1979 in country music
See also: 1978 in country music, 1979 in music, other events of 1979, 1980 in country music, 1970s in music and the List of years in Country Music
Contents |
Events
Top hits of the year
Number one hits
(As certified by Billboard magazine)
- January 6 – "Tulsa Time" – Don Williams
- January 13 – "Lady Lay Down" – John Conlee
- January 20 – "Baby I'm Burning/I Really Got the Feeling" – Dolly Parton
- January 27 – "Why Have You Left the One You Left Me For" – Crystal Gayle
- February 10 – "Every Which Way But Loose" – Eddie Rabbitt
- March 3 – "Golden Tears" – Dave & Sugar
- March 24 – "I Just Fall in Love Again" – Anne Murray
- April 14 – "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" – Barbara Mandrell
- April 21 – "All I Ever Need is You" – Kenny Rogers and Dottie West
- April 28 – "Where Do I Put Her Memory" – Charley Pride
- May 5 – "Backside of Thirty" – John Conlee
- May 12 – "Don't Take it Away" – Conway Twitty
- May 19 – "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me" – Bellamy Brothers
- June 9 – "She Believes in Me" – Kenny Rogers
- June 23 – "Nobody Likes Sad Songs" – Ronnie Milsap
- June 30 – "Amanda" – Waylon Jennings
- July 21 – "Shadows in the Moonlight" – Anne Murray
- July 28 – "You're the Only One" – Dolly Parton
- August 11 – "Suspicions" – Eddie Rabbitt
- August 18 – "Coca Cola Cowboy" – Mel Tillis
- August 25 – "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" – The Charlie Daniels Band
- September 1 – "Heartbreak Hotel" – Willie Nelson and Leon Russell
- September 8 – "I May Never Get to Heaven" – Conway Twitty
- September 15 – "You're My Jamacia" – Charley Pride
- September 22 – "Just Good Ol' Boys" – Moe Bandy and Joe Stampley
- September 29 – "It Must Be Love" – Don Williams
- October 6 – "Last Cheater's Waltz" – T.G. Sheppard
- October 20 – "All the Gold in California" – Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers
- November 3 – "You Decorated My Life" – Kenny Rogers
- November 17 – "Come With Me" – Waylon Jennings
- December 1 – "Broken Hearted Me" – Anne Murray
- December 8 – "I Cheated Me Right Out of You" – Moe Bandy
- December 15 – "Happy Birthday Darlin'" – Conway Twitty
Other major hits
- "Back on My Mind Again" - Ronnie Milsap
- "Barstool Mountain" - Moe Bandy
- "Before My Time" - John Conlee
- "Blind in Love" - Mel Tillis
- "Blue Kentucky Girl" - Emmylou Harris
- "Come On In" - Oak Ridge Boys
- "Crazy Blue Eyes" - Lacy J. Dalton
- "Do You Ever Fool Around" - Joe Stampley
- "Don't Let Me Cross Over" - Jim Reeves and Deborah Allen
- "Down on the Rio Grande" - Johnny Rodriguez
- "Dream On" - Oak Ridge Boys
- "Everlasting Love" - Narvel Felts
- "Family Tradition" - Hank Williams Jr.
- "Farewell Party" - Gene Watson
- "Still a Woman" - Margo Smith
- "Fooled by a Feeling" - Barbara Mandrell
- "Fools" - Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius
- "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky" - Johnny Cash
- "Half the Way" - Crystal Gayle
- "Happy Together" - T.G. Sheppard
- "Here We Are Again" - Statler Brothers
- "How to Be a Country Star" - Statler Brothers
- "I Can't Feel You Anymore" - Loretta Lynn
- "I Just Can't Stay Married to You" - Cristy Lane
- "I Wanna Come Over" - Alabama
- "I'll Love Away Your Troubles For Awhile" - Janie Fricke
- "I'll Wake You Up When I Get Home" - Charlie Rich
- "I've Got a Picture of Us on My Mind" - Loretta Lynn
- "I've Done Enough Dying Today" - Larry Gatlin
- "If Everyone Had Someone Like You" - Eddy Arnold
- "If I Could Write a Song (as Beautiful as You)" - Billy "Crash" Craddock
- "In No Time at All" - Ronnie Milsap
- "Isn't it Always Love" - Lynn Anderson
- "It's a Cheating Situation" - Moe Bandy
- "Just Long Enough to Say Goodbye" - Mickey Gilley
- "The Lady in the Blue Mercedes" - Johnny Duncan
- "Lay Down Beside Me" - Don Williams
- "Lying in Love With You" - Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius
- "Mabellene" - George Jones and Johnny PayCheck
- "My Silver Lining" - Mickey Gilley
- "My World Begins and Ends With You" - Dave & Sugar
- "No Memories Hangin' Around" - Rosanne Cash and Bobby Bare
- "No One Else in the World" - Tammy Wynette
- "Nothing as Original as You" - Statler Brothers
- "The Official Historian on Shirley Jean Berrell" - Statler Brothers
- "Pick the Wildwood Flower" - Gene Watson
- "Play Together Again, Again" - Buck Owens and Emmylou Harris
- "Red Bandana" - Merle Haggard
- "Reunited" - Louise Mandrell and R.C. Bannon
- "Sail Away" - Oak Ridge Boys
- "Save the Last Dance for Me" - Emmylou Harris
- "Send Me Down to Tucson" - Mel Tillis
- "Should I Go Home (Or Should I Go Crazy)" - Gene Watson
- "Slow Dancing" - Johnny Duncan
- "Somebody Special" - Donna Fargo
- "Stay With Me" - Dave & Sugar
- "Sweet Dreams" - Reba McEntire
- "Sweet Memories" - Willie Nelson
- "Sweet Summer Lovin'" - Dolly Parton
- "Tell Me What It's Like" - Brenda Lee
- "Texas (When I Die)" - Tanya Tucker
- "They Call it Making Love" - Tammy Wynette
- "Till I Can Make it on My Own" - Kenny Rogers and Dottie West
- "Too Far Gone" - Emmylou Harris
- "When I Dream" - Crystal Gayle
- "Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound" - Hank Williams Jr.
- "Whiskey River" - Willie Nelson
- "You Ain't Just Whistlin' Dixie" - Bellamy Brothers
- "You Feel Good All Over" - T.G. Sheppard
- "Your Love Has Taken Me That High" - Conway Twitty
Top new album releases
- 3/4 Lonely - T.G. Sheppard (Warner Bros.)
- All Around Cowboy - Marty Robbins (Columbia)
- Alone Too Long - Charly McClain (Epic)
- Are You Sincere - Mel Tillis (MCA)
- Blue Kentucky Girl - Emmylou Harris (Reprise)
- Classics - Kenny Rogers and Dottie West (United Artists)
- Cross Winds - Conway Twitty (MCA)
- Electric Horseman - Willie Nelson (Columbia/CBS)
- Great Balls of Fire - Dolly Parton (RCA)
- I Don't Lie - Joe Stampley (Epic)
- Images – Ronnie Milsap (RCA)
- It's a Cheating Situation - Moe Bandy (Columbia)
- Jim Ed and Helen - Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius (RCA Victor)
- Just For the Record - Barbara Mandrell (MCA)
- Just Good Ol' Boys - Moe Bandy and Joe Stampley (Columbia/CBS)
- Kenny - Kenny Rogers (United Artists)
- Ladies Choice - Bill Anderson (MCA)
- Love Notes - Janie Fricke (Epic)
- Love Lies - Cristy Lane (LS)
- Loveline - Eddie Rabbitt (Elektra)
- New Kind of Feeling - Anne Murray (Capitol)
- Million Mile Reflections - The Charlie Daniels Band (Epic)
- Miss the Mississippi...and You - Crystal Gayle (United Artists)
- Mr. Entertainer - Mel Tillis (MCA)
- The Oak Ridge Boys Have Arrived - Oak Ridge Boys (MCA)
- One for the Road - Willie Nelson and Leon Russell (Columbia/CBS)
- The Originals - Statler Brothers (Mercury/Polygram)
- Out of a Dream - Reba McEntire (Mercury/Polygram)
- Outlaw is Just a State of Mind - Lynn Anderson (Columbia)
- The Performer - Marty Robbins (Columbia)
- Portraits - Don Williams (MCA)
- Rides Again Vol. 2 - Statler Brothers (Mercury/Polygram)
- See You When the Sun Goes Down - Johnny Duncan (Columbia)
- Simple Little Words - Cristy Lane (United Artists)
- Sings Kris Kristofferson - Willie Nelson (Columbia/CBS)
- Songs We Made Love To - Mickey Gilley (Playboy)
- Stay With Me/Golden Tears - Dave & Sugar
- Straight Ahead - Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers (Columbia)
- Straight Frrom Texas - Johnny Duncan (Columbia)
- The Two and Only - Bellamy Brothers (Warner Bros./Curb)
- We Should Be Together - Crystal Gayle (United Artists)
- What Goes Around Comes Around - Waylon Jennings (RCA)
- Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound - Hank Williams Jr. (Warner Bros.)
- You Don't Bring Me Flowers - Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius (RCA Victor)
- You're My Jamacia - Charley Pride (RCA)
Christmas albums
- Light of the Stable - Emmylou Harris (Reprise)
- Pretty Paper - Willie Nelson (CBS)
Births
Deaths
Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees
Major Awards
Grammy awards
Academy of Country Music
- Entertainer Of The Year -- Willie Nelson
- Song Of The Year -- "It's A Cheatin' Situation" - Moe Bandy - Sony Throckmorton, Curly Putman
- Single Of The Year -- "All The Gold In California" - Larry Gatlin
- Album Of The Year -- Straight Ahead - Larry Gatlin
- Top Male Vocalist -- Larry Gatlin
- Top Female Vocalist -- Crystal Gayle
- Top Vocal Duo -- Joe Stampley und Moe Bandy
- Top New Male Vocalist -- R.C. Bannon
- Top New Female Vocalist -- Lacy J. Dalton
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.
Other links
External links
Country Music Association
Categories
1979 in music | Years in country music