1963 in country music

"See also:"
1962 in country music,
1963 in music,
other events of 1963,
1964 in country music and the List of years in Country Music

Events

*March – The month marks a dark time for country music, as it lost no less than five people in a seemingly endless string of tragedies.: * On March 5, three of the genre's top stars - Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas - are killed in a small plane crash near Camden, Tennessee, while on their way to Nashville from Kansas City, Kansas. The pilot, Cline's manager and Copas' son-in-law, Randy Hughes, is also killed.: * En route to Cline's funeral, Jack Anglin - one half of the duo Johnnie and Jack - is killed in a car accident.: * On March 29, Texas Ruby, of the duo Curly Fox and Texas Ruby, is killed in a trailer fire while Fox was performing on the Grand Ole Opry [http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/texas_ruby/bio.jhtml] .
*July – The first issue of the "Music City News" is published. Its publisher is country music star Faron Young.
*September 19 – "The Jimmy Dean Show" begins a three-year primetime run on ABC. The show — Dean's second go-around on television, following his 1950s series on CBS — is widely hailed by critics for its class treatment of top country stars of the day, many of whom were getting their first true national exposure.

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

"(As certified by Billboard magazine)"
*January 5 - "Ruby Ann" - Marty Robbins
*January 19 - "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" - Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs
*April 13 - "Still" - Bill Anderson
*May 4 - "Lonesome 7-7203" - Hawkshaw Hawkins
*June 15 - "Act Naturally" - Buck Owens
*July 27 - "Ring of Fire" - Johnny Cash
*September 14 - "Abilene" - George Hamilton IV
*October 12 - "Talk Back Trembling Lips" - Ernest Ashworth
*October 19 - "Love's Gonna Live Here" - Buck Owens

Other major hits

* "8 x 10" - Bill Anderson
* "Before I'm Over You" - Loretta Lynn
* "Cowboy Boots" - Dave Dudley
* "Detroit City" - Bobby Bare
* "The End of the World" — Skeeter Davis
* "Faded Love" - Patsy Cline
* "From a Jack to a King"- Ned Miller
* "I Can't Stay Mad at You" - Skeeter Davis
* "I'm Saving My Love" - Skeeter Davis
* "I've Enjoyed As Much Of This As I Can Stand" - Porter Wagoner
* "Is This Me" - Jim Reeves
* "Leavin' on Your Mind" - Patsy Cline
* "Make The World Go Away" - Ray Price
* "The Matador" - Johnny Cash
* "Mountain Of Love" - David Houston
* "Ninety Miles An Hour (Down a Dead End Street)" - Hank Snow
* "Pearl, Pearl, Pearl" - Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs
* "Roll, Muddy River" — Wilburn Brothers
* "Second Hand Rose"- Roy Drusky
* "Sing A Little Song Of Heartache" - Rose Maddox
* "Six Days On The Road" - Dave Dudley
* "Sweet Dreams (Of You)" - Patsy Cline
* "T For Texas" - Grandpa Jones
* "Take a Letter Miss Gray" - Justin Tubb
* "Thanks a Lot" - Ernest Tubb
* "We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds" — George Jones and Melba Montgomery
* "Will Your Lawyer Talk to God" - Kitty Wells
* "Yellow Bandana" - Faron Young
* "You Comb Her Hair" - George Jones

Top new album releases

* "Blood, Sweat and Tears" - Johnny Cash (Columbia)
* "The Patsy Cline Story" - Patsy Cline (Decca)
* "" - Johnny Cash (Columbia)
* "Still" - Bill Anderson (Decca)

Other top albums

*"Buck Owens Sings Tommy Collins" - Buck Owens (Capitol)
*"Cattle Call" - Eddy Arnold (RCA)
*"Country Music Hootenanny" - Various Artists (Capitol)
*"Detroit City and Other Hits by Bobby Bare" - Bobby Bare (RCA)
*"End of the World" - Skeeter Davis (RCA)
*"Great Gospel Songs" - Tennessee Ernie Ford (Capitol)
*"The Guitar Genius" - Chet Atkins (RCA)
*"Our Man in Nashville" - Chet Atkins (RCA)
*"On the Bandstand" - Buck Owens (Capitol)
*"Songs I Love to Sing" - Eddy Arnold (Capitol)
*"Songs That Made Him Famous" - Johnny Bond (Starday)
*"Teen Scene" - Chet Atkins (RCA)
*"Tips of My Fingers" - Roy Clark (Capitol)
*"Travelin' Guitar" - Chet Atkins (RCA)
*"Yodeling Hits" – Grandpa Jones (Monument)

Births

* January 24 – Keech Rainwater, member of Lonestar.
* February 9 – Travis Tritt, country-rock influenced star starting in the early 1990s.
* July 31 – Chad Brock, rose to fame in the late 1990s.
* August 22 – Mila Mason, enjoyed fame in the late 1990s.
* September 6 – Mark Chesnutt, neotraditional country singer of the 1990s.
* September 30 – Eddie Montgomery, one half of Montgomery Gentry, older brother of John Michael Montgomery.
* November 1 – Big Kenny (born William Kenneth Alphin), one half of Big and Rich and key member of the MuzikMafia.

Deaths

*March 5 - Patsy Cline, 30, premiere female country vocalist who became even more legendary after her death (plane crash).
*March 5 - Cowboy Copas, 49, country singer from the 1940s through 1960s, best known for his 1960 hit, "Alabam" (plane crash).
*March 5 - Hawkshaw Hawkins, 41, country singer since the 1940s, best known for his pothsumous No. 1 hit, "Lonesome 7-7203" (plane crash).
*March 8 - Jack Anglin, 47, country entertainer since the 1930s, late of the duo Johnnie and Jack (with Johnnie Wright) (car accident).
*March 29 - Texas Ruby, 52, half of the comedy-old-time country duo Curly Fox and Texas Ruby (mobile home fire).

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.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/ Country Music Hall of Fame]