Country Music 1975

Events

At the CMA Awards ceremony in October, Charlie Rich ( last year's CMA Entertainer of the Year) presented the winners. After opening the envelope, he took a lighter and burned the note with the winner's name on it. Then he announced with audible reluctance: "My good friend John Denver !" With this action, Rich wanted to express his dissatisfaction with the drift of country music into the pop camp.

Top hits of the year

Number 1 hits

January 4th - "The Door" - George Jones
January 11th - "Ruby Baby" - Billy "Crash" Craddock
January 18th - "Kentucky Gambler" - Merle Haggard and the Strangers
January 25th - "(I'd Be) A Legend in My Time" - Ronnie Milsap
February 1st - "City Lights" - Mickey Gilley
February 8th - "Then Who Am I" - Charley Pride
February 15th - "Devil in the Bottle" - TG Sheppard
February 22nd - "Sneaky Snake" / "I Care" - Tom T. Hall
March 1 - "It's Time to Pay the Fiddler" - Cal Smith
March 8th - "Linda on My Mind" - Conway Twitty
March 15th - "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" - Freddy Fender
March 29th - "The Bargain Store" - Dolly Parton
April 5th - "I Just Can't Get Her Out of My Mind" - Johnny Rodriguez
April 12th - "Always Wanting You" - Merle Haggard and the Strangers
April 26th - "Blanket on the Ground" - Billie Jo Spears
May 3rd - "Roll On Big Mama" - Joe Stampley
May 10 - "She's Actin 'Single (I'm Drinkin' Doubles)" - Gary Stewart
May 17 - "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" - BJ Thomas
May 24th - "I'm Not Lisa" - Jessi Colter
May 31st - "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" - John Denver
June 7th - "Window Up Above" - Mickey Gilley
June 14th - "When Will I Be Loved" - Linda Ronstadt
June 21st - "You're My Best Friend" - Don Williams
June 28th - "Tryin 'to Beat the Morning Home" - TG Sheppard
July 5th - "Lizzie and the Rainman" - Tanya Tucker
July 12th - "Movin 'On (Theme from the TV Series)" - Merle Haggard and the Strangers
July 19th - "Touch the Hand" - Conway Twitty
August 2nd - "Just Get Up and Close the Door - Johnny Rodriguez
August 9 - "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" - Freddy Fender
Aug 23 - "Rhinestone Cowboy" - Glen Campbell
September 6th - "Feelins'" - Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
September 13th - "Rhinestone Cowboy" - Glen Campbell
September 20 - "Daydreams About Night Things" - Ronnie Milsap
October 4th - "Blue Eyes Cryin 'in the Rain" - Willie Nelson
October 18th - "Hope You're Feelin 'Me (Like I'm Feelin' You)" - Charley Pride
October 25th - "San Antonio Stroll" - Tanya Tucker
November 1st - "(Turn Out the Light and) Love Me Tonight" - Don Williams
November 8 - "I'm Sorry" - John Denver
November 15th - "Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way" - Waylon Jennings
November 22nd - "Rocky" - Dickey Lee
November 29 - "It's All in the Movies" - Merle Haggard and the Strangers
December 6th - "Secret Love" - Freddy Fender
December 13th - "Love Put a Song in My Heart" - Johnny Rodriguez
December 20 - "Convoy" - CW McCall

