This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 1963.

Events

*March — The month marks a dark time for country music, as it lost no less than five people in a seemingly endless string of tragedies. : * On March 5, three of the genre's top stars –

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...

Hawkshaw Hawkins Harold Franklin "Hawkshaw" Hawkins (December 22, 1921 – March 5, 1963) was an American country music singer popular from the 1950s into the early 1960s. He was known for his rich, smooth vocals and music drawn from blues, boogie and honk ...

and

Cowboy Copas Lloyd Estel Copas (July 15, 1913 – March 5, 1963), known by his stage name Cowboy Copas, was an American country music singer. He was popular from the 1940s until his death in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country stars Patsy Cline a ...

– are killed in a small plane crash near

Camden, Tennessee Camden is a city in Benton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,674 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Benton County. History Native Americans were living in the Camden area as early as the Archaic period (8000-1000 B ...

, while on their way to Nashville from

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

. The pilot, Cline's manager and Copas' son-in-law, Randy Hughes, is also killed. : * En route to Cline's funeral, Jack Anglin – one half of the duo

Johnnie & Jack Johnnie & Jack were an American country music duo, composed of Johnnie Wright (1914–2011) and Jack Anglin (1916–1963). The duo became members of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1940s. Between 1951 and 1962, the duo released several singles on the ...

– is killed in a car accident. : * On March 29, Texas Ruby, of the duo Curly Fox and Texas Ruby, is killed in a trailer fire while Fox was performing on the Grand Ole Opry. *July — The first issue of the ''Music City News'' is published. Its publisher is country music star

Faron Young Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, Di ...

. *August – Bradley Kincaid, a pioneer of the genre who had been popular on records and radio from the late 1920s until his retirement in 1950, made new recordings of 168 of his favourite songs – more than half of his known repertoire – at a five-day session for Bluebonnet Records in Fort Worth, Texas. 86 of these songs would be issued on seven LP's between 1963 and 1987, the remainder were issued on six Cassette Tapes in 1988. *September 19 — ''

The Jimmy Dean Show ''The Jimmy Dean Show'' is the name of several similar music and variety series on American local and network television between 1963 and 1975. Each starred country music singer Jimmy Dean as host. Daytime ''The Jimmy Dean Show'', initially call ...

'' begins a three-year primetime run on ABC. The show — Dean's second go-around on television, following his 1950s series on CBS — is widely hailed by critics for its class treatment of top country stars of the day, many of whom were getting their first true national exposure.

No dates

The Wilburn Brothers The Wilburn Brothers were an American country music duo from the 1950s to the 1970s, consisting of brothers Virgil Doyle Wilburn (1930–1982) and Thurman Theodore "Teddy" Wilburn (1931–2003). Biography The brothers were born in Hardy, Ark ...

' TV show debuts in syndication, and features

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Ma ...

as regular vocalist. The show will air first-run episodes, primarily in rural and southern U.S. markets, through 1974 and, riding the heels of

Porter Wagoner Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. In 1967, he introduced singer Dolly Parton on his television show, ''The Po ...

's weekly TV show, will spark a wave of successful (and a few not-so-successful) syndicated TV shows featuring top-name country stars of the day through the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Top hits of the year

Number-one hits

United States

''(as certified by Billboard)'' ;Notes *1 ^ No. 1 song of the year, as determined by '' Billboard''. *2 ^ Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot. *A ^ First ''Billboard'' No. 1 hit for that artist. *B ^ Only ''Billboard'' No. 1 hit for that artist to date.

Other major hits

Top new album releases

Other top albums

Births

* January 24 — Keech Rainwater, member of Lonestar. * February 9 —

Travis Tritt James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 20 ...

, country-rock influenced star starting in the early 1990s. * February 17 –

Larry the Cable Guy Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17, 1963), known professionally by his persona Larry the Cable Guy, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, country music artist, and former radio personality. He was one of the members of the ...

