Country Music 1996

Events

In May, George Jones published his autobiography "I lived To Tell It All".
On November 23rd, during his Grand Ole Opry debut during the show, Trace Adkins asked his girlfriend Rhonda Forlaw for her hand on her knees.

Top hits of the year

Number 1 hits

January 6 - "Rebecca Lynn" - Bryan White
January 13th - "It Matters to Me" - Faith Hill
February 3rd - "(If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here" - Shania Twain
February 17th - "Bigger Than the Beatles" - Joe Diffie
March 2nd - "Wild Angels" - Martina McBride
March 9th - "I'll Try" - Alan Jackson
March 16 - "The Beaches of Cheyenne" - Garth Brooks
March 23rd - "You Can Feel Bad" - Patty Loveless
April 6 - "To Be Loved by You" - Wynonna Judd
April 13th - "No News" - Lonestar
May 4th - "You Win My Love" - Shania Twain
May 18 - "My Maria" - Brooks & Dunn
June 8th - "Blue Clear Sky" - George Strait
June 22nd - "Time Marches On" - Tracy Lawrence
July 13th - "No One Needs To Know" - Shania Twain
July 20th - "Daddy's Money" - Ricochet
August 3rd - "Don't Get Me Started" - Rhett Akins
August 10th - "Carried Away" - George Strait
August 31st - "She Never Lets it Go to Her Heart" - Tim McGraw
September 14th - "Guys Do it All the Time" - Mindy McCready
September 21st - "So Much For Pretending" - Bryan White
October 5th - "Living in a Moment" - Ty Herndon
October 12th - "Believe Me Baby (I Song)" - Trisha Yearwood
October 26th - "Like the Rain" - Clint Black
November 16 - "Lonely Too Long" - Patty Loveless
November 23rd - "Strawberry Wine" - Deana Carter
December 7th - "Little Bitty" - Alan Jackson
December 28th - "One Way Ticket (Because I Can)" - LeAnn Rimes

More hits

"All I Want is a Life" - Tim McGraw
"All You Ever Do is Bring Me Down" - The Mavericks
"Blue" - LeAnn Rimes
"Born in the Dark" - Doug Stone
"The Change" - Garth Brooks
"Change My Mind" - John Berry
"Cowboy Love" - John Michael Montgomery
"Deep Down" - Pam Tillis
"Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine on You" - Toby Keith
"Every Light in the House" - Trace Adkins
"Every Time I Get Around You" - David Lee Murphy
"The Fear of Being Alone" - Reba McEntire
"Giving Water to a Drowing Man" - Lee Roy Parnell
"Goodnight Sweetheart" - David Kersh
"Heads Carolina, Tails California" - Jo Dee Messina
"Heart's Desire" - Lee Roy Parnell
"Heaven Help My Heart" - Wynonna Judd
"Holding On to Something" - Jeff Carson
"Home" - Alan Jackson
"Honky Tonkin's What I Do Best" - Marty Stuart and Travis Tritt
"Hypnotize the Moon" - Clay Walker
"I Am That Man" - Brooks & Dunn
"I Can Still Make Cheyenne" - George Strait
"I Do" - Paul Brandt
"I Don't Think I Will" - James Bonamy
"I Know She Still Loves Me" - George Strait
"I Think About You" - Collin Raye
"I'm Not Supposed to Love You Anymore" - Bryan White
"I've Been Everywhere" - Johnny Cash
"If I Were You" - Terri Clark
"If You Loved Me" - Tracy Lawrence
"It Wouldn't Hurt to Have Wings" - Mark Chesnutt
"It's All in Your Head" - Diamond Rio
"It's Midnight Cinderella" - Garth Brooks
"It's What I Do" - Billy Dean
"Jacob's Ladder" - Mark Wills
"Learning as You Go" - Rick Trevino
"Like There Ain't No Yesterday" - Blackhawk
"Long as I Live" - John Michael Montgomery
"Love is Stronger Than Pride" - Ricochet
"Love Remains" - Collin Raye
"The Maker Said Take Her" - Alabama
"Mama Don't Get Dressed Up For Nothin '" - Brooks & Dunn
"Me and You" - Kenny Chesney
"Meant to Be" - Sammy Kershaw
"More Than You'll Ever Know" - Travis Tritt
"My Heart Has a History" - Paul Brandt
"Not Enough Hours in the Night" - Doug Supernaw
"Not That Different" - Collin Raye
"On a Good Night" - Wade Hayes
"Only on Days That End in Y" - Clay Walker
"Poor, Poor Pittiful Me" - Terri Clark
"Ring on Her Finger (Time on Her Hands)" - Reba McEntire
"Running Away With My Heart" - Lonestar
"The River and the Highway" - Pam Tillis
"The Road You Leave Behind" - David Lee Murphy
"Someone Else's Dream" - Faith Hill
"Stars Over Texas" - Tracy Lawrence
"Starting Over Again" - Reba McEntire
"Ten Thousand Angels" - Mindy McCready
"That Girl's Been Spying on Me" - Billy Dean
"That Ol 'Wind" - Garth Brooks
"That's What I Get For Lovin 'You" - Diamond Rio
"Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" - Neal McCoy
"There's a Girl in Texas" - Trace Adkins
"Too Much Fun" - Daryle Singletary
"Treat Her Right" - Sawyer Brown
"Vidalia" - Sammy Kershaw
"Walkin 'Away" - Diamond Rio
"What Do I Know" - Ricochet
"What I Meant to Say" - Wade Hayes
"When Boy Meets Girl" - Terri Clark
"A Woman's Touch" - Toby Keith
"Worlds Apart" - Vince Gill
"You Can't Lose Me" - Faith Hill
"You Gotta Love That" - Neal McCoy
"You're Not in Kansas Anymore" - Jo Dee Messina

