1966 in country music

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See also: 1965 in country music, 1966 in music, other events of 1966, 1967 in country music, 1960s in music and the List of years in Country Music

Contents 1 Events 2 Top hits of the year 2.1 Number one hits 2.2 Other major hits 3 Top new album releases 4 Births 5 Deaths 6 Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees 7 Major Awards 7.1 Grammy awards 7.2 Academy of Country Music 8 Further reading

[edit] Events

• April - One of the last broadcasts of The Jimmy Dean Show features the first-ever Academy of Country Music awards. Big winners include Male Vocalist of the Year Buck Owens, Female Vocalist Bonnie Owens, and New Male Vocalist Merle Haggard; Haggard also shared the Vocal Duet/Group award with Bonnie Owens. Taped for later broadcast that year, the ACM Awards would in time become among the most anticipated events of the year by country fans.
• October - At age 48, Eddy Arnold becomes the youngest (to that time) living inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

[edit] Top hits of the year

[edit] Number one hits

(As certified by Billboard magazine)

• January 8 - "Giddyup Go" - Red Sovine
• February 19 - "Waitin' in Your Welfare Line" - Buck Owens and the Buckaroos
• April 9 - "I Want to Go With You" - Eddy Arnold
• May 21 - "Distant Drums" - Jim Reeves
• June 18 - "Take Good Care of Her" - Sonny James
• July 2 - "Think of Me" - Buck Owens and the Buckaroos
• August 13 - "Almost Persuaded" - David Houston
• October 15 - "Blue Side of Lonesome" - Jim Reeves
• October 22 - "Open Up Your Heart" - Buck Owens and the Buckaroos
• November 19 - "I Get the Fever" - Bill Anderson
• November 26 - "Somebody Like Me" - Eddy Arnold
• December 24 - "There Goes My Everything" - Jack Greene

[edit] Other major hits

• "Ballad of the Green Berets" - Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler
• "The Bottle Let Me Down" - Merle Haggard
• "Don't Touch Me" - Jeannie Seely
• "Evil on Your Mind" - Jan Howard
• "Flowers on the Wall" - Statler Brothers
• "Four-O-Thirty-Three" - George Jones
• "History Repeats Itself" - Buddy Starcher
• "The Hurtin's All Over" - Connie Smith
• "I Love You Drops" - Bill Anderson
• "I'm a People" - George Jones
• "The Last Word in Lonesome is Me" - Eddy Arnold
• "Livin' in a House Full of Love" - David Houston
• "The One on the Right is on the Left" - Johnny Cash
• "Room in Your Heart" - Sonny James
• "The Snakes Crawl at Night" - Charley Pride
• "Snowflake" - Jim Reeves
• "The Streets of Baltimore" - Bobby Bare
• "Sweet Thang" - Nat Stuckey
• "Swinging Doors" - Merle Haggard
• "Take Me" - George Jones
• "That's What You Get For Loving Me" - Waylon Jennings
• "Tippy Toeing" - The Harden Trio
• "Unmitigated Gall" - Faron Young
• "What We're Fighting For" - Dave Dudley
• "Would You Hold It Against Me" - Dottie West
• "You Ain't Woman Enough" - Loretta Lynn

[edit] Top new album releases

• The Best of Bobby Bare - Bobby Bare (RCA)
• Born to Sing - Connie Smith (RCA)
• Confessions of a Broken Man – Porter Wagoner (RCA)
• Distant Drums - Jim Reeves (RCA)
• Don't Touch Me - Wilma Burgess (Decca)
• Evil on Your Mind - Jan Howard (Decca)
• Folk Country - Waylon Jennings (RCA)
• I Want to Go With You - Eddy Arnold (RCA)
• Jimmy Dean's Greatest Hits - Jimmy Dean (Columbia)
• The Seely Style - Jeannie Seely (Monument)
• Somebody Like Me - Eddy Arnold (RCA)
• The Streets of Baltimore - Bobby Bare (RCA)
• Suffer Time - Dottie West (RCA)

[edit] Births

• July 29 - Martina McBride, crossover-styled female vocalist who rose to fame in the 1990s.
• August 19 - Lee Ann Womack, new traditionalist-styled singer of the 1990s and 2000s most famous for her crossover hit "I Hope You Dance."

[edit] Deaths

[edit] Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

• Eddy Arnold (born 1918)
• James R. Denny (1911-1963)
• George D. Hay (1895-1968)
• Uncle Dave Macon (1870-1952)

[edit] Major Awards

[edit] Grammy awards

[edit] Academy of Country Music

• Top Male Vocalist -- Merle Haggard
• Top Female Vocalist -- Bonnie Guitar
• Top New Male Vocalist -- Billy Mize
• Top New Female Vocalist -- Cathie Taylor

[edit] 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.