Influential Musicians
  Guitarists | Drummers | Bassists | Keyboardists | Rock Royalty

Blues| Country | Jazz | Family Bands | Female | Folk | Metal | Power Trios | Punk | Reggae
Rock - The Pioneers - Rock '51 - '63 | Rock '62 - '69-The British Invasion | Rock '68 - '74

Through The Cracks -  Clouds | Danny Gatton | Roy Buchanan | TimeBox & Patto | Joe Stanley

On The Boards - The Beatles | Pink Floyd | Fleetwood Mac | Moody Blues | Jethro Tull | Les Paul | Tina Turner | Cyndi Lauper

Adam Brand -  Alabama - Alan Jackson - Albert Green Hopkins - Alexander "Eck" Robertson - Alison Krauss and Union Station
 Anne Murray - Barbara Mandrell - Bellamy Brothers - Bill Monroe - Billy Joe Shaver - Bob Wills -  Bobby Bare - Brooks & Dunn - Buck Owens
 Carter Family  - Charley Pride -  Charlie Daniels - Charlie Poole - Charlie Rich - Chet Atkins -  Clint Black - Conway Twitty - Dan Brodie
David Allan Coe - Diamond Rio - Dolly Parton - Don Gibson - Don Williams - Dottie West  - Dwight Yoakam -  Eddy Arnold - Elvis Presley
Emmylou Harris- Ernest Tubb - Faith Hill - John Carson - Flatt & Scruggs - Frank Ferera - Garth Brooks - Gene Autry - George Jones - George Morgan
George Riley Puckett - George Strait - Glen Campbell - Hank Snow - Hank Thompson - Hank Williams -  Hank Williams Jr. - Jean Shepard
Jessi Colter - Jim Reeves - Jimmie Rodgers - John Denver - Johnny Cash - Johnny Horton - Johnny Paycheck - Juice Newton - Keith Lionel Urban
Keith Whitley - Kenny Rogers - Kitty Wells - Lee Kernaghan - Lefty Frizzell - Leonard Ray Sipes - Linda Ronstadt - Loretta Lynn - Lorrie Morgan
Lynn Anderson - Marie Osmond - Mark Chesnutt - Marty Robbins - Marty Stuart - Mel Tillis - Merle Haggard - Olivia Newton-John - Patsy Cline
Patty Loveless - Porter Wagoner - Randy Travis - Ray Price - Reba McEntire - Red Foley - Ricky Skaggs - Roger Miller- Ronnie Milsap - Rosanne Cash
Roy Acuff - Roy Clark - Roy Rogers - Shania Twain - Slim Dusty -  Statler Bros. - Tammy Wynette - Tanya Tucker - Tennessee Ernie Ford
The Dixie Chicks - The Judds - The Oak Ridge Boys - The Stanley Brothers - Tim McGraw - Toby Keith - Tom T. Hall - Troy Cassar-Daley
Vernon Dalhart -  Vince Gill - Waylon Jennings - Webb Pierce - Willie Nelson - Wynn Stewart

Throughout the history of music individual performers have had a major impact on the music scene. These influential/notable musicians have left their mark by expanding the envelope of their respective genres, either through technical proficiency, experimentation/exploration, or persona. The following list of notable/influential country performers is by no means complete. The performers listed are those that readily came to mind, and any additions to the list can be sent using the link at the bottom of the page. The individual home pages for the musicians listed can be reached by clicking on their name in the bio section.

Adam Brand is an Australian country musician. Brand first began playing drums at age ten, and followed his father, a traveling salesman, in his teens. Brand moved to Sydney in 1997 and released his first album, a self-titled effort, on Flying Nun Records the next year. The record was awarded three CMAA awards after being nominated in five categories. In 2003 he began recording for Compass Records; 2003's Built for Speed was certified gold in Australia, and Get Loud debuted at #2 on the Australian country charts and #16 on the national ARIA charts in 2004. "Artist Discography"

 

 

 

Alabama is a Grammy Award-winning country music and southern rock band that originated in Fort Payne, Alabama, United States. They were the most commercially successful country act in the 1980s and remain one of the best selling American musical acts of all time. The band is often credited with bringing country music groups (as opposed to solo vocalists) into the mainstream, paving the way for the success of today's top country groups. Since its foundation in 1972, Alabama has been composed of Randy Owen (lead vocals), Jeff Cook (guitar, fiddle, background vocals), Teddy Gentry (bass guitar, background vocals) and Mark Herndon (drums). The band's blend of traditional country music and southern rock combined with elements of gospel music, and pop music gave it a crossover appeal that helped lead to their unprecedented success. They also toured extensively and incorporated production elements such as lighting and "sets" inspired by rock concerts into their shows. The band has over 30 number one country records on the Billboard Magazine charts to their credit and have sold over 73 million records to date. The band was formed in 1969 by cousins Owen, Gentry, and Cook under the name Young Country. Their first gig was playing for a high school talent contest for which they won first prize—a trip to the Grand Ole Opry. "Artist Discography"

 

Alan Jackson born on October 17, 1958 in Newnan, Georgia, is an American country artist who has sold over 50 million records. He was influenced by the new traditional country of the 1980s, and he was one of the most popular country singers of the 1990s, blending both honky tonk and mainstream country sounds and penning many of his own hits. In his career, he has recorded twelve studio albums and several compilations, all on the Arista Nashville label. More than fifty of his singles have reached Top 30 on the Billboard country charts, including twenty-five Number Ones. He is the recipient and nominee of multiple awards. He was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2001. "Artist Discography"

 

Albert Green Hopkins (1889 – October 21, 1932), Al Hopkins was an American musician, a pioneer of what later came to be called country music; in 1925 he originated the earlier designation of this music as "hillbilly music", though not without qualms about its pejorative connotation.
Hopkins played piano, an unusual instrument for Appalachian music. The members of the band that brought him to fame (which was known by several names: The Hill Billies, Al Hopkins' Original Hill Billies, and Al Hopkins and His Buckle Busters) came variously from Hopkins' own Watauga County, North Carolina and from Grayson and Carroll Counties in Virginia. Although the group formed up in 1924 in Galax, Virginia, they were based in Washington, D.C., and performed regularly on WRC. In 1927 they became the first country musicians to perform in New York City. They were also the first to play for a president of the United States (Calvin Coolidge, at a Press Correspondents' gathering) and the first to appear in a movie (a 15-minute Warner Bros./Vitaphone short released along with Al Jolson's The Singing Fool). "Artist Discography"

 

Alexander "Eck" Robertson (born November 20, 1887 in Delaney, Arkansas, died February 15, 1975 Borger, Texas), was an American fiddle player, mostly known for being the first country musician to be recorded in 1922.Robertson grew up on a farm in Texas where his family had moved about 1891. Apart from being a farmer, his father worked as a preacher in the community. At the age of five, Robertson began learning to play the fiddle, and later on even banjo and guitar. In 1904, he went with a traveling medicine show, performing on local dances until he got married and settled down in 1906. During the 1920s, he was a regular performer at the "Annual Old Confederate Soldiers' Reunions". He became friends with fiddler Henry C. Gilliland who accompanied him to New York City in the summer of 1922 when he had received a recording contract by the Victor Talking Machine Company. On June 30, 1922, Robertson recorded six tracks - one of them being the well-known "Sally Gooden" coupled with the fiddle duet, Arkansas Traveler. The record was released in April 1923. Robertson's rendition of "Sally Gooden" showcased his ability to interpret one melody with several variations. "Artist Discography"

 

 

 

 

Alison Krauss and Union Station. Alison Krauss, born July 23, 1971 in Decatur, Illinois, is a Grammy award winning American bluegrass-country singer and fiddle player. She entered the music industry at a young age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album at sixteen in 1987. She was invited to join the band with which she still performs, Alison Krauss + Union Station (AKUS), and later released her first album with them as a group in 1989. She thus far has released more than ten albums, appeared on numerous soundtracks, and helped usher in a new interest in bluegrass music in the United States. Her soundtrack performances have led to further popularity, including the Grammy-winning O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, an album also credited with raising American interest in bluegrass, and the Cold Mountain soundtrack, which led to her performance at the 2004 Academy Awards. During her career she has won 21 Grammy Awards—more than any other female artist and tied for seventh-most among all artists—along with numerous other awards. "Artist Discography"

 

Anne Murray CC ONS (born Morna Anne Murray on June 20, 1945) is a Canadian singer. Murray has performed in Pop, Country and Adult Contemporary styles. So far, her albums have sold over 54 million copies. Murray was the first Canadian female solo singer to reach #1 on the U.S. charts, and also the first to earn a gold record for one of her signature songs, "Snowbird" (1970). She is often cited as the woman who paved the way for other Canadian international success stories such as Céline Dion, Sarah McLachlan and Shania Twain. She is also the first woman and the first Canadian to win "Album of the Year" at the Country Music Association Awards for her 1984 album A Little Good News.Anne's debut album was on the Canadian Arc label, entitled What About Me (Arc AS 782). The lead single was the cut of the same name, was written by Scott MacKenzie, and was a sizable Canadian radio hit. The project was produced by Brian Ahern and Bill Gilliland, and covered songs by Joni Mitchell, Ken Tobias and an as-yet-still-not-"Denver'd" John Deutschendorf. After a year-long stint on Arc, Anne switched to Capitol Records in 1969 to record her second album, This Way Is My Way, which was released in the fall of the same year. This album featured the single that launched her successful career, "Snowbird," which became a #1 hit in Canada. "Snowbird" became a surprise hit on the U.S. charts as well, eventually also reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart in 1970. The song led to Anne being awarded the first gold record ever given to a Canadian solo artist in the United States. one of the most successful highest selling female artist of all time Anne became the demand of several television appearances in Canada and the United States, eventually becoming a regular on the hit U.S. TV series The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. "Artist Discography"

 

Barbara Mandrell, born December 25, 1948, is an American country music singer. She is best-known for a 1970s–1980s series of Top 10 hits and TV shows (1980-82) that helped her become one of country music's most successful female vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s.She is the only female in country music history to win the Country Music Association's "Entertainer of the Year" award twice, and she has also won the Country Music Association's "Female Vocalist of the Year" twice. Mandrell's first number-one hit was 1978's "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed" and immediately followed by "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" in early 1979. Later in the year, "Years" also reached number one, as did three more singles: "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" (her signature song), then "'Till You're Gone" and "One of a Kind Pair of Fools"—between 1981 and 1983, a period also during which Mandrell received numerous industry awards and accolades. Within 48 hours of a nightclub appearance near the Grand Ole Opry, she received offers for recording contracts from six record companies. After signing with Columbia in 1969, she notched her first chart hit, a remake of the Otis Redding classic "I've Been Loving You Too Long." In 1970, Mandrell scored the first of many Top 40 hits with "Playin' Around With Love." In the same year, she began performing with singer David Houston, and their partnership also generated considerable chart success. Mandrell's first releases earned respect from her country peers, but her first big breakthrough with the fans came in 1973 with the single "The Midnight Oil." "Artist Discography"

 

The Bellamy Brothers are an American pop and country music duo composed of brothers David Milton Bellamy (born September 16, 1950) and Homer Howard Bellamy (born February 2, 1946), both from Darby, Florida, United States. The duo had considerable musical success in the 1970s and 1980s, starting with the release of their crossover hit "Let Your Love Flow" in 1976, a Number One single on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting in the late 1970s, the Bellamy Brothers found success in country music as well, charting twenty Number One singles and more than fifty hits overall on the country charts. To date, they have released more than forty albums, primarily on Curb Records. "Artist Discography"

 

 

Bill Monroe (September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American musician who helped develop the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader. He is often referred to as "the father of bluegrass. Bill Monroe was made an honorary Kentucky colonel in 1966. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as an "early influence") in 1997. Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills, Hank Williams Sr., and Johnny Cash are the only other performers honored in all three. As the "father of bluegrass," he was also an inaugural inductee into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1991. In 1993, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and he was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1995. "Artist Discography"

 

Billy Joe Shaver was born August 16, 1939 in Corsicana, Texas, he is an American country music singer and songwriter. Shaver's 1973 album Old Five and Dimers Like Me is a classic in the outlaw country genre. Billy Joe Shaver's debut album was Old Five and Dimers Like Me (1973). Almost every song on the album has become a classic (particularly the title track, as well as "I Been to Georgia On a Fast Train" and "Willy The Wandering Gypsy and Me"), many being performed by other artists such as David Allan Coe. When I Get My Wings (1976) included "Ain't No God In Mexico" (also a hit for Waylon Jennings). Gypsy Boy (1977) included "Honky Tonk Heroes". Shaver is known for his hit "Live Forever", written with the help of his son before his son's death, performed by The Highwaymen. He also wrote numerous songs for artists such as Patty Loveless and Willie Nelson. He had a studio recording in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before returning with the critically acclaimed Tramp On Your Street in 1993, which prominently featured the guitar playing of Eddy Shaver.His most recent album, 2007's country gospel style Everybody's Brother was Grammy-nominated. many of the songs are duets, including with Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson and Tanya Tucker. Musicians playing on the album included Randy Scruggs, Laura Cash and Marty Stuart. "Artist Discography"

 

Bob Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by many music authorities one of the fathers of Western swing and called by his fans the "King of Western Swing." He was born near Kosse, Texas to Emma Lee Foley and John Tompkins Wills. His father was a statewide champion fiddle player. and the Wills family was either playing music, or someone was "always wanting us to play for them", in addition to raising cotton on their farm. In addition to picking cotton the young Jim Bob was taught to play the fiddle and the mandolin. Both a sister and brother played guitar, while another sister played piano. The Wills frequently held country dances in their home, and there was dancing in all four rooms. Wills not only learned traditional music from his family, he learned some Negro songs directly from blacks, and said that he did not play with many white children other than his siblings, until he was seven or eight years old. Negroes were his playmates, and his father enjoyed watching him jig dance with black children. "I don't know whether they made them up as they moved down the cotton rows or not," Wills once told Charles Townsend, author of San Antonio Rose: The Life and Times of Bob Wills, "but they sang blues you never heard before." "Artist Discography"

 

 Bobby Bare, born Robert Joseph Bare on April 7, 1935 in Ironton, Ohio, is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is the father of Bobby Bare, Jr., also a musician. Bare had many failed attempts to sell his songs in the 1950s. He finally signed with Capitol Records and recorded a few rock and roll songs without much chart success. Just before he was drafted into the Army, he wrote a song called "The All American Boy" and did a demo for his friend, Bill Parsons, to learn and record. Instead of using the version Bill Parsons did later, the record company, Fraternity Records, decided to use the original demo done by Bobby Bare. The record reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. In nearly 50 years of making music, Bobby has made many firsts in country music. Bare is credited for introducing Waylon Jennings to RCA. He is also one of the first to record from many well- known song writers such as Jack Clement, Harlan Howard, Billy Joe Shaver, Mickey Newbury, Tom T. Hall, Shel Silverstein, Baxter Taylor and Kris Kristofferson. In 2006, he recorded a new album after over 20 years, called The Moon Was Blue, produced by his son Bobby Bare, Jr., who is also a musician. He continues to tour today. "Artist Discography"

 

Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo, consisting of Kix Brooks (born Leon Eric Brooks III, May 12, 1955 in Shreveport, Louisiana) and Ronnie Dunn (born Ronald Gene Dunn, June 1, 1953 in Coleman, Texas). Both Brooks and Dunn had worked as singer-songwriters before the duo's formation, charting singles of their own in the late 1980s. The duo made its debut in 1991 with their first four singles all reaching the top of the U.S. Billboard country music charts. Their debut album, Brand New Man, was released the same year and was certified 6x platinum by the RIAA. Brooks & Dunn have had more than forty singles on the country music charts, twenty of which have reached number one. They have recorded ten studio albums, two greatest-hits compilations, and a Christmas album. Brooks & Dunn also won the Country Music Association Vocal Duo of the Year award every year between 1992 and 2006, except for 2000 when Montgomery Gentry took the honor. In addition, Brooks & Dunn won the Entertainer of the Year award in 1996. Two of the duo's singles have also been named as Billboard magazine's Number One country singles of the year: "My Maria" (1996) and "Ain't Nothing 'Bout You" (2001). Since early 2006, Kix Brooks has also hosted American Country Countdown, a nationally syndicated radio program which counts down the Top 40 country singles in the United States as determined by the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. "Artist Discography"

 

Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens, Jr., (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006) was an American singer and guitarist, with 20 number-one hits on the Billboard country music charts. Both as a solo artist and with his legendary band, the Buckaroos. Buck Owens and the the Buckaroos pioneered what has come to be called the Bakersfield sound — a reference to Bakersfield, California, the city Owens called home and from which he drew inspiration for what he preferred to call "American Music"While Owens originally used fiddle and retained pedal steel guitar into the 1970s, his sound on records and onstage was always more stripped-down and elemental, incorporating elements of rock'n'roll. Owens met his longtime guitarist Don Rich while in Tacoma, Washington. Rich can be heard harmonizing on all of Owens' hits until his untimely death in a motorcycle accident in 1974. The loss of his best friend devastated Owens for years and abruptly halted his career until Owens performed with Dwight Yoakam in 1988. "Artist Discography"

 

 The Carter Family was a country music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, southern gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country music stars. Their recordings of such songs as "Wabash Cannonball," "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," "Wildwood Flower" and "Keep On the Sunny Side" made them country standards.The original group consisted of Alvin Pleasant "A.P." Delaney Carter (1891-1960), his wife Sara Dougherty Carter (1898-1979), and his sister-in-law Maybelle Addington Carter (1909-1978). Maybelle was married to A.P.'s brother Ezra (Eck) Carter and was also Sara's first cousin. All three were born and raised in southwestern Virginia, where they were immersed in the tight harmonies of mountain gospel music and shape note singing. Maybelle's distinctive and innovative guitar playing style became a hallmark of the group. "Artist Discography"

 

 Charley Pride, born March 18, 1938, is a country music artist. During his career, he has had thirty-six number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. He is one of the few African-American country musicians to have had considerable success in the largely Caucasian country music industry and the only one to be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. Though he also loved music, one of Pride's life-long dreams was to become a professional baseball player. In 1952, he pitched for the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro American League. He pitched well, and, in 1953, he signed a contract with the Boise Yankees, the Class C farm team of the New York Yankees. During that season, an injury caused him to lose the "mustard" on his fastball, and he was sent to the Yankees' Class D team in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Later that season, while in the Negro Leagues with the Louisville Clippers, he and another player (Jesse Mitchell), were traded to the Birmingham Black Barons for a team bus. "Jesse and I may have the distinction of being the only players in history to be traded for a used motor vehicle," Pride mused in his 1994 autobiography. While he was active in baseball, Pride had been encouraged to join the music business by country stars such as Red Sovine and Red Foley, and was working towards this career. In 1958, in Memphis, Tennessee, Pride visited Sun Studios and recorded some songs. One song has survived on tape, and has been released in the United Kingdom as part of an LP-box. The song is a slow stroll in walking tempo called "Walkin' (the Stroll)." After struggling to get a contract with a record company, he finally caught the ear of record producer Chet Atkins. Atkins was the longtime producer of RCA Records, and made stars out of country singers like Jim Reeves, Skeeter Davis and others. Pride was signed to RCA in 1966. In 1966, he released his first single with RCA, "Snakes Crawl at Night". When the song was promoted to radio stations, the label called Pride "Country Charley Pride". At this time, country music was a white medium. Soon after the release of "Snakes Crawl at Night", Pride released another single called "Before I Met You". Soon after, Pride's third single, "Just Between You and Me", was released. This song was what finally brought Pride success on the Country charts. The song reached #9. "Artist Discography"

 

 

Charlie Daniels, born October 28, 1936 in Wilmington, North Carolina, is an American musician famous for his contributions to country and southern rock music. He is known primarily for his Number One country hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and multiple other songs he has performed and written. Daniels has been active as a singer since the early 1950s. He was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on January 24, 2008.Daniels is a singer, guitarist, and fiddler, who began writing and performing in the 1950s. In 1964, Daniels co-wrote "It Hurts Me", a song which Elvis Presley recorded. He worked as a Nashville session musician, often for producer Bob Johnston, including playing on three Bob Dylan albums during 1969 and 1970, and recordings by Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen. Daniels recorded his first solo album, Charlie Daniels, in 1971 (see 1971 in country music). His first hit, the novelty song "Uneasy Rider", was from his 1973 second album, Honey in the Rock, and reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100.Daniels won the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance in 1979 for "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", which reached #3 on the charts. The following year, "Devil" became a major crossover success on rock radio stations, after its inclusion on the soundtrack for the hit movie Urban Cowboy. The song is by far Daniels' greatest success, still receiving regular airplay on U.S. classic rock and country stations, and is well-known even among audiences who eschew country music in general "Artist Discography"

 

Charlie Poole (March 22, 1892 - May 21, 1931) was an American old time banjo player and country musician and the leader of the North Carolina Ramblers, an American old time string band that recorded many popular songs between 1925 to 1930.Charlie Poole and his brother-in-law, fiddler Posey Rorer - whom he had met in West Virginia in 1917 and whose sister he ended up marrying - formed a trio with guitarists Norman Woodlieff and fiddler Posey Rorer called the North Carolina Ramblers. The group auditioned in New York for Columbia Records. After landing a contract, they recorded the hugely successful "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues" on July 27, 1925. This song sold over 102,000 copies at a time when there were estimated to be only 600,000 phonographs in Southern United States, according to Poole’s biographer Kinney Rorrer. The band was paid $75 for the session. Poole played the banjo. Guitar was played by Norman Woodlief, and later by former railroad engineer Roy Harvey from West Virginia. Fiddlers in various recording sessions were Posey Rorer, Lonnie Austin and Odell Smith.The North Carolina Ramblers, a banjo-guitar-fiddle trio with Poole's plain-spoken tenor voice in the lead, in great part created the musical templates for two giants: the bluegrass of Bill Monroe and, by extension, the lyrical aspects of the modern country music of Hank Williams. Bill C. Malone, in his important history of country music, "Country Music, U.S.A." says, "The Rambler sound was predictable: a bluesy fiddle lead, backed up by long, flowing, melodic guitar runs and the finger-style banjo picking of Poole. Predictable as it may be, it was nonetheless outstanding. No string band in early country music equaled the Ramblers' controlled, clean, well-patterned sound." "Artist Discography"

 

Charlie Rich (December 14, 1932 - July 25, 1995) was an American Country Music Singer/Musician. A Grammy Award winner, his eclectic-style of music was often hard to classify in a single genre, playing in the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country, and gospel genres. In the latter part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname The Silver Fox. He is perhaps best remembered for a pair of 1973 hits, "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl". "The Most Beautiful Girl" topped the U.S. country singles charts, as well as the pop singles charts. Despite Rich's lack of consistent commercial success, Epic Records signed Rich in 1967, mainly on the recommendation of producer Billy Sherrill. Sherrill helped Rich refashion himself as a Nashville Sound balladeer during an era when old rock n' rollers like Jerry Lee Lewis and Conway Twitty were finding a new musical home in the country and western format. Rich struggled throughout 1979 having hits with United Artists and Epic. His singles were moderate hits that year, the biggest of them on either UA or Epic was a version of "Spanish Eyes," which became a top 20 country hit. "Artist Discography"

 

Chet Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001) was an influential American guitarist and record producer. His picking style, inspired by Merle Travis, Django Reinhardt, George Barnes and Les Paul, brought him admirers both within and outside the country scene, both in the United States and internationally. Atkins produced records for Perry Como, Elvis Presley, Eddy Arnold, Don Gibson, Jim Reeves, Jerry Reed, Skeeter Davis, Connie Smith, Waylon Jennings, and others. He created, along with Owen Bradley, the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country music's appeal to include adult pop music fans as well. While working with a western band in Denver, Colorado, Atkins came to the attention of RCA Victor. Si Siman had been encouraging Steve Sholes to sign Atkins, as his style (with the success of Merle Travis as a hit recording artist) was suddenly in vogue. Sholes, A&R director of country music at RCA, tracked Atkins down to Denver. He made his first RCA recordings in Chicago in 1947. They did not sell. He did some studio work for RCA that year but had relocated to Knoxville again where he worked with Homer and Jethro on WNOX's new Saturday night radio show the Tennessee Barn Dance and the popular Midday Merry Go Round. Still, it was a hard way to make a living for a family man for by then he had a wife and daughter. He even contemplated tuning pianos as a sideline.
 With country music record sales in tatters as rock and roll took over, Atkins and Bob Ferguson took their cue from Owen Bradley and eliminated fiddles and steel guitar as a means of making country singers appeal to pop fans. This became known as 'The Nashville Sound' which Chet said was a label created by the media attached to a style of recording done during that period in an effort to keep country (and their jobs) viable. His trademark "Atkins Style" of playing, which was and is very difficult for a guitarist to master, uses the thumb and first two — sometimes three — fingers of the right hand. He developed this style from listening to Merle Travis occasionally on a primitive radio. He was sure no one could play that articulately with just the thumb and index finger (which actually was exactly how Travis played) and he assumed it required the thumb and two fingers — and that was the style he pioneered and mastered. "Artist Discography"

 

 Clint Black, (born February 4, 1962, is a Grammy Award-winning American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. Signed to RCA Records in 1989, Black made his debut with his Killin' Time album, which produced four straight Number One singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Although his momentum gradually slowed throughout the 1990s, Black consistently charted hit songs into the 2000s. To date, he has amassed more than thirty singles on the U.S. Billboard country charts (of which twenty two have reached Number One), in addition to releasing nine studio albums and several compilation albums. In 2003, Black founded his own record label, Equity Music Group. Black has also ventured into acting, having made a cameo appearance in the 1994 film Maverick, as well as a starring role in 1998's Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack. "Artist Discography"

 

Conway Twitty born Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993) was one of the United States' most successful country music artists during the 20th century. Most commonly thought of as a country music singer, he also enjoyed success in early Rock and Roll, R&B, and Pop music. Until 2008, he held the record for the most Number One singles of any country act, with fifty-five Number Ones on all trade charts. For a brief period in Twitty's music career, some believed that he was Elvis Presley recording under a different name. This was largely the case with "It's Only Make Believe." The record took nearly one year in all to reach and stay at the top spot of the charts. The song went on to sell over 8 million records and to No. 1 on the Billboard pop music charts in the U.S. as well as No. 1 in 21 different nations. Conway Twitty always wanted to record country music and — beginning in 1965 — he did just that. His first few country albums were met with country DJs refusing to play them because he was well known as a rock-n-roll singer. He finally broke free with his first number one country song, "Next In Line" in November 1968. "Artist Discography"

 

Dan Brodie, born in 1974, is an ARIA Award nominated singer/songwriter from Melbourne, Australia. His debut EP, I'm Floatin' Mama was independently released in 1998; followed by his debut album, Big Black Guitar. Backed by The Broken Arrows (which featured his brother Chris on slide guitar), Brodie signed to EMI who re-released his debut album. Brodie's early work blurred the genres between alternative and country music; and as such he as the first artist to play both the Tamworth Country Music Festival and the Big Day Out in the same year. Brodie's second album, Empty Arms, Broken Hearts was issued in 2002 and featured vocals by You Am I's Tim Rogers. Featuring the singles "Take A Bullet" and "Jesus, Try And Save Me" the album scored Brodie two ARIA Award nominations for Best Male and Breakthrough Artist. A critically acclaimed 'solo' album was released in 2005 that veered away from country into a more indie rock sound and was produced by Barry Palmer of Hunters and Collectors. In addition to several Australian tours; Dan has also toured the U.S. (including an appearance at the South by Southwest Festival) and Europe. "Artist Discography"

 

 

David Allan Coe, born September 5, 1939 in Akron, Ohio, is an American country music singer who achieved his greatest popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. He has written and performed over 280 original songs throughout his career. As a songwriter, his best-known compositions are "Would You Lay with Me (in a Field of Stone)," originally recorded by Tanya Tucker, and "Take this Job and Shove It." The latter was a #1 hit for Johnny Paycheck, and it was later turned into a hit movie (both Coe and Paycheck had minor parts in the film).In addition to humorous songs like "You Never Even Call Me By My Name", a Steve Goodman/John Prine composition that purports to be the "perfect country and western song," Coe also includes references to himself in his songs to self-promote himself through his music. He references big stars of country music in his lyrics in a way that makes himself their equal, such as in "Willie, Waylon, and Me," and on the line "Johnny Cash helped me get out of prison" in "Longhaired Redneck", a song said to be written about his influential early "outlaw" group with songwriter Danny Sheridan, The Eli Radish Band."Coe's long career has included twenty-six LPs, with 1987's Matter of Life... and Death being one of the most successful and critically acclaimed. He even put out a concept album, Compass Point, that threads his autobiography (or that of his persona) through an encounter with the famous Caribbean studio for which it was named and where it was recorded. "Artist Discography"

 

 Diamond Rio is an American country music band formed in 1984 in Nashville, Tennessee. Since its foundation, the group has comprised the same six members: Gene Johnson (mandolin, guitar, fiddle, tenor vocals), Jimmy Olander (lead guitar), Brian Prout (drums), Marty Roe (lead vocals), Dan Truman (keyboards, organ, synthesizer), and Dana Williams (bass guitar, baritone vocals). Diamond Rio was signed to Arista Records in 1988. Due to a series of health issues affecting three of its members, however, the band did not make its debut until 1991, with the release of the single "Meet in the Middle". It reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, making Diamond Rio the first country music group in history to reach Number One with a debut single. "Meet in the Middle" was followed by thirty-two more chart singles throughout the band's career, including four more Number Ones: "How Your Love Makes Me Feel" (1997), "One More Day" (2001), "Beautiful Mess" (2002), and "I Believe" (2003). To date, Diamond Rio has recorded seven studio albums, two Greatest Hits compilations, and an album of Christmas music. Three of the band's albums have achieved RIAA platinum certification in the United States. In addition, Diamond Rio has received four Group of the Year awards from the Country Music Association, two Top Vocal Group awards from the Academy of Country Music, and thirteen Grammy Award nominations. "Artist Discography"

 

