1961 in country music - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1961.

Events

March 17 – September 22 — 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...

-TV airs Five Star Jubilee
Five Star Jubilee
Five Star Jubilee was an American country music variety show carried by NBC-TV from March 17–September 22, 1961. The live program, a spin-off of ABC-TV's Jubilee USA, was the first network color television series to originate outside New York City or Hollywood.From March 17 to May 5, the...

, a weekly show featuring five rotating hosts: Rex Allen
Rex Allen
Rex Elvie Allen was an American film actor, singer and songwriter, known as the Arizona Cowboy, particularly known as the narrator in many Disney nature and Western film productions. For contributions to the recording industry, Allen was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-Family...

, Snooky Lanson
Snooky Lanson
Roy Landman , better known as Snooky Lanson, was an American singer known for co-starring on the NBC television series Your Hit Parade....

, Tex Ritter
Tex Ritter
Woodward Maurice Ritter , better known as Tex Ritter, was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter family in acting...

, 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...

and Jimmy Wakely
Jimmy Wakely
James Clarence Wakeley , better known as Jimmy Wakely, was an American country-Western singer and actor, one of the last crooning cowpokes following World War II...

.
June 14 — Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...

is seriously injured after a car accident. While in the hospital, the song "I Fall to Pieces
I Fall to Pieces
"I Fall to Pieces" is a single released by Patsy Cline in 1961, and was featured on her 1961 studio album, Patsy Cline Showcase. "I Fall to Pieces" was Cline's first #1 hit on the Country charts, and her second hit single to cross over onto the Pop charts...

" becomes a huge country-pop crossover hit.

No dates

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...

(CMA) develops and finalizes plans for the new Country Music Hall of Fame, to honor performers and others who were influential in the history of the genre. The first three inductees, honored on November 3, are all posthumous:
- Jimmie Rodgers
  Jimmie Rodgers (country singer)
  James Charles Rodgers , known as Jimmie Rodgers, was an American country singer in the early 20th century known most widely for his rhythmic yodeling...
  
  , a songwriter who - despite poor health - merged hillbilly and blues music into a revolutionary new sound.
- Fred Rose
  Fred Rose (musician)
  Fred Rose was an American Hall of Fame songwriter and music publishing executive.-Biography:Born in Evansville, Indiana, Fred Rose started playing piano and singing as a small boy. In his teens, he moved to Chicago, Illinois where he worked in bars busking for tips, and finally vaudeville...
  
  , a pioneering song publisher who formed the Acuff-Rose music publishing company in the 1940s. Also a talented songwriter, and record producer/executive.
- Hank Williams, legendary singer-songwriter whose songs are still sought after today.

With just a $1,500 budget, bronze plaques honoring each of the singers would be cast, a tradition that continues today.

Spade Cooley
Spade Cooley
Donnell Clyde Cooley , better known as Spade Cooley, was an American Western swing musician, big band leader, actor, and television personality...

is arrested in connection with the beating death of his second wife, Ella Mae Evans. He is convicted and sentenced to prison. En route to prison, he suffers a heart attack, from which he will recover.

