This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1978. [edit] Events - March 4 — Public Broadcasting System (PBS) telecasts the first complete Grand Ole Opry show from the new Grand Ole Opry House as it happened from 6-9 pm. The show featured Del Reeves, The Willis Brothers, Billy Grammer, Lonzo and Oscar, Bill Monroe, Porter Wagoner, Roy Acuff, The Crook Brothers, The Fruit Jar Drinkers, Ronnie Milsap, Grandpa Jones, George Hamilton IV and others. The show would run over about 18 minutes the first night. The telecast would repeat from 1979 to 1981.
- March 25 — "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson becomes the last song for 12 years to spend four weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart. There wouldn't be another four-week No. 1 until "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart" by Randy Travis in April 1990. The trend of fewer (and shorter) multi-week runs at No. 1 on Billboard, even for the year's biggest hits, is the result of changes in radio programming and the magazine's reporting methods.
- April 22 — 14 years after her debut Dottie West has her first number 1 single, a duet with Kenny Rogers ("Every Time Two Fools Collide").
- May 6 — Bob Kingsley takes over hosting duties of "American Country Countdown," a stint that will last 27 years. He had been a producer of the radio countdown show since 1974.
- May 24 — The United States Postal Service issues a 13-cent commemorative stamp honoring Jimmie Rodgers, one of the genre's pioneers. The Rodgers stamp, designed by artist Jim Sharpe, is the first in the Postal Service's long-running Performing Arts Series.
- September — The Donna Fargo Show premieres in syndication.
- October 4 — One of Nashville's most mysterious crimes involves the reported abduction and beating of Tammy Wynette. Media reports said that Wynette had been abducted by a masked man at a shopping center before the beating. No suspects were ever named or arrested. While Wynette would insist the story was true, her daughter raised doubts, claiming the incident was fabricated.
- October 21 — Fans of Mel Street are saddened when the honky tonk-styled singer, who had long battled clinical depression and alcoholism, committed suicide on his 45th birthday. He had signed a recording contract with Mercury Records earlier in the year.
[edit] Top hits of the year [edit] Number one hits [edit] United States (as certified by Billboard) - Notes
- 1^ No. 1 song of the year, as determined by Billboard.
- A^ First Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.
- B^ Last Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.
- C^ Only Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist to date.
[edit] Canada (as certified by RPM) - Notes
- 1^ No. 1 song of the year, as determined by RPM.
- A^ First RPM No. 1 hit for that artist.
- B^ Last RPM No. 1 hit for that artist.
- C^ Only RPM No. 1 hit for that artist.
[edit] Other major hits [edit] Singles released by American artists [edit] Singles released by Canadian artists [edit] Top new album releases 1 A collection of Crystal Gayle's earliest recordings from the early 1970s. [edit] Other albums [edit] Christmas albums [edit] Births [edit] Deaths [edit] Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees [edit] Major awards [edit] Grammy Awards [edit] Juno Awards [edit] Academy of Country Music [edit] Country Music Association [edit] Further reading - Kingsbury, Paul, "The Grand Ole Opry: History of Country Music. 70 Years of the Songs, the Stars and the Stories," Villard Books, Random House; Opryland USA, 1995
- Kingsbury, Paul, "Vinyl Hayride: Country Music Album Covers 1947-1989," Country Music Foundation, 2003 (ISBN 0-8118-3572-3)
- Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993 (ISBN 0-06-273244-7)
- Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944-2005 - 6th Edition." 2005.
[edit] Other links [edit] External links |