(born Daniel Lawrence Whitney), comedian and actor, member of Blue Collar Comedy with Jeff Foxworthy,

Bill Engvall William Ray Engvall Jr. (born July 27, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Engvall has released a number of stand-up comedy albums through Warner Records and the defunct BNA Records. His most commercially success ...

and

Ron White Ron White (born December 18, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and author, best known as a charter member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. Nicknamed "Tater Salad", he is the author of the book ''I Had the Right to Remain Silent But ...

* July 31 —

Chad Brock Chad Brock (born July 31, 1963) is an American country music singer and disc jockey. Before beginning his musical career in the late 1990s, he was a professional wrestler in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), until an injury forced him to retire ...

, rose to fame in the late 1990s. * August 22 —

Mila Mason Mila Mason (born August 22, 1963) is an American country music artist. She made her debut in 1996 with her debut album '' That's Enough of That'', which produced three hit singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Country Air ...

, enjoyed fame in the late 1990s. * September 6 —

Mark Chesnutt Mark Nelson Chesnutt (born September 6, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1990 and 1999, he had his greatest chart success recording for Universal Music Group Nashville's MCA and Decca branches, with a total of ei ...

, neotraditional country singer of the 1990s. * September 30 —

Eddie Montgomery Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo founded by singers Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, both Kentucky natives. They began performing together in the 1990s as part of two different bands with Montgomery's brother, John Michael Mo ...

, one half of

Montgomery Gentry Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo founded by singers Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, both Kentucky natives. They began performing together in the 1990s as part of two different bands with Montgomery's brother, John Michael Mo ...

, older brother of

John Michael Montgomery John Michael Montgomery (born January 20, 1965) is an American country music singer. Montgomery began singing with his brother Eddie, who would later become known as one half of the duo Montgomery Gentry, before beginning his major-label solo c ...

. * November 1 —

Big Kenny William Kenneth Alphin (born November 1, 1963), best known by his stage name Big Kenny, is an American country music singer. He and John Rich comprise the duo Big & Rich, who recorded four studio albums and charted fifteen singles on the ''Billbo ...

(born William Kenneth Alphin), one half of

Big & Rich Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a solo ...

and key member of the

MuzikMafia The MuzikMafia was an informal collection of American country music artists, founded in October 2001 in Nashville, Tennessee by Big Kenny and John Rich (who compose the duo Big & Rich), along with Jon Nicholson and Cory Gierman. They have been the ...

. * December 3 —

Ty England Gary Tyrone England (born December 5, 1963) is an American country music singer and guitarist. Initially a member of Garth Brooks' band, England began his solo career in 1995, recording a self-titled debut album on RCA Nashville. A second albu ...

, contemporary-styled singer of the mid-1990s, and guitarist member of the Garth Brooks' band. * December 16 —

Jeff Carson Jeffrey Lee Herndon (December 16, 1963 – March 26, 2022), known professionally as Jeff Carson, was an American country music artist. Originally a session musician in Branson, Missouri, and later a demo singer, he was signed to Curb Records in ...

, contemporary-styled singer of the mid-1990s.

Deaths

*March 5 —

, 30, premier female country vocalist who became even more legendary after her death (

plane crash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...

). *March 5 —

, 49, country singer from the 1940s through 1960s, best known for his 1960 hit, " Alabam" (plane crash). *March 5 —

, 41, country singer since the 1940s, best known for his posthumous No. 1 hit, "Lonesome 7-7203" (plane crash). *March 8 — Jack Anglin, 47, country entertainer since the 1930s, late of the duo Johnnie and Jack (with

Johnnie Wright Johnnie Robert Wright Jr. (May 13, 1914 – September 27, 2011) was an American country music singer-songwriter, who spent much of his career working with Jack Anglin as the popular duo Johnnie & Jack, and was also the husband of country musi ...

) (car accident). *March 29 — Texas Ruby, 52, half of the comedy-old-time country duo Curly Fox and Texas Ruby (mobile home fire). *August 27 – Jim Denny, 52, music executive.

Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

There were no inductees in 1963.

Major awards

Grammy Awards

*Best Country and Western Recording — " Detroit City", Bobby Bare

External links

Country Music Hall of Fame
{{List of years in country music

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

Country music by year