1964 in country music

"See also:"
1963 in country music,
1964 in music,
other events of 1964,
1965 in country music and the List of years in Country Music

Events

* January 11 — "Billboard magazine" increases the length of its Hot Country Singles chart to 50 positions, up from 30.
* February 1 — Buck Owens' mega-hit, "Love's Gonna Live Here," finishes its 16-week run at No. 1 on the "Billboard magazine" Hot Country Singles chart. To date, it is the most recent song to spend 10 or more weeks atop the chart.
* July 31 — A private aircraft piloted by Jim Reeves crashes during a thunderstorm near Nashville, Tennessee. Both Reeves and business partner Dean Manuel are killed in the crash; their bodies are found two days later, following a massive search for the two missing men. Reeves, already a huge country star, would leave behind hundreds of un-released recordings; many of those songs became huge posthumous hits during the next decade. Reeves' death comes just 16 months after the airplane crash deaths of Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas, leaving a huge void among country music fans.
* November 28 – "Once a Day," by Connie Smith, begins an eight-week stay at No. 1 on the "Billboard magazine" Hot Country Singles chart. To date, it is the longest-running No. 1 song by a solo female act, and will make the 23-year-old Smith — a native of Elkhart, Indiana-native — an overnight senation.

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

"(As certified by Billboard magazine)"
*February 8 - "Begging to You" - Marty Robbins
*February 15 - "B.J. the D.J." - Stonewall Jackson: "Begging to You" by Marty Robbins returns to No. 1 on February 22"
*March 7 - "Saginaw, Michigan" - Lefty Frizzell
*April 4 - "Understand Your Man" - Johnny Cash
*May 16 - "My Heart Skips a Beat" - Buck Owens
*June 6 - "Together Again" - Buck Owens: "My Heart Skips a Beat" by Buck Owens returns to No. 1 on June 20"
*July 18 - "Dang Me" - Roger Miller
*August 29 - "I Guess I'm Crazy" - Jim Reeves
*October 17 - "I Don't Care (Just As Long as You Love Me)" - Buck Owens
*November 28 - "Once a Day" - Connie Smith

Other major hits

*"Chug-a-Lug" - Roger Miller
*"Down To My Last Cigarette" — Billy Walker
*"500 Miles Away From Home" — Bobby Bare
*"The Ballad of Ira Hayes" — Johnny Cash
*"Burning Memories" — Ray Price
*"Cross the Brazos at Waco" — Billy Walker
*"Four Strong Winds" — Bobby Bare
*"Forever" — Pete Drake
*"Go Cat Go" - Norma Jean
*"Gonna Get Along Without You Now" — Skeeter Davis
*"Here Comes My Baby Back Again" — Dottie West
*"It Ain't Me Babe" — Johnny Cash and June Carter
*"Let's Go All the Way" — Norma Jean
*"Password" — Kitty Wells
*"The Race Is On" — George Jones
*"Second Fiddle" — Jean Shepard
*"Sorrow on the Rocks" — Porter Wagoner
*"Welcome To My World" — Jim Reeves
*"Wine Women and Song" — Loretta Lynn

Top new album releases

*"The Best of Buck Owens" - Buck Owens (Capitol)
*"Bill Anderson Showcase" - Bill Anderson (Decca)
*"Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian" - Johnny Cash (Columbia)
*"Connie Smith" - Connie Smith (RCA)
*"Eddy's Songs" - Eddy Arnold (RCA)
*"Folk Song Book" - Bill Anderson (Decca)
*"Grand Ole Opry Favorites" - The Browns (RCA)
*"Guitar Country" - Chet Atkins (RCA)
*"I Don't Care" - Buck Owens (Capitol)
*"Let's Go All the Way" - Norma Jean (RCA)
*"Johnny Bond's Best" - Johnny Bond (Harmony)
*"Oh Pretty Woman" - Roy Orbison (Columbia)
*"Orange Blossom Special" – Johnny Cash (Columbia)
*"Pop Hits From the Country Side" - Eddy Arnold (RCA)
*"Progressive Pickin" - Chet Atkins (RCA)
*"The Return of Roger Miller" - Roger Miller (Smash)
*"Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes I'm Blue" - Eddy Arnold (RCA)
*"This Young Land" - The Browns (RCA)
*"Together Again/My Heart Skips a Beat" - Buck Owens (Capitol)

Births

Deaths

July 31 — Jim Reeves, 39, velvet-voiced singer and leading force in the Nashville Sound; many of his hits came posthumously. (plane crash)

Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

Major Awards

Grammy awards

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]