Dolly Rebecca Parton, born January 19, 1946, is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, author, actor and philanthropist, known for her prolific work in country music and her unusually large (albeit surgically enhanced) breasts. In the forty-two years since her chart debut, she remains the most successful female Country music artist, with 26 Number-One singles, a record for any female performer, and a record 39 Top-10 Country albums. She has the distinction of having performed on a Top-40 Country hit in each of the last five decades. She is known for her distinctive mountain soprano, sometimes bawdy humor, flamboyant dress sense and voluptuous figure. Parton began performing as a kid, singing on local radio and television programs in East Tennessee. By age 9, she was appearing on The Cas Walker Show on both WIVK Radio and WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee, and at 13, she was recording on a small record label, Goldband, and appearing at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. It was at the Opry that she first met Johnny Cash who encouraged her to go where her heart took her, and not to care what others thought. The day after she graduated from high school in 1964, Parton moved to Nashville, taking many traditional elements of folklore and popular music from East Tennessee with her. "Artist Discography"

 

Don Gibson (April 3, 1928 – November 17, 2003) was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson penned such country standards as "Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Stop Loving You" and enjoyed a string of country hits from 1957 into the early 1970's. A talented songwriter, Gibson was nicknamed "The Sad Poet," because he frequently wrote songs that told of loneliness and lost love. His song "I Can't Stop Loving You", has been recorded by over 700 artists, most notably by Ray Charles in 1962. He also wrote and recorded "Sweet Dreams," a song that would become a major 1963 crossover hit for Patsy Cline. Roy Orbison was a great fan of Gibson's songwriting, and in 1967, he recorded an album of his songs simply titled Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson. Additionally, Gibson's wide appeal is shown in Neil Young's recorded version of "Oh Lonesome Me" on his 1970 album After the Gold Rush, which is one of the very few songs Young has recorded that was not penned by himself. Gibson was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973, and in 2001, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. "Artist Discography"

 

 Don Williams, born May 27, 1939 in Floydada, Texas, is a country singer and songwriter. He grew up in Portland, Texas, and graduated in 1958 from Gregory-Portland High School. After seven years with the folk-pop group Pozo Seco Singers, he began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing seventeen No. 1 hits. His straightforward vocals, soft tones, and an imposing build earned him the nickname "The Gentle Giant" of country music. He began playing guitar as a teenager, which he learned from his mother. While a teenager, he played with country, rock n' roll and folk bands. He formed his first band with Lofton Kline, called The Strangers Two, and in 1964 recruited Susan Taylor and formed the Pozo Seco Singers, a folk-pop group. The band signed a contract with Columbia Records, and had a series of Top 50 hits. The group disbanded in 1971, at which point Williams embarked on a solo career. In 1978 , Don Williams was the Country Music Association's "Male Vocalist of the Year" and his "Tulsa Time" was named Single of the Year. "Artist Discography"

 

 

Dottie West (born October 11, 1932 – September 4, 1991) was an American country music singer, and was one of Country music's most influential and groundbreaking female artists. Dottie West's career started in the early-60s, with her Top 10 hit, "Here Comes My Baby Back Again", which won her the first Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1965. In the 1960s, West was one of the few female Country singers working in what was then a male-dominated industry, influencing other female Country singers to come to fame around that time, like Lynn Anderson, Crystal Gayle, Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton, and Tammy Wynette. Throughout the 60s, West had major Country hits within the Top 10 and 20. In the early 1970s, West wrote a popular commercial for the Coca-Cola company, titled "Country Sunshine", which she nearly brought to the top of the charts in 1973. In the late-70s, she teamed up with Country-Pop superstar, Kenny Rogers for a series of duets, which brought her career in directions it had never gone before, earning Platinum selling albums and No. 1 records for the very first time. Her duet records with Rogers have now become Country music standards, like "Every Time Two Fools Collide", "All I Ever Need Is You", and "What Are We Doin' In Love". In the early-80s, West's image and music underwent a major metamorphosis, bringing West to the very peak of her popularity as a solo act, and even reaching No. 1 for the very first time on her own in 1980 with, "A Lesson in Leavin'". "Artist Discography"

 

Dwight David Yoakam, born October 23, 1956, is an American singer-songwriter and actor, most famous for his country music. Active since the early 1980s, he has recorded more than twenty albums and compilations, and has charted more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.When he began his career, Nashville was oriented toward pop "Urban Cowboy" music, and Yoakam's brand of Bakersfield Honky tonk music was not considered marketable. Continuing to perform mostly outside traditional country music channels, Yoakam did many shows in Rock and Punk clubs around Los Angeles, playing with roots rock or punk rock acts like The Blasters (Yoakam scored a small hit with his version of their song "Long White Cadillac"), Los Lobos, and X. This helped him diversify his audience well beyond the typical Country music fans; at many of his shows you would see mohawked and leather-clad Punks alongside Rock & Rollers, as well as the typical cowboy-shirt wearing Country crowd. "Artist Discography"

 

 Eddy Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was among the most popular country music singers in American history and helped to create the Nashville sound. He sold more than 85 million records and had 147 songs on the charts, including 28 No. 1 hits on Billboard's "Country Singles" chart. Although George Jones had more individual country hits, one authoritative study ranks Arnold as the the all-time leader for hits and their time on the charts. His longevity was exceptional. Arnold transcended changing musical tastes for more than 50 years, and his later concerts attracted three generations of fans. To some he also served as a role model; in a field often awash with alcohol and drugs, he remained temperate. He ranked 22nd on County Music Television's 2003 list of 40 Greatest Men of Country Music. Arnold made his first radio appearance in 1936, but struggled to gain recognition until he landed a job as the lead male vocalist for the Pee Wee King band.
 From the beginning, Arnold stood out from his contemporaries in the world of country singers. He never wore gaudy, glittering outfits. He sang from his diaphragm, not through his nose and avoided honky-tonk themes, preferring songs that explored the intricacies of love. Arnold also benefited from his association with excellent musicians. The distinctive steel guitar of Roy Wiggins highlighted early recordings. Charles Grean, once employed by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, played bass and wrote early arrangements, adding violins for the first time in 1956. Chet Atkins played on many of Arnold's records, even after he began serving as producer. Bassist Bob Moore, the most recorded musician in history, first performed on the road with Arnold on the 1954 RCA Caravan and later performed on 75% of Arnold's hit recordings. Arnold also benefited from the management of Parker, who guided his first career, and Purcell, who masterminded the second. The most important factor for Arnold's success, however, was his voice. Steve Sholes, who produced all of Arnold's early hits, called him a natural singer, comparing him to the likes of Bing Crosby and Enrico Caruso. Arnold worked hard perfecting his natural ability. A review of his musical career shows his progression from fledgling to polished performer. "Artist Discography"

 

 Elvis Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), was an American singer, musician and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly referred to by his first name, and as the "The King of Rock 'n' Roll" or "The King". In 1954, Presley began his career as one of the first performers of rockabilly, an up tempo fusion of country and rhythm and blues with a strong back beat. His novel versions of existing songs, mixing "black" and "white" sounds, made him popular, and controversial, as did his uninhibited stage and television performances. He recorded songs in the rock and roll genre, with tracks like "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock" later embodying the style. Presley had a versatile voice and had unusually wide success encompassing other genres, including gospel, blues, ballads and pop. To date, he has been inducted into four music halls of fame. In the 1960s, Presley made the majority of his thirty-one movies—mainly poorly reviewed, but financially successful, musicals. In 1968, he returned with acclaim to live music in a television special, and thereafter performed across the U.S., notably in Las Vegas. Throughout his career, he set records for concert attendance, television ratings and recordings sales. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in the history of popular music. Health problems, drug dependency and other factors led to his death at age 42. "Artist Discography"

 

Emmylou Harris, born April 2, 1947 in Birmingham, Alabama, is an American country singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other highly successful, well-known artists. One of the truly distinctive and prolific American female singers to emerge in the last 50 years, Emmylou Harris has made important and popular recordings in a wide range of musical styles: folk, rock, country, and alternative. Harris's singing career, now in its fourth decade, has been marked by major contributions as a songwriter, as a lead vocalist, and—perhaps most notably—as an unforgettable harmony vocalist whose ethereal voice has accompanied a very wide range of the most talented songwriters of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. She has been the recipient of numerous musical awards, including 12 Grammy Awards for country and folk singing. While Emmylou has come to be known as one of the most admired women in contemporary country music, her influence and musical activity extend far beyond it. "Artist Discography"

 

 Ernest Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the "Texas Troubadour", was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941) marked the rise of the honky-tonk style of music. In 1948-49, he was the first singer to record a hit version of "Blue Christmas," a song more commonly associated with Elvis Presley and his mid-1950s version. Another well-known Tubb hit is "Waltz Across Texas" (1965), which became one of his most requested songs and is often used in dance halls throughout Texas during waltz lessons. In the early 1960s, he recorded duets with up-and-coming Loretta Lynn, including their hit "Sweet Thang". (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the "Texas Troubadour", was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941) marked the rise of the honky-tonk style of music. In 1948-49, he was the first singer to record a hit version of "Blue Christmas," a song more commonly associated with Elvis Presley and his mid-1950s version. Another well-known Tubb hit is "Waltz Across Texas" (1965), which became one of his most requested songs and is often used in dance halls throughout Texas during waltz lessons. In the early 1960s, he recorded duets with up-and-coming Loretta Lynn, including their hit "Sweet Thang". "Artist Discography"

 

Faith Hill, born Audrey Faith Perry on September 21, 1967, is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill's voice (described as both soulful and raspy ) and careful song selection have helped her to sell more than 35 million records and accumulate eleven number-one singles on the Country charts. Hill has been honored by the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music, the Grammy Awards, the American Music Awards and the People's Choice Awards. Her Soul2Soul II Tour 2006 with husband McGraw became the highest-grossing country tour of all time. In 2001 she was named one of the "30 Most Powerful Women in America" by Ladies Home Journal. In September 2008, Hill released her first Christmas compilation, titled Joy to the World. "Artist Discography"

 

Fiddlin' John Carson was already 55 when in 1923 the OKeh label released "Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane"/"The Old Hen Cackled" -- the first recording by a strictly country artist and arguably the beginning of the country music recording industry. Carson was born in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia in 1868, and worked in cotton mills for over 20 years until his fiddling talents won several contests. He began performing in minstrel shows, and came to be quite popular around the Georgia area -- so much so that Atlanta furniture salesman Polk Brockman recommended Carson's name to OKeh field recorder Ralph Peer. Though Peer agreed to record the fiddler, he was disgusted with the results and sent only a few copies to the furniture store -- then the only outlet for records. Brockman sold out of several pressings, convincing Peer that there was a market for hillbilly recordings.
Carson was brought to New York late in 1923 to begin recording the first of his over 150 sides for the label. The following year, Carson updated his old-timey sound by recording with a string band called the Virginia Reelers. "Artist Discography"

 

Flatt & Scruggs met as members of Bill Monroe's band, the Blue Grass Boys, in 1946. The two left that band early in 1948, and within a few months had formed their own group, the Foggy Mountain Boys. Scruggs' banjo style and Flatt's rhythm guitar style as well as his vocals gave them a distinctive sound that won them many fans. In 1955 they became members of the Grand Ole Opry. Many of the songs on their albums are credited to "Certain and Stacey". These songs were in fact written by Flatt, Scruggs, and various other members of the Foggy Mountain Boys. Certain and Stacey are the maiden names of the wives of Flatt and Scruggs (Louise Certain, wife of Earl Scruggs, and Gladys Stacey, wife of Lester Flatt). Scruggs, who had always shown progressive tendencies, experimented on duets with saxophonist King Curtis and added songs by the likes of Bob Dylan to the group's repertoire. Flatt, a traditionalist, did not like these changes, and the group broke up in 1969. Following the breakup, Lester Flatt founded the Nashville Grass and Scruggs lead the Earl Scruggs Revue. Flatt died in 1979 at the age of 64. Scruggs still performs occasionally, as his health permits. Flatt and Scruggs were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985. In 2003, they ranked #24 on CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music, one of only four non-solo artists to make the list, (The Eagles, Alabama, and Brooks & Dunn are the others). "Artist Discography"

 

Frank Ferera, (1885-1951) was a Hawaiian musician who recorded successfully between 1915 and 1930. He was the first star of Hawaiian music and influenced many later artists.He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and in 1914, he emigrated to the United States. He married Helen Greenus and toured with her through the USA, appearing in vaudeville. In 1915, they got a contract with Columbia Records and recorded many great tunes.

 

 

Troyal Garth Brooks, known professionally as Garth Brooks and born February 7, 1962, is an American country music artist. His eponymous first album was released in 1989; it peaked at #2 in the US country album chart and reached #13 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart. Brooks's integration of rock elements into his recordings and live performances made him very popular and allowed him to dominate the country single and country album charts and quickly crossed over into the mainstream pop arena, exposing country music to a larger audience.
Brooks has enjoyed one of the most successful careers in popular music history, breaking records for both sales and concert attendance throughout the 1990s. The RIAA has certified his recordings at a combined (128× platinum), denoting roughly 113 million U.S. shipments. He is also listed as the best-selling artist of the Nielsen Soundscan era (from 1991 onwards), with approximately 67,774,000 albums sold (as of April 5, 2008). He is second only to The Beatles in the United States. Brooks has released six albums that achieved diamond status in the United States, those being: Garth Brooks (10× platinum), No Fences (17× platinum), Ropin' the Wind (14× platinum), The Hits (10× platinum), Sevens (10× platinum) and Double Live (21× platinum). "Artist Discography"

 

Gene Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998) was an American performer, who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television. Talent with the guitar and his voice led to performing at local dances. After an encouraging chance encounter with Will Rogers, he began performing on local radio in 1928 as "Oklahoma's Yodeling Cowboy." He signed a recording deal with Columbia Records in 1929. He worked in Chicago, Illinois, on the WLS (AM) radio show National Barn Dance for four years, and with his own show, where he met singer/songwriter Smiley Burnette. In his early recording career, Autry covered various genres, including a labor song, "The Death of Mother Jones" in 1931. Autry also recorded many "hillbilly"-style records in 1930 and 1931 in New York City, which were certainly different in style and content from his later recordings. These were much closer in style to the Prairie Ramblers or Dick Justice, and included the "Do Right Daddy Blues" and "Black Bottom Blues," both of which contain substantial similarity to "Deep Elem Blues." These late-Prohibition era songs deal with bootlegging, corrupt police, and women whose occupation was certainly vice. These recording are generally not heard today, but are available on European import labels, such as JSP Records. His first hit was in 1932 with That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine, a duet with fellow railroad man, Jimmy Long. Autry also sang the classic Ray Whitley hit "Back in the Saddle Again," as well as many Christmas songs including "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," his own composition "Here Comes Santa Claus," "Frosty the Snowman," and arguably his biggest hit "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Autry also owned the Challenge Records label. The label's biggest hit was "Tequila" by The Champs in 1958, which started the rock-and-roll instrumental craze of the late 1950s and early 1960s. "Artist Discography"

 

George Jones, born September 12, 1931 in Saratoga, Texas, is an award-winning American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette. Over the past twenty years, Jones has frequently been referred to as "the greatest living country singer". The country music scholar Bill C. Malone writes, "For the two or three minutes consumed by a song, Jones immerses himself so completely in its lyrics, and in the mood it conveys, that the listener can scarcely avoid becoming similarly involved." Throughout his long career, Jones made headlines often as much for tales of his drinking, stormy relationships with women, and violent rages as for his prolific career of making records and touring. His wild lifestyle led to Jones missing many performances, earning him the nickname "No Show Jones." With the help of his fourth wife, Nancy, he has been sober for many years. Jones clocked up more than 150 hits during his career, both as a solo artist and in duets with other artists. "Artist Discography"

 

George Morgan (June 28, 1924 – July 7, 1975) was a mid-20th century country music singer. Morgan was born to Zachariah "Zach" Morgan and Ethel Turner in Waverly, Tennessee, but was raised in Barberton, Ohio. He was, along with a few other contemporaries (most notably Eddy Arnold and Jim Reeves), referred to as a "country crooner;" his singing style being more similar to that of Bing Crosby or Perry Como than that of Ernest Tubb or Lefty Frizzell. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Morgan was a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1948, and is best remembered for the Columbia Records song "Candy Kisses," which was a number one hit on the Billboard country music charts for three weeks in 1949. He also had several hits based on a "rose" theme: "Room Full of Roses," "Red Roses for a Blue Lady," and "Red Roses from the Blue Side of Town." In 1974, Morgan was the last person to sing on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium before the Grand Ole Opry moved to the new Grand Ole Opry House. A week later he was the first to sing on stage at the new Opry. He died in 1975 of a heart attack after undergoing open heart surgery and was interred in the Spring Hill Cemetery in Madison, Tennessee. His daughter, country music singer Lorrie Morgan, released two songs as duets with her late father dubbed in: "I'm Completely Satisfied" (1979) and "From this Moment On" (2006). "Artist Discography"

 

George Riley Puckett ( May 7, 1894 - July 13, 1946) was a country music pioneer mostly known for being a member of Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers.An accident during infancy left him blind. He had his formal education at the Georgia School for the Blind in Macon, Georgia.He sang and played guitar and banjo. He was first heard on the radio as a part of Clayton McMichen's Hometown Band.His vocalizing was a regular feature at the Georgia Old-Time Fiddlers' Conventions. Newspaper reporters covering these events referred to him as the "Bald Mountain Caruso" in admiration of his renditions of such songs as "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" and "Sleep, Baby, Sleep." For several years Puckett played and sang with the Home Town Boys, a string-band ensemble composed of Atlanta-area musicians. They made their debut on Atlanta's six-month-old radio station, WSB, on September 18, 1922. Until going off the air in 1926, they remained one of the station's most popular acts.