Albums (selection)

"Blue Clear Sky" - George Strait (MCA Nashville)
"Borderline" - Brooks & Dunn (Arista Nashville)
"Did I Shave My Legs for This" - Deana Carter (Capitol Nashville)
"High Lonesome Sound" - Vince Gill (MCA Nashville)
"Treasures" - Dolly Parton (Rising Tide / Blue Eye)
"Unchained" - Johnny Cash (American)

Died

March 4 - Minnie Pearl , 83, Grand Ole Opry Star, comedian.
May 3 - Patsy Montana , 87, first country singer with a million dollar hit ("I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart").

New members of the Country Music Hall of Fame

Patsy Montana (1908-1996)
Buck Owens (1929-2006)
Ray Price (1926-2013)

The most important awards

Grammys

Best Female Country Vocal Performance - LeAnn Rimes - Blue
Best Male Country Vocal Performance - Vince Gill - Worlds Apart
Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group - Brooks & Dunn - My Maria
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals - Alison Krauss & Union Station. - High lonesome sound
Best Country Instrumental Performance - Chet Atkins - Jam Man
Best Country Song - Bill Mack - Blue
Best Country Album - Lyle Lovett - The Road To Ensenada
Best Bluegrass Album - Todd Phillips - True Life Blues - The Songs Of Bill Monroe

Academy of Country Music

Entertainer Of The Year - Brooks & Dunn
Song Of The Year - "Blue", LeAnn Rimes , Bill Mack
Single Of The Year - "Blue", LeAnn Rimes
Album Of The Year - Blue Clear Sky, George Strait
Top Male Vocalist - George Strait
Top Female Vocalist - Patty Loveless
Top Vocal Duo - Brooks & Dunn
Top Vocal Group - Sawyer Brown
Top New Male Vocalist - Trace Adkins
Top New Female Vocalist - LeAnn Rimes
Top New Vocal Duo Or Group - Ricochet
Video Of The Year - "I Think About You," Collin Raye

Country Music Association

Entertainer of the Year - Brooks & Dunn
Male Vocalist of the Year - George Strait
Female Vocalist of the Year - Patty Loveless
Vocal Group of the Year - The Mavericks
Vocal Duo of the Year - Brooks & Dunn
Horizon Award - Bryan White
Musician of the Year - Mark O'Connor
Vocal Event of the Year - "I Will Always Love You," Dolly Parton and Vince Gill
Single of the Year - "Check Yes or No," George Strait
Song of the Year - "Go Rest High on That Mountain," Vince Gill
Album of the Year - Blue Clear Sky , George Strait
Music Video of the Year - "My Wife Thinks You're Dead," Junior Brown (director: Michael McNamara)