2002 in country music

"See also:"
2001 in country music,
2002 in music,
other events of 2002,
2003 in country music and the List of years in Country Music

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.

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

"(As certified by Billboard magazine)"
*¹ – No. 1 song of the year, as determined by "Billboard magazine".
*² – Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot.
*^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.

Other major hits

*^A Reached #1 on U.S. "Radio & Records" (now "Mediabase 24/7") country singles charts.

Top new album releases

*"The Almeria Club Recordings" — Hank Williams, Jr. (Curb)
*"American Child" — Phil Vassar (Arista)
*"" — Johnny Cash (Lost Highway)
*"Completely" — Diamond Rio (Arista)
*"Cry" — Faith Hill (Warner Brothers)
*"Drive" — Alan Jackson (Arista)
*"" — Elvis Presley (RCA)
*"Forgive" — Rebecca Lynn Howard (MCA)
*"Freedom" — Andy Griggs (RCA)
*"Golden Road" — Keith Urban (Capitol)
*"The Great Divide" — Willie Nelson (Lost Highway)
*"Halos & Horns" — Dolly Parton (Sugar Hill)
*"Home" — Dixie Chicks (Open Wide)
*"I Miss My Friend" — Darryl Worley (DreamWorks)
*"It Won't Be Christmas Without You" — Brooks & Dunn (Arista)
*"Knock on the Sky" — SHeDAISY (Lyric Street)
*"Let It Be Christmas" — Alan Jackson (Arista)
*"Live" — Alison Krauss & Union Station (Rounder)
*"Man with a Memory" — Joe Nichols (Universal South)
*"Melt" — Rascal Flatts (Lyric Street)
*"My Town" — Montgomery Gentry (Columbia)
*"No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" — Kenny Chesney (BNA)
*"Rise and Shine" — Randy Travis (Word/Curb)
*"" — Various Artists (RCA)
*"Something Worth Leaving Behind" — Lee Ann Womack (MCA)
*"Stars & Stripes" — Aaron Tippin (Lyric Street)
*"Strong Enough" — Travis Tritt (Columbia)
*"Then Came the Night" — Tommy Shane Steiner (RCA)
*"This Side" — Nickel Creek (Sugar Hill)
*"Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors" — Tim McGraw (Curb)
*"Totally Country" — Various Artists (BNA)
*"Totally Country Vol. 2" — Various Artists (Sony)
*"Twisted Angel" — LeAnn Rimes (Curb)
*"Unleashed" — Toby Keith (DreamWorks)
*"Up!" — Shania Twain (Mercury)
*"When You Lie Next to Me" — Kellie Coffey (BNA)

Other top albums

*"After the Storm" — Chris LeDoux (Capitol)
*"Another Way to Go" — Radney Foster (Dualtone)
*"Anthology" — John Anderson (Audium)
*"Barricades & Brickwalls" — Kasey Chambers (Warner Brothers)
*"" — Patty Loveless (Epic)
*"Can You Hear Me Now" — Sawyer Brown (Curb)
*"Can't Back Down" — Collin Raye (Epic)
*"Chase the Sun" — Shannon Lawson (MCA)
*"Cheap Drunk: An Autobiography" — Bill Engvall (Warner Brothers)
*"Christmas" — Clay Walker (Warner Brothers)
*"The Clark Family Experience" — The Clark Family Experience (Curb)
*"Cledus Envy" — Cledus T. Judd (Monument)
*"The Color of Roses" — Lorrie Morgan (Image)
*"Country Croonin"' — Anne Murray (StraightWay)
*"The Deana Carter Collection" — Deana Carter (Capitol)
*"" — Various Artists (DualTone)
*"Easy" — Kelly Willis (Rykodisc)
*"Electric" — Jack Ingram (Columbia)
*"Emerson Drive" — Emerson Drive (DreamWorks)
*"The Essential Johnny Cash" — Johnny Cash (Legacy)
*"Friday Night in Dixie" — Rhett Akins (Audium)
*"Greatest Hits" — Mark Wills (Mercury)
*"If That Ain't Country" — Anthony Smith (Mercury)
*"Inside Traxx 2002" — Various Artists (Curb)
*"" — Pam Tillis (Sony)
*"Jerusalem" — Steve Earle (Artemis)
*"A Joyful Noise" — Jo Dee Messina (Curb)
*"Kevin Denney" — Kevin Denney (Lyric Street)
*"" — Various Artists (Sony)
*"Life Happened" — Tammy Cochran (Epic)
*"Little Big Town" — Little Big Town (Monument)
*"Love Songs" — John Michael Montgomery (Warner Brothers)
*"Lovesick, Broke and Driftin'" — Hank Williams III (Curb)
*"The Lovin' Side" — Travis Tritt (Rhino)
*"Mark Chesnutt" — Mark Chesnutt (Columbia)
*"Mindy McCready" — Mindy McCready (Capitol)
*"Miss Fortune" — Allison Moorer (Universal South)
*"On a Mission" — Trick Pony (Warner Bros.)
*"Pinmonkey" — Pinmonkey (BNA)
*"Pictures" — John Michael Montgomery (Warner Brothers)
*"Ralph Stanley" — Ralph Stanley (Columbia)
*"Redneck Fiddlin' Man" — Charlie Daniels (Blue Hat)
*"The Rockin' Side" — Travis Tritt (Rhino)
*"Room to Breathe" — Delbert McClinton (New West)
*"Roses" — Kathy Mattea (Narada)
*"The Season for Romance" — Lee Ann Womack (MCA)
*"Side Tracks" — Steve Earle (Artemis)
*"Sixwire" — Sixwire (Warner Brothers)
*"Spirit Dancer" — BlackHawk (Columbia)
*"Stars & Guitars" — Willie Nelson (Lost Highway)
*"Tanya" — Tanya Tucker (Tuckertime/Capitol)
*"That's Why I Sing This Way" — Daryle Singletary (Audium)
*"" — Ty Herndon (Epic)
*"The Ultimate Collection" — Hank Williams (Mercury)
*"The Very Best of Linda Ronstadt" — Linda Ronstadt (Elektra)
*"Waitin' on Joe" — Steve Azar (Mercury)
*"We Were Soldiers Soundtrack" — Various Artists (Columbia)
*"Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Volume III" — Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (Capitol)
*"Wings of a Honky-Tonk Angel" — Brad Martin (Epic)

Births

Deaths

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

Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

*Bill Carlisle (1908–2003)
*Porter Wagoner (1927–2007)

Major Awards

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

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

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

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.

Other links

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

External links

* [http://www.cmaawards.com/2004/hof/default.asp Country Music Hall of Fame]