1985 in country music
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
See also: 1984 in country music, 1985 in music, other events of 1985, 1986 in country music, 1980s in music and the List of years in Country Music
Contents |
[edit] Events
- A story published in the New York Times declares that country music is "dead." However, a number of new acts – Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakam among them – are working behind the scenes to change the trend.
[edit] Top hits of the year
[edit] Number one hits
(As certified by Billboard magazine)
| Date | Song Name | Artist | Wks. No. 1 | Spec. Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 5 | Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind |
George Strait | 1 | |
| January 12 | The Best Year of My Life | Eddie Rabbitt | 1 | |
| January 19 | How Blue | Reba McEntire | 1 | |
| January 26 | (There's a) Fire in the Night | Alabama | 1 | |
| February 2 | A Place to Fall Apart | Merle Haggard featuring Janie Fricke | 1 | |
| February 9 | Ain't She Something Else | Conway Twitty | 1 | |
| February 16 | Make My Life With You | The Oak Ridge Boys | 1 | |
| February 23 | Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On | Mel McDaniel | 1 | C |
| March 2 | Baby Bye-Bye | Gary Morris | 1 | |
| March 9 | My Only Love | The Statler Brothers | 1 | |
| March 16 | Crazy For Your Love | Exile | 1 | |
| March 23 | Seven Spanish Angels | Ray Charles with Willie Nelson |
1 | C - Ray Charles |
| March 30 | Crazy | Kenny Rogers | 1 | |
| April 6 | Country Girls | John Schneider | 1 | |
| April 13 | Honor Bound | Earl Thomas Conley | 1 | |
| April 20 | I Need More of You | The Bellamy Brothers | 1 | |
| April 27 | Girls Night Out | The Judds | 1 | |
| May 4 | There's No Way | Alabama | 1 | |
| May 11 | Somebody Should Leave | Reba McEntire | 1 | |
| May 18 | Step That Step | Sawyer Brown | 1 | A |
| May 25 | Radio Heart | Charly McClain | 1 | B |
| June 1 | Don't Call Him a Cowboy | Conway Twitty | 1 | |
| June 8 | Natural High | Merle Haggard | 1 | |
| June 15 | Country Boy | Ricky Skaggs | 1 | |
| June 22 | Little Things | The Oak Ridge Boys | 1 | |
| June 29 | She Keeps the Home Fires Burning | Ronnie Milsap | 1 | |
| July 6 | She's a Miracle | Exile | 1 | |
| July 13 | Forgiving You Was Easy | Willie Nelson | 1 | |
| July 20 | Dixie Road | Lee Greenwood | 1 | |
| July 27 | Love Don't Care (Whose Heart It Breaks) |
Earl Thomas Conley | 1 | |
| August 3 | Forty Hour Week (For a Livin') | Alabama | 1 | |
| August 10 | I'm For Love | Hank Williams Jr. | 1 | |
| August 17 | Highwayman | The Highwaymen (Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash) |
1 | C - The Highwaymen B - Johnny Cash B - Kris Kristofferson |
| August 24 | Real Love | Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton |
1 | |
| August 31 | Love is Alive | The Judds | 1 | |
| September 7 | I Don't Know Why You Don't Want Me |
Rosanne Cash | 1 | |
| September 14 | Modern Day Romance | The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band | 1 | |
| September 21 | I Fell in Love Again Last Night | The Forester Sisters | 1 | |
| September 28 | Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In the Still of the Night) |
Ronnie Milsap | 1 | 1 |
| October 12 | Meet Me in Montana | Dan Seals with Marie Osmond |
1 | A - Dan Seals |
| October 19 | You Make Me Want to Make You Mine | Juice Newton | 1 | |
| October 26 | Touch a Hand, Make a Friend | The Oak Ridge Boys | 1 | |
| November 2 | Some Fools Never Learn | Steve Wariner | 1 | |
| November 9 | Can't Keep a Good Man Down | Alabama | 1 | |
| November 16 | Hang on to Your Heart | Exile | 1 | |
| November 23 | I'll Never Stop Loving You | Gary Morris | 1 | |
| November 30 | Too Much on My Heart | The Statler Brothers | 1 | B |
| December 7 | I Don't Mind the Thorns (If You're the Rose) |
Lee Greenwood | 1 | |
| December 14 | Nobody Falls Like a Fool | Earl Thomas Conley | 1 | |
| December 21 | The Chair | George Strait | 1 | |
| December 28 | Have Mercy | The Judds | 2 |
- 1 - No. 1 song of the year, as determined by Billboard magazine.
