1974 in country music
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1974.
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Events
- March 16 — The Grand Ole Opry moves from the Ryman Auditorium, its home of the past 41 years, to the newly constructed 4,400-seat Grand Ole Opry House, on the Opryland complex. President Richard Nixon is a guest at the Ryman's last show. The Ryman would essentially sit vacant for the next two decades before being renovated in the early 1990s as a historical landmark and concert hall.
- July 17 — Don Rich, a key member of Buck Owens' backing band, The Buckaroos, is killed in a motorcycle crash on State Route 99 north of Bakersfield, California; he was 32. Owens is deeply saddened by Rich's death, and it will gravely affect his career for many years.[1]
No dates
- Country purists - long troubled by a growing trend of pop music-influenced country - have an ACE up their sleeves, when they form the Association of Country Entertainers. The group forms as a result of an outcry over the 1974 Country Music Association awards program, where pop diva Olivia Newton-John won Female Vocalist of the Year, and Danny Davis & the Nashville Brass was awarded another Instrumental Group of the Year.
- The proliferation of No. 1 hits, as certified by Billboard, extends into 1974, when 40 songs reach the top of the Hot Country Singles chart. In fact, just nine songs - 10, if one counts Merle Haggard's "If We Make It Through December," which spent two of its four weeks at No. 1 in January - remain at the top spot for more than one week.
- Dolly Parton leaves Porter Wagoner's band and his weekly television show, after seven years, to embark on a solo career.
- Loretta Lynn releases "The Pill" a sexually frank song about birth control. The song is deemed too controversial and most country stations refuse to play it.
Top hits of the year
Number one hits
United States
(as certified by Billboard)
- Notes
Canada
(as certified by RPM)
- Notes
Other major hits
Singles released by American artists
| US | CAN | Single | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | — | After the Fire Is Gone | Willie Nelson and Tracy Nelson |
| 10 | 12 | Ain't Love a Good Thing | Connie Smith |
| 19 | 37 | Angels Are Hard to Find | Hank Williams, Jr. |
| 9 | 3 | Annie's Song | John Denver |
| 13 | 24 | At the Time | Jean Shepard |
| 13 | 57 | Atta Way to Go | Don Williams |
| 51 | 15 | Back in the Country | Roy Acuff |
| 6 | 2 | Baby Doll | Barbara Fairchild |
| 14 | 21 | The Baptism of Jesse Taylor | Johnny Russell |
| 11 | 15 | Between Lust and Watching TV | Cal Smith |
| 22 | 17 | Biff, the Friendly Purple Bear | Dick Feller |
| 4 | 2 | Big Four Poster Bed | Brenda Lee |
| 8 | 7 | Big Game Hunter | Buck Owens |
| 17 | 26 | Bloody Mary Morning | Willie Nelson |
| 8 | 8 | Boney Fingers | Hoyt Axton and Renee Armand |
| 9 | 14 | Bring Back Your Love to Me | Don Gibson |
| 24 | 2 | Can I Come Home to You | Bill Anderson |
| 9 | 13 | Can You Feel It | David Houston |
| 19 | — | Come on In and Let Me Love You | Lois Johnson |
| 10 | 38 | Credit Card Song | Dick Feller |
| 13 | 17 | The Crude Oil Blues | Jerry Reed |
| 2 | 5 | Daddy, What If | Bobby Bare and Bobby Bare, Jr. |
| 14 | 15 | Delta Dirt | Larry Gatlin |
| 11 | 17 | Don't Let Go | Mel Tillis and Sherry Bryce |
| 10 | 47 | Don't Tell (That Sweet Ole Lady of Mine) | Johnny Carver |
| 12 | 13 | Don't You Think | Marty Robbins |
| 10 | — | Drinkin' Thing | Gary Stewart |
| 7 | 5 | Every Time I Turn the Radio On | Bill Anderson |
| 23 | 16 | Field of Yellow Daisies | Charlie Rich |
| 3 | 6 | Get on My Love Train | LaCosta |
| 12 | 17 | A Good Woman's Love | Jerry Reed |
| 19 | — | Goodbye | Rex Allen, Jr. |
| 12 | 8 | The Great Divide | Roy Clark |
| 18 | 44 | Guess Who | Jerry Wallace |
