1959 in country music
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1959.
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Events
- The first Grammy Award for outstanding performances in the country music genre is presented. The Kingston Trio wins the only country-specific award, for Best Country and Western Performance, with "Tom Dooley." It wouldn't be until the 1965 when more country-specific Grammy categories were started. Until 1966 (when the Academy of Country Music began presenting awards), the Grammy Awards would be the only method to honor remarkable accomplishments in the genre.
- "Saga" songs, or stories where conflict was the central theme, rise in popularity. Notable examples include "The Battle of New Orleans" by Johnny Horton, "The Long Black Veil" by Lefty Frizzell, "Waterloo" by Stonewall Jackson and "El Paso" by Marty Robbins.
- A young sharecropper's son named Buck Owens scores his first significant chart hit with "Second Fiddle." That song, plus the follow-up – "Under Your Spell Again", his first Billboard Top 10 hit – provides country fans with the earliest examples of Owens' trademark "Bakersfield" sound.
- Dolly Parton records for the first time, on the small Goldband Records label. Her first recorded song is a rockabilly song called "Puppy Love."
- George Jones scores the first No. 1 of his 50-plus year career with "White Lightnin'." Jones would go on to become the first artist to have No. 1 hits in four consecutive decades, his last No. 1 hit coming in 1983 with "I Always Get Lucky with You."
- Johnny Horton's "The Battle Of New Orleans" is named the Billboard Year-End No. 1 song of the year both the Billboard country and Hot 100 charts. To date, it is the only time this feat has occurred.
Top hits of the year
United States
(as certified by Billboard)
| Date | Single Name | Artist | Wks. No.1 | Spec. Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 19 | Billy Bayou | Jim Reeves | 5 | |
| February 23 | Don't Take Your Guns to Town | Johnny Cash | 6 | |
| April 6 | When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below) | Johnny Horton | 1 | [A] |
| April 13 | White Lightning | George Jones | 5 | [A] |
| May 18 | The Battle of New Orleans | Johnny Horton | 10 | [1]
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| July 27 | Waterloo | Stonewall Jackson | 5 | [A] |
| August 31 | The Three Bells | The Browns | 11 | [A]
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| November 9 | Country Girl | Faron Young | 4 | |
| December 7 | The Same Old Me | Ray Price | 2 | |
| December 21 | El Paso | Marty Robbins | 7 |
|
- Notes
- 1 No. 1 song of the year, as determined by Billboard.
- A First Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.
Other major hits
| US | Single | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | All the Time | Kitty Wells |
| 9 | Am I That Easy to Forget | Carl Belew |
| 13 | Anybody's Girl | Hank Thompson |
| 15 | The Best Years of Your Life | Carl Smith |
| 11 | Beyond the Shadow | The Browns |
| 19 | Big Harlan Taylor | George Jones |
| 4 | Big Midnight Special | Wilma Lee Cooper and Stoney Cooper |
| 5 | Black Land Farmer | Frankie Miller |
| 9 | Cabin in the Hills | Flatt & Scruggs |
| 17 | Chain Gang | Freddie Hart |
| 6 | Chasin' a Rainbow | Hank Snow |
| 12 | Chip Off the Old Block | Eddy Arnold |
| 13 | Cigarettes and Coffee Blues | Lefty Frizzell |
| 20 | Come and Knock (On the Door of My Heart) | Roy Acuff |
| 4 | Come Walk with Me | Wilma Lee Cooper and Stoney Cooper |
| 2 | Country Music is Here to Stay | Simon Crum |
| 7 | Dark Hollow | Jimmie Skinner |
| 13 | Dark Hollow | Luke Gordon |
| 11 | The Deck of Cards | Wink Martindale |
| 19 | Doggone That Train | Hank Snow |
| 5 | Don't Tell Me Your Troubles | Don Gibson |
| 11 | Draggin' the River | Ferlin Husky |
| 7 | Family Man | Frankie Miller |
| 14 | Five Feet High and Rising | Johnny Cash |
| 9 | Frankie's Man, Johnny | Johnny Cash |
| 13 | Frankie's Man, Johnny | Johnny Seay |
| 5 | Gotta Travel On | Billy Grammer |
| 15 | Gotta Travel On | Bill Monroe |
| 9 | Grin and Bear It | Jimmy C. Newman |
| 16 | Half-Breed | Marvin Rainwater |
| 15 | The Hanging Tree | Marty Robbins |
| 2 | Heartaches by the Number | Ray Price |
| 2 | Home | Jim Reeves |
| 15 | Homebreaker | Skeeter Davis |
| 13 | How Can I Think of Tomorrow | James O'Gwynn |
| 2 | I Ain't Never | Webb Pierce |
| 12 | I Cried a Tear | Ernest Tubb |
| 4 | I Got Stripes | Johnny Cash |
| 18 | I'd Like to Be | Jim Reeves |
| 16 | I'll Catch You When You Fall | Charlie Walker |
| 17 | I'm Beginning to Forget You | Jim Reeves |
| 3 | I'm in Love Again | George Morgan |
| 7 | I've Run Out of Tomorrows | Hank Thompson |
| 19 | It's All My Heartache | Carl Smith |
| 5 | Jimmy Brown the Newsboy | Mac Wiseman |
| 17 | John Wesley Hardin | Jimmie Skinner |
| 10 | Johnny Reb | Johnny Horton |
| 11 | Katy Too | Johnny Cash |
| 18 | The Knoxville Girl | The Wilburn Brothers |
| 19 | The Knoxville Girl | The Louvin Brothers |
| 20 | Last Night at a Party | Faron Young |
| 3 | The Last Ride | Hank Snow |
| 2 | Life to Go | Stonewall Jackson |
| 20 | Little Dutch Girl | George Morgan |
| 11 | Lonesome Old House | Don Gibson |
| 6 | Long Black Veil | Lefty Frizzell |
| 16 | A Long Time Ago | Faron Young |
| 8 | Luther Played the Boogie | Johnny Cash |
| 5 | Mommy for a Day | Kitty Wells |
| 9 | My Baby's Gone | The Louvin Brothers |
| 15 | My Love and Little Me | Margie Bowes |
| 14 | My Reason for Leaving | Ferlin Husky |
| 14 | Next Time | Ernest Tubb |
| 13 | Ninety-Nine | Bill Anderson |
| 7 | Old Moon | Betty Foley[1] |
| 9 | Partners | Jim Reeves |
| 10 | Poor Old Heartsick Me | Margie Bowes |
| 17 | Problems | The Everly Brothers |
| 16 | Sailor Man | Johnnie & Jack |
| 19 | Sal's Got a Sugar Lip | Johnny Horton |
| 5 | Set Him Free | Skeeter Davis |
| 16 | So Many Times | Roy Acuff |
| 19 | So Soon | Jimmy C. Newman |
| 15 | Soldier's Joy | Hawkshaw Hawkins |
| 6 | Somebody's Back in Town | The Wilburn Brothers |
| 9 | Ten Thousand Drums | Carl Smith |
| 5 | Tennessee Stud | Eddy Arnold |
| 12 | Thanks a Lot | Johnny Cash |
| 14 | That's the Way It's Gotta Be | Faron Young |
| 7 | That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome | Ray Price |
| 12 | That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome | Bill Anderson |
| 3 | There's a Big Wheel | Wilma Lee Cooper and Stoney Cooper |
| 6 | A Thousand Miles Ago | Webb Pierce |
| 8 | (Till) I Kissed You | The Everly Brothers |
| 4 | Under Your Spell Again | Buck Owens |
| 5 | Under Your Spell Again | Ray Price |
| 19 | What Am I Living For | Ernest Tubb |
| 4 | Which One Is to Blame | The Wilburn Brothers |
| 3 | Who Cares | Don Gibson |
| 7 | Who Shot Sam | George Jones |
| 9 | A Woman's Intuition | The Wilburn Brothers |
| 17 | Yankee, Go Home | Goldie Hill |
| 13 | You Dreamer You | Johnny Cash |
| 18 | You Take the Table and I'll Take the Chairs | Bob Gallion |
| 7 | You're Makin' a Fool Out of Me | Jimmy C. Newman |
| 12 | Your Wild Life's Gonna Get You Down | Kitty Wells |
Top new album releases
| Single | Artist | Record Label |
|---|---|---|
| Greatest! | Johnny Cash | Sun |
| Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs | Marty Robbins | Columbia |
| Hymns by Johnny Cash | Johnny Cash | Columbia |
| I'll Sing You a Song and Harmonize Too | Skeeter Davis | RCA |
| 'Satan Is Real | The Louvin Brothers | Capitol |
| Songs of Our Soil | Johnny Cash | Columbia |
Other top new releases
| Single | Artist | Record Label |
|---|---|---|
| After Dark | Kitty Wells | Decca |
| Beside the Still Waters | Mac Wiseman | Dot |
| Chet Atkins in Hollywood | Chet Atkins | RCA |
| George Jones Sings White Lightning and Other Favorites | George Jones | Mercury |
| Great Folk Ballads | Mac Wiseman | Dot |
| Have Guitar Will Travel | Eddy Arnold | RCA |
| Hum & Strum Along with Chet Atkins | Chet Atkins | RCA |
| Sweet Sounds by the Browns | The Browns | RCA |
| Thereby Hangs a Tale | Eddy Arnold | RCA |
Births
- January 7 — David Lee Murphy, singer-songwriter of the mid-1990s.
- March 2 — Larry Stewart, lead singer of the 1980s country pop group Restless Heart.
- May 4 — Randy Travis, key artist of the new traditionalist movement of the mid-1980s.
- June 15 – Jeff Stevens, singer, songwriter and producer.
- June 21 — Kathy Mattea, folk-styled country artist of the 1980s.
- June 27 — Lorrie Morgan, country star of the 1990s; daughter of Grand Ole Opry favorite George Morgan.
- July 20 — Radney Foster, songwriter and one half of the late-1980s duo Foster & Lloyd; also, a solo artist during the early 1990s.
- August 7 — Michael Peterson, singer of the latter half of the 1990s.
- September 14 — John Berry, singer-songwriter of the mid-1990s.
- October 13 — Marie Osmond, member of the Osmond family who enjoyed success in the country genre during the 1970s and 1980s.
- December 8 — Marty Raybon, lead singer of Shenandoah.
Major awards
Grammy Awards
- Best Country and Western Performance — "Tom Dooley", The Kingston Trio
Further reading
- 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.
Other links
References
- Barry McCloud (1995) Definitive Country: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Country Music and Its Performers, p. 290, ISBN 0-399-52144-5
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