1997 in country music

"See also":
1996 in country music, 1997 in music, other events of 1997, 1998 in country music, 1990s in music and the List of years in Country Music

Events

* July 12 - The song, "It's Your Love," by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill becomes the first song in 20 years to spend six weeks atop "Billboard magazine" Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. The last song to do so was 1977's "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" by Waylon Jennings. In that span, more than 750 songs had reached No. 1 on the country chart, a majority of them for just one week.: "It's Your Love" sparks a renewed wave of songs that spend at least five weeks at No. 1, thanks in part to newer chart tracking methods and programming changes at country radio stations. However, as of 2007, no No. 1 song has approached the mega-week No. 1 status (i.e., spending at least 10 weeks at No. 1), a feat that was common through the early 1960s.

No dates

* Jimmie Rodgers is elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as an early influence).
* Trisha Yearwood and LeAnn Rimes both record the song "How Do I Live" for the movie Con Air. Producers from the film ask Rimes to record it first but feel her version isn't what they are looking for due to the performance itself and her young age. Yearwood then records the song and releases at the same time Rimes releases her song. Rimes version is shunned from the country charts but reaches No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Yearwood's version, meanwhile, peaks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and also makes the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

"(as certified by Billboard magazine)"
*¹ - No. 1 song of the year, as determined by "Billboard magazine."
*^A - First "Billboard" No. 1 hit for that artist.
*^B - Last "Billboard" No. 1 hit for that artist to date.
*^C - Only "Billboard" No. 1 hit for that artist to date.

Other major hits

*^A Reached #1 on U.S. "Gavin Report" country singles charts.
*^B Reached #1 on U.S. "Radio & Records" (now "Mediabase 24/7") country singles charts.

Top new album releases

*"" — Collin Raye (Epic)
*"Big Time" — Trace Adkins (Capitol Nashville)
*"Carrying Your Love with Me" — George Strait (MCA Nashville)
*"The Coast Is Clear" — Tracy Lawrence (Atlantic)
*"Collection" — Wynonna Judd (Curb)
*"Come On Over" — Shania Twain (Mercury Nashville)
*"Complicated" — Tanya Tucker (Capitol Nashville)
*"Crazy Nights" — Lonestar (BNA)
*"Dancin' on the Boulevard" — Alabama (RCA)
*"Dream Walkin'" — Toby Keith (Mercury Nashville)
*"Everywhere" — Tim McGraw (Curb)
*"Evolution" — Martina McBride (RCA)
*"Greatest Hits" — Diamond Rio (Arista Nashville)
*"Greatest Hits" — Neal McCoy (Atlantic)
*"Greatest Hits" — John Michael Montgomery (Atlantic)
*"Greatest Hits" — Pam Tillis (Arista Nashville)
*"The Greatest Hits Collection" — Brooks & Dunn (Arista Nashville)
*"I Will Stand" — Kenny Chesney (BNA)
*"If I Don't Stay the Night" — Mindy McCready (BNA)
*"Labor of Love" — Sammy Kershaw (Mercury Nashville)
*"Lee Ann Womack" — Lee Ann Womack (Decca Nashville)
*"Lila" — Lila McCann (Asylum)
*"Long Stretch of Lonesome" — Patty Loveless (Epic)
*"Love & Gravity" — BlackHawk (Arista Nashville)
*"Love Travels" — Kathy Mattea (Mercury Nashville)
*"Nothin' but the Taillights" — Clint Black (RCA)
*"The Other Side" — Wynonna Judd (Universal/Curb)
*"The Right Place" — Bryan White (Asylum)
*"Rumor Has It" — Clay Walker (Giant)
*"Sevens" — Garth Brooks (Capitol Nashville)
*"Shakin' Things Up" — Lorrie Morgan (BNA)
*"Six Days on the Road" — Sawyer Brown (Curb)
*"So Long So Wrong" — Alison Krauss & Union Station (Rounder)
*"(Songbook) A Collection of Hits" — Trisha Yearwood (MCA Nashville)
*"" — LeAnn Rimes (Curb)
*"Under the Covers" — Dwight Yoakam (Reprise)
*"" — LeAnn Rimes (Curb)

Other top albums

*"All Because of You" — Daryle Singletary (Giant)
*"Back to You" — Anita Cochran (Warner Bros.)
*"Be Good at It" — Neal McCoy (Atlantic)
*"" — Billy Ray Cyrus (Mercury Nashville)
*"Big House" — Big House (MCA Nashville)
*"Billy Yates" — Billy Yates (ALMO)
*"Bitter Sweet" — Kim Richey (Mercury Nashville)
*"Blink of an Eye" — Ricochet (Columbia)
*"The Buffalo Club" — The Buffalo Club (Rising Tide)
*"Burnin' Daylight" — Burnin' Daylight (Curb)
*"Butterfly Kisses" — Jeff Carson (Curb)
*"Come on Christmas" — Dwight Yoakam (Reprise)
*"Every Night's a Saturday Night" — Lee Roy Parnell (Arista Nashville)
*"The Girl Next Door" — Crystal Bernard (River North)
*"Greatest Hits… and Then Some" — Aaron Tippin (RCA Nashville)
*"Hallelujah, He Is Born" — Sawyer Brown (Curb)
*"Here's Your Sign" — Bill Engvall (Warner Bros.)
*"Hopechest" — Stephanie Bentley (Epic)
*"I'd Be with You" — Kippi Brannon (Curb)
*"It's on the House" — Emilio (Capitol Nashville)
*"Just Between You and Me" — The Kinleys (Epic)
*"Let Me In" — Chely Wright (MCA Nashville)
*"Little Texas" — Little Texas (Warner Bros.)
*"Live" — Chris LeDoux (Capitol Nashville)
*"Michael Peterson" — Michael Peterson (Reprise)
*"One of the Fortunate Few" — Delbert McClinton (Rising Tide)
*"One Ride in Vegas" — Deryl Dodd (Columbia)
*"Outside the Frame" — Paul Brandt (Reprise)
*"Roots and Wings" — James Bonamy (Epic)
*"The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers - A Tribute" — Various Artists (Columbia)
*"Stone Country: Songs of the Rolling Stones" — Various Artists (Tommy Boy)
*"Sunday Morning to Saturday Night" — Matraca Berg (Rising Tide)
*"Takin' the Country Back" — John Anderson (Mercury)
*"Tammy Graham" — Tammy Graham (Arista Nashville)
*"Thank God for Believers" — Mark Chesnutt (Decca Nashville)
*"The Truth" — Brady Seals (Reprise)
*"Three Chords and the Truth" — Sara Evans (RCA)
*"Twice Upon a Time" — Joe Diffie (Epic)
*"We Can't All Be Angels" — David Lee Murphy (MCA Nashville)
*"Whatever Comes First" — Sons of the Desert (Epic)
*"Words" — Sherrié Austin (Arista Nashville)

Deaths

*January 21 – Colonel Tom Parker, 87, manager of prolific country singers Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow, comedienne Minnie Pearl
*June 19 – Bobby Helms, 62, singer who enjoyed his peak popularity in 1957; best known for "Jingle Bell Rock."
*October 12 – John Denver, 53, country crossover artist of the 1970s; also a singer and songwriter (plane crash).
*December 27 - Amie Comeaux, 21, a newcomer artist of the mid '90s (car accident).
*December 31 – Floyd Cramer, 64, prolific session pianist.

Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

*Harlan Howard (1927-2002)
*Brenda Lee (1944- )
*Cindy Walker (1915-2006)

Major Awards

Grammy awards

*Best Female Country Vocal Performance -- "How Do I Live," Trisha Yearwood
*Best Male Country Vocal Performance -- "Pretty Little Adriana," Vince Gill
*Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal -- "Looking in the Eyes of Love," Alison Krauss & Union Station
*Best Country Collaboration with Vocals -- "In Another's Eyes," Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood
*Best Country Instrumental Performance -- "Little Liza Jane," Alison Krauss & Union Station
*Best Country Song -- "Butterfly Kisses," Bob Carlisle / Jeff Carson / The Raybon Brothers
*Best Country Album -- "Unchained", Johnny Cash
*Best Bluegrass Album -- "So Long So Wrong", Alison Krauss & Union Station

Academy of Country Music

*Entertainer Of The Year -- Garth Brooks
*Song Of The Year -- "It's Your Love," Stephony Smith
*Single Of The Year -- "It's Your Love," Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
*Album Of The Year -- "Carrying Your Love with Me", George Strait
*Top Male Vocalist -- George Strait
*Top Female Vocalist -- Trisha Yearwood
*Top Vocal Duo Or Group -- Brooks & Dunn
*Top New Male Vocalist -- Kenny Chesney
*Top New Female Vocalist -- Lee Ann Womack
*Top New Vocal Duo Or Group -- The Kinleys
*Video Of The Year -- "It's Your Love," Tim McGraw and Faith Hill (Director: Sherman Halsey)
*Vocal Event Of The Year -- "It's Your Love," Tim McGraw with Faith Hill

Country Music Association

*Entertainer Of The Year -- Garth Brooks
*Song Of The Year -- "Strawberry Wine," Matraca Berg and Gary Harrison
*Single Of The Year -- "Strawberry Wine," Deana Carter
*Album Of The Year -- "Carrying Your Love with Me", George Strait
*Male Vocalist Of The Year -- George Strait
*Female Vocalist Of The Year -- Trisha Yearwood
*Vocal Duo Of The Year -- Brooks & Dunn
*Vocal Group Of The Year -- Diamond Rio
*Horizon Award -- LeAnn Rimes
*Music Video Of The Year -- "455 Rocket," Kathy Mattea (Director: Steven Goldmann)
*Vocal Event Of The Year -- "It's Your Love," Tim McGraw (featuring Faith Hill)
*Musician Of The Year -- Brent Mason

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

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

External links

* [http://www.cmaawards.com/2004/hof/default.asp Country Music Hall of Fame]