 

 George Strait, born May 18, 1952, is an American country music singer. Strait is sometimes referred to as the "King of Country," and some critics call Strait a living legend. He is known for his unique style of western swing music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, and fresh yet traditional country western music. Strait won CMA Entertainer of the year in 1989 and 1990 and ACM Entertainer of the year in 1990. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Strait has been nominated for more CMA awards than any other artist. As of 2008, he holds the record for the most Number One hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts with 43 number one singles on that chart. Counting all other music charts, Strait has amassed a total of 56 number one hits overall, breaking a record previously set by Conway Twitty. Strait's 38 hit albums (12 multi platinum, 22 platinum and four gold) rank him only behind Elvis Presley and The Beatles. The RIAA has certified his albums at 68× platinum, denoting shipments of 58.5 million in the United States. His best-selling album there is Pure Country (1992), which sold 6 million (6× Multi-platinum). His highest certified album is Strait Out of the Box (1995), which sold 2 million copies (8× Multi-Platinum due to being a box set with four CDs). According to the RIAA, Strait is the tenth best-selling recording artist in the United States overall. "Artist Discography"

 

 

Glen Travis Campbell, born April 22, 1936, in Delight, Arkansas, is a Grammy Award, Dove Award winning, and two time nominated Golden Globe Award American country pop singer, guitarist and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a television variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television. Campbell's hits include "Gentle On My Mind", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Southern Nights" and "Rhinestone Cowboy". Campbell made history by winning a Grammy in both country and pop categories in 1967: "Gentle On My Mind" snatched the country honors, and "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" won in pop. He owns trophies for Male Vocalist of the Year from both the CMA and the ACM, and took the CMA's top honor as Entertainer of the Year. During his 50 years in show business, Campbell has released more than 70 albums. He has sold 45 million records and racked up 12 RIAA Gold albums, 4 Platinum albums and 1 Double-Platinum album. Of his 75 trips up the charts, 27 landed in the Top 10. Campbell was hand-picked by actor John Wayne to play alongside him in the 1969 film True Grit, which gave Campbell a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer, and gave Wayne his only Academy Award. Campbell sang and had a hit with the title song (by the same name) which was nominated for an Academy Award. He performed it live at that year's Academy Awards Show. In 2005, Campbell was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. "Artist Discography"

 

 Hank Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian country music artist. In his career, he charted more than seventy singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980. This total includes the Number One hits "I'm Movin' On", "The Golden Rocket", "I Don't Hurt Anymore", "Let Me Go, Lover!", "I've Been Everywhere", and "Hello Love", as well as several more Top Ten hits. Snow was born in Brooklyn, Queens County, Nova Scotia, Canada and in 1958, Snow became a naturalized citizen of the United States. A regular at the Grand Ole Opry, in 1954 Hank Snow persuaded the directors to allow a new singer by the name of Elvis Presley to appear on stage. Snow used Elvis as his opening act, before introducing him to Colonel Tom Parker. In August 1955, Snow and Parker formed the management team Hank Snow Attractions. This partnership signed a management contract with Presley but before long, Snow was out and Parker had full control over the rock singer's career. Performing in lavish and colorful sequin-studded suits, Snow had a career covering six decades during which he sold more than 80 million albums. Although he became a proud American citizen, he still maintained his friendships in Canada and remembered his roots with the 1968 Album, "My Nova Scotia Home". "Artist Discography"

 

Hank Thompson (September 3, 1925 - November 6, 2007) was a country music entertainer whose career spanned seven decades. He sold over 60 million records worldwide. Thompson's musical style, characterized as Honky Tonk Swing, was a mixture of fiddles, electric guitar and steel guitar that featured his distinctive, gravelly baritone vocals. His backing band, The Brazos Valley Boys, was voted the #1 Country Western Band for 14 years in a row by Billboard Magazine. The primary difference between his music and that of Bob Wills was that Thompson, who used the swing beat and instrumentation to enhance his vocals, discouraged the sort of intense instrumental soloing from his musicians that Wills openly encouraged. Thompson began singing in a plaintive honky-tonk style similar to that of Ernest Tubb but desiring to secure more engagements in the dance halls of the Southwest, reconfigured his band, the Brazos Valley Boys, to play a "lite" version of the western swing sound that Bob Wills and others made famous, emphasizing the dance beat and meticulous arrangements. Although not as prominent in later decades, he remained an active and respected performer in the field, finding new audiences as a result of the resurgence of a harder-edged sound in country music. "Artist Discography"

 

Hank Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer and songwriter and musician who has become an icon of country music and one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century. A leading pioneer of the honky tonk style, he had numerous hit records, and his charismatic performances and succinct compositions increased his fame. His songbook is one of the backbones of country music, and several of his songs are pop standards as well. He has been covered in a range of pop, gospel, blues and rock styles. His death at the age of twenty-nine helped fuel his legend. His son (Randall) Hank Williams, Jr., nicknamed "Bocephus", his daughter Jett Williams, and his grandchildren (Shelton) Hank Williams III, Holly Williams, and Hilary Williams are also professional singers. In 1950, Williams began recording as Luke the Drifter, an appellation given to Williams for use in identifying his religion-themed recordings, many of which are recitations rather than his usual crooning. Fearful that disc jockeys and jukebox operators would become hesitant to accept these non-traditional Williams recordings, thereby hurting the marketability of Williams' name, the name Luke the Drifter was employed to cloak the identity of the artist. Williams had 11 number one hits in his career—"Lovesick Blues", "Long Gone Lonesome Blues", "Why Don't You Love Me?", "Moanin' the Blues", "Cold, Cold Heart", "Hey Good Lookin'", "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)", "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive", "Kaw-Liga", "Your Cheatin' Heart", "Take These Chains From My Heart"—as well as many other top-ten hits. "Artist Discography"

 

Hank Williams, Jr., born Randall Hank Williams, May 26, 1949 , is an award-winning American country singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and traditional country. He is the son of country music pioneer Hank Williams. He is the father of Hank Williams III, Holly Williams, Hillary Williams, Samuel Williams and Katie Williams. Williams had began his career imitating his famed father. His style had gradually evolved until he was involved in a near fatal fall, which apparently changed his personal and professional life. After an extended recovery, he challenged the country music establishment with a revolutionary blend of country, rock, and blues. After much critical and popular success in the 1980s, Williams earned considerable recognition and enjoyed substantial popularity. He is now considered an elder statesman of the country and outlaw country genres. As a multi-instrumentalist, Williams' repertoire of skills include guitar, bass guitar, upright bass, steel guitar, banjo, piano, keyboards, harmonica, fiddle, and drums. "Artist Discography"

 

Jean Shepard, born November 21, 1933, is an American country music singer-songwriter, who was one of the first female Country music stars and had a series of hits between the 1950s and 1970s. After the breakthrough of Kitty Wells in 1952, Shepard entered Country music and became only the second female Country singer to be able to sustain her success as a solo artist. She has a series of major hits in the 1950s, and her exposure on television and the Grand Ole Opry helped her to become a major star at the time when few female Country singers had permanent success. Her early hit duet “A Dear John Letter,” sung with Ferlin Husky, was the first post-World War II country record by a woman to sell a million copies.  Shepard was born Ollie Imogene Shepard in 1933 in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, but was raised in an area that surrounded Bakersfield, California. As a teenager, she began her musical career by playing bass in the "Melody Ranch Girls", an all-female band formed in 1948. Hank Thompson discovered Shepard a few years after the group formed and with Thompson's help, Shepard acquired a recording contract with Capitol Records in 1952. She continued to perform at the Grand Ole Opry and tour, particularly in the UK, where she had a strong fan base. Her work has also been reissued thoroughly by Bear Family Records, preserving many of her hit singles. Although in her seventies, Shepard continues to regularly tour and perform. Her touring show titled, "The Jean Shepard Show" has toured all over the country, and she still performs at the Grand Ole Opry regularly. In 2006, Shepard celebrated 50 years as a member of the Grand Ole Opry and is the longest-living female member of the Opry to date. "Artist Discography"

 

 

Jessi Colter, born Miriam Johnson, May 25, 1947, is an American country music artist who is best known for her collaboration with her husband, country singer and songwriter Waylon Jennings and for her 1975 country-pop crossover hit "I'm Not Lisa". Jessi Colter was one of the few female artists to emerge from the mid-'70s "outlaw" movement. After meeting her future husband, Colter pursued a career in country music, releasing her first studio LP in 1970, A Country Star Is Born. Five years later, Colter signed with Capitol Records and released her first solo single, "I'm Not Lisa" which topped the country charts and reached the Top 5 on the Pop charts. In 1976 she was featured on the the collaboration LP, which became an RIAA-certified Platinum album, and helped her become one of the few female outlaw country stars. "Artist Discography"

 

 Jim Reeves (August 20, 1923 – July 31, 1964) was an American singer-songwriter of country western and pop music. For many years, Reeves mixed college life with baseball and music. Influenced by such Western swing artists as Jimmie Rodgers and Moon Mullican as well as popular crooners Bing Crosby, Eddy Arnold and Frank Sinatra, it was not long before he got a foothold into the music industry. For a time, he was a member of Moon Mullican's band and also worked as a DJ and announcer with local radio stations. He made some early, Moon Mullican-style recordings like "Each Beat of my Heart" and "My Heart's Like a Welcome Mat" in the late 1940s/early 1950s. After an injury cut short his minor-league baseball career with the St. Louis Cardinals farm system, his musical break came while working as announcer on KWKH Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Singer Sleepy LaBeef could not make it on time for a performance on the Louisiana Hayride, according to former Hayride emcee Frank Page, and Reeves was asked to fill in. (Other accounts—including Reeves himself, in an interview later released on the RCA album Yours Sincerely—name Hank Williams as the absentee.) Reeves' singing career was launched. Reeves' records continued with good sales for both the old albums and a series of new ones. His widow, Mary, combined unreleased tracks with re-recorded previous releases (placing updated instrumentals alongside Reeves' original vocals) to produce a regular series of "new" albums after her husband's death. She also operated The Jim Reeves Museum in Nashville, Tennessee from the early 1980s until 1996. "Artist Discography"

 

Jimmie Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was a country singer in the early 20th century known most widely for his rhythmic yodeling. Among the first country music superstars and pioneers, Rodgers was also known as "The Singing Brakeman", "The Blue Yodeler", and "The Father of Country Music".Jimmie's affinity for entertaining came at an early age, and the lure of the road was irresistible to him. By age 13, he had twice organized and begun traveling shows, only to be brought home by his father. Mr. Rodgers found Jimmie his first job working on the railroad as a waterboy. Here he was further taught to pick and strum by rail workers and hoboes. A few years later, he became brakeman on the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad, a position formerly secured by his oldest brother, Walter, a conductor on the line running between Meridian and New Orleans.In 1924 at the age of 27, Jimmie contracted tuberculosis (TB). The disease temporarily ended his railroad career, but at the same time gave him the chance to get back to the entertainment industry. He organized a traveling road show and performed across the Southeastern United States until, once again, he was forced home after a cyclone destroyed his tent. He returned to railroad work as a brakeman in Miami, Florida, but eventually his illness cost him his job. He relocated to Tucson, Arizona and was employed as a switchman by the Southern Pacific Railroad. He kept the job for less than a year, and the Rodgers family (which by then included wife Carrie and daughter Anita) settled back in Meridian in early 1927. "Artist Discography"

 

John Denver (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., was an American Country Music/folk singer-songwriter and folk rock musician. He was one of the most popular acoustic artists of the 1970s in terms of record sales , recording and releasing around 300 songs, about half composed by himself. He was named Poet Laureate of Colorado in 1977. Songs such as "Leaving on a Jet Plane" (1967), "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (1971), "Rocky Mountain High" (1972), "Sunshine on My Shoulders" (1973), "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" (1974), "Annie's Song" (1974), and "Calypso" (1975) are popular worldwide. Denver has been referred to as "The Poet for the Planet", "Mother Nature's Son" (based on The Beatles song he covered) and "A Song's Best Friend". "Artist Discography"

 

Johnny Cash ( February 26, 1932 - September 12, 2003) was a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Primarily a country music artist, his songs and sound spanned many other genres including rockabilly and rock and roll (especially early in his career), as well as blues, folk and gospel. Cash was known for his deep, distinctive bass-baritone voice, the "freight train" sound of his Tennessee Three backing band, his demeanor, and his dark clothing, which earned him the nickname "The Man in Black". He traditionally started his concerts with the introduction "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash". Much of Cash's music, especially that of his later career, echoed themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption. His signature songs include "I Walk the Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", "Get Rhythm", "Hurt" and "Man in Black". He also recorded humorous songs, such as "One Piece at a Time" and "A Boy Named Sue", a duet with June Carter called "Jackson", as well as railroad songs such as "Hey Porter" and "Rock Island Line."He sold over 90 million albums in his nearly fifty-year career and came to occupy a "commanding position in music history". In 1980, Cash became the Country Music Hall of Fame's youngest living inductee at age forty-eight, but during the 1980s his records failed to make a major impact on the country charts, although he continued to tour successfully. In the mid 1980s, he recorded and toured with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson as The Highwaymen, making two hit albums. From his early days as a pioneer of rockabilly and rock and roll in the 1950s, to his decades as an international representative of country music, to his resurgence to fame in the 1990s as a living legend and an alternative country icon, Cash influenced countless artists and left a large body of work. Upon his death, Cash was revered by the greatest popular musicians of his time. "Artist Discography"

