1972 in country music
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See also: 1971 in country music, 1972 in music, other events of 1972, 1973 in country music, 1970s in music and the List of years in Country Music
Contents |
[edit] Events
- March — For the first time since 1967, Sonny James fails to hit the No. 1 spot on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles Chart with a single release. His hit, "Only Love (Can Break a Heart)" stops at No. 2. James' record streak would hold for more than 14 years, until Alabama scored its 17th-straight with "40 Hour Week (For a Livin')" in August 1985. "The Southern Gentleman" will return to the No. 1 spot twice more during 1972 — "That's Why I Love You Like I Do" (a retitled remake of his 1957 hit, "You're the Reason I'm In Love," the lesser-known flip side of "Young Love;" and also his last major hit with Capitol Records); and "When the Snow is On the Roses."
- During 1972, James inks a recording deal with Columbia Records; "When the Snow..." is his first hit with his new label.
- June — The first Fan Fair is held in Nashville, Tennessee.
- June 3 - The Opryland USA country music theme park opens in Nashville.
- September – The premiere issue of Country Music magazine hits the newsstand. The magazine, which will be issued bi-monthly, is an immediate hit with critics and readers.
- October — The Country Music Association moves from NBC to CBS, where it remained until 2006 when the awards show moved to ABC. Loretta Lynn becomes the first woman to win the CMA's Entertainer of the Year award.
[edit] No dates
- The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, a California-based country-folk-rock band, releases their landmark Will the Circle Be Unbroken. The album of folk and country standards, recorded in Nashville alongside traditional country artists, is a huge critical and commercial success. Two additional volumes would be released in 1989 and 2002.
- Music and Billboard magazine chart historian Joel Whitburn releases "Top Country Songs 1944-1971." The book, published by Record Research, marks the first time a listing of every song and artist that had ever appeared on the chart had appeared in a single volume. Five more updated volumes will follow (the latest issued in late 2005), as well as two editions focusing on strictly those songs reaching the Top 40 (the original released in 1996, and an updated version in 2006).
[edit] Top hits of the year
[edit] Number one hits
(As certified by Billboard magazine)
- January 8 - “Would You Take Another Chance on Me” — Jerry Lee Lewis
- January 15 - “Carolyn” — Merle Haggard and the Strangers
- February 5 - “One’s on the Way” — Loretta Lynn
- February 19 - “Four in the Morning” — Faron Young
- March 4 - “Bedtime Story” — Tammy Wynette
- March 11 - “My Hang Up Is You” — Freddie Hart
- April 22 - “Chantilly Lace”/”Think About it Darlin’” — Jerry Lee Lewis
- May 13 - “Grandma Harp” — Merle Haggard and the Strangers
- May 27 - “(Lost Her Love) On Our Last Date” — Conway Twitty
- June 3 - “The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.” — Donna Fargo
- June 24 - “That’s Why I Love You Like I Do” — Sonny James
- July 1 - “Eleven Roses” — Hank Williams Jr.
- July 15 - “Made in Japan” — Buck Owens and the Buckaroos
- July 22 - “It’s Gonna Take a Little Bit Longer” — Charley Pride
- August 12 - “Bless Your Heart” — Freddie Hart
- August 26 - “If You Leave Me Tonight I’ll Cry” — Jerry Wallace
- September 2 - “Woman (Sensuous Woman)” — Don Gibson
- (“If You Leave Me Tonight I’ll Cry” by Jerry Wallace returns to No. 1 on September 9)
- September 16 - “When the Snow is on the Roses” — Sonny James
- September 23 - “I Can’t Stop Loving You” — Conway Twitty
- September 30 - “I Ain’t Never” — Mel Tillis
- October 14 - “Funny Face” — Donna Fargo
- November 4 - “It’s Not Love (But It’s Not Bad)” — Merle Haggard and the Strangers
- November 11 - “My Man (Understands)” — Tammy Wynette
- November 18 - “She’s Too Good to be True” — Charley Pride
- December 9 - “Got the All Overs for You (All Over Me)” — Freddie Hart
- December 30 - “She’s Got to be a Saint” — Ray Price
[edit] Other major hits
- “Ain’t Nothin’ Shakin’ But the Leaves on the Trees” — Billy "Crash" Craddock
- "Ain't That a Shame" – Hank Williams Jr. with The Mike Curb Congregation
- “All His Children” — Charley Pride
- “All the Lonely Women in the World” — Bill Anderson
- “Ann (Don’t Go Runnin’)” — Tommy Overstreet
- “Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me” — Mac Davis
- “The Best Part of Livin’” — Marty Robbins
- “Borrowed Angel” — Mel Street
- "Burning the Midnight Oil" - Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
- “The Ceremony” — George Jones and Tammy Wynette
- “Class of ’57" — Statler Brothers
- “Cotton Jenny” — Anne Murray
