
      Roberta Lee Streeter , professionally known as Bobbie Gentry, is a former American singer-songwriter notable as one of the first female country artists to compose and produce her own material...

       and Glen Campbell
      Glen Campbell
      Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...

    • Top Male Vocalist — Glen Campbell
    • Top Female VocalistCathie Taylor
      Cathie Taylor
      Cathie Taylorwas born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on 7/26/1944. As a child Taylor had moved with her family from Canada to Morgan Hill, California. At age 12, a talent contest appearance led to her singing western folk songs on San Francisco’s KQED-TV. After some time raising blue-ribbon cows, she landed...

    • Top Vocal Duo — Johnny Mosby and Jonie Mosby
    • Top New Male VocalistRay Sanders
      Ray Sanders (singer)
      Raymon Sanders is an American country music artist. Between 1960 and 1980, he charted fourteen times on the Hot Country Songs charts with singles released by Liberty, Imperial and United Artists labels...

    • Top New Female Vocalist — Cheryl Poole

    Country Music Association

    • Entertainer of the YearGlen Campbell
      Glen Campbell
      Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...

    • Song of the Year — "Honey
      Honey (Bobby Goldsboro song)
      "Honey," also known as "Honey ," is a song written by Bobby Russell. He first produced it with former Kingston Trio member Bob Shane...

      ," Bobby Russell
      Bobby Russell
      Bobby Russell was an American singer and songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he charted five singles on the Hot Country Songs charts, including the crossover pop hit "Saturday Morning Confusion." Russell was also married to singer and actress Vicki Lawrence from 1972 to 1974.-Career:Russell wrote...

       (Performer: Bobby Goldsboro
      Bobby Goldsboro
      Bobby Goldsboro is an American country and pop singer-songwriter. He had a string of Pop and Country hits during the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature #1 classic "Honey," which sold well over one million copies in the United States.-Early life:Goldsboro was born in Marianna, Florida...

      )
    • Single of the Year — "Harper Valley PTA
      Harper Valley PTA
      "Harper Valley PTA" is a country song written by Tom T. Hall that was a major international hit single for country singer Jeannie C. Riley in 1968. Riley's record sold over six million copies as a single. The song made Riley the first woman to top both Billboard's Hot 100 and the U.S...

      ," Jeannie C. Riley
      Jeannie C. Riley
      Jeannie C. Riley is an American country music and gospel singer. She is best known for her 1968 country and pop hit "Harper Valley PTA" , which missed becoming the Billboard Country and Pop number one hit at the same time...

    • Album of the YearAt Folsom Prison
      At Folsom Prison
      At Folsom Prison is a live album by Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in May 1968. Since his 1955 song "Folsom Prison Blues", Cash had been interested in performing at a prison. His idea was put on hold until 1967, when personnel changes at Columbia Records put Bob Johnston in charge of...

      , Johnny Cash
      Johnny Cash
      John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...

    • Male Vocalist of the Year — Glen Campbell
    • Female Vocalist of the YearTammy Wynette
      Tammy Wynette
      Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....

    • Vocal Group of the YearPorter Wagoner
      Porter Wagoner
      Porter Wayne Wagoner was a popular American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. He introduced the young Dolly Parton near the beginning of her career on his long-running television show, and they were a well-known duet throughout the late 1960s and...

       and Dolly Parton
      Dolly Parton
      Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

    • Instrumentalist of the YearChet Atkins
      Chet Atkins
      Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...

    • Instrumental Group of the YearThe Buckaroos
      The Buckaroos
      The Buckaroos were a Grammy-winning band led by Buck Owens in the 1960s and early '70s, who were heavily involved in the development and presentation of the "Bakersfield Sound." Their peak of success was from 1965-1970. In 2005, CMT named the Buckaroos No...

    • Comedian of the YearBen Colder
      Sheb Wooley
      Shelby F. "Sheb" Wooley was a character actor and singer, best known for his 1958 novelty song "Purple People Eater"...


    Further reading

    • Kingsbury, Paul, "The Grand Ole Opry: History of Country Music. 70 Years of the Songs, the Stars and the Stories," Villard Books, Random House; Opryland USA, 1995
    • Kingsbury, Paul, "Vinyl Hayride: Country Music Album Covers 1947-1989," Country Music Foundation, 2003 (ISBN 0-8118-3572-3)
    • Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993 (ISBN 0-06-273244-7)
    • Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944-2005 - 6th Edition." 2005.
    The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
     
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