This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 2002.

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Contents 1 Events 2 Top hits of the year 2.1 Number one hits 2.1.1 United States 2.2 Other major hits 3 Top new album releases 3.1 Other top albums 4 Deaths 5 Hall of Fame inductees 5.1 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees 5.2 Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees 6 Major awards 6.1 Grammy Awards 6.2 Juno Awards 6.3 CMT Flameworthy Video Music Awards 6.4 Academy of Country Music 6.5 Canadian Country Music Association 6.6 Country Music Association 7 Further reading 8 Other links 9 External links

[edit] Events

• November — Shania Twain returned with her fourth album, Up!. It opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 874,000 copies; the album remained atop the chart until the new year.

[edit] Top hits of the year

[edit] Number one hits

This section requires expansion with: Canadian peaks.

[edit] United States

(As certified by Billboard)

Date	Song Name	Artist	Wks. No. 1	Spec. Note
February 2	Good Morning Beautiful	Steve Holy	5	[A]
March 9	Bring On the Rain	Jo Dee Messina (featuring Tim McGraw)	1
March 16	The Cowboy in Me	Tim McGraw	1
March 23	The Long Goodbye	Brooks & Dunn	1	Co-written by Irish pop singer Ronan Keating, who later released his own version of it in the United Kingdom.
March 30	Blessed	Martina McBride	2	[B]
April 13	I Breathe In, I Breathe Out	Chris Cagle	1	[C]
April 20	My List	Toby Keith	5
May 25	Drive (For Daddy Gene)	Alan Jackson	4
June 22	Living and Living Well	George Strait	2
July 6	I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)	Brad Paisley	2
July 20	Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)	Toby Keith	1
July 27	The Good Stuff	Kenny Chesney	7	[1]
September 14	Unbroken	Tim McGraw	1
September 21	I Miss My Friend	Darryl Worley	1	[A]
September 28	Beautiful Mess	Diamond Rio	2	[2] Fell to #2 on October 5.
October 5	Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo	Tracy Byrd	1	[B] Byrd's first #1 since "Holdin' Heaven" in 1993.
October 19	Somebody Like You	Keith Urban	6
November 30	These Days	Rascal Flatts	3	[A]
December 21	Who's Your Daddy?	Toby Keith	1
December 28	She'll Leave You with a Smile	George Strait	2

[edit] Other major hits

Peak	Single	Artist	Notes
18	All Over Me	Blake Shelton	Co-written by Earl Thomas Conley.
5	American Child	Phil Vassar
15	Before I Knew Better	Brad Martin	Martin's only Top 40 country hit.
12	Cry	Faith Hill
12	Every River	Brooks & Dunn
12	Forgive	Rebecca Lynn Howard	Howard's only Top 40 country hit.
17	Help Me Understand	Trace Adkins
18	I Cry	Tammy Cochran
2	I Don't Have to Be Me ('Til Monday)	Steve Azar
7	I Don't Want You to Go	Carolyn Dawn Johnson
5	I Keep Looking	Sara Evans
4	I Should Be Sleeping	Emerson Drive
7	I'm Gonna Getcha Good!	Shania Twain	Debuted at #24, setting what was then a new record for the highest debut by a female on the country charts. Twain also held the previous record, which was set by the #29 debut of "Love Gets Me Every Time" in 1997.
4	I'm Movin' On	Rascal Flatts
3	The Impossible	Joe Nichols
10	In Another World	Joe Diffie
9	Just Let Me Be in Love	Tracy Byrd
13	Just What I Do	Trick Pony
2	Landslide	Dixie Chicks	Cover of the Fleetwood Mac song.
20	Life Happened	Tammy Cochran
2	Long Time Gone	Dixie Chicks
8	Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde	Travis Tritt
5	My Heart Is Lost to You	Brooks & Dunn
5	My Town	Montgomery Gentry
3	Not a Day Goes By	Lonestar
14	Ol' Red	Blake Shelton
3	The One	Gary Allan
5	Red Ragtop	Tim McGraw	This song was banned from some radio stations due to a lyric that mentioned abortion.
16	Saints & Angels	Sara Evans
11	She Was	Mark Chesnutt
7	Some Days You Gotta Dance	Dixie Chicks
20	Something Worth Leaving Behind	Lee Ann Womack
16	Squeeze Me In	Garth Brooks with Trisha Yearwood	Co-written by Delbert McClinton.
13	Strong Enough to Be Your Man	Travis Tritt	An answer song to Sheryl Crow's 1995 single "Strong Enough".
16	That's Just Jessie	Kevin Denney
3	That's When I Love You	Phil Vassar
18	Thicker Than Blood	Garth Brooks
19	'Til Nothing Comes Between Us	John Michael Montgomery
7	Tonight I Wanna Be Your Man	Andy Griggs
2	What If She's an Angel	Tommy Shane Steiner	Steiner's only Top 40 country hit.
8	When You Lie Next to Me	Kellie Coffey
2	Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly	Aaron Tippin
3	Where Would You Be	Martina McBride
3	Work in Progress	Alan Jackson
2	Wrapped Around	Brad Paisley
5	Wrapped Up in You	Garth Brooks
2	Young	Kenny Chesney

[edit] Top new album releases

This section requires expansion with: Canadian peaks.

US	Album	Artist	Record Label
8	20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection	George Strait	MCA Nashville
14	After the Storm	Chris LeDoux	Capitol Nashville
9	The Almeria Club Recordings	Hank Williams, Jr.	Curb
4	American Child	Phil Vassar	Arista Nashville
2	American IV: The Man Comes Around	Johnny Cash	Lost Highway
13	Barricades & Brickwalls	Kasey Chambers	Warner Bros.
20	Bluegrass & White Snow: A Mountain Christmas	Patty Loveless	Epic
19	Cledus Envy	Cledus T. Judd	Monument
3	Completely	Diamond Rio	Arista Nashville
13	Country Croonin'	Anne Murray	StraightWay
1	Cry	Faith Hill	Warner Bros.
21	Down the Old Plank Road: The Nashville Sessions	The Chieftans	RCA
1	Drive	Alan Jackson	Arista Nashville
1	Elv1s: 30 #1 Hits	Elvis Presley	RCA
21	Elvis: Today, Tomorrow & Forever	Elvis Presley	RCA
13	Emerson Drive	Emerson Drive	DreamWorks Nashville
16	The Essential Johnny Cash	Johnny Cash	Legacy
18	Forever Country	Various Artists	Razor & Tie
5	Forgive	Rebecca Lynn Howard	MCA Nashville
7	Freedom	Andy Griggs	RCA Nashville
2	Golden Road	Keith Urban	Capitol Nashville
5	The Great Divide	Willie Nelson	Lost Highway
16	Greatest Hits	Mark Wills	Mercury Nashville
4	Halos & Horns	Dolly Parton	Blue Eye
1	Home	Dixie Chicks	Open Wide
1	I Miss My Friend	Darryl Worley	DreamWorks Nashville
12	It Won't Be Christmas Without You	Brooks & Dunn	Arista Nashville
7	Jerusalem	Steve Earle	E-Squared
18	A Joyful Noise	Jo Dee Messina	Curb
14	Kevin Denney	Kevin Denney	Lyric Street
17	Kindred Spirits: A Tribute to the Songs of Johnny Cash	Various Artists	Columbia
3	Knock on the Sky	SHeDAISY	Lyric Street
6	Let It Be Christmas	Alan Jackson	Arista Nashville
11	Life Happened	Tammy Cochran	Epic
9	Live	Alison Krauss & Union Station	Rounder
17	Lovesick, Broke and Driftin'	Hank Williams III	Curb
9	Man with a Memory	Joe Nichols	Universal South
23	Mark Chesnutt	Mark Chesnutt	Columbia
1	Melt	Rascal Flatts	Lyric Street
3	My Town	Montgomery Gentry	Columbia
1	No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems	Kenny Chesney	BNA
19	Now Again	The Flatlanders	New West
13	On a Mission	Trick Pony	Warner Bros.
17	Pinmonkey	Pinmonkey	BNA
13	Pictures	John Michael Montgomery	Warner Bros.
22	Ralph Stanley	Ralph Stanley	Columbia
8	Rise and Shine	Randy Travis	Word/Curb
12	Room to Breathe	Delbert McClinton	New West
19	The Season for Romance	Lee Ann Womack	MCA Nashville
7	Sharp Dressed Men: A Tribute to ZZ Top	Various Artists	RCA Nashville
9	Side Tracks	Steve Earle	E-Squared
2	Something Worth Leaving Behind	Lee Ann Womack	MCA Nashville
18	Stars & Guitars	Willie Nelson	Lost Highway
10	Stars & Stripes	Aaron Tippin	Lyric Street
4	Strong Enough	Travis Tritt	Columbia
6	Then Came the Night	Tommy Shane Steiner	RCA Nashville
2	This Side	Nickel Creek	Sugar Hill
2	Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors	Tim McGraw	Curb
2	Totally Country	Various Artists	BNA
5	Totally Country Vol. 2	Various Artists	Epic
3	Twisted Angel	LeAnn Rimes	Curb
1	Unleashed	Toby Keith	DreamWorks Nashville
1	Up!	Shania Twain	Mercury Nashville
23	Up! (Country Mixes)	Shania Twain	Mercury Nashville
19	The Very Best of Linda Ronstadt	Linda Ronstadt	Elektra
14	We Were Soldiers Soundtrack	Various Artists	Columbia
5	When You Lie Next to Me	Kellie Coffey	BNA
18	Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Volume III	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band	Capitol Nashville

[edit] Other top albums

This section requires expansion with: Canadian peaks.