- A - First Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.
- B - Last Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist to date.
- C - Only Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist to date.
[edit] Other major hits
[edit] Top new album releases
[edit] Gallery
 40 Hour Week |
 The Ballad of Sally Rose |
 Greatest Hits |
|
 Highwayman |
 Me and Paul |
 Real Love |
 Rhythm & Romance |
 Rockin' With the Rhythm |
 Turn the Page |
[edit] Other top albums
- Amber Waves of Grain - Merle Haggard (Epic)
- Chasin' Rainbows - Conway Twitty (Warner Bros.)
- Don't Call Him a Cowboy - Conway Twitty (Warner Bros.)
- First Time Live - George Jones (Epic)
- Get to the Heart - Barbara Mandrell (MCA)
- Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 – Ronnie Milsap (RCA)
- Hang On to Your Heart - Exile (Epic)
- Kern River - Merle Haggard (Epic)
- One Good Night Deserves Another - Steve Wariner (MCA)
- Partners, Brothers and Friends - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (Warner Bros.)
- Radio Heart - Charly McClain (Epic)
- Rockin' With the Rhythm - The Judds (RCA/Curb)
- Sawyer Brown - Sawyer Brown (Capitol/Curb)
- Somebody Else's Fire - Janie Fricke (Epic)
[edit] Christmas albums
- Alabama Christmas – Alabama (RCA)
[edit] On television
[edit] Regular series
- Hee Haw (1969-1993, syndicated)
[edit] Specials
[edit] Births
[edit] Deaths
[edit] Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
- Lester Flatt (1914-1979), Earl Scruggs (1924-), and The Foggy Mountain Boys
[edit] Major awards
[edit] Grammy awards
- Best Country Vocal Performance, Female -- "I Don't Know Why You Don't Want Me" - Rosanne Cash
- Best Country Vocal Performance, Male -- "Lost In The Fifties Tonight (In The Still Of The Night)" - Ronnie Milsap
- Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal -- "Why Not Me" - Judds (Naomi Judd, Wynonna Judd)
- Best Country Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group Or Soloist) -- "Cosmic Square Dance" - Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler
- Best Country Song -- "Highwayman" - Jimmy L. Webb, songwriter
[edit] Academy of Country Music
- Entertainer Of The Year -- Alabama
- Song Of The Year -- "Lost In The Fifties" - Ronnie Milsap - Fredericke Darris, Michael Reid, Troy Seals
- Single Of The Year -- "Highwayman" - Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson
- Album Of The Year -- Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind - George Strait
- Top Male Vocalist -- George Strait
- Top Female Vocalist -- Reba McEntire
- Top Vocal Duo -- The Judds
- Top Vocal Group -- Alabama
- Top New Male Vocalist -- Randy Travis
- Top New Female Vocalist -- Judy Rodman
- Video Of The Year -- "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" - George Jones (Director: Marc Ball)
[edit] Country Music Association
- Instrumental Group of the Year -- Ricky Skaggs Band
- Instrumentalist of the Year -- Chet Atkins
- Entertainer of the Year -- Ricky Skaggs
- Male Vocalist of the Year -- George Strait
- Female Vocalist of the Year -- Reba McEntire
- Horizon Award -- Sawyer Brown
- Vocal Group of the Year -- The Judds
- Vocal Duo of the Year -- Dave Loggins and Anne Murray
- Album of the Year -- George Strait
- Song of the Year -- Lee Greenwood
- Single of the Year -- The Judds
- Music Video of the Year -- Hank Williams, Jr.
[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.