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	Spec. Note
January 9	North to Alaska North to Alaska (song) "North to Alaska" is a 1960 hit song by Johnny Horton which featured in the movie of the same name. Though Horton had sung several popular movie tie-in songs, this was the first one that was sung over the opening titles....	Johnny Horton Johnny Horton John Gale "Johnny" Horton was an American country music and rockabilly singer most famous for his semi-folk, so-called "saga songs" which began the "historical ballad" craze of the late 1950s and early 1960s...	5	^[B]
February 27	Don't Worry Don't Worry (Marty Robbins song) "Don't Worry" is a 1961 country/pop single written and recorded by Marty Robbins. "Don't Worry" was Marty Robbins seventh number one on the country chart and stayed at number one for ten weeks...	Marty Robbins Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson , known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist...	10
May 8	Hello Walls Hello Walls "Hello Walls" is an American country music song recorded by Faron Young. It became a massive hit in 1961, reaching #1 country and #12 pop, and introduced its songwriter – Willie Nelson – to a national audience....	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...	9	Young's first Billboard Number One since "Country Girl" in 1959.
July 10	Heartbreak U.S.A. Heartbreak U.S.A. "Heartbreak U.S.A." is a 1961 song by Kitty Wells. The single became one of Kitty Wells most successful releases as a solo artist. "Heartbreak U.S.A." became Kitty Wells third and final number one, staying at the top spot for four weeks and spending twenty-three weeks on the chart...	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...	4	^[B]
August 7	I Fall to Pieces I Fall to Pieces "I Fall to Pieces" is a single released by Patsy Cline in 1961, and was featured on her 1961 studio album, Patsy Cline Showcase. "I Fall to Pieces" was Cline's first #1 hit on the Country charts, and her second hit single to cross over onto the Pop charts...	Patsy Cline Patsy Cline Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...	2	^{[1], [A]}
August 21	Tender Years Tender Years "Tender Years" is the title of a song written by Darrell Edwards and recorded by American country music artist George Jones. The song was George Jones second number one on the country chart where it spent seven non consecutive weeks at the top and a total of thirty-two weeks on the country chart...	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....	7	^[2] Jones' first Billboard Number One since "White Lightning White Lightning (George Jones song) "White Lightning" is the title of a song written by the rockabilly artist J. P. Richardson, best known by his stage name, The Big Bopper. The song was recorded by American country music artist George Jones and released as a single in February 1959. On April 13, 1959, Jones' version became the first... " in 1959.
September 25	Walk on By Walk On By (Leroy Van Dyke song) "Walk on By" is a 1961 song written by Kendall Hayes and Gary Walker and performed by Leroy Van Dyke. "Walk on By" was Van Dyke's most successful single, spending 37 weeks on the country chart and a record-breaking 19 at the number-one position...	Leroy Van Dyke Leroy Van Dyke Leroy Frank Van Dyke is an American country music singer best known for his hits, "The Auctioneer" and "Walk On By" .-Biography:...	19	^{[2], [C]}
November 20	Big Bad John Big Bad John "Big Bad John" is a country song originally performed by Jimmy Dean and composed by Dean and Roy Acuff. Released in September 1961, by the beginning of November it went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and won Dean the 1962 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording.The song and its...	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...	2	^[A] Also reached Number One on the Billboard Top Pop 100 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 Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 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.

^ 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.

