2007 in country music

see also 2006 in country music, 2007 in music, other events of 2007, 2008 in country music, 2000s in music and the List of years in Country Music

Events

• February 11 - It was a big night for country music artists at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, as they swept the awards in four top categories. The Dixie Chicks won three of those awards: Record of the Year and Song of the Year (both for "Not Ready to Make Nice," the latter shared with songwriter Dan Wilson) and Album of the Year (Taking the Long Way). Carrie Underwood took the Best New Artist Award.

Both Underwood and the Dixie Chicks were winners in country-specific categories. The Dixie Chicks won for Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal (for "Not Ready to Make Nice") and Best Country Album ("Taking the Long Way"). Underwood won for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Jesus Take the Wheel"; the song also earned a Best Country Song award for songwriters Brett James, Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson.

Also, country music pioneer Bob Wills - the longtime leader of the Texas Playboys - was a posthumous recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award. Wills was recognized 32 years after his death.

• Week of February 12 — Country music stars team with celebrities during a special celebrity week of Wheel of Fortune, which was taped in Charleston, South Carolina. During the game aired February 13, Julie Roberts and contestant partner Peter Buccellato won $124,250 after Buccallato solved the bonus round puzzle for the show's grand prize of $100,000. Roberts donated a matching amount to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.
• February 17 - Hank Williams, Jr. filed for divorce from his fourth wife, Mary Jane, whom he married 16 years ago. "Today is one of the toughest days in my life," Williams, Jr. said in a statement sent to The Associated Press by his publicist, Kirt Webster. "All families experience difficulties; I hope everyone will respect our privacy during this time." It wasn't clear whether Mary Jane Williams had retained an attorney. A number for the couple's home in Paris, Tennessee, is not listed. The pair have two teenage children; the singer has three children from previous marriages. Mary Jane Williams is a former model who met the singer after a concert in 1985, and they married in July 1990.

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

(As certified by Billboard magazine)

Date	Song Name	Artist	Wks. No. 1	Spec. Note
January 6	She's Everything	Brad Paisley	3
January 27	Watching You	Rodney Atkins	4
February 24	It Just Comes Natural	George Strait	2
March 10	Ladies Love Country Boys	Trace Adkins	2	Adkins' first #1 since 1997
March 24	Beer in Mexico	Kenny Chesney	3
April 14	Last Dollar (Fly Away)	Tim McGraw	1
April 21	Wasted	Carrie Underwood	3	Current No. 1 song

Other major hits

• "Alyssa Lies" – Jason Michael Carroll (#5)
• "Amarillo Sky" – Jason Aldean (#4)
• "Anyway" - Martina McBride (#5)
• "A Different World" - Bucky Covington
• "Dixie Lullaby" - Pat Green
• "Don't Make Me" – Blake Shelton
• "A Feelin' Like That" – Gary Allan (#12)
• "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" – Tracy Lawrence
• "'Fore She Was Mama" - Clay Walker (#21)
• "Good As Gone" - Little Big Town (#18)
• "Good Directions" - Billy Currington
• "High Maintenance Woman" — Toby Keith
• "Hillbilly Deluxe" - Brooks & Dunn (#16)
• "I Just Came Back From a War" – Darryl Worley (#18)
• "I Wonder" - Kellie Pickler
• "I'll Wait For You" – Joe Nichols (#7)
• "Johnny Cash" - Jason Aldean
• "Lips of an Angel" - Jack Ingram (#16)
• "Little Bit of Life" – Craig Morgan (#7)
• "Long Trip Alone" — Dierks Bentley (#10)
• "Lost In This Moment" - Big & Rich
• "Lucky Man" - Montgomery Gentry
• "Me and God" - Josh Turner with Ralph Stanley
• "Moments" – Emerson Drive
• "My, Oh My" – The Wreckers (#9)
• "Red High Heels" – Kellie Pickler (#15)
• "Settlin'" - Sugarland
• "Stand" - Rascal Flatts
• "Startin' With Me" - Jake Owen
• "Stupid Boy" - Keith Urban (#3)
• "Teardrops on My Guitar" - Taylor Swift
• "Ticks" – Brad Paisley
• "Tough" - Craig Morgan
• "A Woman's Love" – Alan Jackson
• "Wrapped" — George Strait
• "(You Want To) Make A Memory"- Bon Jovi
• "You'll Always Be My Baby" — Sara Evans (#13)

Top new album releases

Gallery

• 
  Fall
  Clay Walker
  (Asylum-Curb)
• Gary Allan - Greatest Hits Gary Allan (MCA Nashville)
  Gary Allan - Greatest Hits
  Gary Allan
  (MCA Nashville)
• Last of the Breed Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Ray Price (Lost Highway)
  Last of the Breed
  Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Ray Price
  (Lost Highway)
• Let It Go Tim McGraw (Curb)
  Let It Go
  Tim McGraw
  (Curb)
• The Very Best of Travis Tritt Travis Tritt (Columbia)
  The Very Best of Travis Tritt
  Travis Tritt
  (Columbia)
• Waitin' in the Country Jason Michael Carroll (Arista Nashville)
  Waitin' in the Country
  Jason Michael Carroll
  (Arista Nashville)
• 
  Waking Up Laughing
  Martina McBride
  (RCA)

Announced

• 5th Gear — Brad Paisley (Arista Nashville) (to be released June 19)
• American VI — Johnny Cash (American) (release date TBA)
• Big Dog Daddy — Toby Keith (Show Dog Nashville) (to be released in June)

Other top albums

• Broken Bridges soundtrack – Various Artists (Show Dog Nashville)
• Charlie Louvin – Charlie Louvin (Tompkins Square)
• For the Love – Tracy Lawrence (Rocky Comfort)
• Totally Country 6 – Various Artists (Sony-BMG)

Deaths

• January 1 – Del Reeves, 74, best known for his "girl-watching" novelty-type songs (e.g., "Girl on the Billboard"). (emphysema)
• January 6 – Sneaky Pete Kleinow, 72, pedal steel guitarist for the Flying Burrito Brothers. (complications from Alzheimer's disease)
• January 13 – Doyle Holly, 70, member of Buck Owens' Buckaroos; he also had a string of minor hits in the early- to mid-1970s. (prostate cancer)
• February 2 – Terry McMillan, 53, veteran Nashville session harmonica player and percussionist. (cause of death unknown)
• March 24 – Henson Cargill, 66, country performer best known for 1968 smash "Skip A Rope." (surgical complications)
• April 17 – Glenn Sutton, 69, songwriter best known for the hit "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden"; a chief architect of the countrypolitan sound of the late 1960s/early 1970s. (heart attack)

Major Awards

Grammy awards

(Presented February 11 in Los Angeles)

• Best Female Country Vocal Performance -- "Jesus Take the Wheel," Carrie Underwood.
• Best Male Country Vocal Performance -- "The Reason Why," Vince Gill.
• Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal -- "Not Ready to Make Nice," Dixie Chicks.
• Best Country Collaboration with Vocals -- "Who Says You Can't Go Home," Bon Jovi with Jennifer Nettles.
• Best Country Instrumental Performance -- "Whiskey Before Breakfast," Bryan Sutton and Doc Watson.
• Best Country Song -- "Jesus Take the Wheel," Brett James, Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson.
• Best Country Album -- "Taking the Long Way", Dixie Chicks.
• Best Bluegrass Album -- "Instrumentals", Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder

Academy of Country Music

(To be presented May 15 in Las Vegas)

• Pioneer Award -- Dolly Parton, Don Williams and the late Harlan Howard and Waylon Jennings.

Other links

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