This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 1960.

Events

* February 1 –

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 ...

signs her very first record deal with

Zero Records Zero Records was a record label founded in 1959 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. History In the late 1950’s, Don Grashey met Charlie Chuck Williams (Chuck) in Thunder Bay. The pair later moved to Vancouver. With the financial help of N ...

. This launches the singer into the fame of the country music world. * March 29 —

Tootsie's Orchid Lounge Tootsie's Orchid Lounge is a honky-tonk bar located in Nashville, Tennessee behind the Ryman Auditorium, home in past years and occasionally in the present to the stage and radio show ''The Grand Ole Opry.'' Tootsie's has three stages that host ...

, destined to become one of the most prominent of the honky tonk bars in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, opens. * August 27 — ''

Louisiana Hayride ''Louisiana Hayride'' was a radio and later television country music show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of the ...

'' puts on its final performance. * September 24 — Final telecast of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

-TV's '' Jubilee USA''. * November 5 — Johnny Horton is killed in a car accident near

Milano, Texas Milano is a city in Milam County, Texas, United States, located at the intersection of U.S. Route 79 and State Highway 36, twelve miles southeast of Cameron, the county seat. Its population was 390 at the 2020 census. On November 5, 1960, countr ...

, while returning from a concert in nearby Austin. Other passengers in his car – manager

Tillman Franks Tillman Ben Franks, Sr. (September 29, 1920 – October 26, 2006), was an American bassist and songwriter and the manager for a number of country music artists including Johnny Horton, David Houston, Webb Pierce, Claude King, and the Carlis ...

and guitarist Tommy Tomlinson – are injured but survive.

No dates

*Just four songs – five, if one counts "

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

" by

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and succ ...

, 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 ''National Barn Dance'', broadcast by WLS-AM in Chicago, Illinois starting in 1924, was one of the first American country music radio programs and a direct precursor of the ''Grand Ole Opry''. ''National Barn Dance'' also set the stage for other ...

'' moves from WLS to

WGN-AM WGN (720 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, with studios on the 18th floor of 303 East Wacker Drive in the Chicago Loop. WGN has a news/talk format, along with broadcasts of Chicago Blackhawks hockey and Northwestern ...

, where it will remain for the rest of its run. *''

The Porter Wagoner Show 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 ...

'', one of the most successful country music television programs, premieres on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

late in the year. Norma Jean (Beasler) and comedian

Speck Rhodes Gilbert Ray "Speck" Rhodes (born July 16, 1915, in West Plains, Missouri; died March 19, 2000) was a country music comedian and entertainer. Rhodes was best known for his appearances on the Porter Wagoner television show. He came from a musical fam ...

were the regulars, with guest performers appearing each week. The show ran in

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web 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 Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

(who replaced Norma Jean in 1967).

Top hits of the year

Number-one hits

United States

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

Other major hits

Top new album releases

Other album releases

Births

* February 10 —

Lionel Cartwright Lionel Burke Cartwright (born February 10, 1960) is an American country music artist. Between 1988 and 1992, Cartwright charted twelve singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts, including a 1 single in 1991's "Leap of Fait ...

, neotraditionalist 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 Beauregard "Bo" Duke (born circa 1957) is a fictional character in the American television series ''The Dukes of Hazzard'', which ran from 1979 to 1985. He was played by John Schneider. Bo and his cousin Lucas K. "Luke" Duke (Tom Wopat) live ...

on CBS-TV series ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television serie ...

''. * August 22 —

Collin Raye Floyd Elliot Wray (born August 22, 1960) is an American country music singer, known professionally as Collin Raye, and previously as Bubba Wray. Under the latter name, he recorded as a member of the band The Wrays between 1983 and 1987. He made ...

, a favorite country artist of the 1990s. * September 26 —

Doug Supernaw Douglas Anderson Supernaw (September 26, 1960November 13, 2020) was an American country music artist. After several years performing as a local musician throughout the state of Texas, he signed with BNA Records in 1993. Supernaw released four st ...

, singer of the early 1990s (" I Don't Call Him Daddy") (d.

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

) * November 4 — Kim Forester, member of

The Forester Sisters The Forester Sisters were an American country music vocal group consisting of sisters Kathy, June, Kim, and Christy Forester. Having performed together locally in their native Lookout Mountain, Georgia, since the 1970s, the four sisters began si ...

. * November 25 —

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...

, contemporary Christian singer, wife of

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

. * December 28 — Marty Roe, lead singer of

Diamond Rio Diamond Rio is an American country music band. The band was founded in 1982 as an attraction for the Opryland USA theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, and was originally known as the Grizzly River Boys, then the Tennessee River Boys. It was fou ...

. * December 28 —

Marcus Hummon Marcus Spencer Hummon (born December 28, 1960) is an American country music artist. He is the father of country singer Levi Hummon. Early life Hummon was born in Washington, D.C.. He graduated from Williams College. Career After several years o ...

, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter ("

Bless the Broken Road "Bless the Broken Road" is a song that has been recorded by several American country music artists. Co-written by Marcus Hummon, Bobby Boyd, and Jeff Hanna in 1994, it tells how the journey through relationship heartbreak and disappointment was ...

Deaths

*January 19 —

Ralph Peer Ralph Sylvester Peer (May 22, 1892 – January 19, 1960) was an American talent scout, recording engineer, record producer and music publisher in the 1920s and 1930s. Peer pioneered field recording of music when in June 1923 he took remote rec ...

, 67, pioneer in record engineering and production (pneumonia). *May 13 —

Gid Tanner James Gideon "Gid" Tanner (June 6, 1885 – May 13, 1960) was an American old-time fiddler and one of the earliest stars of what would come to be known as country music. His band, the Skillet Lickers, was one of the most innovative and influe ...

, 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 — "

References

{{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