US	Single	Artist
8	Backtrack	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...
9	Be Quiet Mind	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"...
5	Beggar to a King	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...
18	Big, Big 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...
7	Big River, Big Man	Claude King Claude King Claude King is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for his million selling 1962 hit, "Wolverton Mountain".-Biography:...
16	Black Land Farmer	Frankie Miller Frankie Miller (country musician) Frankie Miller is an American country musician.-Biography:Miller landed time singing on local station KNAL and recorded for 4 Star Records at the beginning of the 1950s, but served from 1951-53 in the United States Military during the Korean War. In 1954 he signed with Columbia Records, releasing...
4	The Blizzard	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	Blue Blue Day	The Wilburn Brothers The Wilburn Brothers The Wilburn Brothers were a popular American country music duo from the 1950s to the 1970s consisting of brothers Doyle Wilburn and Teddy Wilburn .-Biography:...
14	Conscience I'm Guilty	Rose Maddox Rose Maddox Roselea Maddox , better known as Rose Maddox, was an American country singer-songwriter and fiddle player.Born in Boaz, Alabama, Maddox was the singer in the Maddox Brothers and Rose....
16	Cozy Inn	Leon McAuliffe Leon McAuliffe Leon McAuliffe , born William Leon McAuliffe, was an American Western swing musician from Houston, Texas...
11	Crazy Bullfrog	Lewis Pruitt
15	Did I Ever Tell You	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.... and Margie Singleton Margie Singleton Margaret Louis Ebey , known professionally as Margie Singleton, is an American country music singer and songwriter. In the 1960s, she was a popular duet and solo recording artist, working with country stars George Jones and Faron Young. Singleton had her biggest hit with Young called "Keeping Up...
14	Diggy Liggy Lo Diggy Liggy Lo "Diggy Liggy Lo" is a single by American country music duo Rusty & Doug. Released in 1961, their version peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Doug Kershaw, one half of the duo, released a solo version of the song in 1969 that peaked at number 70 on the Billboard Hot...	Rusty & Doug Rusty & Doug Rusty & Doug was a country music and bluegrass music duo composed of Doug Kershaw and his brother, Rusty . The two recorded for Hickory Records between 1955 and 1961, charting five times on the Hot Country Songs charts. They also performed on the Louisiana Hayride and Wheeling Jamboree...
14	Don't Let Your Sweet Love Die	Reno and Smiley Reno and Smiley Reno and Smiley were a musical duo composed of Don Reno and Red Smiley. They were one of the most acclaimed duos in country music of the 1950s and early '60s.-How They Met:...
14	Everybody's Dying for Love	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...
16	Family Bible	George Jones
9	Flat Top	Cowboy Copas Cowboy Copas Lloyd Estel Copas , known by his stage name Cowboy Copas, was an American country music singer popular from the 1940s until his death in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country stars Patsy Cline and Hawkshaw Hawkins. He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry.-Biography:Copas was born in 1913 in...
2	Foolin' Around	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...
15	Forever Gone	Ernest Ashworth
20	Forget the Past	Faron Young
12	From Here to There to You	Hank Locklin Hank Locklin Lawrence Hankins Locklin , better known as Hank Locklin, was an American country music singer-songwriter...
10	Go Home	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:...
11	The Hand You're Holding Now	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...
12	Hangover Tavern	Hank Thompson
7	Happy Birthday to Me	Hank Locklin
5	Heart Over Mind	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...
4	Hello Fool	Ralph Emery Ralph Emery Walter Ralph Emery is a country music disc jockey and television host from Nashville, Tennessee. He gained national fame hosting the syndicated television music series, Pop! Goes the Country, from 1974 to 1980 and the nightly Nashville Network television program, Nashville Now, from 1983 to 1993...
7	How Do You Talk to a Baby	Webb Pierce Webb Pierce Webb Michael Pierce was one of the most popular American honky tonk vocalists of the 1950s, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the decade. His biggest hit was "In The Jailhouse Now," which charted for 37 weeks in 1955, 21 of them at number one...
5	I Dreamed of a Hill-Billy Heaven	Tex Ritter Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice Ritter , better known as Tex Ritter, was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter family in acting...
12	I Love You Best of All	The Louvin Brothers
15	I Want to Live Again	Rose Maddox
9	I Went Out of My Way (To Make You Happy)	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...
10	I'd Rather Loan You Out	Roy Drusky
4	I'll Just Have a Cup of Coffee (Then I'll Go)	Claude Gray Claude Gray Claude Gray is an American country music singer-songwriter and guitar picker best known for his 1960 hit "Family Bible," which has been covered by many different artists.-Early life:...
17	In Memory of Johnny Horton	Johnny Hardy
3	It's Your World	Marty Robbins Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson , known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist...
11	Kisses Never Lie	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...
14	Kissing My Pillow	Rose Maddox
11	Last Date Last Date (song) "Last Date" is a 1960 instrumental written and performed by Floyd Cramer. "Last Date" peaked at number 11 on the country chart and peaked at number two on the Hot 100.-Chart performance:-Cover versions:...	Floyd Cramer Floyd Cramer Floyd Cramer was an American Hall of Fame pianist who was one of the architects of the "Nashville sound." He popularized the "slip note" piano style where an out-of-tune note slides effortlessly into the correct note...
5	Let Forgiveness In	Webb Pierce
20	Lonelyville	Ray 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...
4	Loose Talk Loose Talk (song) "Loose Talk" was a 1954 song written by Freddie Hart and recorded by Carl Smith and was his last number one. It was at the top spot of the Billboard country and western chart for seven weeks and had a total of thirty-two weeks listed there...	Buck Owens and Rose Maddox
10	Louisiana Man	Rusty & Doug
