This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1970.

Events

* April 13 -

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 ...

is awarded Artist of the Decade for the 1960s by the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

* September — '' That Good Ole Nashville Music'' debuts 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, ...

. The series will run until 1985.

No Dates

Early in the year, Marty Robbins suffers a major heart attack which almost takes the life of the country star.

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 Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

)'' ;Notes *2 ^ Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot. *A ^ First ''

'' 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

* March 14 —

Kristian Bush Kristian Merrill Bush (born March 14, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Bush is one half of the country music duo Sugarland with Jennifer Nettles, and was a member of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim with Andrew Hyr ...

, member of Sugarland * July 10 —

Gary LeVox Gary LeVox (born Gary Wayne Vernon Jr., July 10, 1970) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for being the lead vocalist of the contemporary country music band Rascal Flatts, and his stage name was taken from the studio-console label ...

, lead singer of

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cou ...

. * August 22 – George Canyon, country singer from the late 1990s who enjoyed success in the mid 2000s. * August 24 — Kristyn Osborn, member of

SHeDAISY SHeDAISY () was an American country music vocal group from Magna, Utah. The group consisted of sisters Kristyn Robyn Osborn (born August 24, 1970), Kelsi Marie Osborn (born November 21, 1974), and Kassidy Lorraine Osborn (born October 30, 1976). ...

* August 25 — Jo Dee Messina, female vocalist of the 1990s and 2000s (decade). * October 5 — Georgette Jones, the only biological child of

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

and

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

. * October 25 —

Chely Wright Chely Wright (born Richell Rene Wright; October 25, 1970) is an American activist, author and country music artist. She initially rose to fame as a commercial country recording artist with several charting singles, including the number one hit ...

, country singer of the late 1990s and 2000s (decade). * November 5 – Heather and Jennifer Kinley, recorded in the late 1990s as the duo

The Kinleys The Kinleys were an American country music duo composed of identical twin sisters Heather and Jennifer Kinley (born November 5, 1970). Between 1997 and 2000, they recorded two albums for Epic Records (1997's '' Just Between You and Me'' and 2000's ...

* November 15 —

Jack Ingram Jack Owen Ingram (born November 15, 1970) is an American country music artist formerly signed to Big Machine Records, an independent record label. He has released eleven studio albums, one extended play, six live albums, and 19 singles. Although ...

, rock-styled country singer-songwriter since the mid-2000s (decade). * December 10 — Kevin Sharp, country singer from the 1990s, best known for " Nobody Knows" (d. 2014)

Deaths

* January 4 – Clayton McMichen, 69, pioneering fiddle player and member of the Skillet Lickers. * April 1 —

Paul Cohen Paul Joseph Cohen (April 2, 1934 – March 23, 2007) was an American mathematician. He is best known for his proofs that the continuum hypothesis and the axiom of choice are independent from Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory, for which he was award ...

, 61, pioneering record producer at Decca Records. * September 5 – Curley Williams, 56, songwriter most famous for writing " Half as Much."

Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

* The Original Carter Family – ( A. P. Carter 1891–1960,

Sara Carter Sara Elizabeth Carter (née Dougherty, later Bayes; July 21, 1898 – January 8, 1979) was an American country music musician, singer, and songwriter. Remembered mostly for her deep, distinctive, mature singing voice, she was the lead singer on ...

1898–1979 and Mother Maybelle Carter 1909–1978)

Major awards

Grammy Awards

*Best Female Country Vocal Performance — " (I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden", Lynn Anderson *Best Male Country Vocal Performance — " For the Good Times", Ray Price *Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — " If I Were a Carpenter", Johnny Cash and

June Carter June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in t ...

*Best Country Instrumental Performance — '' Me & Jerry'',

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

and

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", " U.S. Male", "A Thi ...

*Best Country Song — " My Woman, My Woman, My Wife",

(Performer: Marty Robbins)

Juno Awards

*Country Male Vocalist of the Year —

Tommy Hunter Thomas James Hunter, CM, O.Ont (born March 20, 1937) is a Canadian country music performer, known as "Canada's Country Gentleman". Career In 1956, he began performing as a rhythm guitarist on the CBC Television show, '' Country Hoedown''. ''T ...

*Country Female Vocalist of the Year —

Dianne Leigh Dianne Leigh (born , sometimes spelled as Diane Leigh) is a Canadian country music performer. She was the first recipient of the Gold Leaf Award (later the Juno Awards) in 1970. In 1994, music trade publication '' RPM'' considered her the nint ...

*Country Group or Duo of the Year —

Mercey Brothers The Mercey Brothers were a Canadian country music group active from 1957 to 1989. The brothers were seven-time Juno Award winners for "The Top Country Group" and were inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. Early life All three M ...

Academy of Country Music

*Entertainer of the Year —

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

*Song of the Year — " For the Good Times",

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...

(Performer: Ray Price) *Single of the Year — "For the Good Times", Ray Price *Album of the Year — ''For the Good Times'', Ray Price *Top Male Vocalist — Merle Haggard *Top Female Vocalist — Lynn Anderson *Top Vocal Group — The Kimberleys *Top New Male Vocalist —

Buddy Alan Alan Edgar "Buddy" Owens (born May 23, 1948 in Mesa, Arizona), known professionally as Buddy Alan, is an American country music artist. The son of Buck Owens and Bonnie Owens and stepson of Merle Haggard, Alan recorded four albums for Capitol Rec ...

*Top New Female Vocalist — Sammi Smith

Country Music Association

*Entertainer of the Year —

*Song of the Year — " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down",

(Performer: Johnny Cash) *Single of the Year — "

Okie from Muskogee ''Okie from Muskogee'' is the first live album by Merle Haggard and the Strangers released in October 1969 on Capitol Records. Background The album was a recorded performance at the Civic Center in Muskogee, Oklahoma on October 10, 1969, the da ...

*Album of the Year — ''

'', Merle Haggard *Male Vocalist of the Year — Merle Haggard *Female Vocalist of the Year —

*Vocal Duo of the Year —

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 ...

and

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 ...

*Vocal Group of the Year — Tompall and the Glaser Brothers *Instrumentalist of the Year —

*Instrumental Group of the Year — Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass *Comedian of the Year — Roy Clark

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