1997 in country music
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This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1997.
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Events
- July 12 — The song, "It's Your Love," by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill becomes the first song in 20 years to spend six weeks atop Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. The last song to do so was 1977's "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" by Waylon Jennings. In that span, more than 750 songs had reached No. 1 on the country chart, a majority of them for just one week. The song sparked a renewed wave of songs that spend at least five weeks at No. 1, thanks in part to newer chart tracking methods and programming changes at country radio stations.
- August 7 - Garth Brooks plays a free concert at New York's Central Park, drawing over 1 million fans, with many dubbing it "Garthstock"; the special is broadcast on HBO, with its audience drawing 14.6 million. Billy Joel and Don McLean make special guest appearances.
- November 4 - Shania Twain releases her third studio album, Come On Over. The album becomes the best-selling country album of all time, best-selling studio album by a female act, best-selling album by a Canadian and ninth best-selling album in the United States and worldwide.
No dates
- Jimmie Rodgers is elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as an early influence).
- Trisha Yearwood and LeAnn Rimes both record the song "How Do I Live" for the movie Con Air. Producers from the film ask Rimes to record it first but feel her version is not what they have in mind due to the performance itself and her young age. Yearwood then records the song and releases at the same time Rimes releases her song. Although Rimes' version peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, her version is shunned from the country charts yet reaches No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Yearwood's version, meanwhile, peaks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and also makes the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, as well as reaching No. 1 in Canada and No. 1 on the US Radio & Records chart.
Top hits of the year
Singles released by American artists
Singles released by Canadian artists
| US | CAN | Single | Artist | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 10 | Ain't No Justice | Greg Hanna | |
| — | 3 | Almost Always | Chris Cummings | |
| — | 4 | The Answer Is Yes | Michelle Wright | |
| — | 3 | Born Again in Dixieland | Jason McCoy | |
| — | 9 | The Craziest Thing | Rick Tippe | |
| — | 19 | A Dozen Red Roses | Joan Kennedy | |
| 10 | 1 | Emotional Girl | Terri Clark | |
| — | 10 | Girl Out of the Ordinary | Beverley Mahood | |
| 48 | 7 | God Bless the Child | Shania Twain | |
| — | 11 | Heaven Help Her Heart | Jason McCoy | |
| — | 7 | I Give You My Word | George Fox | |
| 39 | 1 | I Meant to Do That | Paul Brandt | |
| — | 1 | I'm Feeling Kind of Lucky Tonight | Charlie Major | |
| — | 20 | Indian Woman | Montgomery Steele | |
| 49 | 16 | Just the Same | Terri Clark | |
| — | 3 | Let It Rain | Shirley Myers | |
| 45 | 1 | A Little in Love | Paul Brandt | |
| — | 1 | Little Ol' Kisses | Julian Austin | |
| — | 12 | A Little Thing Called Love | Beverley Mahood | |
| — | 15 | Lonely Gypsy Wind | Farmer's Daughter | |
| 1 | 1 | Love Gets Me Every Time | Shania Twain | |
| — | 19 | Lying Here with You | Thomas Wade & Wayward | |
| — | 17 | The Night the Barn Burned Down | George Fox | |
| — | 10 | Now That I'm On My Own | Farmer's Daughter | |
| — | 4 | One Way Track | Prairie Oyster | |
| — | 15 | The Real Thing | Rick Tippe | |
| — | 12 | She Won't Be Lonely Long | Prairie Oyster | |
| — | 6 | She's Getting Serious | Thomas Wade & Wayward | |
| — | 10 | She's Tough | Duane Steele | |
| — | 20 | Slow Turning | Sean Hogan | |
| — | 4 | Somewhere Inside | Chris Cummings | |
| 38 | 1 | Take It from Me | Paul Brandt | |
| — | 9 | Tell the Girl | Duane Steele | |
| — | 8 | This Crazy Heart of Mine | Charlie Major | |
| — | 19 | Tonight There's a Blue Moon | Prairie Oyster | |
| — | 4 | What Love Looks Like | Michelle Wright | |
| — | 19 | What's It Gonna Take | Denise Murray | |
| — | 19 | Wild Rose | Sean Hogan | |
| — | 8 | You Said | Farmer's Daughter |
Top new album releases
Other top albums
| US | CAN | Album | Artist | Record Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Across My Heart | Kenny Rogers | Magnatone | |
| 40 | Amazing Grace 2 – A Country Salute to Gospel | Various Artists | Sparrow | |
| 75 | Annabelle's Wish Soundtrack | Various Artists | Rising Tide | |
| 45 | The Best of Country | Various Artists | Madacy | |
| 29 | The Best of Roy Orbison | Roy Orbison | Virgin | |
| 33 | Big House | Big House | MCA Nashville | |
| 56 | Billy Yates | Billy Yates | Almo Sounds | |
| 53 | Bitter Sweet | Kim Richey | Mercury/PolyGram | |
| 45 | Bluegrass Rules! | Ricky Skaggs | Rounder | |
| 75 | Born Country | Alabama | BMG | |
| 69 | The Buffalo Club | The Buffalo Club | Rising Tide | |
| 74 | Burnin' Daylight | Burnin' Daylight | Curb | |
| 39 | Butterfly Kisses | Jeff Carson | Curb | |
| 32 | Come On Christmas | Dwight Yoakam | Reprise | |
| 75 | Country Lovin' Songs from the Heart | Various Artists | Rhino | |
| 33 | The Country Roads Collection | John Denver | RCA | |
| 44 | Cowboy Up – The Official PRCA Rodeo Album | Various Artists | Edel America | |
| 75 | Elvis Greatest Jukebox Hits | Elvis Presley | RCA | |
| 53 | Every Night's a Saturday Night | Lee Roy Parnell | Arista Nashville | |
| 47 | Gospel Super Hits Amazing Grace | Various Artists | Epic | |
| 74 | The Girl Next Door | Crystal Bernard | River North | |
| 42 | Hallelujah, He Is Born | Sawyer Brown | Curb | |
| 60 | Hill Country Christmas | Willie Nelson & Bobbie Nelson | Finer Arts | |
| 75 | Hits | Johnny Cash | Legacy | |
| 60 | Hopechest | Stephanie Bentley | Epic | |
| 51 | Hot Country '97 | Various Artists | K-Tel | |
| 39 | How Big a Boy Are Ya? | Roy D. Mercer | Capitol Nashville | |
| 43 | How Big a Boy Are Ya? Volume 2 | Roy D. Mercer | Capitol Nashville | |
| 31 | How Big a Boy Are Ya? Volume 3 | Roy D. Mercer | Capitol Nashville | |
| 53 | I'd Be with You | Kippi Brannon | Curb | |
| 50 | It's on the House | Emilio Navaira | Capitol Nashville | |
| 47 | Little Texas | Little Texas | Warner Bros. | |
| 26 | Live | Chris LeDoux | Capitol Nashville | |
| 32 | Live at the Cimarron Ballroom | Patsy Cline | MCA Nashville | |
| 75 | Merry Texas Christmas Y'all | Asleep at the Wheel | High Street | |
| 31 | Peace in the Valley | Various Artists | Arista Nashville | |
| 69 | Ray Stevens Christmas: Through a Different Window | Ray Stevens | MCA Nashville | |
| 31 | The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers – A Tribute | Various Artists | Columbia | |
| 47 | Tammy Graham | Tammy Graham | Career | |
| 44 | 36 | The Truth | Brady Seals | Reprise |
| 56 | Three Chords and the Truth | Sara Evans | RCA Nashville | |
| 33 | Twice Upon a Time | Joe Diffie | Epic | |
| 39 | We Can't All Be Angels | David Lee Murphy | MCA Nashville | |
| 38 | Whatever Comes First | Sons of the Desert | Epic | |
| 41 | Words | Sherrié Austin | Arista Nashville |
Births
- October 9 – Megan Moroney, singer of the 2020s ("Tennessee Orange").
Deaths
- January 8 – Smiley Bates, 59, Canadian singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (Cancer).
- January 21 — Colonel Tom Parker, 87, manager of prolific country singers Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow, comedian Minnie Pearl
- June 19 — Bobby Helms, 62, singer who enjoyed his peak popularity in 1957; best known for "Jingle Bell Rock."
- August 16 – Donn Reynolds, 76, singer-songwriter and country yodeler; established 2 yodeling world records.