7	Loving You (Was Worth This Broken Heart)	Bob Gallion Bob Gallion Bob Gallion was an American country music singer. Between 1958 and 1973, he recorded for various country labels, charting nine times on the Hot Country Songs charts. His biggest hit was "Wall to Wall Love", which went to number 5 in 1962.-Biography:Bob Gallion was born April 22, 1924 in Ashland,...
8	Mental Cruelty	Buck Owens and Rose Maddox
3	My Ears Should Burn (When Fools Are Talked About)	Claude Gray
5	My Last Date (With You)	Skeeter Davis
7	Odds and Ends (Bits and Pieces)	Warren Smith Warren Smith (singer) Warren Smith was an American rockabilly and country music singer and guitarist.-Biography:Smith was born in Humphreys County, Mississippi to Iola and Willie Warren Smith, who divorced when he was young...
13	Oh Lonesome Me Oh Lonesome Me "Oh Lonesome Me" is a popular song written and recorded by Don Gibson with Chet Atkins producing for RCA Victor in Nashville in 1958. The song topped the country chart for eight non consecutive weeks, in addition to reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100...	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...
7	Oklahoma Hills Oklahoma Hills "Oklahoma Hills" is a song written by Woody Guthrie.Jack Guthrie, Woody's cousin, later changed the lyrics and music and in 1945 recorded a Western swing version which he took to number one on the Juke Box Folk Records charts...	Hank Thompson
17	One Grain of Sand	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...
14	One Step Ahead of My Past	Hank Locklin
20	One Way Street	Bob Gallion
10	Optimistic	Skeeter Davis
19	The Other Cheek	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...
11	Please Mr. Kennedy	Jim Nesbitt Jim Nesbitt Jim Nesbitt was a country music singer. He had his first hit with "Please Mr. Kennedy" in 1961. It was released on Dot Records and became a number one hit on the Billboard charts. His next hit, "New Frontier" reached #11 on Billboard. It was recorded on Rush Records in 1962...
9	Po' Folks	Bill Anderson
12	Polka on a Banjo	Flatt & Scruggs
15	Ragged but Right	Moon Mullican Moon Mullican Aubrey Wilson Mullican , known as Moon Mullican, was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. However, he also sang and played jazz, rock 'n' roll and the blues...
11	The Restless One	Hank Snow
9	Right or Wrong	Wanda Jackson Wanda Jackson Wanda Lavonne Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist who had success in the mid-1950s and 60s as one of the first popular female rockabilly singers and a pioneering rock and roll artist...
8	San Antonio Rose New San Antonio Rose "San Antonio Rose"/"New San Antonio Rose" was the signature song of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. "San Antonio Rose" was an instrumental song written by Bob Wills, who first recorded it with the Playboys in 1938. Band members added lyrics and it was retitled "New San Antonio Rose"...	Floyd Cramer
2	Sea of Heartbreak Sea of Heartbreak "Sea of Heartbreak" is a song written by Paul Hampton and Hal David and recorded by Don Gibson in 1961.The song has been covered by other artists a number of times, perhaps most famously by Johnny Cash. Cash's daughter, Rosanne Cash, recently covered the song in 2009 as a duet with Bruce...	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...
16	Shorty	Jimmy Smart
10	Signed Sealed and Delivered	Cowboy Copas
20	Sleep, Baby, Sleep	Connie Hall Connie Hall Connie Hall is an American country music singer, who had brief success as a country music artist in the late 1950s and 1960s. She is also a songwriter.-Early life and rise to fame:...
9	Sleepy-Eyed John	Johnny Horton Johnny Horton John Gale "Johnny" Horton was an American country music and rockabilly singer most famous for his semi-folk, so-called "saga songs" which began the "historical ballad" craze of the late 1950s and early 1960s...
3	Soft Rain	Ray Price
16	Stand at Your Window	Jim Reeves
12	Sunny Tennessee	Cowboy Copas
6	Sweet Dreams	Don Gibson
3	Sweet Lips	Webb Pierce
20	Sweethearts Again	Bob Gallion
20	There Must Be Another Way to Live	Kitty Wells
16	Thoughts of a Fool	Ernest Tubb Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb , nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" , marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music...
2	Three Hearts in a Tangle	Roy Drusky
9	Three Steps to the Phone (Millions of Miles)	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...
14	Through That Door	Ernest Tubb
13	To You and Yours (From Me and Mine)	George Hamilton IV
10	Too Many Times	Don Winters
13	Twenty-Fourth Hour	Ray Price
2	Under the Influence of Love	Buck Owens
9	Walk Out Backwards	Bill Anderson
5	Walking the Streets	Webb Pierce
15	What Would You Do	Jim Reeves
6	When Two Worlds Collide	Roger Miller Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...
2	Window Up Above Window Up Above "Window Up Above" is a 1975 single by Mickey Gilley. "Window Up Above" would be Mickey Gilley's fourth number one on the country chart. The single stayed at number one for a single week and spent a total of twelve weeks on the country chart. "Window Up Above" was written and originally recorded...	George Jones
8	Wreck on the Highway	Wilma Lee Wilma Lee Cooper Wilma Lee Leary , known professionally as Wilma Lee Cooper, was an American bluegrass-based country music entertainer.-Biography:... and Stoney Cooper Stoney Cooper Dale Troy Cooper , known professionally as Stoney Cooper, was an American country star and member of the Grand Ole Opry. He was a master of the fiddle and the guitar.-Biography:...
14	You Don't Want My Love	Roger Miller
4	You're the Reason You're the Reason "You're the Reason" is a song by Bobby Edwards, released as a single in 1961. The song reached number four on the Country singles chart and number eleven on the Pop singles chart.-Bobby Edwards:-Joe South:-Hank Locklin:...	Bobby Edwards Bobby Edwards Bobby Edwards is an American country singer who recorded between 1959 and 1964.-Biography:...
14	You're the Reason You're the Reason "You're the Reason" is a song by Bobby Edwards, released as a single in 1961. The song reached number four on the Country singles chart and number eleven on the Pop singles chart.-Bobby Edwards:-Joe South:-Hank Locklin:...	Hank Locklin
16	You're the Reason You're the Reason "You're the Reason" is a song by Bobby Edwards, released as a single in 1961. The song reached number four on the Country singles chart and number eleven on the Pop singles chart.-Bobby Edwards:-Joe South:-Hank Locklin:...	Joe South Joe South Joe South is a multi-talented American singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Career:...
10	Your Old Love Letters	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...

