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This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1987.
Overview of the events of 1987 in country music
Events
June 13 — Randy Travis ' "Forever and Ever, Amen " spends three weeks at No. 1 of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It is the first multi-week chart-topping song since "Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In the Still of the Night) " by Ronnie Milsap spent two weeks atop the chart in September 1985; in that time span, 85 songs would rotate in and out of the chart's top spot. Incidentally, only three other songs during the entire 1980s decade — all of them in 1980 — would spend more than two weeks at No. 1, owing much to how Billboard compiled the chart data at the time.
September — Dolly Parton 's much anticipated TV variety series, Dolly , premieres on ABC in September. Despite a promising start (due to strong ratings in its early weeks), the show was panned by critics and its audience began to lose interest. After a continual decline on viewership, the series was cancelled at the end of the 1987–1988 season.
No dates
46-year-old singer-songwriter K.T. Oslin becomes the success story of the year with her hit "80s Ladies," a Grammy Award-winner which told the story of three friends from childhood who stayed together through an era of social change. The song spawned an award-winning video as well and despite only reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, was one of the most played songs of the year. Oslin's rise to fame in her mid-40s came at a time when mainstream country radio was beginning to shun older female artists in lieu of younger, more attractive stars.
Top hits of the year
Singles released by American artists
US
CAN
Single
Artist
7
4
80's Ladies
K. T. Oslin
86
17
Ain't No Cure for Love
Jennifer Warnes
1
1
All My Ex's Live in Texas
George Strait
1
1
Am I Blue
George Strait
16
35
American Me
S-K-O
4
—
Another World
Crystal Gayle and Gary Morris
2
2
Baby's Got a Hold on Me
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
1
—
Baby's Got a New Baby
S-K-O
4
8
The Bed You Made for Me
Highway 101
10
9
Bonnie Jean (Little Sister)
David Lynn Jones
1
1
Born to Boogie
Hank Williams, Jr.
9
4
Brilliant Conversationalist
T. Graham Brown
1
1
Can't Stop My Heart from Loving You
The O'Kanes
6
1
The Carpenter
John Conlee
4
7
Chains of Gold
Sweethearts of the Rodeo
16
30
Changin' Partners
Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers
13
14
Child Support
Barbara Mandrell
5
3
Cinderella
Vince Gill
10
23
Cowboy Man
Lyle Lovett
3
7
Crazy from the Heart
The Bellamy Brothers
4
—
Crazy Over You
Foster & Lloyd
7
5
Crime of Passion
Ricky Van Shelton
1
2
Cry Myself to Sleep
The Judds
9
12
Daddies Need to Grow Up Too
The O'Kanes
10
10
Deep River Woman
Lionel Richie with Alabama
85
17
Didn't You Go and Leave Me
Rosemary Sharp
1
3
Do Ya
K. T. Oslin
4
5
Domestic Life
John Conlee
10
4
Don't Be Cruel
The Judds
1
1
Don't Go to Strangers
T. Graham Brown
20
19
Don't Touch Me There
Charly McClain
4
7
A Face in the Crowd
Michael Martin Murphey and Holly Dunn
2
2
Fallin' for You for Years
Conway Twitty
8
11
Fallin' Out
Waylon Jennings
7
5
Fire in the Sky
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
1
1
Fishin' in the Dark
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
7
11
Forever
The Statler Brothers
1
1
Forever and Ever, Amen
Randy Travis
16
18
Full Grown Fool
Mickey Gilley
7
10
Girls Ride Horses Too
Judy Rodman
13
18
Give Back My Heart
Lyle Lovett
1
3
Give Me Wings
Michael Johnson
18
23
God Will
Lyle Lovett
8
10
Goodbye's All We've Got Left
Steve Earle
10
11
Gotta Get Away
Sweethearts of the Rodeo
9
6
Gotta Have You
Eddie Rabbitt
2
3
Half Past Forever (Till I'm Blue in the Heart)
T. G. Sheppard
6
6
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Glen Campbell (with Steve Wariner )
10
—
Hard Livin'
Keith Whitley
14
50
Have I Got Some Blues for You
Charley Pride
18
39
He's Letting Go
Baillie & the Boys
9
25
Homecoming '63
Keith Whitley
17
12
House of Blue Lights
Asleep at the Wheel
1
1
How Do I Turn You On
Ronnie Milsap
1
3
I Can't Win for Losin' You
Earl Thomas Conley
1
1
I Know Where I'm Going
The Judds
14
19
I Only Wanted You
Marie Osmond
2
2
I Prefer the Moonlight
Kenny Rogers
2
2
I Want to Know You Before We Make Love
Conway Twitty
1
1
I Will Be There
Dan Seals
1
1
I Won't Need You Anymore (Always and Forever)
Randy Travis
10
24
I'll Be the One
The Statler Brothers
5
9
I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
Judy Rodman
2
1