US	Album	Artist	Record Label
47	20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection	Johnny Cash	Mercury Nashville
58	An Inconvenient Christmas	The Oak Ridge Boys	Spring Hill
39	Another Way to Go	Radney Foster	Dualtone
65	Anthology	John Anderson	Audium
46	The Best of America	Various Artists	Curb
73	Bona Fide Bluegrass & Mountain Music	Various Artists	BMG Heritage
47	Bramble Rose	Tift Merritt	Lost Highway
73	Brewed in Texas: Handcrafted Fine Texas Music	Various Artists	Compadre
39	Can You Hear Me Now	Sawyer Brown	Curb
39	Can't Back Down	Collin Raye	Epic
63	The Capitol Collection (1990–2000)	Chris LeDoux	Capitol Nashville
62	Certified Aluminum, His Greatest Recycled Hits Vol. 1	Tim Wilson	Capitol Nashville
35	Chase the Sun	Shannon Lawson	MCA Nashville
37	Cheap Drunk: An Autobiography	Bill Engvall	Warner Bros.
54	Christmas	Clay Walker	Warner Bros.
67	Christmas on the Mountain (A Bluegrass Christmas)	Various Artists	Universal South
68	The Clark Family Experience	The Clark Family Experience	Curb
28	Classic Country: Great Story Songs	Various Artists	Time Life
69	Classic Country: More Great Story Songs	Various Artists	Time Life
39	Cledus Navidad	Cledus T. Judd	Monument
37	The Color of Roses	Lorrie Morgan	Image
64	Country Favorites	Various Artists	Madacy
46	The Dark	Guy Clark	Sugar Hill
54	The Deana Carter Collection	Deana Carter	Capitol Nashville
53	Dressed in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash	Various Artists	Dualtone
29	Easy	Kelly Willis	Rykodisc
34	Electric	Jack Ingram	Columbia
35	The Family Album	Roy D. Mercer	Capitol Nashville
65	Friday Night in Dixie	Rhett Akins	Audium
49	The Heart of a Legend	Johnny Cash	Madacy
54	High on the Hog	Kevin Fowler	Tin Roof
39	A Hillbilly Tribute to Mountain Love	Hayseed Dixie	Dualtone
40	How Sweet the Sound – 25 Favorite Hymns and Gospel Greats	Charlie Daniels	Sparrow
26	If That Ain't Country	Anthony Smith	Mercury Nashville
48	Inside Traxx 2002	Various Artists	Curb
54	It's All Relative: Tillis Sings Tillis	Pam Tillis	Lucky Dog
39	Johnny Cash at Madison Square Garden	Johnny Cash	Legacy
71	Johnny Cash Sings His Best: 40 Original Hits	Johnny Cash	Teevee
66	The Legend of Johnny Cash: First Original Hits	Johnny Cash	K-Tel
40	Little Big Town	Little Big Town	Monument
27	Love Songs	John Michael Montgomery	Warner Bros.
63	Love Songs	Kenny Rogers	onQ
48	The Lovin' Side	Travis Tritt	Rhino
50	Midnight and Lonesome	Buddy Miller	Hightone
29	Mindy McCready	Mindy McCready	Capitol Nashville
35	Miss Fortune	Allison Moorer	Universal South
54	O Sister 2: A Women's Bluegrass Collection	Various Artists	Rounder
72	Old and in the Gray	Old and in the Gray	Acoustic Disc
29	Osama-Yo' Mama, The Album	Ray Stevens	Curb
28	Outside the Lines	Cory Morrow	Write On
40	Redneck Fiddlin' Man	Charlie Daniels	Blue Hat
36	Ricky Skaggs and Friends Sing the Songs of Bill Monroe	Ricky Skaggs	Lyric Street
66	The Rockin' Side	Travis Tritt	Rhino
38	Roses	Kathy Mattea	Narada
38	Sixwire	Sixwire	Warner Bros.
75	Songs for America	John Denver	BMG
37	Spirit Dancer	BlackHawk	Columbia
39	Tanya	Tanya Tucker	Tuckertime
65	That's Why I Sing This Way	Daryle Singletary	Audium
32	This Is Ty Herndon: Greatest Hits	Ty Herndon	Epic
27	Time-Life's Treasury of Bluegrass	Various Artists	Time Life
32	The Ultimate Collection	Hank Williams	Mercury Nashville
29	Waitin' on Joe	Steve Azar	Mercury Nashville
42	White Trash Christmas	Bob Rivers	Atlantic
34	Wings of a Honky-Tonk Angel	Brad Martin	Epic
45	Winter Marquee	Nanci Griffith	Rounder