| 2 | — | Hang in There Girl | Freddie Hart |
| 26 | 13 | He Can Be Mine | Jeannie Seely |
| 8 | 4 | He Can't Fill My Shoes | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 6 | 4 | Help Me | Elvis Presley |
| 17 | 23 | Here We Go Again | Brian Shaw |
| 15 | 34 | Highway Headin' South | Porter Wagoner |
| 20 | 35 | Houston (I'm Comin' to See You) | Glen Campbell |
| 11 | 7 | How Lucky Can One Man Be | Joe Stampley |
| 17 | — | I Just Started Hatin' Cheatin' Songs Today | Moe Bandy |
| 6 | 18 | I Love You, I Love You | David Houston and Barbara Mandrell |
| 13 | — | I Never Knew (What That Song Meant Before) | Connie Smith |
| 19 | 23 | I Wish That I Had Loved You Better | Eddy Arnold |
| 19 | 43 | I'd Fight the World | Jim Reeves |
| 17 | — | I'll Do Anything It Takes (To Stay with You) | Jean Shepard |
| 7 | 2 | I'll Think of Something | Hank Williams, Jr. |
| 6 | — | I'll Try a Little Bit Harder | Donna Fargo |
| 11 | 40 | I'm Having Your Baby | Sunday Sharpe |
| 17 | 7 | I'm Leavin' It All Up to You | Donny and Marie Osmond |
| 3 | 2 | I'm Still Loving You | Joe Stampley |
| 4 | 96 | I've Got a Thing About You Baby | Elvis Presley |
| 11 | 11 | I've Just Got to Know (How Loving You Would Be) | Freddy Weller |
| 8 | 2 | If I Miss You Again Tonight | Tommy Overstreet |
| 16 | — | It'll Come Back | Red Sovine |
| 6 | 9 | (It's A) Monster's Holiday | Buck Owens |
| 10 | — | It's That Time of Night | Jim Ed Brown |
| 13 | 77 | It's Time to Cross That Bridge | Jack Greene |
| 3 | 3 | (Jeannie Marie) You Were a Lady | Tommy Overstreet |
| 8 | — | Last Time I Saw Him | Dottie West |
| 13 | 12 | Lean It All on Me | Diana Trask |
| 15 | — | Like a First Time Thing | Ray Price |
| 11 | 7 | Lovin' on Borrowed Time | Mel Street |
| 9 | — | Loving You Has Changed My Life | David Rogers |
| 11 | 17 | Lucky Ladies | Jeannie Seely |
| 11 | 38 | Makin' the Best of a Bad Situation | Dick Feller |
| 4 | 10 | The Man That Turned My Mama On | Tanya Tucker |
| 3 | 3 | Memory Maker | Mel Tillis |
| 4 | 3 | A Mi Esposa Con Amor (To My Wife with Love) | Sonny James |
| 2 | 2 | Midnight Me and the Blues | Mel Tillis |
| 64 | 16 | My Girl Bill | Jim Stafford |
| 19 | 37 | My Part of Forever | Johnny Paycheck |
| 9 | 3 | My Wife's House | Jerry Wallace |
| 19 | 12 | Old Home Filler-Up an' Keep On-a-Truckin' Cafe | C. W. McCall |
| 8 | 4 | The Older the Violin, The Sweeter the Music | Hank Thompson |
| 9 | 13 | On the Cover of Music City News | Buck Owens |
| 3 | 65 | Once You've Had the Best | George Jones |
| 8 | 30 | One Day at a Time | Don Gibson |
| 19 | — | One Day at a Time | Marilyn Sellars |
| 16 | 22 | The Rainbow in Daddy's Eyes | Sammi Smith |
| 13 | 21 | Rainy Night in Georgia | Hank Williams, Jr. |
| 21 | 19 | Red Rose from the Blue Side of Town | George Morgan |
| 13 | 9 | The River's Too Wide | Jim Mundy |
| 17 | 33 | Rosie Cries a Lot | Ferlin Husky |
| 51 | 11 | Sally G | Paul McCartney |
| 20 | 20 | Silver Threads and Golden Needles | Linda Ronstadt |
| 15 | 10 | Smile for Me | Lynn Anderson |
| 12 | 23 | Snap Your Fingers | Don Gibson |
| 8 | 6 | Some Kind of a Woman | Faron Young |
| 6 | 11 | Something | Johnny Rodriguez |
| 10 | 7 | Sometime Sunshine | Jim Ed Brown |
| 2 | 5 | Somewhere Between Love and Tomorrow | Roy Clark |
| 8 | 9 | Song and Dance Man | Johnny Paycheck |
| 17 | — | Standing in Your Line | Barbara Fairchild |
| 10 | 6 | Statue of a Fool | Brian Collins |
| 7 | 29 | Still Loving You | Bob Luman |
| 3 | 4 | Stomp Them Grapes | Mel Tillis |
| 40 | 11 | Stop and Smell the Roses | Mac Davis |
| 18 | 30 | Stop the World (And Let Me Off) | Susan Raye |
| 5 | 9 | Take Me Home to Somewhere | Joe Stampley |
| 18 | 8 | Tell Tale Signs | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 14 | 9 | Ten Commandments of Love | David Houston and Barbara Mandrell |
