1978 in country music: Wikis

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Categories: 1978 in music > Years in country music

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This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1978.

List of years in country music (Table)
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Events

March 4 — Public Broadcasting System (PBS) telecasts the first complete Grand Ole Opry show from the new Grand Ole Opry House as it happened from 6-9 pm. The show featured Del Reeves, The Willis Brothers, Billy Grammer, Lonzo and Oscar, Bill Monroe, Porter Wagoner, Roy Acuff, The Crook Brothers, The Fruit Jar Drinkers, Ronnie Milsap, Grandpa Jones, George Hamilton IV and others. The show would run over about 18 minutes the first night. The telecast would repeat from 1979 to 1981.
March 25 — "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson becomes the last song for 12 years to spend four weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart. There wouldn't be another four-week No. 1 until "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart" by Randy Travis in April 1990. The trend of fewer (and shorter) multi-week runs at No. 1 on Billboard, even for the year's biggest hits, is the result of changes in radio programming and the magazine's reporting methods.
April 22 — 14 years after her debut Dottie West has her first number 1 single, a duet with Kenny Rogers ("Every Time Two Fools Collide").
May 6 — Bob Kingsley takes over hosting duties of "American Country Countdown," a stint that will last 27 years. He had been a producer of the radio countdown show since 1974.
May 24 — The United States Postal Service issues a 13-cent commemorative stamp honoring Jimmie Rodgers, one of the genre's pioneers. The Rodgers stamp, designed by artist Jim Sharpe, is the first in the Postal Service's long-running Performing Arts Series.
September — The Donna Fargo Show premieres in syndication.
October 4 — One of Nashville's most mysterious crimes involves the reported abduction and beating of Tammy Wynette. Media reports said that Wynette had been abducted by a masked man at a shopping center before the beating. No suspects were ever named or arrested. While Wynette would insist the story was true, her daughter raised doubts, claiming the incident was fabricated.
October 21 — Fans of Mel Street are saddened when the honky tonk-styled singer, who had long battled clinical depression and alcoholism, committed suicide on his 45th birthday. He had signed a recording contract with Mercury Records earlier in the year.

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

United States

(as certified by Billboard)

Date	Single Name	Artist	Wks. No.1	Spec. Note
January 7	Take This Job and Shove It	Johnny Paycheck	2	^[C] Written by David Allan Coe.
January 21	What a Difference You've Made in My Life	Ronnie Milsap	1
January 28	Out of My Head and Back in My Bed	Loretta Lynn	2	^[B]
February 11	I Just Wish You Were Someone I Love	Larry Gatlin	1	^[A]
February 18	Don't Break the Heart That Loves You	Margo Smith	2	^[A]
March 4	Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys	Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson	4	^[1]
April 1	Ready For the Times to Get Better	Crystal Gayle	1
April 8	Someone Loves You Honey	Charley Pride	2
April 22	Every Time Two Fools Collide	Kenny Rogers and Dottie West	2	^{[A] - Dottie West}
May 6	It's All Wrong, But It's All Right	Dolly Parton	2
May 20	She Can Put Her Shoes Under my Bed (Anytime)	Johnny Duncan	1	^[B]
May 27	Do You Know You Are My Sunshine	The Statler Brothers	2	^[A]
June 10	Georgia on My Mind	Willie Nelson	1
June 17	Two More Bottles of Wine	Emmylou Harris	1
June 24	I'll Be True to You	The Oak Ridge Boys	1	^[A]
July 1	It Only Hurts for a Little While	Margo Smith	1	^[B]
July 8	I Believe in You	Mel Tillis	1
July 15	Only One Love in My Life	Ronnie Milsap	3
August 5	Love or Something Like It	Kenny Rogers	1
August 12	You Don't Love Me Anymore	Eddie Rabbitt	1
August 19	Talking in Your Sleep	Crystal Gayle	2
September 2	Blue Skies	Willie Nelson	1
September 9	I've Always Been Crazy	Waylon Jennings	3
September 30	Heartbreaker	Dolly Parton	3
October 21	Tear Time	Dave & Sugar	1
October 28	Let's Take the Long Way Around the World	Ronnie Milsap	1
November 4	Sleeping Single In a Double Bed	Barbara Mandrell	3	^[A]
November 25	Sweet Desire	The Kendalls	1
December 2	I Just Want to Love You	Eddie Rabbitt	1
December 9	On My Knees	Charlie Rich and Janie Fricke	1	^{[B] - Charlie Rich} ^{[A] - Janie Fricke}
December 16	The Gambler	Kenny Rogers	3