 

Johnny Horton (April 30, 1925 – November 5, 1960) was an American country music singer who was most famous for his semi-folk, so-called "saga songs" which launched the "historical ballad" craze of the late 1950s and early 1960s. With them, he had several major crossover hits, most notably in 1959 with "The Battle of New Orleans" which won the 1960 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording. The song won the Grammy Hall of Fame Award and in 2001 was named number 333 of the Songs of the Century. In 1960, Horton had two other crossover hits with "Sink the Bismarck" and "North to Alaska".Horton was also a rockabilly singer, and was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Horton was born John Gale Horton in Los Angeles but raised in the town of Rusk in East Texas. On November 5, 1960, Horton was killed instantly in a head-on collision with a drunk driver on Highway 79 at Milano, Texas while he was returning home from a performance at the Skyline Club in Austin. "Artist Discography"

 

Johnny Paycheck (May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was a country music singer. He is most famous for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It". Born Donald Eugene Lytle in Greenfield, Ohio, United States, he began playing guitar by age six and made his first record at age 15. After a time served in the United States Navy (which included a court-martial for assault), he began performing under the name Donny Young. The singer took a job with country music star George Jones, for whom he played bass and steel guitar. By the 1960s, he had changed his name to Johnny Paycheck. Lytle reportedly re-named himself after the boxer, Johnny Paycheck, who fought Joe Louis in 1940. Paycheck had his first hit with a minor Buck Owens' hit, "A-11". This recording set a pattern for the rest of his 1960's work. Paycheck also co-owned his own record company, Little Darlin' Records, with his producer, Aubrey Mayhew. Paycheck's Little Darlin' recordings featured the shrieking pedal steel guitar work of Lloyd Green. By the end of the 1960s, Paycheck had descended into alcoholism and drug abuse, and Little Darlin' Records folded. In the late 1990s, after taking them for granted for years, country music historians began to recognize the distinctive and sharp-edged sound of the Little Darlin' recordings as unique in their time. In 1985, Paycheck was convicted of shooting a man in Hillsboro, Ohio . Paycheck also spent a number of years in prison after he was convicted of statutory rape. In 1990, Paycheck filed for bankruptcy after tax problems with the IRS. How's that for a real country song? "Artist Discography"

 

 

Juice Newton, born Judy Kay Newton 18 February 1952 in Lakehurst, New Jersey, is an American pop music and country singer and guitarist. To date, Newton has received five Grammy nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categories (winning once in 1983), as well as a CMA Award for Best New Female Artist and two Billboard Album Artist of the Year awards (won consecutively). She has several Gold and Platinum records to her credit, including Juice, Quiet Lies and her first Greatest Hits album. In the 1980s, Newton charted 14 Top-10 hits across the Billboard US Country, US AC, and US Hot 100 charts, with many of the recordings achieving crossover success and six of the songs reaching Number One.In the early 1970s, Juice Newton, Otha Young and Tom Kealey formed a band called Juice Newton and Silver Spur that, due to local success, was signed to RCA Records. The group released two RCA albums (in 1975 and 1976) and scored only one charting country single with "Love Is a Word". The band signed with Capitol in 1977, but disbanded shortly after releasing one album for the label. In 1978, Newton went solo (but remained with Capitol Records), although Silver Spur would remain the name of her backup band until 1982. Later in 1977, the one-off single "It's a Heartache" became Newton's first solo record and a major hit in Mexico, where it eventually went Gold. In 1978, Newton released the song in the United States, and it became the first of her 11 "Hot 100" pop hits. Also, in 1978, The Carpenters recorded the Newton-penned song "Sweet, Sweet Smile"; the single, which was co-written by Otha Young, reached #7 on both the Country and Adult Contemporary charts and #44 on the pop chart. "Artist Discography"

 

Keith Lionel Urban, born 26 October 1967 in Whangarei, New Zealand, is a New Zealand Grammy- and ARIA-winning country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States. Urban began his career in Tamworth, Australia participating in Tamworth Country Music Festival, having moved there at an early age. In 1991, he released a self-titled debut album, and charted four singles in Australia before moving to the United States in 1992. Eventually, Urban found work as a session guitarist before starting a band known as The Ranch, which recorded one studio album on Capitol Records and charted two singles on the Billboard country charts. Still signed to Capitol, he made his solo American debut in 1999 with the album Keith Urban. Certified platinum in the U.S., it also produced his first American Number One in "But for the Grace of God". His breakthrough hit was the Number One "Somebody Like You", from his second Capitol album Golden Road (2002). This album also earned Urban his first Grammy Award win for "You'll Think of Me", its fourth single and the third Billboard Number One of his career. 2004's Be Here, his third American album, produced three more Number Ones, and became his highest-selling album, earning 4× Multi-Platinum certification. Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing was released in 2006, producing the record-setting #17 country chart debut of "Once in a Lifetime", as well as Urban's second Grammy for the song "Stupid Boy", while a Greatest Hits package entitled Greatest Hits: 18 Kids followed in late 2007. This album was re-released a year later as Greatest Hits: 19 Kids with one track added: the number one "You Look Good in My Shirt", which he had previously recorded on Golden Road. Urban has released a total of seven studio albums (one of which was released only in the United Kingdom), as well as one album in The Ranch. He has charted more than fifteen singles on the U.S. country charts, including nine Number Ones. Urban plays acoustic and electric guitar, as well as banjo,bass guitar, mandolin, piano, and bouzouki. "Artist Discography"

 

Keith Whitley (July 1, 1955- — May 9, 1989), known professionally as Keith Whitley, was an American country music singer. Whitley's brief career in mainstream country music lasted from 1984 till his death in 1989, but he continues to influence an entire generation of singers and songwriters. He charted nineteen singles on the Billboard country charts, including five consecutive Number Ones: "Don't Close Your Eyes", "When You Say Nothing at All", "I'm No Stranger to the Rain", "I Wonder Do You Think of Me" and "It Ain't Nothin'" (the last two posthumously). Whitley, along with Ricky Skaggs, was discovered by Ralph Stanley when the two teenagers sang Stanley Brothers songs as an opening act for the Clinch Mountain Boys. The two soon joined Ralph's band. Whitley also played with JD Crowe and the New South in the mid-seventies. During this period, he established himself as one of the most versatile and talented lead singers in bluegrass. His singing was heavily influenced by Carter Stanley and Lefty Frizzell. Whitley's first solo album, A Hard Act to Follow, was released in 1984, and featured a more mainstream country style. While Whitley was working hard to achieve his own style, the songs he produced were inconsistent. Critics regarded the album as too erratic. Whitley honed his sound within the next few years for his next album, L.A. to Miami. During his tour to promote L.A. to Miami, he met and started a romantic relationship with Lorrie Morgan, a fellow country singer. The pair were married in November, 1986, and they had their only child, a son, Jesse Keith Whitley, Jr., in June 1987. Keith also adopted Lorrie's daughter, Morgan, from her first marriage. "Artist Discography"

 

Kenny Rogers, born August 21, 1938, in Houston, Texas, is an American country music singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor and entrepreneur. He has been very successful, charting more than 70 hit singles across various music genres and topping the country and pop album charts for more than 420 individual weeks in the United States alone. Two of his albums, The Gambler and Kenny, are featured in the About.com poll of "The 200 Most Influential Country Albums Ever". He was voted the "Favorite Singer of All-Time" in a 1986 joint poll by readers of both USA Today and People. He has received hundreds of awards for both his music and charity work. These include AMAs, Grammys, ACMs and CMAs, as well as a lifetime achievement award for a career spanning six decades in 2003.Success in recent years include the 2006 album release, Water & Bridges, an across the board hit, that peaked at #5 in the Billboard Country Albums sales charts, also charting high in the Billboard 200. The first single from the album, "I Can't Unlove You," was also a chart hit. "Artist Discography"

 

 

 Kitty Wells. Ellen Muriel Deason, known professionally as Kitty Wells (born August 30, 1919) is an American country music singer. Her 1952 hit recording, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," made her the first female country singer to top the U.S. country charts, and turned her into the first female country star. Her Top 10 hits continued up until the mid-1960s, inspiring a long list of future female country singers to come to fame in the 1960s. Wells's success in the 1950s and 1960s was so enormous that she still ranks as the sixth most successful female vocalist in the history of the Billboard country charts according to historian Joel Whitburn's book The Top 40 Country Hits, behind Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Reba McEntire, Tammy Wynette, and Tanya Tucker. Wells was the third country music artist, after Roy Acuff and Hank Williams, to receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991, as well as being the seventh woman and first Caucasian woman to receive the honor. In 1976, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. She is as of May 2008 the oldest living member of the Hall of Fame. Wells's accomplishments earned her the moniker "The Queen of Country Music". "Artist Discography"

 

Lee Kernaghan OAM, (Medal of the Order of Australia), was born 15 April 1964 in Corryong, at the foot of the Victorian highlands. He is an Australian country music singer and songwriter, who was named the 2008 Australian of the Year. Throughout his career Lee Kernaghan has dominated the charts with successive hit albums including ‘Three Chain Road’, ‘1959’, ‘Hat Town’, ‘Electric Rodeo’, ‘The New Bush’ and his most recent #1 album ‘Spirit Of The Bush’. In early 2000 Lee was awarded the title of Hit Maker of the Decade in recognition of the unprecedented chart success he enjoyed during the 90’s. Not only did Lee achieve more number one hits than any other artist during the 90’s he also began creating a new musical landscape in country music along the way. He has done to country music in Australia what Garth Brooks did in the USA.....he blurred the line and took country music out of the box that it had existed in for decades....he added a spectacular live show and along the way has sold over one million albums, won 27 Golden Guitars, 3 Aria Awards, 26 number 1 hits and 9 hit albums. Lee Kernaghan has become a towering figure in Australian country music and a fine ambassador for his craft. Lee has a passion for his music and his country and brings these together in his support for country communities across Australia. To many people he represents the very essence of the spirit and values of contemporary rural Australia. In the past ten years his ‘Pass the Hat Around’ tours have raised more than a million dollars for communities in need and his participation in the ‘Spirit of the Bush’ tours raises spirits as well as money for farming families doing it tough in the drought. "Artist Discography"

 

William Orville 'Lefty' Frizzell (March 31, 1928 – July 19, 1975) was an American country music singer and songwriter of the 1950s and a leading exponent of the Honky Tonk style of country music. His relaxed style of singing was a major influence on later stars Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, and George Jones. In his late teens, he was performing at fairgrounds and other venues, developing a unique, soulful voice. Like his father, he got work in the oilfields, but his growing popularity as a singer soon gave him regular work on the Honky Tonk nightclub circuit. At the age of nineteen, he had a half-hour show on a small Texas radio station, getting a big break when a record producer, Don Law heard him sing. Signed to Columbia Records, he immediately had a string of hits that broke into country music's top ten; several of them reached # 1. In 1950, he was invited to perform at the Grand Ole Opry; the following year he appeared on the prestigious Louisiana Hayride radio program that broadcast from Shreveport, Louisiana and then he and close friend 'Cowboy' Ralph Spicer began touring with country music's biggest star of the era, Hank Williams. Handbills of the time refer to them as "Kings of the Honky Tonks". A prolific songwriter, Frizzell had four songs in the country top ten at the same time in 1951 — a feat that would not be repeated on any chart until The Beatles one-upped him, on the popular music/pop charts, with five songs in 1964. Lefty Frizzell's signature guitar was a Paul Bigsby customized 1949 Gibson J-200 (Model SJ-200). Originally built by the Gibson Guitar Company, it was retrofit in early 1951 with a custom neck and pickguard by guitar maker and innovator Paul Bigsby. In a 2003 interview Merle Haggard recalled, "When I was a teenager, Lefty got me onstage at the Rainbow Garden in Bakersfield, California and handed me that guitar. That is the first guitar I played on a professional stage." For many years it had been on loan to and displayed at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. In January 2005 it was returned to the Frizzell family. "Artist Discography"

 

Tommy Collins - Born Leonard Raymond Sipes in Bethany, Okla., on Sept. 28, 1930, Collins moved to California in the early 1950s to pursue a music career. He soon began performing on the "Town Hall Party" radio show and in 1953 signed to Capitol Records. His first hit for the label was "You Better Not Do That," one of his own compositions. It held the No. 2 spot on the Billboard charts for seven weeks.
Collins continued to chart singles over the next 14 years, his last five for Columbia Records. His Top 10 successes were: "Whatcha Gonna Do Now" (1954), "Untied" (1955), "It Tickles" (1955) and "If You Can't Bite, Don't Growl" (1966). "Artist Discography"

 

Linda Maria Ronstadt, born July 15, 1946, in Tucson, Arizona, is an American popular music vocalist and entertainer whose vocal styles in a variety of genres have resonated with the general public over the course of her four-decade career. As a result, she has earned multiple Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multi platinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden Globe nominations. A singer-songwriter and record producer, she is recognized as a definitive interpreter of songs. Being one of music’s most versatile, and commercially successful female singers, she was for a time the "highest paid woman in rock." In total, she has released over 30 solo albums, more than 15 compilations or greatest hits albums, and has collaborated with various artists on over 120 other albums. She also has charted 38 Billboard Hot 100 singles, 21 of which have reached the top 40, 10 of which have reached the top 10, three peaking at No. 2, and the No. 1 hit, "You're No Good." "Artist Discography"

 

 

 

 

Loretta Lynn born Loretta Webb on April 14, 1934, is an American country music singer-songwriter; she was one of the leading country vocalists and songwriters during the 1960s and 1970s and is revered as a country icon. Lynn ruled the charts during the '60s and '70s, racking up over 70 hits as a solo artist and a duet partner. With an impoverished upbringing, a devoted yet troubled marriage, chronic illness and exhaustion due to her hectic pace, and several tragedies through the years, Lynn's own life often provided the grist for her popular tunes. Her best-selling 1976 autobiography, Coal Miner's Daughter, was made into a hit Oscar-winning film starring Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones. Although she was out of the loop for a few years while taking care of her husband, who died in 1996, Lynn returned to touring in 1998. In 2000, she released her first album since 1988 to contain original solo material. Loretta Lynn has acquired sixteen Number 1 country hits over the course of her career, as both a solo and duet artist. Lynn began singing in local clubs and later with a band, The Trailblazers, which included her brother Jay Lee Webb. Lynn appeared in a televised Tacoma, Washington talent contest, hosted by Buck Owens, which was seen by Norm Burley, one of the founders of Zero Records where she signed her first contract in 1960. Lynn has written over 160 songs and released 70 albums. She has had seventeen Number 1 albums and sixteen Number 1 singles on the country charts. Lynn has won dozens of awards from many different institutions, including four Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, eight Broadcast Music Incorporated awards, and ten Academy of Country Music awards. In 1972, Lynn was the first woman named "Entertainer of the Year" by the Country Music Association, and is one of five women to have received CMA's highest award. She was named "Artist of the Decade" for the 1970s by the Academy of Country Music. Lynn was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999. She was also the recipient of Kennedy Center Honors in 2003. Lynn is also ranked 65th on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame "Artist Discography"

 