| 11 | 14 | That Girl Who Waits on Tables | Ronnie Milsap |
| 2 | 2 | That Song Is Driving Me Crazy | Tom T. Hall |
| 12 | — | This Time I Almost Made It | Barbara Mandrell |
| 12 | 19 | Tonight Someone's Falling in Love | Johnny Carver |
| 10 | 9 | Twentieth Century Drifter | Marty Robbins |
| 25 | 16 | The Uptown Poker Club | Jerry Reed |
| 14 | — | Wake Me Into Love | Bud Logan and Wilma Burgess |
| 3 | 3 | The Want-To's | Freddie Hart |
| 8 | — | We Loved It Anyway | George Jones and Tammy Wynette |
| 5 | — | We Should Be Together | Don Williams |
| 15 | 16 | (We're Not) The Jet Set | George Jones and Tammy Wynette |
| 16 | 26 | When I Get My Hands on You | Diana Trask |
| 14 | 14 | When Your Good Love Was Mine | Narvel Felts |
| 10 | 12 | Who Left the Door to Heaven Open | Hank Thompson |
| 27 | 18 | Workin' at the Car Wash Blues | Tony Booth |
| 6 | 5 | Wrong Ideas | Brenda Lee |
| 20 | 22 | The Wrong in Loving You | Faron Young |
| 15 | 34 | You Don't Need to Move a Mountain | Jeanne Pruett |
| 15 | — | You Make Me Feel More Like a Man | Mel Street |
| 16 | 20 | You're Not Getting Older (You're Getting Better) | Freddy Weller |
Singles released by Canadian artists
| US | CAN | Single | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | 4 | Anna Marie | Bruce Miller |
| — | 11 | Ballad of the Hotel Waitress | Roy MacCaull |
| — | 20 | The Balladeer | Jim and Don Haggart |
| — | 10 | Battle of New Orleans | Mike Graham |
| — | 2 | Bitter Sweet Songs | Dick Damron |
| — | 2 | Bittersweet | Donna Moon |
| — | 19 | Blues Comin' Round | Marg Osburne |
| — | 14 | Cardboard Cowboys | Bob Ruzicka |
| — | 9 | Eastbound Highway | Orval Prophet |
| — | 19 | Ghost Story | Mike Graham |
| — | 8 | Great Canadian Tour | Ian Tyson |
| — | 18 | Happy Anniversary | Con Archer |
| — | 13 | He | Jim and Don Haggart |
| 91 | 18 | The Hill | Ray Griff |
| — | 15 | His Kind of Woman | Dianne Leigh |
| — | 12 | House of Glass | Allan Capson |
| — | 17 | I Love Your Kind of Lovin' | Lynn Jones |
| — | 10 | I'd Go Through It All Again | Carroll Baker |
| — | 4 | Kids in the Kitchen | Family Brown |
| — | 16 | Little Boy Blue | Carroll Baker |
| — | 14 | Love Is Simple | Family Brown |
| — | 3 | Momma Brown | R. Harlan Smith |
| — | 6 | Our Loving Times | Mercey Brothers |
| — | 19 | Our Summer Song | Tommy Ambrose |
| — | 15 | Shoeshine Workin' Song | Murray McLauchlan |
| — | 11 | Sing-a-Long with Me | Linda Brown |
| 5 | 3 | Son of a Rotten Gambler | Anne Murray |
| — | 14 | Standing on the Promises | Newman Sisters |
| 13 | 4 | Sundown | Gordon Lightfoot |
| — | 11 | Sweet Jesus | Roy Payne |
| — | 3 | Ten Little Fingers | Carroll Baker |
| 65 | 12 | That Doesn't Mean (I Don't Love My God) | Ray Griff |
| 36 | 5 | That's You and Me | Hank Snow |
| — | 15 | What Used to Be a River | Jim and Don Haggart |
| — | 10 | Whisper to Me Tina | Roy Payne |
| — | 13 | A Window Mannikin | Jo-Anne |
| — | 16 | You Do It Again | Sharon Lowness |
Top new album releases
- Breakaway — Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge (Monument)
- Elvis: A Legendary Performer Volume 1 — Elvis Presley (RCA)
- Elvis: As Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis — Elvis Presley (RCA)
- Good Times — Elvis Presley (RCA)
- The Grand Tour — George Jones (Epic)
- Having Fun with Elvis on Stage — Elvis Presley (RCA)
- If You Love Me, Let Me Know — Olivia Newton-John (MCA)
- Jolene — Dolly Parton (RCA)
- Junkie and the Juicehead Minus Me — Johnny Cash (Columbia)
- Long Live Love — Olivia Newton-John (EMI)
- Phases and Stages — Willie Nelson (Atlantic)
- Ragged Old Flag — Johnny Cash (Columbia)
- Spooky Lady's Sideshow — Kris Kristofferson (Monument)
- Sundown — Gordon Lightfoot (Reprise)
- This Time — Waylon Jennings (RCA)
- Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone) — Tanya Tucker (Columbia)
Other top albums
- Another Lonely Song — Tammy Wynette (Epic)
- Back Home Again — John Denver (RCA)
- Honky Tonk Amnesia — Moe Bandy (GRT)
- Honky Tonk Angel — Conway Twitty (MCA)
- Houston (I'm Coming to See You) — Glen Campbell (Capitol)
- I-40 Country — Jerry Lee Lewis (Mercury)
- If We Make It Through December — Merle Haggard (Capitol)
- I'm Not Through Loving You Yet — Conway Twitty (MCA)
- The Midnight Oil — Barbara Mandrell (Columbia)
- My Third Album — Johnny Rodriguez (Mercury)
- Never Ending Song of Love — Conway Twitty (MCA)
- Pure Love — Ronnie Milsap (RCA)
- Reunion: The Songs Of Jimmy Webb — Glen Campbell (Capitol)
- Rub It In - Billy "Crash" Craddock (ABC)
- Songs About Ladies and Love — Johnny Rodriguez (Mercury)
- Woman to Woman — Tammy Wynette (Epic)
Births
- January 7 — John Rich, singer-songwriter and member of Big & Rich.
- February 17 — Bryan White, singer-songwriter from the 1990s.
- March 18 – Phillip Sweet, member of Little Big Town.
- May 23 – Jewel, multi-genre singer-songwriter who released the country album Perfectly Clear in 2008.
- June 6 – Uncle Kracker, rock singer who has had major country successes with "When the Sun Goes Down" (duet with Kenny Chesney) and "Smile."
- September 12 — Jennifer Nettles, lead singer of Sugarland.
- October 14 — Natalie Maines, lead singer of the Dixie Chicks.
- November 21 — Kelsi Osborn, member of SHeDAISY.
Deaths
- January 2 — Tex Ritter, 68, silver screen cowboy and western artist (heart attack).
- April 26 - Tim Spencer, 65, member of the Sons of the Pioneers.
- July 17 — Don Rich, 32, right-hand man of Buck Owens and key member of the Buckaroos (motorcycle crash).
Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees
- Owen Bradley (1915–1998)
- Pee Wee King (1914–2000)
Major awards
Grammy Awards
- Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "A Love Song," Anne Murray
- Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends," Ronnie Milsap
- Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "Fairytale," The Pointer Sisters
- Best Country Instrumental Performance — The Atkins - Travis Traveling Show, Chet Atkins and Merle Travis
- Best Country Song — "A Very Special Love Song," Billy Sherrill and Norro Wilson (Performer: Charlie Rich)
Juno Awards
- Country Male Vocalist of the Year — Stompin' Tom Connors
- Country Female Vocalist of the Year — Shirley Eikhard
- Country Group or Duo of the Year — Mercey Brothers
Academy of Country Music
- Entertainer of the Year — Mac Davis
- Song of the Year — "Country Bumpkin," Don Wayne (Performer: Cal Smith)
- Single of the Year — "Country Bumpkin," Cal Smith
- Album of the Year — Back Home Again, John Denver
- Top Male Vocalist — Merle Haggard
- Top Female Vocalist — Loretta Lynn
- Top Vocal Duo — Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
- Top New Male Vocalist — Mickey Gilley
- Top New Female Vocalist — Linda Ronstadt
Country Music Association
- Entertainer of the Year — Charlie Rich
- Song of the Year — "Country Bumpkin," Don Wayne (Performer: Cal Smith)
- Single of the Year — "Country Bumpkin," Cal Smith
- Album of the Year — A Very Special Love Song, Charlie Rich
- Male Vocalist of the Year — Ronnie Milsap
- Female Vocalist of the Year — Olivia Newton-John
- Vocal Duo of the Year — Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
- Vocal Group of the Year — The Statler Brothers
- Instrumentalist of the Year — Don Rich
- Instrumental Group of the Year — Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass
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.
References
- ↑ The Baron of Bakersfield Archived December 10, 2003, at the Wayback Machine.
Other links
External links
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