Single

Artist

Backtrack

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...

Be Quiet Mind

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"...

Beggar to a King

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...

Big, Big Love

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...

Big River, Big Man

Claude King

Claude King is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for his million selling 1962 hit, "Wolverton Mountain".-Biography:...

Black Land Farmer

Frankie Miller

Frankie Miller (country musician)

Frankie Miller is an American country musician.-Biography:Miller landed time singing on local station KNAL and recorded for 4 Star Records at the beginning of the 1950s, but served from 1951-53 in the United States Military during the Korean War. In 1954 he signed with Columbia Records, releasing...

The Blizzard

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...

Blue Blue Day

The Wilburn Brothers

The Wilburn Brothers were a popular American country music duo from the 1950s to the 1970s consisting of brothers Doyle Wilburn and Teddy Wilburn .-Biography:...

Conscience I'm Guilty

Rose Maddox

Roselea Maddox , better known as Rose Maddox, was an American country singer-songwriter and fiddle player.Born in Boaz, Alabama, Maddox was the singer in the Maddox Brothers and Rose....

Cozy Inn

Leon McAuliffe

Leon McAuliffe , born William Leon McAuliffe, was an American Western swing musician from Houston, Texas...

Crazy Bullfrog

Lewis Pruitt

Did I Ever Tell You

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....

and Margie Singleton

Margie Singleton

Margaret Louis Ebey , known professionally as Margie Singleton, is an American country music singer and songwriter. In the 1960s, she was a popular duet and solo recording artist, working with country stars George Jones and Faron Young. Singleton had her biggest hit with Young called "Keeping Up...

Diggy Liggy Lo

"Diggy Liggy Lo" is a single by American country music duo Rusty & Doug. Released in 1961, their version peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Doug Kershaw, one half of the duo, released a solo version of the song in 1969 that peaked at number 70 on the Billboard Hot...

Rusty & Doug

Rusty & Doug was a country music and bluegrass music duo composed of Doug Kershaw and his brother, Rusty . The two recorded for Hickory Records between 1955 and 1961, charting five times on the Hot Country Songs charts. They also performed on the Louisiana Hayride and Wheeling Jamboree...

Don't Let Your Sweet Love Die

Reno and Smiley

Reno and Smiley were a musical duo composed of Don Reno and Red Smiley. They were one of the most acclaimed duos in country music of the 1950s and early '60s.-How They Met:...

Everybody's Dying for Love

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...

Family Bible

George Jones

Flat Top

Cowboy Copas

Lloyd Estel Copas , known by his stage name Cowboy Copas, was an American country music singer popular from the 1940s until his death in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country stars Patsy Cline and Hawkshaw Hawkins. He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry.-Biography:Copas was born in 1913 in...

Foolin' Around

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...

Forever Gone

Ernest Ashworth

Forget the Past

Faron Young

From Here to There to You

Hank Locklin

Lawrence Hankins Locklin , better known as Hank Locklin, was an American country music singer-songwriter...

Go Home

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:...

The Hand You're Holding Now

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...

Hangover Tavern

Hank Thompson

Happy Birthday to Me

Hank Locklin

Heart Over Mind

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...

Hello Fool

Ralph Emery

Walter Ralph Emery is a country music disc jockey and television host from Nashville, Tennessee. He gained national fame hosting the syndicated television music series, Pop! Goes the Country, from 1974 to 1980 and the nightly Nashville Network television program, Nashville Now, from 1983 to 1993...

How Do You Talk to a Baby

Webb Pierce

Webb Michael Pierce was one of the most popular American honky tonk vocalists of the 1950s, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the decade. His biggest hit was "In The Jailhouse Now," which charted for 37 weeks in 1955, 21 of them at number one...

I Dreamed of a Hill-Billy Heaven

Tex Ritter

Woodward Maurice Ritter , better known as Tex Ritter, was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter family in acting...

I Love You Best of All

The Louvin Brothers

I Want to Live Again

Rose Maddox

I Went Out of My Way (To Make You Happy)

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...

I'd Rather Loan You Out

Roy Drusky

I'll Just Have a Cup of Coffee (Then I'll Go)

Claude Gray

Claude Gray is an American country music singer-songwriter and guitar picker best known for his 1960 hit "Family Bible," which has been covered by many different artists.-Early life:...

In Memory of Johnny Horton

Johnny Hardy

It's Your World

Marty Robbins

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

Kisses Never Lie

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...

Kissing My Pillow

Rose Maddox

Last Date

Last Date (song)

"Last Date" is a 1960 instrumental written and performed by Floyd Cramer. "Last Date" peaked at number 11 on the country chart and peaked at number two on the Hot 100.-Chart performance:-Cover versions:...

Floyd Cramer

Floyd Cramer was an American Hall of Fame pianist who was one of the architects of the "Nashville sound." He popularized the "slip note" piano style where an out-of-tune note slides effortlessly into the correct note...

Let Forgiveness In

Webb Pierce

Lonelyville

Ray 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...

Loose Talk

Loose Talk (song)

"Loose Talk" was a 1954 song written by Freddie Hart and recorded by Carl Smith and was his last number one. It was at the top spot of the Billboard country and western chart for seven weeks and had a total of thirty-two weeks listed there...

Buck Owens and Rose Maddox

Louisiana Man

Rusty & Doug

Loving You (Was Worth This Broken Heart)

Bob Gallion

Bob Gallion was an American country music singer. Between 1958 and 1973, he recorded for various country labels, charting nine times on the Hot Country Songs charts. His biggest hit was "Wall to Wall Love", which went to number 5 in 1962.-Biography:Bob Gallion was born April 22, 1924 in Ashland,...

Mental Cruelty

Buck Owens and Rose Maddox

My Ears Should Burn (When Fools Are Talked About)

Claude Gray

My Last Date (With You)

Skeeter Davis

Odds and Ends (Bits and Pieces)

Warren Smith

Warren Smith (singer)

Warren Smith was an American rockabilly and country music singer and guitarist.-Biography:Smith was born in Humphreys County, Mississippi to Iola and Willie Warren Smith, who divorced when he was young...

Oh Lonesome Me

"Oh Lonesome Me" is a popular song written and recorded by Don Gibson with Chet Atkins producing for RCA Victor in Nashville in 1958. The song topped the country chart for eight non consecutive weeks, in addition to reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100...

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...

Oklahoma Hills

"Oklahoma Hills" is a song written by Woody Guthrie.Jack Guthrie, Woody's cousin, later changed the lyrics and music and in 1945 recorded a Western swing version which he took to number one on the Juke Box Folk Records charts...

Hank Thompson

One Grain of Sand

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...

One Step Ahead of My Past

Hank Locklin

One Way Street

Bob Gallion

Optimistic

Skeeter Davis

The Other Cheek

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...