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)

Date	Single Name	Artist	Wks. No.1	Spec. Note
January 14	Take This Job and Shove It	Johnny Paycheck	1	^[C]
January 21	My Way	Elvis Presley	2
February 4	What a Difference You've Made in My Life	Ronnie Milsap	2
February 18	Out of My Head and Back in My Bed	Loretta Lynn	1	^[B]
February 25	You're the One	The Oak Ridge Boys	2	^[A]
March 11	To Daddy	Emmylou Harris	1
March 18	Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys	Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson	3	^{[A] - Willie Nelson}
April 8	I Might as Well Believe (I'll Live Forever)	Carroll Baker	1
April 15	Do I Love You (Yes, in Every Way)	Donna Fargo	1	^[B]
April 22	Ready For the Times to Get Better	Crystal Gayle	1
April 29	Someone Loves You Honey	Charley Pride	2
May 13	Every Time Two Fools Collide	Kenny Rogers and Dottie West	1
May 20	It's All Wrong, But It's All Right	Dolly Parton	1
May 27	She Can Put Her Shoes Under my Bed (Anytime)	Johnny Duncan	1	^[B]
June 3	Georgia on My Mind	Willie Nelson	2
June 17	Night Time Magic	Larry Gatlin	1	^[A]
June 24	Two More Bottles of Wine	Emmylou Harris	1
July 1	I Can't Wait Any Longer	Bill Anderson	2	^[B]
July 15	Portrait in the Window	Carroll Baker	1	^[1]
July 22	It Only Hurts for a Little While	Margo Smith	1	^[C]
July 29	I Believe in You	Mel Tillis	1
August 5	You Needed Me	Anne Murray	1
August 12	Homefolks	Bob Murphy & Big Buffalo	1	^[C]
August 19	Love or Something Like It	Kenny Rogers	1
August 26	Only One Love in My Life	Ronnie Milsap	1
September 2	Talking in Your Sleep	Crystal Gayle	1
September 9	When I Stop Leavin' (I'll Be Gone)	Charley Pride	1
September 16	Boogie Grass Band	Conway Twitty	1
September 23	Blue Skies	Willie Nelson	1
September 30	I've Always Been Crazy	Waylon Jennings	1
October 7	Heartbreaker	Dolly Parton	3
October 28	It's Been a Great Afternoon	Merle Haggard	1	RPM didn't publish on November 4 or November 11.
November 18	Let's Take the Long Way Around the World	Ronnie Milsap	1
November 25	Cryin' Again	The Oak Ridge Boys	1
December 2	Sleeping Single In a Double Bed	Barbara Mandrell	2	^[A]
December 16	That's What You Do to Me	Charly McClain	1	^[A]
December 23	Hooked on a Feeling	Carroll Baker	2

Notes

1^ No. 1 song of the year, as determined by RPM.
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