- “Cry” — Lynn Anderson
- “Delta Dawn” — Tanya Tucker
- “Do You Remember These” — Statler Brothers
- “Fool Me” — Lynn Anderson
- “Good Hearted Woman” — Waylon Jennings
- “Heaven is My Woman’s Love” — Tommy Overstreet
- “Here I Am Again” — Loretta Lynn
- “I Can’t See Me Without You” — Conway Twitty
- “I’m a Truck” — Red Simpson
- “I’m Gonna Knock at Your Door” — Billy "Crash" Craddock
- “I’ve Found Someone of My Own” — Cal Smith
- “I’ve Got to Have You” — Sammi Smith
- “If It Ain’t Love Let’s Leave it Alone” — Connie Smith
- “If You Touch Me (You’ve Got to Love Me)” — Joe Stampley
- “Just for What I Am” — Connie Smith
- "The Lawrence Welk-Hee Haw Counter-Revolution Polka" — Roy Clark
- “Listen to a Country Song” — Lynn Anderson
- “Lonely Women Make Good Lovers” — Bob Luman
- “Lonesomest Lonesome” — Ray Price
- "Lookin' Back to See" - Buck Owens and Susan Raye
- “Lovin’ You Could Never Be Better” — George Jones
- “Manhattan, Kansas” — Glen Campbell
- "Me and Jesus" — Tom T. Hall (featuring the Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church Choir)
- “Missing You” — Jim Reeves
- "My Heart Has A Mind of its Own" - Susan Raye
- “Oney” — Johnny Cash
- “Only Love (Can Break a Heart)” — Sonny James
- “A Picture of Me (Without You)” — George Jones
- “Pretend I Never Happened” — Waylon Jennings
- “Reach Out Your Hand” — Tammy Wynette
- "Red Red Wine" – Roy Drusky
- "Sweet Dream Woman" — Waylon Jennings
- “There’s a Party Going On” — Jody Miller
- “A Thing Called Love” — Johnny Cash
- “This Little Girl of Mine” — Faron Young
- “To Get to You” — Jerry Wallace
- "Tonight My Baby's Comin' Home" – Barbara Mandrell
- “Touch Your Woman” — Dolly Parton
- “We Can Make It” — Johnny Cash
- “When You Say Love” — Bob Luman
- “Whiskey River” — Johnny Bush
- "White Silver Sands" – Sonny James
[edit] Top new album releases
[edit] Gallery
 Eagles |
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 A Sweeter Love |
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 A Thing Called Love |
 Together Always |
 Touch Your Woman |
 Will the Circle Be Unbroken |
[edit] Other top albums
- Cry - Lynn Anderson (Columbia)
- Garden Party — Rick Nelson (MCA)
- The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA — Donna Fargo (Dot)
- The Hillbilly Singer - Skeeter Davis (RCA)
- If It Ain't Love and Other Dallas Frazier Songs - Connie Smith (RCA)
- Wheel of Fortune - Susan Raye (Capitol)
[edit] Christmas albums
 The Johnny Cash Family Christmas |
[edit] Births
- February 23 – Steve Holy, 2000s country singer best known for his No. 1 hit "Good Morning Beautiful."
- July 17 – Paul Brandt, Canadian country singer who began enjoying U.S. success in the late 1990s.
- August 16 – Emily Robison, member of the Dixie Chicks (she plays the guitar, banjo and dobro).
- October 28 – Brad Paisley, new traditionalist of the early 2000s.
[edit] Deaths
- January 28 – T. Texas Tyler, 55, 1940s country star best known for "The Deck of Cards."
- June 23 - Elton Britt, 59, 1940s country star best known for "There's a Star-Spangled Banner Flying Somewhere."
[edit] Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees
[edit] Major Awards
[edit] Grammy awards
- Best Female Country Vocal Performance -- "Help Me Make it Through the Night," Sammi Smith.
- Best Male Country Vocal Performance -- "When You're Hot, You're Hot," Jerry Reed.
- Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal -- "After the Fire is Gone," Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn.
- Best Country Instrumental Performance -- "Snowbird," Chet Atkins.
- Best Country Song -- "Help Me Make it Through the Night," Kris Kristofferson
[edit] Academy of Country Music
- Entertainer Of The Year -- Roy Clark
- Song Of The Year -- "The Happiest Girl In The Whole U.S.A." - Donna Fargo - Yvonne Silver
- Single Of The Year -- "Happiest Girl" - Donna Fargo
- Album Of The Year -- Happiest Girl - Donna Fargo
- Top Male Vocalist -- Merle Haggard
- Top Female Vocalist -- Donna Fargo
- Top Vocal Group -- Statler Brothers
- Top New Male Vocalist -- Johnny Rodriguez
- Top New Female Vocalist -- Tanya Tucker
[edit] Country Music Association
- Entertainer of the Year -- Loretta Lynn
- Male Vocalist of the Year -- Charley Pride
- Female Vocalist of the Year -- Loretta Lynn
- Instrumental Group of the Year –- Danny Davis & the Nashville Brass
- Vocal Group of the Year -- Statler Brothers
- Vocal Duo of the Year -- Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
- Single of the Year -- "The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.," Donna Fargo
- Song of the Year -- "Easy Lovin'," Freddie Hart
- Album of the Year -- Let Me Tell You About a Song, Merle Haggard
- Instrumentalist of the Year -- Charlie McCoy
[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.
