1982 in country music

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This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1982.

• October 30 — Hank Williams, Jr. has nine albums simultaneously on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
• December 8 — The death of Marty Robbins at age 57 stuns the country music world and leaves a huge void among fans. He is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame just weeks earlier.

• Drake-Chenault syndicates The History of Country Music, a 52-hour country music version of the radio syndicator's successful The History of Rock and Roll (which had three editions issued, the last in 1981). Produced in 1981 and early 1982 before syndicating to radio stations, the radio documentary was hosted by Ralph Emery. Like its rock and roll forebear, the program featured artist interviews, outtakes from notable radio and television broadcasts; spotlights on notable artists, styles and trends, along with songs that helped illustrate the subject; and time sweeps of individual years through 1981, with a montage of the biggest and most noteworthy hits of each year played. The final hour, Hour 52, was a time sweep of all of the country No. 1 songs from 1944 to the then-present, or approximately 650 individual songs that had topped the Billboard country charts.^[1] The special was structured much like the Rock and Roll program, allowing radio programmers to air it as a one-time "marathon" special (such as over holiday weekends), in multiple parts over a period of time, or as one-hour weekly programs.

• Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters (1980–1982, NBC)
• Hee Haw (1969–1993, syndicated)
• Pop! Goes the Country (1974–1982, syndicated)
• That Nashville Music (1970–1985, syndicated)

• February 3 — Jessica Harp, member of The Wreckers.
• April 12 — Easton Corbin, singer of the early 2010s, with hits including "A Little More Country Than That"
• April 24 — Kelly Clarkson, pop singer who crossed over to country for hits including "Because of You" (duet with Reba McEntire) and "Don't You Wanna Stay" (duet with Jason Aldean); first winner of American Idol.
• May 31 — Casey James, third-place finalist on the ninth season of American Idol.
• July 5 — Dave Haywood, member of Lady Antebellum.
• August 28 — LeAnn Rimes, country pop superstar starting in the late 1990s (decade).
• December 16 — Frankie Ballard, country singer of the 2010s best known for "Helluva Life"

• July 2 — DeFord Bailey, 82, harmonicaist and first African American performer on the Grand Ole Opry.
• October 27 — Hoyt Hawkins, 55, member of The Jordanaires.
• December 8 — Marty Robbins, 57, prolific, multi-styled artist for more than 30 years (heart failure).

• Lefty Frizzell (1928–1975)
• Roy Horton (1914–2003)
• Marty Robbins (1925–1982)

• Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Break It to Me Gently", Juice Newton
• Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "Always on My Mind", Willie Nelson
• Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "Mountain Music", Alabama
• Best Country Instrumental Performance — "Alabama Jubilee," Roy Clark
• Best Country Song — "Always on My Mind", Johnny Christopher, Wayne Carson Thompson and Mark James (Performer: Willie Nelson)

• Country Male Vocalist of the Year — Ronnie Hawkins
• Country Female Vocalist of the Year — Anne Murray
• Country Group or Duo of the Year — The Good Brothers

• Entertainer of the Year — Alabama
• Song of the Year — "Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)", Merle Haggard (Performer: Merle Haggard)
• Single of the Year — "Always on My Mind," Willie Nelson
• Album of the Year — Always on My Mind, Willie Nelson
• Top Male Vocalist — Ronnie Milsap
• Top Female Vocalist — Sylvia
• Top Vocal Duo — Shelly West and David Frizzell
• Top Vocal Group — Alabama
• Top New Male Vocalist — Michael Martin Murphey
• Top New Female Vocalist — Karen Brooks

• Entertainer of the Year — Family Brown
• Male Artist of the Year — Terry Carisse
• Female Artist of the Year — Carroll Baker
• Group of the Year — Family Brown
• SOCAN Song of the Year — "Some Never Stand a Chance", Family Brown (Performer: Family Brown)
• Single of the Year — "Some Never Stand a Chance", Family Brown
• Album of the Year — Raised on Country Music, Family Brown
• Vista Rising Star Award — Ruth Ann

• Entertainer of the Year — Alabama
• Song of the Year — "Always on My Mind", Johnny Christopher, Wayne Carson Thompson and Mark James (Performer: Willie Nelson)
• Single of the Year — "Always on My Mind", Willie Nelson
• Album of the Year — Always on My Mind, Willie Nelson
• Male Vocalist of the Year — Ricky Skaggs
• Female Vocalist of the Year — Janie Fricke
• Vocal Duo of the Year — David Frizzell and Shelly West
• Vocal Group of the Year — Alabama
• Horizon Award — Ricky Skaggs
• Instrumentalist of the Year — Chet Atkins
• Instrumental Group of the Year — Alabama

• 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.

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

• Country Music Hall of Fame