1978 in country music

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See also: 1977 in country music, 1978 in music, other events of 1978, 1979 in country music, and the List of years in Country Music

Contents

[edit] Events

  • March 4 - 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 magazine'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.
  • 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 45th birthday. He had signed a recording contract with Mercury Records earlier in the year.

[edit] Top hits of the year

[edit] Number one hits

(As certified by Billboard magazine)

[edit] Other major hits

[edit] Top new album releases

1 A collection of Crystal Gayle's earliest recordings from the early 1970s.

[edit] Other albums

[edit] Christmas albums

[edit] Births

[edit] Deaths

[edit] Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

[edit] Major Awards

[edit] Grammy awards

  • Best Country Vocal Performance, Female -- "Here You Come Again" - Dolly Parton
  • Best Country Vocal Performance, Male -- "Georgia On My Mind" - Willie Nelson
  • Best Country Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group -- "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 (Ray Benson, Link Davis, Floyd Domino, Tony Garnier, Daniel Levin, Bill Mabry, Lucky Oceans, Chris O'Connell, Leroy Preston, Pat Ryan, Andy Stein, Chris York)
  • Best Country Song -- "The Gambler" - Don Schlitz

[edit] Academy of Country Music

[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.

[edit] Other links

[edit] External links

[edit] Country Music Association