Lorrie Morgan Loretta Lynn (Lorrie) Morgan (born June 27, 1959, in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American country music singer. She is the daughter of George Morgan, a country music singer who charted several hit singles between 1949 and his death in 1975. Lorrie Morgan charted her first single in 1978, although she did not break into the the top of the U.S. country charts until her 1989 single, "Trainwreck of Emotion." Since then, she has charted more than 25 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts, with three of those singles having reached #1: "Five Minutes", "What Part of No" and "I Didn't Know My Own Strength". She has also recorded more than 15 studio albums. At various points in her life, Morgan has been married to three different country singers: Keith Whitley, Jon Randall and Sammy Kershaw.  Morgan made her first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry at age 13, performing Fred Spielman and Janice Torre's "Paper Roses".  In 1990, Morgan had her first number one single, "Five Minutes." Morgan's second album, Something in Red, was released in 1991 and went platinum. The same year, she married her third husband, Brad Thompson, Clint Black's bus driver. Watch Me, her third album, was released on RCA's newest label, BNA Records; it contained the number-one single, "What Part of No." Watch Me also was certified platinum, making Morgan the first female country artist to have three albums in a row to be certified platinum. Morgan's romantic life gained tabloid attention with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman following her second divorce. She was voted, "Female Vocalist of the Year," by the fans in TNN's Music City News Awards, in 1994. She would earn this honor again in 1996, 1997 and 1998. "Artist Discography"

 

 Lynn Anderson, born Lynn Rene Anderson, September 26, 1947, is an American country music singer and horse racer, best known for her Grammy Award-winning country crossover hit single, "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden." Lynn Anderson was one of the most popular female country singers of the 1970s, helped by her regular exposure on national television. She has scored eight #1s, 18 Top Tens and over 50 Top 40 hits. Anderson debuted in 1966, having her first major hit with "Ride, Ride, Ride." After a series of Top 10 hit singles on the Country charts during the later half of the 1960s, Anderson went on to sign with Columbia Records in 1970. Under Columbia, she had her most successful string of hits. Her signature song, "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden", was one of the most successful crossover Pop hits, peaking within the Top 5 on the Billboard Pop Chart, and was later ranked at #83 by CMT's special of the CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music. Outside of music, Anderson has won 31 championships in horse racing. Anderson also raises horses at her home in New Mexico. "Artist Discography"

 

Olive Marie Osmond, born October 13, 1959, is an American actress, singer, doll designer, and a member of the show business family, The Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a solo country music artist in the 1970s and 1980s. Her best known song is a cover of the country pop ballad "Paper Roses." In 1976, she and her singer brother Donny Osmond began hosting the TV variety show Donny & Marie.In 1973, Osmond cut her first single as a solo artist, "Paper Roses". The recording became a #1 country hit, reached the Top 5 on the Billboard magazine pop chart, and achieved crossover success. The song earned a gold record as did the album of the same name. Osmond released another single, "In My Little Corner of the World", and a same-name album in 1974, with both entering the Billboard Top 40 in 1974. The title song on her next album Who's Sorry Now, released in 1975, went to #20 the month after its release. The title song from Osmond's final solo album of the seventies, This Is The Way That I Feel, reached #39 within two months of its 1977 release. "Artist Discography"

 

Mark Chesnutt, born September 6, 1963 in Beaumont, Texas, is an American country music singer known for his neo-traditionalist country style. Chesnutt recorded his first album, Doing My Country Thing in the late 1980s on an independent record label; his national debut came in 1990 with the single "Too Cold at Home", the first single from his second album, which was also titled Too Cold at Home. To date, Chesnutt has charted more than thirty singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including eight Number One singles. He has also released eleven studio albums and a Greatest Hits package. His first three albums -- Too Cold at Home (1990), Longnecks & Short Stories (1992), and Almost Goodbye (1993) -- and his 1996 Greatest Hits album have all achieved RIAA platinum certification in the United States, while 1994's What a Way to Live was certified gold. His most recent album, Rollin' with the Flow, was released on June 24, 2008. Its title track and lead-off single was a cover of Charlie Rich's hit single from 1977. "Artist Discography"

 

 

Marty Robbins - Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982) was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.One of the most popular and successful American country and western singers of his era, Robbins' songs were often eclectic, touching notably on an array of world music. For most of his nearly four decade career, Robbins was rarely far from the country music charts, and several of his songs also became pop hits.In addition to his recordings and performances, Robbins was an avid race car driver, competing in NASCAR races, including the 1973 Daytona 500. In 1967, Robbins played himself in the car racing film Hell on Wheels. In 1983, NASCAR honored Robbins by naming the annual race at Nashville the Marty Robbins 420.His musical accomplishments include the first Grammy Award ever awarded for a country song, for his 1959 hit and signature song "El Paso", taken from his album Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs. "El Paso" was the first song to hit #1 on the pop chart in the 1960s. It was followed up, successfully, by "Don't Worry", which reached #3 on the pop chart in 1961, becoming his third, and last, Top 10 hit.He won the Grammy Award for the Best Country & Western Recording 1961, for his follow-up album More Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, and was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1970, for "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife." Robbins was named "Artist of the Decade" (1960-69) by the Academy of Country Music, was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982, and was given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998 for his song "El Paso".Robbins was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975. For his contribution to the recording industry, Robbins has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6666 Hollywood Blvd. "Artist Discography"

 

 Marty Stuart, born September 30, 1958, is an American country music singer, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music. In the early-1990s, he had a successful string of Country hits. Once infamous for his flamboyantly hedonist party image, he is now a born again Christian and records both Country and Gospel music. He is known for wearing rhinestone-studded Nudie suits onstage, but after the passing of his friend and former father-in-law Johnny Cash he now wears black in his honor. Marty Stuart has become known as one of Country Music's most eclectic artists, because he performs and records several widely diverse types of country music. That is one of his reasons for his success in the 1990s, just when Traditionalism was making a comeback in Country Music. Since an early age, he was obsessed with Country Music. He was so obsessed in fact, that he taught himself how to play the guitar and mandolin. At the age of 12, Stuart started performing with the Bluegrass group The Sullivans. Stuart is a member of the board of the Country Music Foundation, and is a past President. Stuart has also been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1993. "Artist Discography"

 

Mel Tillis, born Lonnie Melvin Tillis, August 8, 1932, is an American country music singer. Although he had been recording songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the '70s, with a long list of Top 10 hits. Tillis' biggest hits include, "I Ain't Never", "Good Woman Blues", and "Coca-Cola Cowboy". He also has won the CMA Awards most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year. His daughter is country music singer, Pam Tillis. He is also well-known for his speech impediment, which does not affect his singing voice. Mel Tillis was born in Tampa, Florida in 1932. His stutter developed during his childhood, a result of a bout of malaria. As a child, Tillis learned the drums, as well as guitar. At age 16, he won a local talent show, and soon joined the United States Air Force, and worked for the railroad. When young Tillis was stationed in Okinawa, he formed a band called The Westerners, which played at local nightclubs. Tillis attended the University of Florida. Since his heyday in the 1970s, Tillis remained a songwriter in the 1980s, writing hits for Ricky Skaggs and Randy Travis respectively. The Grand Ole Opry inducted Mel Tillis on June 9, 2007. He was inducted into the Opry by his daughter Pam. Along with being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, it was announced on August 7 that year that Tillis along with Ralph Emery and Vince Gill are the newest to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. "Artist Discography"

 

Merle Ronald Haggard, born April 6, 1937, is an American country music singer, guitarist, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Despite serving a prison term in the early 1960s, Merle Haggard has become one of the true giants of country music, as a singer, guitarist, songwriter, and instrumentalist. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band "The Strangers" helped create the Bakersfield Sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies, and a rough edge not heard on the more polished Nashville Sound recordings of the same era. By the 1970s, Haggard was aligned with the growing outlaw country movement, and has continued to release successful albums through the 1990s and into the 2000s. His songs display unflinching personal honesty about such universal themes as love, loss, patriotism, regret and redemption. "Artist Discography"

 

Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE,(Officer of the Order of Australia, Order of the British Empire), was born 26 September 1948, is an English-born, Australian pop singer, songwriter and actress of Welsh and German origin. She is an avid activist for both environmental issues and breast cancer awareness. Her business interests have included launching several product lines for Koala Blue and opening the Gaia Retreat and Spa in Australia. Newton-John released her first solo album, If Not For You, in 1971. The title track, written by Bob Dylan, was her first international hit (No. 25 Pop, No. 1 Adult Contemporary). Her follow-up, "Banks Of The Ohio," was a Top 10 hit in England and Australia, but faltered in the U.S. (No. 94 Pop, No. 34 AC). She was voted Best British Female Vocalist two years in a row by the magazine Record Mirror. She made frequent appearances on Cliff Richard's weekly show It's Cliff Richard and starred with him in the tele-film "The Case". In the United States, Newton-John's career floundered after If Not For You until the release of "Let Me Be There" in 1973. The song reached the American Top 10 on the Pop (No. 6), Country (No. 7), and AC (No. 3) charts and earned her a Grammy for Best Country Female and an Academy of Country Music award for Most Promising Female Vocalist. The song also propelled the album Let Me Be There to No. 1 on the Country Albums chart for two weeks. "Artist Discography"

 

 Patsy Cline - born Virginia Patterson Hensley September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville Sound in the early 1960s. Since her death at age 30 in a 1963 plane crash at the height of her career, she has been considered one of the most influential, successful, revered, and acclaimed female vocalists of the 20th century. The story of her life and career has been the subject of numerous books, movies, documentaries, articles and stage plays. Cline was best known for her rich tone and emotionally expressive bold contralto voice , which, along with her role as a mover and shaker in the country music industry, has been cited and praised as an inspiration by many vocalists of various music genres. Cline began performing in area variety/talent showcases. She went to the local radio station in Winchester and asked DJ Jimmy McCoy if he would let her sing on his radio show. He did, which was a great opportunity for Patsy, as McCoy's radio show was a great showcase for local talent. As she grew older, she began to play in popular nightclubs. To help support her family after her father abandoned them, she dropped out of high school and worked various jobs, soda jerking and waitressing by day. At night, Cline could be found singing at local nightclubs, wearing her famous fringed Western stage outfits she designed herself and which were made by her mother, Hilda. Cline was the first female in the industry to prove that she could surpass her male competitors in terms of record sales and concert tickets. Cline is often considered a "pioneer" and "heroine" by her female successors, who claim that she broke down doors in the industry for women when it was dominated and ruled by men. In retrospect, Cline opened the door to greater pop influence for country female vocalists. "Artist Discography"

 

 

Patty Loveless, born Patty Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957 in Pikeville, Kentucky, raised in Elkhorn City, Kentucky and Louisville, Kentucky) is an American country music singer. Since her emergence on the country music scene in 1987 with her first, self-titled album, Loveless has been one of the most popular female singers of the Neo-traditional country movement, although she has also recorded albums in the Country pop and Bluegrass genres. Loveless rose to stardom thanks to her blend of honky tonk and country-rock, not to mention a plaintive, emotional ballad style. Her late-1980s records were generally quite popular, earning her comparisons to Patsy Cline, but most critics agreed that she truly came into her own as an artist in the early 1990s. To date, Loveless has charted more than forty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including five Number Ones. In addition, she has recorded fourteen studio albums (not counting compilations); in the United States, four of these albums have been certified platinum, while two have been certified gold. She is the 65th member of the Grand Ole Opry. Loveless is also a distant cousin of Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle. She has been married twice, first to Terry Lovelace (1976 – 1986), from whom her professional name "Loveless" is derived, and to Emory Gordy, Jr. (1989 – Present), who is also her producer. "Artist Discography"

 

Porter Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer. Famous for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour, Wagoner introduced a young Dolly Parton to his long-running television show. Together, "Porter and Dolly" were a well-known duet team throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. Parton wrote the song "I Will Always Love You" after Wagoner suggested she shift from story songs to focus on love songs. His first band, The Blue Ridge Boys, performed on radio station KWPM from a butcher shop in his native West Plains, Missouri where Wagoner cut meat. Wagoner's big break came in 1951, when he was hired by "Si" Siman as a performer by radio station KWTO in Springfield, Missouri. This led to a contract with RCA Records. With lagging sales, Wagoner and his trio played schoolhouses for the gate proceeds. In 1953, his song entitled "Trademark" became a hit for Carl Smith, followed by a few hits of his own on RCA. He was a featured performer on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee and moved to Nashville, joining the Grand Ole Opry in 1957. "Artist Discography"

 

 Randy Travis, born Randy Bruce Traywick, May 4, 1959 in Marshville, North Carolina, is a Grammy Award- and Dove Award-winning American country singer. Active since 1985, he has recorded more than a dozen studio albums to date, in addition to charting more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, of which sixteen have reached Number One. Considered a pivotal figure in the history of country music, Travis broke through in the mid-1980s with the release of his album Storms of Life on Warner Bros. Records; the album, which sold more than three million copies, made Travis the first country music act in history to achieve multi-platinum status. It also established him as a neo-traditionalist country act, and was followed by a string of several more platinum and multi-platinum albums throughout his career. Starting in the mid-1990s, however, Travis saw decline in his chart success. He left Warner Bros. in 1997 for Dream Works Records; there, he would eventually switch his focus to gospel music, a switch which — despite earning him only one more country hit in the Number One "Three Wooden Crosses" — earned him several Dove Awards. Travis, in addition to singing, holds several acting credits, starting with his television special Wind in the Wire in 1992. Since then, he has appeared in several movie and television roles, occasionally as himself. "Artist Discography"

 

Ray Price, born January 12, 1926 in Perryville, Texas, is an American country and western singer/songwriter/guitarist. Some of his more famous songs include "Release Me", "Crazy Arms", "Heartaches by the Number", "City Lights", "My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You", "For the Good Times", "I Won't Mention It Again", "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me", and "Danny Boy." He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996.Price became one of the stalwarts of 1950s honky tonk music, with his such as "Talk To Your Heart" (1952) and "Release Me". He later developed the famous "Ray Price Shuffle", a 4/4 arrangement of honky tonk with a walking baseline, which can be heard on "Crazy Arms" (1956) and many of his other recordings from the late 1950s.During the 1960s, Ray experimented increasingly with the Nashville sound, singing slow ballads and utilizing lush arrangements of strings and backing singers. Examples include his 1967 rendition of "Danny Boy", and "For the Good Times" in 1970. This stylistic shift gained Price some success as a mainstream pop artist, although he lost appeal to many of his more traditionalist audience. Price's first #1 hit since "The Same Old Me" in 1959 was "For The Good Times" in 1970. Written by Kris Kristofferson, the song also made it to #11 on the pop chart and featured a more mellow Price backed up by sophisticated musical sounds, quite the opposite from the honky-tonk sounds Price pioneered two decades before. Price had three more #1 country hits in the 1970s, "I Won't Mention It Again", "She's Got To Be A Saint", and "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me." His final top-ten hit was "Diamonds In The Stars" in early 1982. Price continued to have songs on the country chart through 1989. Today he is singing gospel music and has recorded such songs as "Amazing Grace", "What A Friend We Have in Jesus", "Farther Along" and "Rock of Ages" In 2006, Price was living near Mount Pleasant, Texas and still performing in concerts throughout the country. "Artist Discography"

 

 

