1960 in country music

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "1960 in country music" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

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

1960 in music By location

* United Kingdom
* Norway

By genre

* country
* jazz

By topic

* List of albums released

Overview of the events of 1960 in country music

|  | List of years in country music | (table)

|
|

* … 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956

* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963

* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970 …

* Art
* Archaeology
* Architecture
* Literature
* Music
* Philosophy
* Science

+...

## Events

[edit]

* February 1 – Loretta Lynn signs her very first record deal with Zero Records. This launches the singer into country music stardom.
* March 29 — Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, destined to become one of the most prominent of the honky tonk bars in Nashville, Tennessee, opens.
* August 27 — Louisiana Hayride puts on its final performance.
* September 24 — Final telecast of ABC-TV's Jubilee USA.
* November 5 — Johnny Horton is killed in a car accident near Milano, Texas, while returning from a concert in nearby Austin. Other passengers in his car – manager Tillman Franks and guitarist Tommy Tomlinson – are injured but survive.

### No dates

[edit]

* Just four songs – five, if one counts "El Paso" by Marty Robbins, which spent five of its seven weeks at No. 1 in 1960 – ascend to the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot C&W Sides chart. Those songs – listed below – would spend 14, 14, 12 and 10 weeks at No. 1, compared 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 Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart.

* The Chicago-based National Barn Dance moves from WLS to WGN-AM, where it will remain for the rest of its run.
* The Porter Wagoner Show, one of the most successful country music television programs, premieres on CBS late in the year. Norma Jean (Beasler) and comedian Speck Rhodes were the regulars, with guest performers appearing each week. The show ran in 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 (who replaced Norma Jean in 1967).

## Top hits of the year

[edit]

### Number-one hits

[edit]

#### United States

[edit]

(as certified by Billboard)

Date  | Single Name  | Artist  | Wks. No.1  | Spec. Note

|
|
|
|

February 8  | He'll Have to Go | Jim Reeves | 14  |
May 16  | Please Help Me, I'm Falling | Hank Locklin | 14  | [1][A]

* Locklin's first Billboard Number One since "Let Me Be the One" in 1953.

August 22  | Alabam | Cowboy Copas | 12  | [B]
November 14  | Wings of a Dove | Ferlin Husky | 10  | [2][A]

* Husky's first Billboard Number One since "Gone" in 1957.

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 Last Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.
* B Only Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist to date.

### Other major hits

[edit]

US | Single  | Artist

|
|

3  | Above and Beyond | Buck Owens
16  | Accidentally on Purpose | George Jones
8  | Am I Losing You | Jim Reeves
11  | Am I That Easy to Forget | Skeeter Davis
5  | Amigo's Guitar  | Kitty Wells
2  | Another (Just Like Me)  | Roy Drusky
3  | Anymore  | Roy Drusky
12  | Are You Willing, Willie  | Marion Worth
15  | Baby Rocked Her Dolly  | Frankie Miller
7  | The Ballad of Wild River  | Gene Woods
4  | Before This Day Ends  | George Hamilton IV
5  | Big Iron | Marty Robbins
18  | A Broken Dream  | Jimmy Smart
16  | But You Use To  | Laverne Downs
16  | Carmel by the Sea  | Kitty Wells
9  | Cruel Love  | Lou Smith
19  | Dead or Alive | Bill Anderson
12  | Dear Mama  | Merle Kilgore
17  | (Doin' the) Lover's Leap  | Webb Pierce
11  | Drifting Texas Sand  | Webb Pierce
4  | Each Moment (Spent With You) | Ernest Ashworth
16  | Ev'rybody's Somebody's Fool | Ernest Tubb
2  | Excuse Me (I Think I've Got a Heartache) | Buck Owens
12  | Eyes of Love  | Margie Singleton
10  | Face to the Wall  | Faron Young
4  | Fallen Angel  | Webb Pierce
10  | Family Bible | Claude Gray
11  | Far, Far Away  | Don Gibson
6  | He'll Have to Stay | Jeanne Black
5  | Heart to Heart Talk  | Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan
13  | Here I Am Drunk Again  | Clyde Beavers
14  | Hot Rod Lincoln | Charlie Ryan
17  | How Far to Little Rock  | The Stanley Brothers
2  | (I Can't Help You) I'm Falling Too | Skeeter Davis
5  | I Don't Believe I'll Fall in Love Today  | Warren Smith
6  | I Know One  | Jim Reeves
20  | I Love You Because | Johnny Cash
3  | I Missed Me  | Jim Reeves
7  | I Think I Know  | Marion Worth
5  | I Wish I Could Fall in Love Today | Ray Price
19  | I Wish You Love  | Billy Walker
14  | I'm a Honky Tonk Girl | Loretta Lynn
3  | I'm Gettin' Better  | Jim Reeves
14  | I'm Movin' On | Don Gibson
19  | Imitation of Love  | Adrian Roland
11  | Is It Wrong (For Loving You) | Webb Pierce
17  | It's Not Wrong  | Connie Hall
17  | Johnny, My Love (Grandma's Diary)  | Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper
2  | Just One Time  | Don Gibson
18  | The Key's in the Mailbox  | Freddie Hart
5  | Left to Right  | Kitty Wells
9  | Let's Think About Living | Bob Luman
15  | Life of a Poor Boy  | Stonewall Jackson
20  | Little Angel (Come Rock Me to Sleep)  | Ted Self
13  | A Little Guy Called Joe  | Stonewall Jackson
16  | Lonely River Rhine  | Bobby Helms
11  | The Long Walk  | Bill Leatherwood
10  | Love Has Made You Beautiful  | Merle Kilgore
6  | A Lovely Work of Art  | Jimmy C. Newman
12  | Mary Don't You Weep  | Stonewall Jackson
9  | Miller's Cave  | Hank Snow
15  | Money to Burn | George Jones
16  | The Moon Is Crying  | Alan Riddle[1][2]
16  | Mule Skinner Blues | The Fendermen
4  | No Love Have I  | Webb Pierce
13  | Nobody's Darling but Mine  | Johnny Sea
20  | The Old Lamplighter | The Browns
2  | One More Time  | Ray Price
13  | The One You Slip Around With | Jan Howard
8  | The Picture  | Ray Godfrey
13  | Pinball Machine  | Lonnie Irving
13  | Reasons to Live  | Jimmie Skinner
4  | Riverboat  | Faron Young
14  | Riverboat Gambler  | Jimmie Skinner
7  | Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair) | The Browns
10  | Seasons of My Heart | Johnny Cash
15  | Second Honeymoon | Johnny Cash
14  | She's Just a Whole Lot Like You  | Hank Thompson
6  | Sink the Bismarck | Johnny Horton
10  | A Six Pack to Go  | Hank Thompson
13  | Smiling Bill McCall | Johnny Cash
4  | Softly and Tenderly (I'll Hold You in My Arms)  | Lewis Pruitt
16  | Straight A's in Love | Johnny Cash
5  | That's My Kind of Love  | Marion Worth
16  | This Ole House | Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper
10  | Timbrook  | Lewis Pruitt
7  | The Tip of My Fingers | Bill Anderson
19  | Too Much to Lose  | Carl Belew
20  | Until Today  | Elmer Snodgrass
11  | Wanting You with Me Tonight  | Jimmy C. Newman
11  | Who Will Buy the Wine  | Charlie Walker
6  | Why I'm Walkin'  | Stonewall Jackson
5  | Wishful Thinking | Wynn Stewart
18  | World So Full of Love  | Ray Sanders
8  | You Can't Pick a Rose in December  | Ernest Ashworth
4  | You're the Only Good Thing (That's Happened to Me)  | George Morgan
5  | Your Old Used to Be  | Faron Young

