2015 in country music
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 2015.
| List of years in country music (table) |
|---|
| ... 2005 . 2006 . 2007 . 2008 . 2009 . 2010 . 2011 ... 2012 2013 2014 -2015- 2016 2017 2018 ... 2019 . 2020 . 2021 . 2022 . 2023 . 2024 . 2025 ... |
| Art . Archaeology . Architecture . Literature . Music . Philosophy . Science +... |
Events
- January 15 — Parodist Cledus T. Judd announces his retirement.[1]
- April — A new syndicated radio program, American Country Countdown Rewind with Bob Kingsley, consisting of Kingsley-hosted ACC programs from 1990-2005, is announced by Nash FM (the media brand and network of country music stations owned by Cumulus Media). The first programs were set to air the weekend of May 2.[2][3]
Top hits of the year
The following songs placed within the Top 20 on the Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay or Canada Country charts in 2015:
See also: List of number-one country singles of 2015 (U.S.) and List of number-one country singles of 2015 (Canada)
Singles released by American artists
Singles released by Canadian artists
| Songs | Airplay | Canada | Single | Artist | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 6 | Before You Drive Me Crazy | Wes Mack | [4] |
| — | — | 6 | Country Side[A] | Jason Blaine | [5] |
| — | — | 20 | Go Back | Leah Daniels | [6] |
| — | — | 17 | Groovin' with You | Gord Bamford | [7] |
| — | — | 8 | Lifted[A] | Dallas Smith | [8] |
| — | — | 5 | Make You Mine | High Valley | [9] |
| — | — | 17 | Night We Won't Forget[A] | Jess Moskaluke | [10] |
| — | 57 | 3 | Raised by a Good Time | Steven Lee Olsen | [11] |
| — | — | 19 | Shake It If Ya Got It | Kira Isabella | [12] |
| — | — | 10 | She Don't Drink Whiskey Anymore | Tim Hicks | [13] |
| — | — | 5 | Something You Just Don't Forget | Brett Kissel | [14] |
| — | — | 13 | Undressed | Bobby Wills | [15] |
| — | — | 9 | Upside Down[A] | Dean Brody | [16] |
| — | — | 1 | Wastin' Gas | Dallas Smith | [8] |
| — | — | 11 | When the Lights Go Down | Chad Brownlee | [17] |
| — | — | 15 | Who We Are[A] | Emerson Drive | [18] |
- Notes
- "—" denotes releases that did not chart
- A^ Current singles.
Top new album releases
The following albums placed on the Top Country Albums charts in 2015:
| US | Album | Artist | Record Label | Release Date | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 2015 Academy of Country Music Awards ZinePak | Various Artists | ZinePak LLC/Walmart | March 24 | |
| 10 | Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions | Robert Earl Keen | Dualtone | February 10 | |
| 9 | HippieLovePunk | Cody Canada and the Departed | Underground Sound | January 13 | |
| 4 | Hold My Beer: Volume 1 | Wade Bowen & Randy Rogers | Thirty Tigers | April 20 | |
| 1 | Holding All the Roses | Blackberry Smoke | Rounder | February 10 | |
| Jekyll + Hyde | Zac Brown Band | Southern Ground/Big Machine | April 28 | ||
| 1 | Love Somebody | Reba McEntire | Nash Icon | April 14 | |
| 7 | Me (EP) | RaeLynn | Valory Music Group | January 13 | |
| 5 | Mono | The Mavericks | Valory Music Group | February 17 | |
| 3 | Nashville: On the Record, Volume 2 | Various Artists | Big Machine | March 24 | |
| 3 | NOW That's What I Call ACM Awards 50 Years | Various Artists | Universal | March 31 | |
| 2 | Second Hand Heart | Dwight Yoakam | Warner Bros. Nashville | April 14 | |
| 1 | Southern Style | Darius Rucker | Capitol Nashville | March 31 | |
| 1 | Spring Break...Checkin' Out | Luke Bryan | Capitol Nashville | March 10 | |
| 5 | Spring Break...The Set List: The Complete Spring Break Collection ZinePak | Luke Bryan | Capitol Nashville | March 10 | |
| 2 | Still the One: Live from Vegas | Shania Twain | Mercury Nashville | March 3 | |
| Suffer in Peace | Tyler Farr | Columbia Nashville | April 28 | ||
| 3 | Terraplane | Steve Earle | New West | February 17 | |
| 1 | The Underdog | Aaron Watson | Big Label | February 17 |
Other top albums
| US | Album | Artist | Record Label | Release Date | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | All-Time Greatest Hits | LeAnn Rimes | Curb | February 3 | |
| 16 | The Average Joes DJ's Present: Mud in the Club, Volume 1 | Various Artists | Average Joes | March 3 | |
| 16 | Canaan Smith (EP) | Canaan Smith | Mercury Nashville | March 24 | |
| 39 | Cole Taylor | Cole Taylor | Cole Taylor | March 3 | |
| 26 | Down to Believing | Allison Moorer | eOne | March 17 | |
| 15 | Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me | Various Artists | Big Machine | February 17 | |
| 28 | Greatest Hits | Rodney Atkins | Curb | February 3 | |
| 25 | Natural Man | Jon Wolfe | Fool Hearted | March 31 | |
| 25 | Nothing but the Silence | Striking Matches | I.R.S. Nashville | March 24 | |
| 26 | On the Other Hand: All the Number Ones | Randy Travis | Warner Bros. Nashville | April 21 | |
| 14 | Ralph Stanley & Friends: Man of Constant Sorrow | Ralph Stanley | Cracker Barrel | January 19 | |
| 18 | Ringling Road | William Clark Green | Bill Grease | April 21 | |
| 15 | Small Town Dreams | Will Hoge | Cumberland | April 7 | |
| 28 | Something in the Water | Pokey LaFarge | Rounder | April 7 | |
