1996 in country music
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This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1996.
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Events
- June 28 — First annual Country Stampede Music Festival begins
- October 6 — Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are married, and quickly become country music's most visible couple. Their friendship grew into romance during their successful "Spontaneous Combustion" tour that year.
Top hits of the year
Singles released by American artists
Singles released by Canadian artists
Top new album releases
Other top albums
| US | CAN | Album | Artist | Record Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | A.K.A. Wham Bam Sam | Hank Williams, Jr. | Curb | |
| 60 | All Because of You | Daryle Singletary | Giant | |
| 74 | Almost Alone | Chet Atkins | Columbia | |
| 53 | Don't Fence Me In | Lari White | RCA Nashville | |
| 73 | Elvis: Great Country Songs | Elvis Presley | RCA | |
| 51 | Give Me Some Wheels | Suzy Bogguss | Capitol Nashville | |
| 56 | Greatest Hits | John Anderson | BNA | |
| 60 | Greatest Hits | Confederate Railroad | Atlantic | |
| 36 | Hang of the Heartache | Desert Dolphins | Quality | |
| 39 | Hit Country '96 | Various Artists | K-Tel | |
| 43 | The Hits | Hal Ketchum | Curb | |
| 26 | I Lived to Tell It All | George Jones | MCA Nashville | |
| 47 | I Will Always Love You and Other Greatest Hits |
Dolly Parton | Columbia | |
| 53 | Live | Jeff Foxworthy | Laughing Hyena | |
| 47 | The Luv Collection: Real Luv | Various Artists | EMI-Capitol | |
| 60 | 28 | Mandy Barnett | Mandy Barnett | Asylum |
| 38 | Mark Wills | Mark Wills | Mercury Nashville | |
| 45 | "My Roots Are Showing..." | K. T. Oslin | BNA | |
| 38 | NASCAR: Hotter Than Asphalt | Various Artists | Columbia | |
| 66 | NFL Country | Various Artists | Gridiron | |
| 54 | Now and Then | Shenandoah | Capitol Nashville | |
| 40 | Paradise | John Anderson | BNA | |
| 32 | P.O. Box 423 | Duane Steele | Mercury/PolyGram | |
| 36 | Remembering Stan Rogers: An East Coast Tribute II |
Various Artists | Atlantica | |
| 50 | The Rocky Mountain Collection | John Denver | RCA | |
| 32 | Semi Crazy | Junior Brown | Curb | |
| 37 | Smokin' Armadillos | Smokin' Armadillos | Curb | |
| 26 | Some Things Are Meant to Be | Linda Davis | Arista Nashville | |
| 33 | Stampede | Chris LeDoux | Capitol Nashville | |
| 38 | Star of Wonder – A Country Christmas Collection |
Various Artists | Arista Nashville | |
| 44 | Starlite Lounge | David Ball | Warner Bros. | |
| 46 | Super Hits | Alabama | RCA Nashville | |
| 66 | Super Hits | Waylon Jennings | RCA Nashville | |
| 51 | Super Hits | Keith Whitley | RCA Nashville | |
| 29 | Three Hanks: Men with Broken Hearts | Hank Williams, Hank Williams, Jr. & Hank Williams III |
Curb | |
| 54 | Two Ways to Fall | Ty England | RCA Nashville | |
| 26 | Unchained | Johnny Cash | American | |
| 42 | 31 | You Still Got Me | Doug Supernaw | Giant |
Births
- July 23 – Danielle Bradbery, winner of season four of NBC's The Voice.
Deaths
- February 17 — Gus Hardin, 50, female singer best known for her Earl Thomas Conley duet "All Tangled Up in Love" (automobile accident)
- March 4 — Minnie Pearl, 83, legendary comedian known for her trademark greeting, "How-dee!" and her straw hat with price tag; a regular on Hee Haw (stroke).
- May 3 — Patsy Montana, 87, first female country singer to have a single sell one million copies ("I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart").
- June 16 — Anthony Armstrong Jones, 47, male singer best known for his Top Ten cover version of "Take a Letter Maria"
- August 22 – Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn, 69, husband of Loretta Lynn and key figure in many aspects of her career.
- December 10 — Faron Young, 64, Nicknamed "The Hillbilly Heartthrob", and "The Singing Sheriff" he had many hits including "Hello Walls" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young" (suicide).
Hall of Fame inductees
Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductees
Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
- Patsy Montana (1908–1996)
- Buck Owens (1929–2006)
- Ray Price (1926–2013)
Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
Major awards
Grammy Awards
- Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Blue," LeAnn Rimes
- Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "World's Apart", Vince Gill
- Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "My Maria", Brooks & Dunn
- Best Country Collaboration with Vocals — "High Lonesome Sound", Vince Gill (featuring Alison Krauss)
- Best Country Instrumental Performance — "Jam Man", Chet Atkins
- Best Country Song — "Blue", Bill Mack (Performer: LeAnn Rimes)
- Best Country Album — The Road to Ensenada, Lyle Lovett (Producers: Billy Williams (singer) and Lyle Lovett)
- Best Bluegrass Album — True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe, Various Artists (Producer: Todd Phillips)
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 — The Rankin Family
Academy of Country Music
- Entertainer of the Year — Brooks & Dunn
- Song of the Year — "Blue", 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 (Director: Steven Goldmann)
ARIA Awards
(presented in Sydney on September 30, 1996)
- Best Country Album - Home Fires (The Dead Ringer Band)
Canadian Country Music Association
- NCN Fans' Choice Award — Shania Twain
- Male Artist of the Year — Charlie Major
- Female Artist of the Year — Shania Twain
- Group or Duo of the Year — Prairie Oyster
- SOCAN Song of the Year — "My Heart Has a History," Paul Brandt, Mark D. Sanders
- Single of the Year — "Better Things to Do," Terri Clark
- Album of the Year — Terri Clark, Terri Clark
- Top Selling Album — Fresh Horses, Garth Brooks
- Video of the Year — "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!," Shania Twain
- Vista Rising Star Award — Terri Clark
- Vocal Collaboration of the Year — Jim Witter and Cassandra Vasik
Country Music Association
- Entertainer of the Year — Brooks & Dunn
- Song of the Year — "Go Rest High on That Mountain," Vince Gill
- Single of the Year — "Check Yes or No," George Strait
- Album of the Year — Blue Clear Sky, George Strait
- Male Vocalist of the Year — George Strait
- Female Vocalist of the Year — Patty Loveless
- Vocal Duo of the Year — Brooks & Dunn
- Vocal Group of the Year — The Mavericks
- Horizon Award — Bryan White
- Music Video of the Year — "My Wife Thinks You're Dead", Junior Brown (Director: Michael McNamara)
- Vocal Event of the Year — "I Will Always Love You", Dolly Parton and Vince Gill
- Musician of the Year — Mark O'Connor
RPM Big Country Awards
- Canadian Country Artist of the Year — Shania Twain
- Best Country Album — The Woman in Me, Shania Twain
- Best Country Single — "Any Man of Mine", Shania Twain
- Top Male Vocalist — Charlie Major
- Top Female Vocalist — Shania Twain
- Top Group — Prairie Oyster
- Outstanding New Artist — Jason McCoy
- Top Country Composer(s) — Shania Twain
Further reading
- Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944–2005 – 6th Edition." 2005.