More hits

"All Over Me" - Charlie Rich
"Bandy the Rodeo Clown" - Moe Bandy
"The Best Way I Know How" - Mel Tillis and the Statesiders
"Bob Wills is Still the King" - Waylon Jennings
"Brass Buckles" - Barbi Benton
"Classified" - CW McCall
"Country Boy (You've Got Your Feet in LA)" - Glen Campbell
"Deal" - Tom T. Hall
"Don't Cry Joni" - Conway Twitty (featuring Joni Lee Twitty)
"Easy as Pie" - Billy "Crash" Craddock
"Every Time You Touch Me (I Get High)" - Charlie Rich
"The First Time" - Freddie Hart
"Forgive and Forget" - Eddie Rabbitt
"Great Expectations" - Buck Owens
"Have You Never Been Mellow" - Olivia Newton-John
"He's My Rock" - Brenda Lee
"Heat Wave" - Linda Ronstadt
"Home" - Loretta Lynn
"Hoppy, Gene and Me" - Roy Rogers
"I Ain't All Bad" - Charley Pride
"I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love With You)" - Linda Ronstadt
"I Like Beer" - Tom T. Hall
"I Love the Blues and the Boogie-Woogie" - Billy "Crash" Craddock
"I Should Have Married You" - Eddie Rabbitt
"I'll Go to My Grave Loving You" - Statler Brothers
"I'm a Believer" - Tommy Overstreet
"If I Could Only Win Your Love" - Emmylou Harris
"It Do Feel Good" - Donna Fargo
"It Was Always So Easy to Find an Unhappy Woman" - Moe Bandy
"Jason's Farm" - Cal Smith
"The Letter That Johnny Walker Read" - Asleep at the Wheel
"Like Old Times Again" - Ray Price
"Little Band of Gold" - Sonny James
"A Little Bit South of Saskatoon" - Sonny James
"Love in a Hot Afternoon" - Gene Watson
"Love is a Rose" - Linda Ronstadt
"Lyin 'Eyes" - Eagles
"Mommies Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" - Ed Bruce
"Misty" - Ray Stevens
"My Boy" - Elvis Presley
"My Elusive Dreams" - Charlie Rich
"Out of Hand" - Gary Stewart
"Overnight Sensation" - Mickey Gilley
"Penny" - Joe Stampley
"The Pill" - Loretta Lynn
"Please Mr. Please" - Olivia Newton-John
"Rainy Day Woman" - Waylon Jennings
"Reconsider Me" - Narvel Felts
"Rock On Baby" - Brenda Lee
"Roses and Love Songs" - Ray Price
"Say Forever You'll Be Mine" - Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
"The Seeker" - Dolly Parton
"She Talked a Lot About Texas" - Cal Smith
"Singin 'in the Kitchen" - Bobby Bare with the Family
"Smoky Mountain Memories" - Mel Street
"Still Thinkin '' Bout You" - Billy "Crash" Craddock
"Sweet Surrender" - John Denver
"That's Where My Woman Begins" - Tommy Overstreet
"There I Said It" - Margo Smith
"There's a Song on the Jukebox" - David Wills
"These Days (I Barely Get By)" - George Jones
"Third Rate Romance" - Amazing Rhythm Aces
"Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry" - Ronnie Milsap
"TROUBLE" - Elvis Presley
"US of A" - Donna Fargo
"We Used To" - Dolly Parton
"What in the World's Come Over You" - Sonny James
"What's Happened to Blue Eyes" - Jessi Colter
"Whatcha Gonna Do With a Dog Like That" - Susan Raye
"Where Love Begins" - Gene Watson
"Wolf Creek Pass" - CW McCall
"Woman in the Back of My Mind" - Mel Tillis and the Statesiders
"Wrong Road Again" - Crystal Gayle
"You Never Even Called Me By My Name" - David Allan Coe

Albums (selection)

"Before the Next Teardrop Falls" - Freddy Fender (ABC / Dot)
"Dreaming My Dreams" - Waylon Jennings (RCA)
"Hank Williams Jr. and Friends" - Hank Williams Jr. (MGM)
"Old No. 1" - Guy Clark (RCA)
"Pieces of the Sky" - Emmylou Harris (reprise)
"Red Headed Stranger" - Willie Nelson (Columbia)
"Rhinestone Cowboy" - Glen Campbell (Capitol)
"Somebody Loves You" - Crystal Gayle (United Artists)
"Vocal Group of the Decade" - Tompall Glaser and the Glaser Brothers (MGM)

Died

May 13 - Bob Wills (70), co-founder of Western Swing
July 7 - George Morgan, 51, Grand Ole Opry star of the 1940s and 1950s, father of Lorrie Morgan
July 19 - Lefty Frizzell (47), Honky Tonk legend of the 1950s

New members of the Country Music Hall of Fame

Minnie Pearl (1912-1996)

The most important awards

Grammys

Best Female Country Vocal Performance - Linda Ronstadt - I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)
Best Male Country Vocal Performance - Willie Nelson - Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group - Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge - Lover Please
Best Country Instrumental Performance - Chet Atkins - The Entertainer
Best Country Song - Chips Moman & Larry Butler - (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song

Academy of Country Music

Entertainer Of The Year - Loretta Lynn
Song Of The Year - "Rhinestone Cowboy" - Glen Campbell - Larry Weiss
Single Of The Year - "Rhinestone Cowboy" - Glen Campbell
Album Of The Year - Feelings - Loretta Lynn Conway Twitty
Top Male Vocalist - Conway Twitty
Top Female Vocalist - Loretta Lynn
Top vocal duo - Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
Top New Male Vocalist - Freddy Fender
Top New Female Vocalist - Crystal Gayle

Country Music Association

Entertainer of the Year - John Denver
Male Vocalist of the Year - Waylon Jennings
Female Vocalist of the Year - Dolly Parton
Instrumental Group of the Year - Roy Clark and Buck Trent
Vocal Group of the Year - Statler Brothers
Vocal Duo of the Year - Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
Single of the Year - "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" - Freddy Fender
Song of the Year - "Back Home Again," John Denver
Album of the Year - A Legend in My Time , Ronnie Milsap
Instrumentalist of the Year - Johnny Gimble