| 16 | Southern Gravity | Kristian Bush | Streamsound | April 7 | |
| 11 | Still the King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys | Asleep at the Wheel | Bismeaux | March 3 | |
| 31 | Texas Like That | Zane Williams | Be Music & Entertainment | April 14 | |
| 11 | Turn It On (EP) | Eli Young Band | Republic Nashville | March 10 | |
| 26 | Whiskey on My Breath | Love and Theft | Hate & Purchase Music | February 10 |
Announced
| Album | Artist | Record Label | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| I Can't Imagine | Shelby Lynne | Rounder | May 5 |
| Traveller | Chris Stapleton | Mercury Nashville | May 5 |
| What Color Is Your Sky | Jason Michael Carroll | Kickstarter | May 5 |
| The First Time | Kelsea Ballerini | Black River | May 19 |
| Goldmine | John Anderson | Bayou Boys Music | May 26 |
| Outlaw in Me | The Lacs | Backroad | May 26 |
| Django & Jimmie | Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard | Legacy | June 2 |
| Summer Forever | Billy Currington | Mercury Nashville | June 2 |
| Folks Like Us | Montgomery Gentry | Blaster | June 9 |
| I Won't Back Down | Sammy Kershaw | Cleopatra | June 9 |
| Pageant Material | Kacey Musgraves | Mercury Nashville | June 9 |
| Southernality | A Thousand Horses | Republic Nashville | June 9 |
| There's Still a Little Country Left | Daryle Singletary | E1 Music | June 9 |
| 35 Biggest Hits | Tim McGraw | Curb | June 16 |
| 35 MPH Town | Toby Keith | Show Dog-Universal | June 16 |
| While the Gettin' Is Good | Corey Smith | Sugar Hill | June 23 |
| About to Get Real | Easton Corbin | Mercury Nashville | June 30 |
| Angels and Alcohol | Alan Jackson | ACR/EMI Nashville | July 17 |
| Start Here | Maddie & Tae | Dot | August 28 |
Deaths
- January 2 — Little Jimmy Dickens, 94, legendary Grand Ole Opry member (cardiac arrest)[19]
- January 12 — A. J. Masters, 64, singer-songwriter (prostate cancer)[20]
- January 16 — Dixie Hall, 80, Bluegrass songwriter and wife of Country Music Hall of Fame member Tom T. Hall (brain tumor)
- January 17 — Don Harron, 90, Canadian comedian and playwright best known to country audiences as "Charlie Farquharson" on television's Hee Haw (cancer).[21]
- March 9 — Wayne Kemp, 73, writer of Johnny Cash's "One Piece at a Time" among others; also a recording artist for MCA Nashville (various ailments)[22]
- April 30 — Steven Goldmann, music video director (cancer)[23]
Hall of Fame inductees
Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
- Jim Ed Brown and The Browns (Jim Ed (born 1934), Bonnie (born 1937); and Maxine (born (1932)).
- Grady Martin (1929-2001)
- The Oak Ridge Boys (multiple members - currently Duane Allen (born 1943), Joe Bonsall (born 1948), William Lee Golden (born 1939) and Richard Sterban (born 1943)).
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. TV.
References
- ↑ Stark, Phyllis (15 January 2015). "Cledus T. Judd on His Decision to Bow Out of the Music Business for a 'Higher Purpose'". Billboard. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ↑ "NASH Icon Partners With Bob Kingsley For ACC-Rewind," Media Confidential, April 17, 2015. Accessed 04-23-2015.
- ↑ "NASH To Launch 'American Country Countdown Rewind With Bob Kingsley'," All Access, April 17, 2015. Accessed 04-22-2015.
- ↑ "Wes Mack Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ↑ "Jason Blaine Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
- ↑ "Leah Daniels Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- ↑ "Gord Bamford Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Dallas Smith Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
- ↑ "High Valley Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
- ↑ "Jess Moskaluke Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Steven Lee Olsen Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
- ↑ "Kira Isabella Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
- ↑ "Tim Hicks Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
- ↑ "Brett Kissel Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
- ↑ "Bobby Wills Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
- ↑ "Dean Brody Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- ↑ "Chad Brownlee Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
- ↑ "Emerson Drive Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Grand Ole Opry performer Little Jimmy Dickens Dies at 94". January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ↑ Thanki, Juli (January 13, 2015). "Songwriter A.J. Masters, who co-wrote ‘Change My Mind,’ dies". The Tennessean. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
- ↑ "Don Harron, Canadian entertainment icon, dead at 90". CBC News. January 17, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
- ↑ Betts, Stephen L. (2015-03-10). "'Love Bug' Songwriter Wayne Kemp Dead at 74". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
- ↑ Oermann, Robert K. (April 30, 2015). "LifeNotes: Film, Video Director Steven Goldmann Dies". MusicRow. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
Other links
- Country Music Association
- Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame