1966 in country music

"See also:"
1965 in country music,
1966 in music,
other events of 1966,
1967 in country music and the List of years in Country Music

Events

* March 15 – Roger Miller wins six Grammy Awards, five of them related to his hit "King of the Road". The Statler Brothers take two awards for "Flowers on the Wall".
* April - One of the last broadcasts of "The Jimmy Dean Show" features the first-ever Academy of Country Music awards. Big winners include Male Vocalist of the Year Buck Owens, Female Vocalist Bonnie Owens, and New Male Vocalist Merle Haggard; Haggard also shared the Vocal Duet/Group award with Bonnie Owens. Taped for later broadcast that year, the ACM Awards would in time become among the most anticipated events of the year by country fans.
* October 15 — "Billboard magazine" increases the length of its Hot Country Singles chart to 75 positions, up from 50.
* October 22 - At age 48, Eddy Arnold becomes the youngest (to that time) living inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

"(As certified by Billboard magazine)"
*January 8 - "Giddyup Go" - Red Sovine
*February 19 - "Waitin' in Your Welfare Line/ In The Palm Of Your Hand" - Buck Owens and the Buckaroos
*April 9 - "I Want to Go with You" - Eddy Arnold
*May 21 - "Distant Drums" - Jim Reeves
*June 18 - "Take Good Care of Her" - Sonny James
*July 2 - "Think of Me" - Buck Owens and the Buckaroos
*August 13 - "Almost Persuaded" - David Houston
*October 15 - "Blue Side of Lonesome" - Jim Reeves
*October 22 - "Open Up Your Heart" - Buck Owens and the Buckaroos
*November 19 - "I Get the Fever" - Bill Anderson
*November 26 - "Somebody Like Me" - Eddy Arnold
*December 24 - "There Goes My Everything" - Jack Greene

Other major hits

*"Ain't Had No Lovin'" - Connie Smith
*"Baby" - Wilma Burgess
*"Bad Seed" - Jan Howard
*"Ballad of the Green Berets" - Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler
*"The Bottle Let Me Down" - Merle Haggard
*"The Company You Keep" - Bill Phillips
*"Crystal Chandelier" — Charley Pride
*"Dear Uncle Sam" - Loretta Lynn
*"Don't Touch Me" - Wilma Burgess
*"Don't Touch Me" - Jeannie Seely
*"England Swings" - Roger Miller
*"Evil on Your Mind" - Jan Howard
*"Flowers on the Wall" - Statler Brothers
*"Four-O-Thirty-Three" - George Jones
*"Guess My Eyes Were Bigger Than My Heart" - Conway Twitty
*"History Repeats Itself" - Buddy Starcher
*"The Hurtin's All Over" - Connie Smith
*"Husbands and Wives" - Roger Miller
*"I Love You Drops" - Bill Anderson
*"I'm a People" - George Jones
*"It Takes A Lot Of Money" - Warner Mack
*"The Last Word in Lonesome is Me" - Eddy Arnold
*"Livin' in a House Full of Love" - David Houston
*"Look Into My Teardrops" - Conway Twitty
*"The Lovin' Machine" - Johnny Paycheck
*"A Million and One" - Billy Walker
*"Misty Blue" - Wilma Burgess
*"Nobody But a Fool (Would Love You)" - Connie Smith
*"The One on the Right is on the Left" - Johnny Cash
*"Put It Off Until Tomorrow" - Bill Phillips
*"Room in Your Heart" - Sonny James
*"The Snakes Crawl at Night" - Charley Pride
*"Snowflake" - Jim Reeves
*"Stand Beside Me" - Jimmy Dean
*"Standing in the Shadows" - Hank Williams Jr.
*"The Streets of Baltimore" - Bobby Bare
*"Sweet Thang" - Nat Stuckey
*"Swinging Doors" - Merle Haggard
*"Take Me" - George Jones
*"Talkin' To The Wall" - Warner Mack
*"That's What You Get For Loving Me" - Waylon Jennings
*"Tippy Toeing" - The Harden Trio
*"Unmitigated Gall" - Faron Young
*"What We're Fighting For" - Dave Dudley
*"Would You Hold It Against Me" - Dottie West
*"You Ain't Woman Enough" - Loretta Lynn

Top new album releases

*"The Best of Bobby Bare" - Bobby Bare (RCA)
*"Born to Sing" - Connie Smith (RCA)
*"Confessions of a Broken Man" – Porter Wagoner (RCA)
*"Distant Drums" - Jim Reeves (RCA)
*"Don't Touch Me" - Wilma Burgess (Decca)
*"Evil on Your Mind" - Jan Howard (Decca)
*"Folk Country" - Waylon Jennings (RCA)
*"I Want to Go With You" - Eddy Arnold (RCA)
*"Jimmy Dean's Greatest Hits" - Jimmy Dean (Columbia)
*"The Seely Style" - Jeannie Seely (Monument)
*"Somebody Like Me" - Eddy Arnold (RCA)
*"The Streets of Baltimore" - Bobby Bare (RCA)
*"Suffer Time" - Dottie West (RCA)
*"Conway Twitty Sings" - Conway Twitty (Decca)
*"Look Into My Teardrops" - Conway Twitty (Decca)

Births

* July 29 - Martina McBride, crossover-styled female vocalist who rose to fame in the 1990s.
* August 19 - Lee Ann Womack, new traditionalist-styled singer of the 1990s and 2000s most famous for her crossover hit "I Hope You Dance."

Deaths

Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

*Eddy Arnold (born 1918)
*James R. Denny (1911-1963)
*George D. Hay (1895-1968)
*Uncle Dave Macon (1870-1952)

Major Awards

Grammy awards

"Presented March 15, recognizing achievements during the year 1965."
*Best Country & Western Vocal Performance, Female -- "Queen of the House," Jody Miller.
*Best Country and Western Vocal Performance, Male -- "King of the Road," Roger Miller.
*Best Country & Western Single -- "King of the Road," Roger Miller.
*Best Country Song -- "King of the Road," Roger Miller
*Best Country & Western Album -- "The Return of Roger Miller," Roger Miller.
*Best New Country & Western Artist -- Statler Brothers

Academy of Country Music

*Top Male Vocalist -- Merle Haggard
*Top Female Vocalist -- Bonnie Guitar
*Top New Male Vocalist -- Billy Mize
*Top New Female Vocalist -- Cathie Taylor

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.