[edit] Deaths

• February 13 — Waylon Jennings, 64, singer and guitarist (diabetic complications)
• March 3 — Harlan Howard, 74, songwriter

[edit] Hall of Fame inductees

[edit] Country Music Hall of Fame inductees

• Bill Carlisle (1908-2003)
• Porter Wagoner (1927-2007)

[edit] Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees

• Anne Murray
• Art Snider
• Bev Munro
• D'Arcy Scott
• Elmer Tippe

[edit] Major awards

[edit] Grammy Awards

• Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Cry," Faith Hill
• Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "Give My Love to Rose," Johnny Cash
• Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "Long Time Gone," Dixie Chicks
• Best Country Collaboration with Vocals — "Mendocino County Line," Willie Nelson and Lee Ann Womack
• Best Country Instrumental Performance — "Lil' Jack Slade," Dixie Chicks
• Best Country Song — "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)," Alan Jackson
• Best Country Album — Home, Dixie Chicks
• Best Bluegrass Album — Lost in the Lonesome Pines, Jim Lauderdale, Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys

[edit] Juno Awards

• Country Recording of the Year — "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!," Shania Twain

[edit] CMT Flameworthy Video Music Awards

• Video of the Year — "Young," Kenny Chesney
• Male Video of the Year — "Young," Kenny Chesney
• Female Video of the Year — "Blessed," Martina McBride
• Group / Duo Video of the Year — "Only in America," Brooks & Dunn
• Breakthrough Video of the Year — "I Breathe In, I Breathe Out," Chris Cagle
• Video Collaboration of the Year — "Mendocino County Line," Willie Nelson Featuring Lee Ann Womack
• Hottest Video of the Year — "The Cowboy in Me," Tim McGraw
• Concept Video of the Year — "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)," Brad Paisley
• Fashion Plate Video of the Year — "Jezebel," Chely Wright
• "LOL" (Laugh Out Loud) Video of the Year — "I Wanna Talk About Me," Toby Keith
• Love Your Country Video of the Year — "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)," Alan Jackson
• Video Director of the Year — "I Wanna Talk About Me," Toby Keith (Director: Michael Salomon)
• Video Visionary Award — Dixie Chicks

[edit] Academy of Country Music

• Entertainer of the Year — Toby Keith
• Song of the Year — "I'm Movin' On," Rascal Flatts
• Single of the Year — "The Good Stuff," Kenny Chesney
• Album of the Year — Drive, Alan Jackson
• Top Male Vocalist — Kenny Chesney
• Top Female Vocalist — Martina McBride
• Top Vocal Duo — Brooks & Dunn
• Top Vocal Group — Rascal Flatts
• Top New Male Vocaliast — Joe Nichols
• Top New Female Vocaliast — Kellie Coffey
• Top New Vocal Duo or Group — Emerson Drive
• Video of the Year — "Drive (For Daddy Gene)," Alan Jackson (Director: Steven Goldmann)
• Vocal Event of the Year — "Mendocino County Line," Willie Nelson and Lee Ann Womack

[edit] Canadian Country Music Association

• Fans' Choice Award — Terri Clark
• Male Artist of the Year — Paul Brandt
• Female Artist of the Year — Carolyn Dawn Johnson
• Group or Duo of the Year — Emerson Drive
• SOCAN Song of the Year — "Ten Million Teardrops," Jason McCoy, Tim Taylor
• Single of the Year — "I Don't Want You to Go," Carolyn Dawn Johnson
• Album of the Year — Small Towns and Big Dreams, Paul Brandt
• Top Selling Album — Scarecrow, Garth Brooks
• CMT Video of the Year — "I Don't Want You to Go," Carolyn Dawn Johnson
• Chevy Trucks Rising Star Award — Emerson Drive
• Roots Artist or Group of the Year — Jimmy Rankin

[edit] Country Music Association

• Entertainer of the Year — Alan Jackson
• Song of the Year — "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)," Alan Jackson
• Single of the Year — "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)," Alan Jackson
• Album of the Year — Drive, Alan Jackson
• Male Vocalist of the Year — Alan Jackson
• Female Vocalist of the Year — Martina McBride
• Vocal Duo of the Year — Brooks & Dunn
• Vocal Group of the Year — Dixie Chicks
• Musician of the Year — Jerry Douglas
• Horizon Award — Rascal Flatts
• Music Video of the Year — "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)," Brad Paisley (Director: Peter Zavadil)
• Vocal Event of the Year — "Mendocino County Line," Willie Nelson and Lee Ann Womack
• Musician of the Year — Jerry Douglas

[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

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

[edit] External links

• Country Music Hall of Fame