Please Mr. Kennedy

Jim Nesbitt

Jim Nesbitt was a country music singer. He had his first hit with "Please Mr. Kennedy" in 1961. It was released on Dot Records and became a number one hit on the Billboard charts. His next hit, "New Frontier" reached #11 on Billboard. It was recorded on Rush Records in 1962...

Po' Folks

Bill Anderson

Polka on a Banjo

Flatt & Scruggs

Ragged but Right

Moon Mullican

Aubrey Wilson Mullican , known as Moon Mullican, was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. However, he also sang and played jazz, rock 'n' roll and the blues...

The Restless One

Hank Snow

Right or Wrong

Wanda Jackson

Wanda Lavonne Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist who had success in the mid-1950s and 60s as one of the first popular female rockabilly singers and a pioneering rock and roll artist...

San Antonio Rose

New San Antonio Rose

"San Antonio Rose"/"New San Antonio Rose" was the signature song of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. "San Antonio Rose" was an instrumental song written by Bob Wills, who first recorded it with the Playboys in 1938. Band members added lyrics and it was retitled "New San Antonio Rose"...

Floyd Cramer

Sea of Heartbreak

"Sea of Heartbreak" is a song written by Paul Hampton and Hal David and recorded by Don Gibson in 1961.The song has been covered by other artists a number of times, perhaps most famously by Johnny Cash. Cash's daughter, Rosanne Cash, recently covered the song in 2009 as a duet with Bruce...

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...

Shorty

Jimmy Smart

Signed Sealed and Delivered

Cowboy Copas

Sleep, Baby, Sleep

Connie Hall

Connie Hall is an American country music singer, who had brief success as a country music artist in the late 1950s and 1960s. She is also a songwriter.-Early life and rise to fame:...

Sleepy-Eyed John

Johnny Horton

John Gale "Johnny" Horton was an American country music and rockabilly singer most famous for his semi-folk, so-called "saga songs" which began the "historical ballad" craze of the late 1950s and early 1960s...

Soft Rain

Ray Price

Stand at Your Window

Jim Reeves

Sunny Tennessee

Cowboy Copas

Sweet Dreams

Don Gibson

Sweet Lips

Webb Pierce

Sweethearts Again

Bob Gallion

There Must Be Another Way to Live

Kitty Wells

Thoughts of a Fool

Ernest Tubb

Ernest Dale Tubb , nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" , marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music...

Three Hearts in a Tangle

Roy Drusky

Three Steps to the Phone (Millions of Miles)

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...

Through That Door

Ernest Tubb

To You and Yours (From Me and Mine)

George Hamilton IV

Too Many Times

Don Winters

Twenty-Fourth Hour

Ray Price

Under the Influence of Love

Buck Owens

Walk Out Backwards

Bill Anderson

Walking the Streets

Webb Pierce

What Would You Do

Jim Reeves

When Two Worlds Collide

Roger Miller

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

Window Up Above

"Window Up Above" is a 1975 single by Mickey Gilley. "Window Up Above" would be Mickey Gilley's fourth number one on the country chart. The single stayed at number one for a single week and spent a total of twelve weeks on the country chart. "Window Up Above" was written and originally recorded...

George Jones

Wreck on the Highway

Wilma Lee

Wilma Lee Cooper

Wilma Lee Leary , known professionally as Wilma Lee Cooper, was an American bluegrass-based country music entertainer.-Biography:...

and Stoney Cooper

Stoney Cooper

Dale Troy Cooper , known professionally as Stoney Cooper, was an American country star and member of the Grand Ole Opry. He was a master of the fiddle and the guitar.-Biography:...

You Don't Want My Love

Roger Miller

You're the Reason

"You're the Reason" is a song by Bobby Edwards, released as a single in 1961. The song reached number four on the Country singles chart and number eleven on the Pop singles chart.-Bobby Edwards:-Joe South:-Hank Locklin:...

Bobby Edwards

Bobby Edwards is an American country singer who recorded between 1959 and 1964.-Biography:...

You're the Reason

Hank Locklin

You're the Reason

Joe South

Joe South is a multi-talented American singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Career:...

Your Old Love Letters

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...

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Other major hits

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Births

Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

Further reading

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