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1974 in country music
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1974.
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (May 2015) |
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]
- October 17 — The pilot episode of Austin City Limits, featuring Willie Nelson, is recorded, and will air during PBS' 1975 pledge drive.
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- Country purists, long troubled by a growing trend of pop music-influenced country, form the Association of Country Entertainers, as a result of the 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, counting 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 controversial and some country stations refuse to play it.
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Top hits of the year
Summarize
Perspective
Number-one hits
United States
(as certified by Billboard)
Canada
(as certified by RPM)
Other major hits
Singles released by American artists
Singles released by Canadian artists
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Top new album releases
Other top albums
Births
- January 7 — John Rich, singer-songwriter and member of Big & Rich.
- February 17 – Chuck Dauphin, American sports radio broadcaster and country music journalist (died 2019).[2]
- 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.
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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
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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.
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References
Other links
External links
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