1974 In Country Music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1974.

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.
* October 17 — The pilot episode of '' Austin City Limits'', featuring Willie Nelson, is recorded, and will air during PBS' 1975 pledge drive.

No dates

* 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 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
*1 ^ No. 1 song of the year, as determined by ''Billboard''.
*A ^ First ''Billboard'' No. 1 hit for that artist.
*B ^ Last ''Billboard'' No. 1 hit for that artist.
*C ^ Only ''Billboard'' No. 1 hit for that artist to date.

Canada

''(as certified by RPM)''

;Notes
*A ^ First ''RPM'' No. 1 hit for that artist.
*B ^ Last ''RPM'' No. 1 hit for that artist.
*C ^ Only ''RPM'' No. 1 hit for that artist.

Other major hits

Singles released by American artists

Singles released by Canadian artists

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).Country Music Journalist Chuck Dauphin Dies at 45
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*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 ()
*Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993 ()
*Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944–2005 – 6th Edition." 2005.

References

Other links

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

External links

Country Music Hall of Fame

{{DEFAULTSORT:1974 In Country Music
Country
Country music by year