1955 in country music

"See also:"
1954 in country music,
1955 in music,
other events of 1955,
1956 in country music and the List of years in Country Music

Events

*1955 was one of the most prolific years for new artists, many of whom would revolutionize country music. Some of the more prominent names were Johnny Cash, George Jones, Elvis Presley and Porter Wagoner; it was also the year one of the best-known duos ever — the Louvin Brothers (Charlie and Ira) — would join the Grand Ole Opry. Many of them would go on to record and popularize the best known songs in the genre, and have recording careers that lasted for decades. It would be more than 30 years before another gifted group this prominent would rise to fame and create a revolution in country music.

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

"(As certified by Billboard magazine)"
*January 8 - "Loose Talk" - Carl Smith
*January 29 - "Let Me Go, Lover" - Hank Snow
*February 26 - "In the Jailhouse Now" - Webb Pierce
*June 18 - "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young" - Faron Young
*July 9 - "A Satisfied Mind" - Porter Wagoner
*July 16 - "I Don't Care" - Webb Pierce
*October 8 - "The Cattle Call" - Eddy Arnold
*October 22 - "Love, Love, Love" - Webb Pierce
*October 22 - "That Do Make it Nice" - Eddy Arnold
*December 17 - "Sixteen Tons" - Tennessee Ernie Ford

:"Note: Several songs were simultaneous No. 1 hits on the separate "Most Played in Juke Boxes," "Most Played by Jockeys" and "Best Sellers in Stores" charts.

Other major hits

*"All Right" - Faron Young
*"Are You Mine" - Ginny Wright and Tom Tall
*"As Long as I Live" - Red Foley and Kitty Wells
*"Baby Let's Play House" - Elvis Presley
*"Ballad of Davy Crockett" - Tennessee Ernie Ford
*"Beautiful Lies" - Jean Shepard
*"Born to Be Happy" - Hank Snow
*"Cry! Cry! Cry!" - Johnny Cash
*"Cryin', Prayin', Waitin', Hopin'" - Hank Snow
*"Cuzz Yore So Sweet" - Ferlin Husky
*"Eat Drink and Be Merry" - Porter Wagoner
*"Hearts Of Stone" - Red Foley
*"I Feel Better All Over (More Than Anywhere's Else)" - Ferlin Husky
*"I Forgot to Remember to Forget" - Elvis Presley
*"I Gotta Go Get My Baby" - Justin Tubb
*"I Thought of You" - Jean Shepard
*"I Walked Alone Last Night" - Eddy Arnold
*"I've Been Thinking" - Eddy Arnold
*"In Time" - Eddy Arnold
*"It Tickles" - Tommy Collins
*"Just Call Me Lonesome" - Eddy Arnold
*"The Kentuckian Song" - Eddy Arnold
*"Kisses Don't Lie" - Carl Smith
*"Little Tom" - Ferlin Husky
*"Make Believe ('Til We Can Make It Come True)" - Red Foley and Kitty Wells
*"Making Believe" - Jimmy Work
*"Making Believe" - Kitty Wells
*"Mainliner (The Hawk With the Silver Wings)" - Hank Snow
*"A Satisfied Mind" - Red Foley and Betty Foley
*"A Satisfied Mind" - Jean Shepard
*"That's All Right" - Marty Robbins
*"There She Goes" - Carl Smith
*"When I Stop Dreaming" - The Louvin Brothers
*"Why Baby Why" - George Jones
*"Wildwood Flower" - Hank Thompson and His Brazos Valley Boys with Merle Travis
*"Would You Mind" - Hank Snow
*"The Yellow Rose of Texas" - Ernest Tubb
*"Yellow Roses" - Hank Snow
*"Yonder Comes A Sucker"-Jim Reeves

Top new album releases

Births

* March 17 - Paul Overstreet, singer-songwriter who penned hit singles for artists such as Randy Travis and Tanya Tucker, and also had a career as a recording artist as well
* March 26 — Dean Dillon, songwriter whose works were instrumental in the new traditionalist movement of the 1980s.
* May 24 — Roseanne Cash, daughter of Johnny Cash; rose to fame in the early 1980s for her "alternative country" style.

Deaths

Further reading

*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.