Reba McEntire, born March 28, 1955, is an American country music singer, performer and actress. Sometimes referred to as "The Queen of Country", she is known for her lively stage-shows and pop-tinged ballads. She has issued 31 albums, with over 55 million records sold worldwide in her 33-year career. She ranks as the #6 best-selling female artist in all genres, and is the second best selling female country artist of all time. McEntire is an enormously successful female recording artist in country music, scoring 33 #1 hits during her 3 decade career. (She remains second only to Dolly Parton as the female performer with the most number-one country singles over the course of her career - and Reba recently surpassed Dolly as the female artist with the most top 10 hits when her collaboration with Brooks & Dunn on "Cowgirls Don't Cry" became her 57th top 10 hit.) and released five gold albums, six platinum albums, two double-platinum albums, four triple-platinum albums, a quadruple-platinum album, and a quintuple-platinum album, for certified album sales of 40.5 million over the 20-year period. Though she previously appeared in several films - most notably 1989's cult-classic Tremors, in 2001, Reba expanded her activities as an actress in film, on stage (starring in a Broadway revival of "Annie Get Your Gun" to critical acclaim), and particularly on television, where she starred in a situation comedy, Reba, which lasted from 2001 to 2007. McEntire holds the record for the most Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year Awards (4), Academy of Country Music Top Female Vocalist Awards (7), and American Music Awards for Favorite Female Country Artist (12). "Artist Discography"

 

Red Foley. Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (June 17, 1910 – September 19, 1968) was an American singer and musician who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II. For more than two decades, Foley was one of the biggest stars of the genre, selling more than 25 million records. His 1951 hit, "Peace in the Valley," was the first million-selling gospel record. A Grand Ole Opry veteran, he also hosted the first live country music program on network television, Ozark Jubilee. Foley was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1967 (the first Kentuckian and one of only six then-living inductees), which honored him as "one of the most versatile and moving performers of all time" and "a giant influence during the formative years of contemporary Country music and today a timeless legend." He has two stars on Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for his recording career at 6225 Hollywood Blvd., and one for his television career at 6300 Hollywood Blvd. On June 10, 2003, a Kentucky State Historical Marker (#2114) was placed at Foley's boyhood home in Berea. In 2002, he was inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, where his corncob pipe is on display. In 2006, his 1951 version of "Peace in the Valley" was entered into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. In 1970, Berea College established the Red Foley Memorial Music Award. Initiated by his long-time friend "Si" Siman, the annual award is presented to talented Berea College students in recognition of their musical contributions to the campus community. It is intended to promote the music associated with Foley’s career, such as folk, country, bluegrass, gospel and popular music. A dance to Foley's song, "The Salty Dog Rag," has been traditional at Dartmouth College since 1972, where it is taught to freshman during orientation. Foley Middle School, named for the singer, opened in Berea in 1978. The public school educates southern Madison County students in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades. "Artist Discography"

 

Ricky Skaggs, born July 18, 1954, in Lawrence County, Kentucky, is a Grammy-winning country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He plays fiddle, guitar, banjo, and, primarily, mandolin. Ricky Skaggs started playing music after he was given a mandolin by his father. At age 6, he played mandolin on stage with Bill Monroe. At age 7, he appeared on television's Martha White country music variety show, playing with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. He also wanted to audition for the Grand Ole Opry at that time, but was told he was too young. In his mid-teens, Skaggs met a fellow teen prodigy, guitarist Keith Whitley, and the two started playing together with Whitley's banjoist brother Dwight on radio shows. By 1970, they had earned a spot opening for Ralph Stanley and Skaggs and Keith Whitley were thereafter invited to join Stanley's band, the Clinch Mountain Boys. Skaggs later joined J. D. Crowe's New South. For a few years, Skaggs was a member of Emmylou Harris's Hot Band. He wrote the arrangements for Harris's 1980 bluegrass-roots album, Roses in the Snow. In addition to arranging for Harris, Skaggs sang harmony and played mandolin and fiddle. Skaggs' lifelong dream of joining the Grand Ole Opry finally became reality in 1982. He racked up 12 number one hits and six top 10 singles during the 1980s. Skaggs picked up dozens of industry awards in the ensuing years, including four Grammy Awards and eight awards from the Country Music Association including Entertainer of the Year in 1985. "Artist Discography"

 

Roger Dean Miller (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known for his mid-1960s country/pop hits such as King of the Road, Dang Me and England Swings. He also wrote the music and lyrics for the Tony-award winning Broadway musical Big River (1985).Although usually grouped with country music singers, Miller's unique style defies easy classification. He had a string of pop hits in the 1960s, and also his own TV show in 1966. Many of his recordings were humorous novelty songs with whimsical lyrics, coupled with scat singing or vocalese riffs filled with nonsense syllables. Others were sincere ballads, which also caught the public's fancy, none more so than his signature song, "King of the Road", a major 1965 hit, about a presumed hobo who relishes his life and freedom, riding the rails. He also had a big single in this year with the #8 hit "England Swings".In the 1970s, Miller appeared in ads for Monroe shock absorbers, backed by a re-recording of "King of the Road". "Artist Discography"

 

Ronnie Milsap, born January 16, 1943 in Robbinsville, North Carolina, is an American country music singer and musician. He was one of country’s most popular and influential artists in the 1970s and 1980s. He became country music’s first blind superstar. He was also one of the most successful country crossover singers of his time, appealing to both country and pop markets. Milsap’s biggest crossover hits include "It Was Almost Like a Song", "Smoky Mountain Rain", "(There's) No Gettin' Over Me", "I Wouldn't Have Missed It for the World", "Any Day Now", and "Stranger in My House", among others. He is credited with forty #1 hits in country music, third to only George Strait and the late Conway Twitty. From 1976 to 1978, Ronnie Milsap would score a streak of seven #1 songs in a row. Of these include "(I'm a) Stand By Woman Man" and "What a Difference You've Made in My Life". Yet the most significant in this string would have to be "It Was Almost Like a Song" of 1977, the first crossover hit of his career. In addition to topping the Billboard country charts, the song was Milsap's first entry on the pop charts ever since "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends" peaked at #95; "It Was Almost Like a Song", however, made it all the way to #16. It was also go on to be his first song to appear on the Adult Contemporary Charts, stopping at #2. Although it was it a huge success, the song was Milsap's only crossover hit of the 1970s. However, he would return to the pop charts just four years later, perhaps more successful than he had even had even been prior. Ronnie Milsap has remained one of Country Music's greatest influences. In 1993, he released another single called "True Believer". In 2000, Milsap released another single called "Time, Love, and Money". It was evident that by this time Milsap's chart success days were over, but in 2006, he released another single called "Local Girls", which went to #54. "Artist Discography"

 

Rosanne Cash, born May 24, 1955, is an American country music singer-songwriter and occasional author, who is known for her string of Top 10 country hit singles in the 1980s. She is one of the daughters of country music singer Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto Cash Distin. Although she is classified as a country singer, Cash blends the elements of Rock, Blues, Pop, and Folk into her music. This type of the blending could be seen Cash's most popular albums and singles, including "Seven Year Ache" (and an album of the same name), Rhythm & Romance, King's Record Shop, Interiors, and the The Wheel. She acquired eleven #1 hit singles on the Billboard Country Chart during the 1980s, as well as four additional Top 10 hits.In addition to her own recordings, Cash has made guest appearances on albums by Johnny Cash, Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark, Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Marc Cohn, The Chieftains, Willy Mason, and others, as well as children's albums by Larry Kirwan, Tom Chapin, and Dan Zanes and Friends. She has also appeared on tribute albums to Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, The Band, Tammy Wynette, Doc Pomus, Laura Nyro, Yoko Ono, John Hiatt and Jimi Hendrix. "Artist Discography"

 

Roy Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country musician known around the world as the "King of Country Music". While traveling with the medicine show, Acuff learned how to be a performer -- he learned how to sing, how to imitate, how to entertain, how to put on a show. Soon, Acuff joined the Tennessee Crackerjacks, who had a regular slot on Knoxville radio station WROL. Although he was performing frequently, he wasn't making any significant headway, failing to become a star in Tennessee. One song changed that situation -- "The Great Speckled Bird," an old gospel tune that had become popular with the Church of God sect. After another radio entertainer wrote the words out to the song, Acuff began performing it in his shows. Quickly, he became popular throughout the eastern part of Tennessee and was asked to record the song by ARC, a record label with national distribution. Acuff headed north to Chicago for a recording session, which resulted in 20 different songs. In addition to "The Great Speckled Bird," he recorded "Steamboat Whistle Blues" and "The Wabash Cannonball," another Tennessee standard that featured the singer imitating the sound of a train whistle; he also made a handful of risqué numbers during these sessions, which were released under the name the Bang Boys. Acuff's recording of "The House of the Rising Sun" on November 3, 1938 is the first known commercial recording of the song. "Artist Discography"

 

Roy Clark, born April 15, 1933, Meherrin, Virginia, is a versatile and well-known country music musician and performer. He is best known for hosting Hee Haw, one of the first nationally televised country variety shows in the United States, from 1969–1992. Clark has been an iconic figure in country music, both as a musician and as a positive influence for country music. Clark is an entertainer, most of all, with an amiable personality and a telegenic presence. During the 1970s, Clark frequently guest-hosted for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show and enjoyed a 30,000,000 viewership for "Hee Haw". Clark is highly regarded as both a guitarist and banjo player. He is also skilled in Classical guitar as well as playing several other instruments. While he has had hit songs as a pop vocalist (e.g. "Yesterday, When I was Young" and "Thank God and Greyhound"), his instrumental skill has had an enormous effect on succeeding generations of both bluegrass and country musicians. "Artist Discography"

 

 

Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye) (November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), was a singer and cowboy actor, as well as the founder of the the famous Roy Rogers Restaurants chain. He and his third wife Dale Evans, his golden palomino Trigger, and his German Shepherd Dog, Bullet, were featured in over one hundred movies and The Roy Rogers Show. The show ran on radio for nine years before moving to television from 1951 through 1957. His productions usually featured two sidekicks, Pat Brady, (who drove a jeep called "Nellybelle"), and the crotchety Gabby Hayes. Roy's nickname was "King of the Cowboys". Dale's nickname was "Queen of the West." For many Americans (and non-Americans), he was the embodiment of the all-American hero. Leonard Slye moved to California at 18 to become a singer. After four years of little success, he formed Sons of the Pioneers, a western cowboy music group, in 1934. The group hit it big with songs like "Cool Water" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds". Rogers was an idol for many children through his films and television shows. Most of his films were in color in an era when almost all other B-movies were black-and-white. There were Roy Rogers action figures, cowboy adventure novels, a comic strip, a long-lived Dell Comics comic book series (Roy Rogers Comics) written by Gaylord Du Bois, and a variety of marketing successes.
 For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Roy Rogers has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1752 Vine Street, a second star at 1733 Vine Street for his contribution to radio, and a third star at 1620 Vine Street for his contribution to the television industry. Roy and Dale were inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1976 and Roy was inducted again as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers in 1995. Roy was also twice elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame, first as a member of The Sons of the Pioneers in 1980 and as a soloist in 1988. "Artist Discography"

 

Shania Twain OC (Order of Canada), was born Eilleen Regina Edwards, August 28, 1965and is a Canadian singer and songwriter in the country and pop music genres. Her third album Come on Over is the best-selling album of all time by a female musician and the best-selling album in the history of country music. She is the only female musician to have three albums certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America and is also the second best selling artist in Canada, behind fellow Canadian Céline Dion, with three of her studio albums being certified double diamond by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. Twain has achieved both critical and financial success, having received five Grammy awards, 27 BMI Songwriter awards, and she has sold over 65 million albums worldwide to date including 48 million in the USA alone. "Artist Discography"

 

David Gordon "Slim Dusty" Kirkpatrick AO, MBE, (Officer of the Order of Australia, Member of the British Empire), (June 13, 1927—September 19, 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter. He sold more than seven million albums and singles in Australia.Over the course of his career, he collected more gold and platinum albums than any other Australian artist. (The "Pub with No Beer" is a real place, in Taylors Arm, not far from Kempsey where Slim Dusty was born). In 1959 and 1960 Dutch and German cover versions of the song became number one hits (even evergreens) in Belgium, Austria and Germany, brought by the Flemish country singer-guitarist and amusement park founder Bobbejaan Schoepen. 1964 saw the establishment of the annual Slim Dusty round Australia tour, a 48,280 kilometres (30,000 mi), 10 month journey. "Artist Discography"

 

 Statler Brothers are an American country music group founded in 1955 in Staunton, Virginia. Originally, performing gospel music at local churches, the group billed themselves as "The Four Stars" and later as "The Kingsmen". In 1963, when the song "Louie, Louie" by the garage rock band also called The Kingsmen became famous, the group selected to bill themselves as The Statler Brothers. Despite the newest name, just two of its four members are brothers, and none of them are named "Statler". The band, in fact, named themselves after a brand of facial tissue (they have joked that they could have turned out to be the Kleenex Brothers). Don Reid sings lead and is the younger brother of Harold Reid, who sings bass. The other members are baritone Phil Balsley and tenor Jimmy Fortune, who replaced original Statler Lew DeWitt in the early 1980s due to the latter's ill health. DeWitt died on August 15, 1990 of heart and kidney disease, complications of Crohn's disease. The band's style is closely linked to its gospel roots. Harold Reid said of the group's style "We took gospel harmonies and put them over in country music". The group remained closely tied to their roots in gospel music, with a majority of their records containing at least one gospel song. They produced several albums containing only gospel music, and recorded a tribute song to the Blackwood Brothers, who influenced their music. "Artist Discography"

 

 Tammy Wynette. Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette (May 5, 1942 -April 6, 1998), was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of country music's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists. She was known as the "First Lady of Country Music" and one of her best-known songs, "Stand by Your Man," was one of the biggest selling hit singles by a woman in the history of the country music genre. Many of Tammy Wynette's hits dealt with classic themes of loneliness, divorce and the difficulties of male-female relationships. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, she dominated the country charts, scoring 17 number one hits. Along with Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton she defined the role of female country vocalists in the 1970s. Her 1969 marriage to legendary country singer George Jones (which would end in divorce in 1975) created country music's "first couple." The pair recorded a series of duet albums and singles, which charted throughout the 1970s, concurrent to their respective solo hits. Since her death and even before then Tammy Wynette has been considered by numerous music critics to have been one of the greatest and most influential female Country singers in history. Many other female Country singers have been affected by Wynette's influence including, Sara Evans, Faith Hill, and Lee Ann Womack. In 1998, following Wynette's death she was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame, one of the highest honors of Wynette's career. A special CD collection titled, Tammy Wynette: Collector's Edition was released in 1998, that included Wynette's signature "Stand By Your Man", which even charted outside the Top 40 on the Country charts that year. "Artist Discography"

 

 

Tanya Tucker, born October 10, 1958 in Seminole, Texas, is an American country music artist who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature into adulthood without losing her audience, and during the course of her career, she notched a streak of Top Ten and Top 40 hits. She has produced a long string of successful albums, several nominations for awards from the Country Music Association, and hit songs that includes 1973's "What's Your Mama's Name?" and "Blood Red and Going Down," 1975's "Lizzie and the Rainman," and 1988's "Strong Enough to Bend". She made her debut with Mel Tillis, who was so impressed by her talents that he invited her onstage to perform. In 1969, Tucker and her family moved to Las Vegas, where she regularly performed. Eventually, she recorded a demo tape that gained the attention of songwriter Dolores Fuller, who sent it to producer Billy Sherrill. At the time, Sherrill was the head of A&R at CBS Records, and he was so impressed with the demo tape that he signed the teenaged vocalist to Columbia Records.  In 2002, Tucker was ranked #20 on CMT's 40 Greatest Women of Country Music in 2002. She has also continued to release albums. In 2005, she released an album called Live at Billy Bob's Texas. That same year, she contributed two songs to a tribute album to Bob Wills, called A Tribute to Bob Wills 100th Anniversary. "Artist Discography"

 

Tennessee Ernie Ford (13 February 1919 – 17 October 1991) an American recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country & western, pop and gospel musical genres. Ford began his radio career as an announcer at station WOPI in Bristol. In 1939, he left the station to pursue classical music and voice at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in Ohio. First Lieutenant Ford served in World War II as the bombardier on a B-29 Superfortress flying missions over Japan. After the war, Ford worked at radio stations in San Bernardino and Pasadena, California. In San Bernardino, Ford was hired as a radio announcer. He was assigned to host an early morning country music disc jockey program titled "Bar Nothin' Ranch Time." To differentiate himself, he created the personality of "Tennessee Ernie," a wild, madcap exaggerated hillbilly. He became popular in the area and was soon hired away by Pasadena's KXLA radio. Ford scored an unexpected hit on the pop charts in 1955 with his rendition of Merle Travis' "Sixteen Tons," a sparsely arranged coal-miner's lament that Travis wrote in 1946, based on his own family's experience in the mines of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Its fatalistic tone contrasted vividly with the sugary pop ballads and the rock and roll just starting to dominate the charts at the time. Ford subsequently helmed his own primetimes variety program, The Ford Show, which ran on NBC from 1956 to 1961. Over the years, Ford was awarded three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for radio, records, and television. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1990. "Artist Discography"

 

The Dixie Chicks are a country music group, comprising three women; Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines, and Emily Robison. Together, they have sold over 36 million albums as of May, 2008. The group formed in 1989 in Dallas, Texas, and was originally composed of four women performing bluegrass and country music, busking and touring the bluegrass festival circuits and small venues for six years, without attracting a major label. After the departure of one band mate, the replacement of their lead singer, and a slight change in their repertoire, the Dixie Chicks achieved massive country music and pop success, beginning in 1998 with hit songs like "Wide Open Spaces", "Cowboy Take Me Away", and "Long Time Gone". The women became well-known for their independent spirit and outspoken comments on controversial subjects, including politics. Ten days before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, lead vocalist Natalie Maines said "We don't want this war, this violence; and, we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas", (the Dixie Chicks' home State). The statement offended people who thought it rude and unpatriotic, and the ensuing controversy cost the group half of their concert audience attendance in the United States and led to charges of the three female band mates being un-American, as well as hate mail and the destruction of their albums in protest. Strange how people forget that freedom of speech is what America was founded on. As of 2008, they have won thirteen Grammy Awards, with five of them earned in 2007 including the coveted Grammy Award for Album of the Year for Taking The Long Way. "Artist Discography"

 

The Judds were a Grammy Award-winning American country music duo composed of Naomi Judd and her daughter, Wynonna. The Judds were one of the most popular country music duos of the 1980s, recording more than ten studio albums and charting several hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles (now Hot Country Songs) charts, including fourteen Number Ones. From 1984, every album was a collaboration with producer Brent Maher and the prolific Nashville musician Don Potter. In 1991, Naomi was forced to retire due to a bout of hepatitis; shortly afterward, Wynonna embarked on a solo career. On her own, Wynonna charted five more Number One singles on the country music charts, and recorded multiple albums as well. She and Naomi briefly reunited in 1999 and 2000, charting one last single credited to The Judds, as well as receiving a Academy of Country Music nomination for Duo of the Year in 2001. In addition, Naomi sang harmony on Wynonna's 2004 single "Flies on the Butter (You Can't Go Home Again)", although this song was credited as "Wynonna with Naomi Judd".In 1998, The Judds appeared in a commercial for the retail chain K-mart, performing as the Judds on the song "Changing For the Better". In 2008, The Judds once again reunited for a concert at the 2008 Stagecoach Festival in Indio, California as well as two shows in Canada, including one at the world famous 'Calgary Stampede' and another at the Merritt Mountain Music Festival in Merritt, BC. "Artist Discography"

 

The Oak Ridge Boys are a country and gospel group that is based in the United States. The group was founded in 1945 as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular during the 1950s. Their name was changed to the Oak Ridge Boys in the early 1960s, and they remained a gospel-oriented group until the mid 1970s, when they changed their image and concentrated more on country and pop music. The band's current lineup consists of lead singer and second tenor Duane Allen, baritone William Lee Golden, tenor Joe Bonsall, and bass Richard Sterban. "Artist Discography"

 

The Stanley Brothers (Carter Stanley, August 27, 1925 - December 1, 1966, and Ralph Stanley, born February 25, 1927) - American bluegrass musicians. They formed their band, the Clinch Mountain Boys, in 1946. They were perhaps the first band to adopt the new music style created by Bill Monroe in the mid-1940s that later became known as "bluegrass." Carter played guitar and sang lead while Ralph played banjo and sang with a strong, high tenor voice. Their harmonies are much admired, and many consider Carter Stanley to be one of the greatest singers in the history of country music. The brothers also wrote many of their own songs and Carter had a particular knack for writing deceptively simple lyrics that portrayed strong emotion. The Stanley's style can best be described as a traditional "mountain soul" sound that remained close to the Primitive Baptist vocal styling they learned from their parents and others near their southwestern Virginia home. Ralph has often used the expression "...old-time, mountain style, what they call 'bluegrass' music", to differentiate the Stanley's sound from mainstream bluegrass. "Artist Discography"

 

 

Tim McGraw, born May 1, 1967, is an American country singer and actor. With many of his albums and singles topping the country music charts, Tim has achieved total album sales in excess of 40 million units. He is married to country singer Faith Hill and is the son of former baseball player Tug McGraw. His trademark hit songs include "Indian Outlaw", "Don't Take the Girl", "I Like It, I Love It", "Something Like That", "It's Your Love" (featuring his wife, Faith Hill), and "Live Like You Were Dying". McGraw had eleven consecutive albums to debut at Number One on the Billboard albums charts; Twenty-one singles to hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot Country 100 chart; three singles named the #1 country song of the year; ("It's Your Love", "Just To See You Smile", and "Live Like You Were Dying") Won 3 Grammys, 14 Academy of Country Music awards, 11 Country Music Association (CMA) awards, 10 American Music Awards and 3 People's Choice Awards. Ranked as one of the top five in all genres of music, his Soul2Soul II tour with Faith Hill became the highest-grossing tour in country music history. "Artist Discography"

 

Toby Keith, born July 8, 1961 in Clinton, Oklahoma, is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. Keith released his first four studio albums — 1993's Toby Keith, 1994's Boomtown, 1996's Blue Moon and 1997's Dream Walkin', plus a Greatest Hits package "Noogies for Liberals!" — for various divisions of Mercury Records before exiting in 1998. These albums all earned gold or higher certification, and produced several chart singles, including his debut "Should've Been a Cowboy", which topped the country charts. Signed to Dreamworks Records in 1999, Keith released his breakthrough single "How Do You Like Me Now?!" that year. This song, the title track to his 2000 album of the same name, was the Number One country song of 2000, and one of several chart-toppers during his tenure on Dreamworks. His next three albums, Pull My Chain, Unleashed, and Shock'n Y'all, produced three more Number Ones each, and all of the albums were certified multi-platinum by the RIAA. A second Greatest Hits package followed in 2004, and after that, he released Honkytonk University. When Dreamworks closed in 2005, Keith founded his own label, Show Dog Nashville. In addition to releasing his next two studio albums (2006's White Trash with Money and 2007's Big Dog Daddy, as well as the 2008 compilation 35 Biggest Hits), Keith has signed several other acts to the label, including Carter's Chord, Flynnville Train and Mica Roberts. Keith also made his acting debut in 2005, starring in the film Broken Bridges. A second film, Beer for My Horses, followed in 2008.Overall, Keith has released ten studio albums, two Christmas albums, and multiple compilation albums. He has also charted more than forty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including seventeen Number One hits and eighteen additional Top Ten hits. His longest-lasting Number One hits are "Beer for My Horses" (a 2003 duet with Willie Nelson) and "As Good as I Once Was" (2005), at six weeks apiece. "Artist Discography"

 

Tom T. Hall, born May 25, 1936 in Olive Hill, Kentucky,) is an American country balladeer, songwriter, and country singer. He has written 11 #1 hit songs, with 26 more that reached the Top 10, including the pop crossover hit "I Love", which reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.As a teenager, Hall put together a band called the Kentucky Travelers that performed before movies for a traveling theater. During a stint in the Army, Hall performed over the Armed Forces Radio Network and wrote comic songs about Army experiences. His early career included being a radio announcer at WRON, a local radio station in Ronceverte, West Virginia. Hall was also a DJ at WVRC Radio in Spencer WV in the 1960s. Hall's big songwriting break came in 1963, when country singer Jimmy C. Newman recorded his song, "DJ For a Day." Soon, Hall moved to Nashville, and within months, he had songs climbing the charts. Hall has been nicknamed "The Story Teller," and he has written songs for dozens of country stars, including Johnny Cash, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings, Alan Jackson, and Bobby Bare. One of his earliest successful songwriting ventures, "Harper Valley PTA," was recorded in 1968 by Jeannie C. Riley, sold over six million copies, and won both a Grammy Award and CMA award. The song would go on to inspire a motion picture and television program of the same name. "Artist Discography"

 

Daley Troy Cassar is a multiple-award-winning Maltese-Australian & Aboriginal country musician from Grafton, New South Wales. He has been a regular at the Tamworth Country Music Festival (where he first performed at the age of eleven), The Deadlys and visitor to Nashville, Tennessee. He performed in the Australian Country Music Showcase in Nashville. He released his first EP, "Dream Out Loud", and was nominated for his first Golden Guitar for Best Male Vocalist in 1994. He has won many awards, the 1995 ARIA Award for 'Best Country Record', 1996 Country Music Awards in Tamworth, Troy won the 'Best Male Vocal' Award, 2000 CMAA Awards Best Male Vocal and Song Of The Year for 'They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore' and almost a decade's worth of Deadly Awards. He won the ARIA Music Award for best country album in 2006.

 

Vernon Dalhart, (April 6, 1883 - September 14, 1948), was a popular singer and songwriter of the early decades of the 20th century. He is a major influence in the field of Country Music. He saw an advertisement in the local paper for singers and applied and was auditioned by Thomas Alva Edison; he would thereafter make numerous records for Edison Records. From 1916 until 1923, using numerous pseudonyms, he made over 400 recordings of light classical music and early dance band vocals for various record labels. He was already an established singer when he made his first country music recordings which cemented his place in music history.He recorded under a host of pseudonyms given to him by recording managers. On Grey Gull Records he often used the pseudonym Vel Veteran, which was however also used by other singers, including Arthur Fields (Fields also used the pseudonym "Mr. X"). It is thought that Vernon Dalhart had the most recordings of any person in history. "Artist Discography"

 

 Vince Gill, born April 12, 1957, is an American neo-traditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a vocalist and musician have placed him in high demand as a guest vocalist, and a duet partner. Gill has recorded more than twenty studio albums, charted over forty singles on the U.S. Billboard charts as Hot Country Songs, and has sold more than 22 million albums. He has been honored by the Country Music Association with 18 CMA Awards, including two Entertainer of the Year awards and five Male Vocalist Awards. Gill has also earned 19 Grammy Awards, more than any other male Country music artist. In 2007, Gill was inducted into the esteemed Country Music Hall of Fame. "Artist Discography"

 

 

Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an influential American country music singer and musician. A self-taught guitar player, he rose to prominence as a bass player for Buddy Holly following the break-up of The Crickets. He escaped death in the February 3, 1959 plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson when he gave up his seat to the latter. By the 1970s, he had become associated with so-called "outlaws," an informal group of musicians who worked outside of the Nashville corporate scene. A series of duet albums with Willie Nelson in the late 1970s culminated in the 1978 crossover hit, "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys". In 1979, he recorded the theme song for the hit television show The Dukes of Hazzard, and also served as the narrator ("The Balladeer") for all seven seasons of the show.He continued to be active in the recording industry, forming the group The Highwaymen with Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson. Jennings released his last solo studio album in 1998. In 2001, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. "Artist Discography"

 

 Webb Pierce (August 8, 1921 - February 24, 1991) was an American country music singer who had the most number-one country chart hits of the 1950s. He was also one of most popular honky tonk performers of the era. Although his first chart action did not occur until January 5, 1952, Pierce was the number-one country artist of the decade with his singles spending 113 weeks at number one during the 1950s, when he charted 48 singles. Thirty-nine reached the top ten, 26 reaching the top four and 13 reached number one. Although he had no more number one records, Pierce continued charting until 1982 with a total of 96 charted hits.In addition to his music, Pierce was known for his lavish Nashville mansion, which featured a guitar-shaped swimming pool, among other custom features. He died of pancreatic cancer in 1991 and was buried in the Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville. Pierce has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (at 1600 Vine Street), and in 2001 he was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.His "There Stands the Glass" is featured in the 2005 documentary No Direction Home by Martin Scorsese about early influences on Bob Dylan. Pierce's song "More and More" was played in the title credits of 2006 horror film, The Hills Have Eyes. "Artist Discography"

 

 

Willie Hugh Nelson, born April 30, 1933, is an American country singer-songwriter author, poet and actor. He reached his greatest fame during the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, but remains iconic, especially in American popular culture. In recent years he has continued to tour, record, and perform, and this, combined with activities in advocacy of marijuana, as well as a well-publicized 2006 arrest for marijuana possession, have made him the subject of renewed media attention. Willie Nelson is widely recognized as an American icon. His distinctive music and other social and political activities sometimes take a backseat to his pop-culture public image (firmly grounded in the acknowledged reality of his life) - that of an elderly, lifelong marijuana-smoking, tax-evading, bio diesel-burning, old-school cowboy-hippie troubadour. His image is marked by his red hair, often divided into two long braids partially concealed under a bandana. He has been featured in recent advertisements for a variety of products and companies, including a 2002 spot directed by Peter Lindbergh for Gap where he performs Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" alongside Ryan Adams. "Artist Discography"

 

Wynn Stewart - (born Winford Lindsey Stewart June 7, 1934 - July 17, 1985) was an American country music performer. He was one of the progenitors of the Bakersfield sound. Although not a huge chart success, he was an inspiration to such greats as Buck Owens and Merle Haggard.Wynn Stewart was one of the most important figures in the Bakersfield Sound. He was born in Morrisville, Missouri in 1934, during the Depression. He spent most of his childhood moving around the country with his sharecropping family. After World War II, Stewart spent a year working at a radio station in Springfield, Missouri called "KWTO". In 1948, he moved to California with his family. Wynn originally wanted to become a professional baseball player, but Stewart suffered from a hand disease, and he was also too short to play professional baseball. When he was in high school, Stewart formed a band, that played at clubs around California. He soon met steel guitarist Ralph Mooney, who joined Stewart's band. The group's lineup consisted of guitarist Roy Nichols and bassist Bobby Austin. "Artist Discography"

 

History Of Country

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