"Ain't No California" — Mel Tillis
"All of Me" — Willie Nelson
"Another Goodbye" – Donna Fargo
"Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" — Kenny Rogers and Dottie West
"Bartender's Blues" — George Jones (feat. James Taylor)
"Beautiful Woman" - Charlie Rich
"Boogie Grass Band" — Conway Twitty
"Break My Mind" - Vern Gosdin
"Burgers and Fries" — Charley Pride
"Come a Little Bit Closer" - Johnny Duncan and Janie Fricke
"Come On In" - Jerry Lee Lewis
"Come See Me and Come Lonely" - Dottie West
"Cowboys Don't Get Lucky All the Time" - Gene Watson
"Cryin' Again" — Oak Ridge Boys
"Cuando Caliente El Sol (Love Me With All Your Heart)" - Johnny Rodriguez
"Daylight" - T.G. Sheppard
"Do I Love You (Yes in Every Way)" – Donna Fargo
"Easy From Now On" - Emmylou Harris
"Fadin' In, Fadin' Out" - Tommy Overstreet
"The First Time" - Billy "Crash" Craddock
"Friend, Lover, Wife" - Johnny Paycheck
"From Seven to Ten" - Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
"Gotta Quit Lookin' at You Baby" — Dave & Sugar
"Hearts on Fire" — Eddie Rabbitt
"Hello Mexico (and Adios Baby to You)" - Johnny Duncan
"Here Comes the Hurt Again" - Mickey Gilley
"I Can't Wait Any Longer" — Bill Anderson
"I Cheated on a Good Woman's Love" — Billy "Crash" Craddock
"I Don't Need a Thing at All" - Gene Watson
"I Fought the Law" - Hank Williams Jr.
"I Just Want to Be Your Everything" - Connie Smith
"I Love You, I Love You, I Love You" - Ronnie McDowell
"I Love You (What Can I Say)" - Jerry Reed
"I Never Will Marry" - Linda Ronstadt
"I'll Find it Where I Can" - Jerry Lee Lewis
"I'll Never Be Free" - Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius
"I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall" — Merle Haggard
"It's a Heartache" - Bonnie Tyler
"It's Been a Great Afternoon" — Merle Haggard
"I've Got a Winner in You" - Don Williams
"If I Had a Cheatin' Heart" - Mel Street
"If the World Ran Out of Love Tonight" - Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius
"If You Can Touch Her At All" - Willie Nelson
"If You've Got Ten Minutes (Let's Fall in Love)" - Joe Stampley
"It Don't Feel Like Sinnin' to Me" - The Kendalls
"Let Me Be Your Baby" - Charly McClain
"Let's Shake Hands (and Come Out Lovin')" — Kenny O'Dell
"Little Things Mean a Lot" - Margo Smith
"Lonely Street" - Rex Allen Jr.
"A Lover's Question" — Jacky Ward
"Maybe Baby" - Susie Allanson
"Middle Aged Crazy" - Jerry Lee Lewis
"My Way" - Elvis Presley
"Never My Love" — Vern Gosdin
"Night Time Magic" – Larry Gatlin
"No, No, No (I'd Rather Be Free)" — Rex Allen Jr.
"No Sleep Tonight" - Randy Barlow
"Once in a Lifetime Thing" - John Wesley Ryles
"One Sided Conversation" - Gene Watson
"Penny Arcade" — Cristy Lane
"Pittsburgh Stealers" — The Kendalls
"Please Help Me I'm Falling (in Love with You)" - Janie Fricke
"Poor Poor Pitiful Me" - Linda Ronstadt
"The Power of Positive Drinkin'" - Mickey Gilley
"Putting In a Little Overtime at Home" — Charlie Rich
"Rake and Ramblin' Man" — Don Williams
"Red Wine and Blue Memories" — Joe Stampley
"Return to Me" — Marty Robbins
"Rhythm of the Rain" - Jacky Ward
"Rose Colored Glasses" — John Conlee
"Slow and Easy" - Randy Barlow
"Soft Lights and Hard Country Music" - Moe Bandy
"Something to Brag About" - Willie Nelson and Mary Kay Place
"Spring Fever" - Loretta Lynn
"Sweet Sweet Smile" - The Carpenters
"That's What Makes the Jukebox Play" - Moe Bandy
"That's What You Do to Me" - Charly McClain
"There Ain't No Good Chain Gang" – Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings
"Three Sheets in the Wind" — Jacky Ward and Reba McEntire
"To Daddy" - Emmylou Harris
"Tonight" - Barbara Mandrell
"Two Lonely People" - Moe Bandy
"Unchained Melody" - Elvis Presley
"Walk Right Back" — Anne Murray
"We Believe in Happy Endings" — Johnny Rodriguez
"We Belong Together" - Susie Allanson
"We've Come a Long Way Baby" - Loretta Lynn
"What Did I Promise Her Last Night" — Mel Tillis
"What Have You Got to Lose" - Tom T. Hall
"What Time Do You Have to Be Back to Heaven" - Razzy Bailey
"When Can We Do This Again" — T.G. Sheppard
"When I Stop Leaving (I'll Be Gone)" — Charley Pride
"Whiskey River" — Willie Nelson
"Who Am I to Say" — Statler Brothers
"Womanhood" — Tammy Wynette
"Woman to Woman" - Barbara Mandrell
"Yes Ma'am" - Tommy Overstreet
"You Needed Me" — Anne Murray
"You'll Be Back (Every Night In My Dreams)" - Johnny Russell
"You're the One" — Oak Ridge Boys

Singles released by Canadian artists

US	CAN	Single	Artist
	11	All Cried Out	Van Dyke
92	9	The Circle Is Small (I Can See It in Your Eyes)	Gordon Lightfoot
	10	Comin' on Stronger	Mercey Brothers
	12	Does the Rain Only Fall on My Mansion	Jerry Palmer
	7	Dream Maker	Sheila Ann
	9	The Fastest Gun	Dallas Harms
	12	George the Hermit	Jack Hennig
	14	Goin' Home	Burton & Honeyman
	4	Here's Your Watch John	Canadian Zephyr
	14	Hold Me Like a Baby	Tim Daniels
	10	Living in the Best of Two Worlds	Rondini
	6	Love Is a Contact Sport	Family Brown
	18	Master of the Classical Guitar	Dallas Harms
	18	Mindy	Jack Hennig
	16	My Good Woman	Dick Damron
	14	Ol' Amos	Orval Prophet
	16	Riding High	Van Dyke
	18	Sun Always Shines	Laura Vinson
	14	There's More Love Where That Came From	Joyce Seamone
	16	Truck Driver's Girl	The Good Brothers
4	2	Walk Right Back	Anne Murray
	19	Where Have All the Cowboy Songs Gone	Orval Prophet
	9	Whiskey Jack	Dick Damron
	3	You're the Light	Family Brown

Births

July 21 — Brad Mates, lead singer of Canadian band Emerson Drive
September 14 — Danielle Peck, up-and-coming country music star

Deaths

October 21 — Mel Street, 45, honky tonk-styled artist and one of the most promising new artists of the 1970s (suicide)
October 23 — Maybelle Carter, 69, singer and songwriter of the Carter Family and mother of Anita, Helen and June Carter Cash.
December 16 — Jenny Lou Carson, 63, first female to write a #1 country hit (You Two-timed Me Once Too Often).

Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

Grandpa Jones (1913-1998)

Major awards

Grammy Awards

Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Here You Come Again," Dolly Parton
Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "Georgia on My Mind," Willie Nelson
Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys," Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson
Best Country Instrumental Performance — "One O'Clock Jump," Asleep at the Wheel
Best Country Song — "The Gambler," Don Schlitz (Performer: Kenny Rogers)

Juno Awards

Country Male Vocalist of the Year — Ronnie Prophet
Country Female Vocalist of the Year — Carroll Baker
Country Group or Duo of the Year — The Good Brothers

Academy of Country Music

Entertainer of the Year — Kenny Rogers
Song of the Year — "You Needed Me," Randy Goodrum (Performer: Anne Murray)
Single of the Year — "Tulsa Time," Don Williams
Album of the Year — Y'all Come Back Saloon, The Oak Ridge Boys
Top Male Vocalist — Kenny Rogers
Top Female Vocalist — Barbara Mandrell
Top Vocal Group — The Oak Ridge Boys
Top New Male Vocalist — John Conlee
Top New Female Vocalist — Cristy Lane

Country Music Association

Entertainer of the Year — Dolly Parton
Song of the Year — "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue," Richard Leigh (Performer: Crystal Gayle)
Single of the Year — "Heaven's Just a Sin Away," The Kendalls
Album of the Year — It Was Almost Like a Song, Ronnie Milsap
Male Vocalist of the Year — Don Williams
Female Vocalist of the Year — Crystal Gayle
Vocal Duo of the Year — Kenny Rogers and Dottie West
Vocal Group of the Year — The Oak Ridge Boys
Instrumentalist of the Year — Roy Clark
Instrumental Group of the Year — The Oak Ridge Boys Band

External links

Country Music Hall of Fame

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