See also: 1970 in country music, 1971 in music, other events of 1971, 1972 in country music, and the List of years in Country Music

Events

• Seeking younger, more urban viewers, CBS cancels nearly all of its rural-themed programming. Among the most notable casualties:
  • "The Beverly Hillbillies" ? a sitcom which had aired since 1962, about the misadventures of an Appalachia clan who become oil tycoons.
  • "Green Acres" ? another sitcom about a New York attorney and his wife who move to the country and start farming.
  • "Hee Haw" ? the country music-variety show starring Roy Clark and Buck Owens.

Fans of "Hee Haw" were quickly soothed when the show entered syndication in the fall. The show was an immediate success, and viewers would continue to make their weekly visit to Kornfield County for the next 20 years.

Meanwhile, both "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Green Acres" would continue to live on in syndication. Fans wanting some of Granny's "fixin's" may tune in to Chicago-based WGN-TV (Monday through Friday) or TV Land, which airs the show 7 days a week; TV Land currently airs reruns of "Green Acres."

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

(As certified by Billboard magazine)

• January 30 - ?Flesh and Blood? ? Johnny Cash
• February 6 - ?Joshua? ? Dolly Parton
• February 13 - ?Help Me Make It Through the Night? ? Sammi Smith
• March 6 - ?I?d Rather Love You? ? Charley Pride
• March 27 - "After the Fire is Gone? ? Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
• April 10 - ?Empty Arms? ? Sonny James
• May 8 - ?How Much More Can She Stand? ? Conway Twitty
• May 15 - ?I Won't Mention it Again? ? Ray Price
• June 5 - ?You're My Man? ? Lynn Anderson
• June 19 - ?When You?re Hot, You?re Hot? ? Jerry Reed
• July 24 - ?Bright Lights, Big City? ? Sonny James
• July 31 - ?I?m Just Me? ? Charley Pride
• August 28 - ?Good Lovin? (Makes it Right)? ? Tammy Wynette
• September 11 - ?Easy Loving? ? Freddie Hart
• September 18 - ?The Year Clayton Delaney Died? ? Tom T. Hall

(?Easy Lovin?? by Freddie Hart returns to No. 1 October 2)

• October 16 - ?How Can I Unlove You? ? Lynn Anderson
• November 6 - ?Here Comes Honey Again? ? Sonny James
• November 13 - ?Lead Me On? ? Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
• November 20 - ?Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)? ? Merle Haggard and the Strangers
• December 4 - ?Kiss an Angel Good Morning? ? Charley Pride

Other major hits

• "Always Remember? ? Bill Anderson
• "Another Night of Love" - Freddy Weller
• "The Arms of a Fool" - Mel Tillis and the Statesiders
• "Baby I'm Yours" - Jody Miller
• "Bed of Roses" - Statler Brothers
• "Better Move it on Home" - Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
• "Brand New Mister Me" - Mel Tillis and the Statesiders
• "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" - Buck Owens and the Buckaroos
• "The Chair" - Marty Robbins
• ?Coat of Many Colors? ? Dolly Parton
• ?Come Sundown? ? Bobby Bare
• "Comin' Down" ? Dave Dudley
• "Country Green" - Don Gibson
• "Dissatisfied" ? Bill Anderson and Jan Howard
• "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" - Barbara Mandrell
• ?Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)? ? Glen Campbell
• "Dream Lover" ? Billy "Crash" Craddock
• "Early Morning Sunshine" - Marty Robbins
• "Fly Away Again" ? Dave Dudley
• "Good Enough to Be Your Wife" - Jeannie C. Riley
• "Good Year For the Roses" ? George Jones
• ?Gwen (Congratulations)? ? Tommy Overstreet
• ?He?s So Fine? ? Jody Miller
• ?I Don?t Know You Anymore? ? Tommy Overstreet
• "I Really Don't Want to Know" - Elvis Presley
• ?I Wanna Be Free? ? Loretta Lynn
• ?I Wonder What She?ll Think About Me Leaving? ? Conway Twitty
• ?I?d Rather Be Sorry? ? Ray Price
• "I'm Gonna Keep On Keep On Lovin' You" - Billy Walker
• "(I've Got a) Happy Heart" - Susan Raye
• "I've Got a Right to Cry" - Hank Williams Jr.
• ?Indian Lake? ? Freddy Weller
• ?Just One Time? ? Connie Smith
• ?Knock Three Times? ? Billy ?Crash? Craddock
• "Leavin' and Sayin' Goodbye" ? Faron Young
• "Living and Learning" - Mel Tillis and Sherry Bryce
• "Maiden's Prayer" - David Houston
• ?Man in Black? ? Johnny Cash
• ?Me and Paul? ? Willie Nelson
• ?Me and You and a Dog Named Boo? ? Stonewall Jackson
• "Mr. Bojangles" ? Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
• "Nashville" ? David Houston
• ?Never Ending Song of Love? ? Dickey Lee
• "Oh Singer" - Jeannie C. Riley
• "Padre" - Marty Robbins
• ?Philadelphia Fillies? ? Del Reeves
• ?Pitty Pitty Patter? ? Susan Raye
• ?Promised Land? ? Freddy Weller
• ?Quits? ? Bill Anderson
• ?Rainin? in My Heart? ? Hank Williams Jr. with The Mike Curb Congregation
• "Right Won't Touch a Hand" ? George Jones
• "Rings" - Tompall & the Glaser Brothers
• "Rollin' in My Sweet Baby's Arms" - Buck Owens and the Buckaroos
• ?Ruby (Are You Mad)? ? Buck Owens and the Buckaroos
• "She's All I Got" ? Johnny PayCheck
• ?Soldier?s Last Letter? ? Merle Haggard and the Strangers
• ?Someday We?ll Look Back? ? Merle Haggard and the Strangers
• "Sometimes You Just Can't Win" - George Jones
• ?Step Aside? ? Faron Young
• ?Take Me Home Country Roads? ? John Denver
• "Take My Hand" - Mel Tillis and Sherry Bryce
• "Then You Walk In" - Sammi Smith
• "There Goes My Everything" - Elvis Presley
• ?Touching Home? ? Jerry Lee Lewis
• "Treat Him Right" ? Barbara Mandrell
• ?Watching Scotty Grow? ? Bobby Goldsboro
• ?We Sure Can Love Each Other? ? Tammy Wynette
• "Where is My Castle" - Connie Smith
• "A Woman Always Knows" - David Houston
• "The Wonders You Perform" - Tammy Wynette
• "You Better Move On" ? Billy "Crash" Craddock
• ?You're Lookin' At Country? ? Loretta Lynn