I'll Come Back as Another Woman
Tanya Tucker
4
15
I'll Never Be in Love Again
Don Williams
1
1
I'll Still Be Loving You
Restless Heart
9
24
If There's Any Justice
Lee Greenwood
1
1
It Takes a Little Rain (To Make Love Grow)
The Oak Ridge Boys
31
7
It Won't Hurt
Dwight Yoakam
8
12
It's Only Over for You
Tanya Tucker
2
3
Julia
Conway Twitty
1
3
Kids of the Baby Boom
The Bellamy Brothers
37
20
Killbilly Hill
Southern Pacific
1
2
The Last One to Know
Reba McEntire
1
1
Leave Me Lonely
Gary Morris
4
5
Let the Music Lift You Up
Reba McEntire
16
17
Let's Do Something
Vince Gill
7
3
Little Sister
Dwight Yoakam
8
1
Little Ways
Dwight Yoakam
1
1
A Long Line of Love
Michael Martin Murphey
10
7
Love Can't Ever Get Better Than This
Ricky Skaggs & Sharon White
2
3
Love Me Like You Used To
Tanya Tucker
6
5
Love Reunited
The Desert Rose Band
2
2
Love Someone Like Me
Holly Dunn
6
4
Love, You Ain't Seen the Last of Me
John Schneider
1
1
Lynda
Steve Wariner
1
1
Make No Mistake, She's Mine
Kenny Rogers and Ronnie Milsap
11
7
Mama's Rockin' Chair
John Conlee
1
1
Maybe Your Baby's Got the Blues
The Judds
4
6
Midnight Girl/Sunset Town
Sweethearts of the Rodeo
1
2
The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder
Michael Johnson
1
1
Mornin' Ride
Lee Greenwood
19
37
No Easy Horses
S-K-B
2
1
No Place Like Home
Randy Travis
20
7
Nowhere Road
Steve Earle
1
1
Ocean Front Property
George Strait
9
17
Oh Heart
Baillie & the Boys
11
—
Old Bridges Burn Slow
Billy Joe Royal
2
2
One for the Money
T. G. Sheppard
1
1
One Promise Too Late
Reba McEntire
4
7
Only When I Love
Holly Dunn
9
9
Plain Brown Wrapper
Gary Morris
76
17
Real Good Heartache
Rosemary Sharp
1
1
Right from the Start
Earl Thomas Conley
3
5
Right Hand Man
Eddy Raven
8
6
The Right Left Hand
George Jones
16
14
The Rock and Roll of Love
Tom Wopat
1
1
Rose in Paradise
Waylon Jennings
6
18
Rough and Rowdy Days
Waylon Jennings
9
12
Señorita
Don Williams
4
3
She Couldn't Love Me Anymore
T. Graham Brown
9
—
She Thinks That She'll Marry
Judy Rodman
1
1
She's Too Good to Be True
Exile
1
1
Shine, Shine, Shine
Eddy Raven
1
1
Small Town Girl
Steve Wariner
1
1
Snap Your Fingers
Ronnie Milsap
1
5
Somebody Lied
Ricky Van Shelton
5
3
Someone
Lee Greenwood
1
1
Somewhere Tonight
Highway 101
1
2
Straight to the Heart
Crystal Gayle
20
—
Susannah
Tom Wopat
37
19
Sweet Little '66
Steve Earle
10
7
Take the Long Way Home
John Schneider
4
3
Talkin' to the Moon
Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers
7
4
Tar Top
Alabama
3
6
Telling Me Lies
Dolly Parton , Linda Ronstadt , Emmylou Harris
1
2
That Was a Close One
Earl Thomas Conley
3
4
Then It's Love
Don Williams
1
2
This Crazy Love
The Oak Ridge Boys
5
1
Those Memories of You
Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris
1
1
Three Time Loser
Dan Seals
6
10
Till I'm Too Old to Die Young
Moe Bandy
17
35
Time In
The Oak Ridge Boys
1
1
To Know Him Is to Love Him
Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris
5
4
Too Many Rivers
The Forester Sisters
6
15
Train of Memories
Kathy Mattea
2
2
Twenty Years Ago
Kenny Rogers
1
1
The Way We Make a Broken Heart
Rosanne Cash
1
1
The Weekend
Steve Wariner
1
1
What Am I Gonna Do About You
Reba McEntire
9
7
What Can I Do with My Heart
Juice Newton
20
10
When a Woman Cries
Janie Fricke
2
1
Whiskey, If You Were a Woman
Highway 101
1
1
Why Does It Have to Be (Wrong or Right)
Restless Heart
15
24
Why I Don't Know
Lyle Lovett
1
3
You Again
The Forester Sisters
11
—
You Haven't Heard the Last of Me
Moe Bandy
1
1
You Still Move Me
Dan Seals
2
5
You're My First Lady
T. G. Sheppard
3
6
You're Never Too Old for Young Love
Eddy Raven
5
—
You're the Power
Kathy Mattea
1
1
"You've Got" the Touch
Alabama
12
13
Your Love
Tammy Wynette
Singles released by Canadian artists
Top new album releases
Other top albums
On television
Regular series
Specials
Births
January 31 – Tyler Hubbard , member of Florida Georgia Line, a duo of the 2010s.
May 7 – Russell Dickerson , country performer of the 2010s onward.
August 16 – Dan Smyers , member of Dan + Shay, a rising duo of the 2010s.
September 25 — Greg Bates , up-and-coming country singer of the early 2010s.
Deaths
June 25 – Boudleaux Bryant , 67, songwriter (with wife Felice) of many 1950s and 1960s hits.
Hall of Fame inductees
Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
Major awards
Grammy Awards
Juno Awards
Academy of Country Music
ARIA Awards
(presented in Sydney on March 2, 1987)
Canadian Country Music Association
Country Music Association
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
External links