- October 12 — John Denver, 53, country crossover artist of the 1970s; also a singer and songwriter (plane crash)
- December 21 — Amie Comeaux, 21, country singer from Louisiana (car accident)
- December 31 — Floyd Cramer, 64, prolific session pianist (lung cancer)
Hall of Fame inductees
Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductees
Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
- Harlan Howard (1927–2002)
- Brenda Lee (born 1944)
- Cindy Walker (1915–2006)
Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
Major awards
Grammy Awards
- Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "How Do I Live", Trisha Yearwood
- Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "Pretty Little Adriana", Vince Gill
- Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "Looking In the Eyes of Love", Alison Krauss & Union Station
- Best Country Collaboration with Vocals — "In Another's Eyes", Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood
- Best Country Instrumental Performance — "Little Liza Jane", Alison Krauss & Union Station
- Best Country Song — "Butterfly Kisses", Bob Carlisle and Randy Thomas
- Best Country Album — Unchained, Johnny Cash
- Best Bluegrass Album — So Long So Wrong, Alison Krauss & Union Station
Juno Awards
- Country Male Vocalist of the Year — Paul Brandt
- Country Female Vocalist of the Year — Shania Twain
- Country Group or Duo of the Year — Farmer's Daughter
Academy of Country Music
- Entertainer of the Year — Garth Brooks
- Song of the Year — "It's Your Love," Stephony Smith
- Single of the Year — "It's Your Love," Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
- Album of the Year — Carrying Your Love with Me, George Strait
- Top Male Vocalist — George Strait
- Top Female Vocalist — Trisha Yearwood
- Top Vocal Duo or Group — Brooks & Dunn
- Top New Male Vocalist — Kenny Chesney
- Top New Female Vocalist — Lee Ann Womack
- Top New Vocal Duo or Group — The Kinleys
- Video of the Year — "It's Your Love", Tim McGraw and Faith Hill (Director: Sherman Halsey)
- Vocal Event of the Year — "It's Your Love", Tim McGraw with Faith Hill
ARIA Awards
(presented in Sydney on September 22, 1997)
- Best Country Album - The Road Less Travelled (Graeme Connors)
Canadian Country Music Association
- CMT Maple Leaf Foods Fans' Choice Award — Terri Clark
- Male Artist of the Year — Paul Brandt
- Female Artist of the Year — Terri Clark
- Group or Duo of the Year — Farmer's Daughter
- SOCAN Song of the Year — "I Do", Paul Brandt
- Single of the Year — "I Do", Paul Brandt
- Album of the Year — Just the Same, Terri Clark
- Top Selling Album — The Woman in Me, Shania Twain
- Video of the Year — "I Do", Paul Brandt
- Wrangler Rising Star Award — Julian Austin
- Vocal Collaboration of the Year — "Two Names on an Overpass", Duane Steele and Lisa Brokop
Country Music Association
- Entertainer of the Year — Garth Brooks
- Song of the Year — "Strawberry Wine", Matraca Berg and Gary Harrison
- Single of the Year — "Strawberry Wine", Deana Carter
- Album of the Year — Carrying Your Love with Me, George Strait
- Male Vocalist of the Year — George Strait
- Female Vocalist of the Year — Trisha Yearwood
- Vocal Duo of the Year — Brooks & Dunn
- Vocal Group of the Year — Diamond Rio
- Horizon Award — LeAnn Rimes
- Music Video of the Year — "455 Rocket", Kathy Mattea (Director: Steven Goldmann)
- Vocal Event of the Year — "It's Your Love", Tim McGraw (featuring Faith Hill)
- Musician of the Year — Brent Mason
RPM Big Country Awards
- Canadian Country Artist of the Year — Paul Brandt
- Best Country Album — Calm Before the Storm, Paul Brandt
- Best Country Single — "My Heart Has a History", Paul Brandt
- Male Artist of the Year — Paul Brandt
- Female Artist of the Year — Terri Clark
- Group of the Year — Farmer's Daughter
- Outstanding New Artist — Chris Cummings
- Canadian Country Video — "My Heart Has a History", Paul Brandt
- Top Country Composer(s) — Shania Twain
Further reading
- Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944–2005 – 6th Edition." 2005.