Top new album releases

• Bed of Rose's ? Statler Brothers (Mercury)
• Cedartown, Georgia ? Waylon Jennings (RCA)
• Coat of Many Colors ? Dolly Parton (RCA)
• "Greatest Hits, Vol. 2" ? Johnny Cash (Columbia)
• How Can I Unlove You - Lynn Anderson (Columbia)
• I Wanna Be Free - Loretta Lynn (Decca)
• In Search of a Song ? Tom T. Hall (Mercury)
• Joshua ? Dolly Parton (RCA)
• Man in Black ? Johnny Cash (Columbia)
• Pitty Pitty Patter - Susan Raye (Capitol)
• Porter Wayne & Dolly Rebecca - Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton (RCA)
• The Silver Tongued Devil and I ? Kris Kristofferson (Monument)
• Treat Him Right ? Barbara Mandrell (Columbia)
• A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World ? Merle Haggard (Capitol)
• Two of a Kind ? Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton (RCA)
• We Only Make Believe - Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn (Decca)
• When You're Hot, You're Hot ? Jerry Reed (RCA)
• Yesterday's Wine ? Willie Nelson (RCA)
• You're My Man ? Lynn Anderson (Columbia)

Births

• February 5 ? Sara Evans, female vocalist from the late 1990s-2000s.
• April 30 ? Carolyn Dawn Johnson, singer-songwriter.
• July 23 ? Alison Krauss, bluegrass artist, vocalist and leader of Union Station

Deaths

Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

• Arthur Edward Satherley (1889-1986)

Major Awards

Grammy awards

Academy of Country Music

• Entertainer Of The Year -- Freddie Hart
• Song Of The Year -- "Easy Lovin'" - Freddie Hart - Freddie Hart
• Single Of The Year -- "Easy Lovin'" - Freddie Hart
• Album Of The Year -- Easy Lovin' - Freddie Hart
• Top Male Vocalist -- Freddie Hart
• Top Female Vocalist -- Loretta Lynn
• Top Vocal Duo -- Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
• Top New Male Vocalist -- Tony Booth
• Top New Female Vocalist -- Barbara Mandrell

Country Music Association

• Entertainer of the Year -- Charley Pride
• Male Vocalist of the Year -- Charley Pride
• Female Vocalist of the Year -- Lynn Anderson
• Instrumental Group of the Year ?- Danny Davis & the Nashville Brass
• Vocal Group of the Year -- Osborne Brothers
• Vocal Duo of the Year -- Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
• Single of the Year -- "Help Me Make it Through the Night", Sammi Smith
• Song of the Year -- "Easy Lovin'", Freddie Hart
• Album of the Year -- I Won't Mention it Again, Ray Price
• Instrumentalist of the Year -- Jerry Reed

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.

Other links

• Country Music Association
• Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame

External links

• Country Music Hall of Fame