## Top new album releases

[edit]

Single  | Artist  | Record Label

|
|

Blood on the Saddle | Tex Ritter | Capitol
Dutchman's Gold | Walter Brennan | Dot
Eddy Arnold Sings Them Again | Eddy Arnold | RCA
Goldie Hill | Goldie Hill | Decca
I'll Sing You a Song and Harmonize Too | Skeeter Davis | RCA
Johnny Horton Makes History | Johnny Horton | Columbia
Midnight Jamboree | Ernest Tubb & His Texas Troubadors, featuring Various Artists  | Decca
More | Eddy Arnold | RCA
The Other Chet Atkins | Chet Atkins | RCA

### Other album releases

[edit]

Single  | Artist  | Record Label

|
|

George Jones Salutes Hank Williams | George Jones | Mercury
Seasons of My Heart | Kitty Wells | Decca
Sixteen Tons | Tennessee Ernie Ford | Capitol
Smoke, Smoke, Smoke | Tex Williams | Capitol
Teensville | Chet Atkins | RCA
Town and Country | The Browns | RCA Victor
A Tribute to the Delmore Brothers | Louvin Brothers | Capitol

## Births

[edit]

* February 10 — Lionel Cartwright, 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 on CBS-TV series The Dukes of Hazzard.
* August 22 — Collin Raye, a favorite country artist of the 1990s.
* September 26 — Doug Supernaw, singer of the early 1990s ("I Don't Call Him Daddy") (d. 2020)
* November 4 — Kim Forester, member of The Forester Sisters.
* November 25 — Amy Grant, contemporary Christian singer, wife of Vince Gill.
* December 28 — Marty Roe, lead singer of Diamond Rio.
* December 28 — Marcus Hummon, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter ("Bless the Broken Road")

## Deaths

[edit]

* January 19 — Ralph Peer, 67, pioneer in record engineering and production (pneumonia).
* May 13 — Gid Tanner, 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

[edit]

### Grammy Awards

[edit]

* Best Country and Western Performance — "El Paso", Marty Robbins

## See also

[edit]

* Country Music Association

## Further reading

[edit]

* 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.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Terry E. Gordon. "Alan Riddle: Original Releases". Rockin' Country Style. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
2. ^ "Alan Riddle The Moon Is Crying Plaid 1001 Rockabilly M-". Popsike. Retrieved 16 November 2014.

* v
* t
* e

List of years in country music

Years|

* Prior to 1920

* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939

* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959

* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979

* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999

* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template