March 4 — The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) telecasts the first complete Grand Ole Opry show from the new Grand Ole Opry House as it happened from 6-9 pm. The show featured Del Reeves, The Willis Brothers, Billy Grammer, Lonzo and Oscar, Bill Monroe, Porter Wagoner, Roy Acuff, The Crook Brothers, The Fruit Jar Drinkers, Ronnie Milsap, Grandpa Jones, George Hamilton IV and others. The show would run over about 18 minutes the first night. The telecast would repeat from 1979 to 1981.
March 25 — "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson becomes the last song for 12 years to spend four weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart. There wouldn't be another four-week No. 1 until "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart" by Randy Travis in April 1990. The trend of fewer (and shorter) multi-week runs at No. 1 on Billboard, even for the year's biggest hits, is the result of changes in radio programming and the magazine's reporting methods.
May 6 — Bob Kingsley takes over hosting duties of "American Country Countdown," a stint that will last 27 years. He had been a producer of the radio countdown show since 1974.
May 24 — The United States Postal Service issues a 13-cent commemorative stamp honoring Jimmie Rodgers, one of the genre's pioneers. The Rodgers stamp, designed by artist Jim Sharpe, is the first in the Postal Service's long-running Performing Arts Series.
September — The Donna Fargo Show premieres in syndication.
October 4 — One of Nashville's most mysterious crimes involves the reported abduction and beating of Tammy Wynette. Media reports said that Wynette had been abducted by a masked man at a shopping center before the beating. No suspects were ever named or arrested. While Wynette would insist the story was true, her daughter raised doubts, claiming the incident was fabricated to cover physical abuse from her newlywed husband, songwriter/producer George Richey
October 21 — Fans of Mel Street are saddened when the honky tonk-styled singer, who had long battled clinical depression and alcoholism, committed suicide on his 43rd birthday. He had signed a recording contract with Mercury Records earlier in the year.
(as certified by Billboard)
(as certified by RPM)
Dark Eyed Lady — Donna Fargo (Warner Bros.)
The Gambler — Kenny Rogers (United Artists)
Heartbreaker — Dolly Parton (RCA)
I've Always Been Crazy — Waylon Jennings (RCA)
I've Cried the Blue Right Out of My Eyes — Crystal Gayle (MCA)1
Night Time Magic — Larry Gatlin (Monument)
Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town — Emmylou Harris (Warner/Reprise)
Stardust — Willie Nelson (Columbia/CBS)
TG — T. G. Sheppard (Warner Bros./Curb)
TNT — Tanya Tucker (MCA)
Waylon & Willie — Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson (RCA)
When I Dream — Crystal Gayle (United Artists)
1 A collection of Crystal Gayle's earliest recordings from the early 1970s.
Ain't Living Long Like This - Rodney Crowell (Warner Bros.)
Bartender's Blues - George Jones (Epic/CBS)
Billy "Crash" Craddock - Billy "Crash" Craddock (Capitol)
Country Soul – Mel Street (Polydor/Polygram)
Entertainers On and Off the Record - Statler Brothers (Mercury/Polygram)
Every Time Two Fools Collide - Kenny Rogers and Dottie West (United Artists)
Expressions - Don Williams (ABC/Dot)
I Still Believe in Love - Charlie Rich (United Artists)
Love's Ups and Downs - Barbara Mandrell (ABC/Dot)
A Lover's Question - Jacky Ward (Mercury/Polygram)
Only One Love in My Life – Ronnie Milsap (RCA)
Oh Brother! - Larry Gatlin (Monument)
Let's Keep it That Way - Anne Murray (Capitol)
Love ... & Other Sad Stories - Bill Anderson MCA
Love or Something Like It - Kenny Rogers (United Artists)
Room Service - Oak Ridge Boys (ABC/Dot)
Rose Colored Glasses - John Conlee (ABC/Dot)
She Can Put Her Shoes Under My Bed Anytime - Johnny Duncan (Columbia/CBS)
Tear Time - Dave & Sugar (RCA)
Variations - Eddie Rabbitt (Elektra)
White Mansions - Waylon Jennings (RCA)
Christmas Card - Statler Brothers (Mercury/Polygram)
April 15 — Chris Stapleton, male vocalist who helped revive the blues-soul sound of country music in the 2010s, most notably with the album Traveller.
June 13 – Jason Michael Carroll, male vocalist best known for "Alyssa Lies."
July 21 — Brad Mates, lead singer of Canadian band Emerson Drive
July 31 — Zac Brown, lead singer of his eponymously named band, who began having hits in the late 2000s.
September 14 — Danielle Peck, up-and-coming country music star
June 12 — Johnny Bond, 63, singer of the 1940s through 1960s, best known for his novelty songs about drunkenness (heart attack).
October 21 — Mel Street, 43, honky tonk-styled artist and one of the most promising new artists of the 1970s (suicide).
October 23 — Maybelle Carter, 69, singer and songwriter of the Carter Family and mother of Anita, Helen and June Carter Cash.
December 16 — Jenny Lou Carson, 63, first female to write a #1 country hit ("You Two-Timed Me One Time Too Often").
Grandpa Jones (1913-1998)
Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Here You Come Again," Dolly Parton
Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "Georgia on My Mind," Willie Nelson
Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys," Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson
Best Country Instrumental Performance — "One O'Clock Jump," Asleep at the Wheel
Best Country Song — "The Gambler," Don Schlitz (Performer: Kenny Rogers)
Country Male Vocalist of the Year — Ronnie Prophet
Country Female Vocalist of the Year — Carroll Baker
Country Group or Duo of the Year — The Good Brothers
Entertainer of the Year — Kenny Rogers
Song of the Year — "You Needed Me," Randy Goodrum (Performer: Anne Murray)
Single of the Year — "Tulsa Time," Don Williams
Album of the Year — Y'all Come Back Saloon, The Oak Ridge Boys
Top Male Vocalist — Kenny Rogers
Top Female Vocalist — Barbara Mandrell
Top Vocal Group — The Oak Ridge Boys
Top New Male Vocalist — John Conlee
Top New Female Vocalist — Cristy Lane
Entertainer of the Year — Dolly Parton
Song of the Year — "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue," Richard Leigh (Performer: Crystal Gayle)
Single of the Year — "Heaven's Just a Sin Away," The Kendalls
Album of the Year — It Was Almost Like a Song, Ronnie Milsap
Male Vocalist of the Year — Don Williams
Female Vocalist of the Year — Crystal Gayle
Vocal Duo of the Year — Kenny Rogers and Dottie West
Vocal Group of the Year — The Oak Ridge Boys
Instrumentalist of the Year — Roy Clark
Instrumental Group of the Year — The Oak Ridge Boys Band
Country Music Association
Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame
