1. Events
    No dates 

2. Top hits of the year
    Number one hits  United States  Other major hits 

3. Top new album releases
    Other album releases 

4. Births

5. Deaths

6. Major awards
    Grammy Awards 

7. See also

8. Further reading

9. References

Events

• February 1 – Loretta Lynn signs her very first record deal with Zero Records. This launches the singer into the fame of the country music world.
• March 29 — Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, destined to become one of the most prominent of the honky tonk bars in Nashville, Tennessee, opens.
• August 27 — Louisiana Hayride puts on its final performance
• September 24 — Final telecast of ABC-TV's Jubilee USA.
• November 5 — Johnny Horton is killed in a car accident near Milano, Texas, while returning from a concert in nearby Austin. Other passengers in his car – manager Tillman Franks and guitarist Tommy Tomlinson – are injured but survive.

No dates

• Just four songs – five, if one counts "El Paso" by Marty Robbins, which spent five of its seven weeks at No. 1 in 1960 – ascend to the No. 1 spot on Billboards Hot C&W Sides chart. Those songs – listed below – would spend 14, 14, 12 and 10 weeks at No. 1.

Compare that to 10 No. 1 songs in 1959 and eight for all of 1961. Just a quarter of a century later, it was common for 50 songs per year to play musical chairs atop Billboards Hot Country Singles chart.

• The Chicago-based National Barn Dance moves from WLS to WGN-AM, where it will remain for the rest of its run.
• The Porter Wagoner Show, one of the most successful country music television programs, premieres on CBS late in the year. Norma Jean (Beasler) and comedian Speck Rhodes were the regulars, with guest performers appearing each week. The show ran in syndication for 21 years, and at its peak aired in more than 100 markets, and is largely credited for breaking the career of a young singer named Dolly Parton (who replaced Norma Jean in 1967).

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

United States

Notes

• {{note label|1|1}} No. 1 song of the year, as determined by Billboard.
• {{note label|2|2}} Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot.
• {{note label|A|A}} Last Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.
• {{note label|B|B}} Only Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist to date.

Other major hits

Top new album releases

• Blood on the Saddle – Tex Ritter (Capitol)
• Dutchman's Gold – Walter Brennan (Dot)
• Eddy Arnold Sings Them Again – Eddy Arnold (RCA)
• Goldie Hill – Goldie Hill (Decca)
• I'll Sing You A Song – and Harmonize Too – Skeeter Davis (RCA)
• Johnny Horton Makes History – Johnny Horton (Columbia)
• Midnight Jamboree – Ernest Tubb & His Texas Trubadors, featuring Various Artists (Decca)
• More – Eddy Arnold (RCA)
• The Other Chet Atkins – Chet Atkins (RCA)

Other album releases

• George Jones Salutes Hank Williams – George Jones (Mercury)
• Seasons of My Heart – Kitty Wells (Decca)
• Sixteen Tons – Tennessee Ernie Ford (Capitol)
• Smoke, Smoke, Smoke – Tex Williams (Capitol)
• Teensville – Chet Atkins (RCA)
• Town and Country – The Browns
• A Tribute to the Delmore Brothers – Louvin Brothers (Capitol)

Births

• February 10 — Lionel Cartwright, neotraditonalist of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
• February 16 — Doug Phelps, lead singer of the Kentucky Headhunters.
• April 8 — John Schneider, singer and actor, best known for his 1980s hits and role as Bo Duke on CBS-TV series The Dukes of Hazzard.
• August 22 — Collin Raye, a favorite country artist of the 1990s.
• September 26 — Doug Supernaw, singer of the early 1990s ("I Don't Call Him Daddy")
• November 4 — Kim Forester, member of The Forester Sisters.
• November 25 — Amy Grant, contemporary Christian singer, wife of Vince Gill.
• December 28 — Marty Roe, lead singer of Diamond Rio.
• December 28 — Marcus Hummon, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter ("Bless the Broken Road")

Deaths

• January 19 — Ralph Peer, 67, pioneer in record engineering and production (pneumonia).
• May 13 — Gid Tanner, 74, fiddler and leader of pioneering country group the Skillet Lickers.
• November 5 — Johnny Horton, 35, "The Singing Fisherman" and best known for his Americana-styled hits (car accident).
• November 7 — A.P. Carter, 68, a member of The Original Carter Family, one of country music's all-time pioneers (heart disease).

Major awards

Grammy Awards

• Best Country and Western Performance — "El Paso," Marty Robbins

See also

• Country Music Association

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

• Cross of Gaspé
• Cross of Gold (film)
• Cross Of Gold Speech
• Cross of Gradac, Gradac
• Cross of Grunwald
• Cross of Hendaye
• Cross of Heroic Valour in Combat
• Cross of Honor
• Cross of Honor of the German Mother
• Cross of Honour (disambiguation)
• Cross of honour litteris et artibus
• Cross of Honour of the Bundeswehr
• Cross of Honour of the Great War
• Cross of Independence with Swords
• Cross of Iron (board game)
• Cross of Iron speech
• Cross of Ivan Mazepa
• Cross of Jumonville
• Cross of Knights of Saints Maurizio and Lazzaro
• Cross of MacDuff
• Cross of Mathilde
• Cross of Merit for Women and Girls
• Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Cross of Merit of the Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic
• Cross of Merit on ribbon of the Federal Republic of Germany