# 1973 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1973.

## Events

* July — The Dean Martin Show becomes known as Dean Martin Presents Music Country for the longtime variety show's summer broadcasts. Country music becomes a staple of Martin's show for the 1973–1974 season — its last on the air, as it turns out.
* July 4 — Willie Nelson hosts his first Fourth of July picnic.
* July 14 — Billboard increases the number of positions for its Hot Country Singles chart to 100 (up from 75), which it would keep until January 1990. The expansion comes at a time when the number of No. 1 songs in a given year continues to increase; for the first time in history, there are at least 35 No. 1 songs in one year.
* September — Jimmy Dean's third country music TV series, The Jimmy Dean Show, premieres in syndication for what will be a two-season run.
* October 6 — Country music's most successful syndicated radio countdown program to date, "American Country Countdown," makes its debut. The three-hour program is created by Casey Kasem and Don Bustany, and is modeled after American Top 40 (which Kasem also hosted). Comedian Don Bowman) is the original host, but by 1978, he would be replaced by Bob Kingsley.
* October — The new Radio & Records magazine includes a 50-position country singles chart.
* November 10 — One of Nashville's most notorious murders makes national headlines when David Akeman (aka Stringbean) and his wife, Estelle, are killed when they interrupt a burglary after returning home. Their bodies are found the next day. Their assailants—brothers John and Marvin Douglas—are later captured, convicted and sentenced to prison. Stringbean, who was 58, was best known to his audiences for his role on the syndicated series "Hee Haw."

## Top hits of the year
### Number one hits
#### United States

(as certified by Billboard)
| Date | Single Name | Artist | Wks. No.1 | CAN peak | Spec. Note |
| January 20 | Soul Song | Joe Stampley | 1 | 2 | |
| January 27 | (Old Dogs, Children And) Watermelon Wine | Tom T. Hall | 1 | | |
| February 3 | She Needs Someone to Hold Her (When She Cries) | Conway Twitty | 2 | 8 | |
| February 17 | I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me | Merle Haggard | 1 | | |
| February 24 | Rated "X" | Loretta Lynn | 1 | | |
| March 3 | The Lord Knows I'm Drinking | Cal Smith | 1 | 2 | |
| March 10 | 'Til I Get it Right | Tammy Wynette | 1 | | |
| March 17 | The Teddy Bear Song | Barbara Fairchild | 2 | | |
| March 31 | Keep Me in Mind | Lynn Anderson | 1 | | |
| April 7 | Super Kind of Woman | Freddie Hart | 1 | | |
| April 14 | A Shoulder to Cry On | Charley Pride | 1 | | |
| April 21 | Superman | Donna Fargo | 1 | | |
| April 28 | Behind Closed Doors | Charlie Rich | 2 | | |
| May 12 | Come Live with Me | Roy Clark | 1 | | |
| May 19 | What's Your Mama's Name | Tanya Tucker | 1 | | |
| May 26 | Satin Sheets | Jeanne Pruett | 3 | 3 | Returned to Number One on June 23. |
| June 9 | You Always Come Back (To Hurting Me) | Johnny Rodriguez | 1 | | |
| June 16 | Kids Say the Darndest Things | Tammy Wynette | 1 | 2 | |
| June 30 | Don't Fight the Feelings of Love | Charley Pride | 1 | | |
| July 7 | Why Me | Kris Kristofferson | 1 | | |
| July 14 | Love Is the Foundation | Loretta Lynn | 2 | | |
| July 28 | You Were Always There | Donna Fargo | 1 | | |
| August 4 | Lord, Mr. Ford | Jerry Reed | 1 | 2 | |
| August 11 | Trip to Heaven | Freddie Hart | 1 | | |
| August 18 | Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man | Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn | 1 | | |
| August 25 | Everybody's Had the Blues | Merle Haggard | 2 | | |
| September 8 | You've Never Been This Far Before | Conway Twitty | 3 | | |
| September 29 | Blood Red and Goin' Down | Tanya Tucker | 1 | | |
| October 6 | You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me | Ray Price | 1 | 2 | |
| October 13 | Ridin' My Thumb to Mexico | Johnny Rodriguez | 2 | | |
| October 27 | We're Gonna Hold On | George Jones and Tammy Wynette | 2 | 2 | |
| November 10 | Paper Roses | Marie Osmond | 2 | | |
| November 24 | The Most Beautiful Girl | Charlie Rich | 3 | | |
| December 15 | Amazing Love | Charley Pride | 1 | | |
| December 22 | If We Make It Through December | Merle Haggard | 4 | | |

##### Notes

* 1^ No. 1 song of the year, as determined by Billboard.
* 2^ Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot.
* A^ First Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.
* B^ Last Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.
* C^ Only Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist to date.

#### Canada

(as certified by RPM)
| Date | Single Name | Artist | Wks. No.1 | U.S. peak | Spec. Note |
| January 13 | Love's the Answer | Tanya Tucker | 1 | 5 | |
| January 20 | (Old Dogs, Children And) Watermelon Wine | Tom T. Hall | 1 | | |
| January 27 | Danny's Song | Anne Murray | 1 | 10 | |
| February 3 | I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me | Merle Haggard | 1 | | |
| February 10 | Rated "X" | Loretta Lynn | 2 | | |
| February 24 | 'Til I Get it Right | Tammy Wynette | 1 | | |
| March 3 | Any Old Wind That Blows | Johnny Cash | 2 | 3 | |
| March 17 | The Teddy Bear Song | Barbara Fairchild | 2 | | |
| March 31 | Keep Me in Mind | Lynn Anderson | 2 | | |
| April 14 | Super Kind of Woman | Freddie Hart | 1 | | |
| April 21 | A Shoulder to Cry On | Charley Pride | 1 | | |
| April 28 | Superman | Donna Fargo | 1 | | |
| May 5 | Behind Closed Doors | Charlie Rich | 1 | | |
| May 12 | Nobody Wins | Brenda Lee | 1 | 5 | |
| May 19 | Come Live with Me | Roy Clark | 1 | | |
| May 26 | What's Your Mama's Name | Tanya Tucker | 1 | | |
| June 2 | Dirty Old Man | George Hamilton IV | 2 | 38 | |
| June 16 | Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree | Johnny Carver | 1 | 5 | |
| June 23 | You Always Come Back (To Hurting Me) | Johnny Rodriguez | 1 | | |
| June 30 | Don't Fight the Feelings of Love | Charley Pride | 3 | | Fell to #3 on the week of July 7. |
| July 7 | Ravishing Ruby | Tom T. Hall | 1 | 3 | |
| July 14 | Why Me | Kris Kristofferson | 1 | | |
| July 21 | Love Is the Foundation | Loretta Lynn | 1 | | |
| August 11 | You Were Always There | Donna Fargo | 1 | | |
| August 18 | Top of the World | Lynn Anderson | 2 | 2 | |
| September 1 | Trip to Heaven | Freddie Hart | 1 | | |
| September 8 | Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man | Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn | 2 | | |
| September 22 | Everybody's Had the Blues | Merle Haggard | 1 | | |
| September 29 | The Corner of My Life | Bill Anderson | 1 | 2 | |
| October 6 | You've Never Been This Far Before | Conway Twitty | 2 | | |
| October 20 | Blood Red and Goin' Down | Tanya Tucker | 1 | | |
| October 27 | Kid Stuff | Barbara Fairchild | 1 | 2 | |
| November 3 | Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer | Johnny Russell | 2 | 4 | |
| November 17 | Ridin' My Thumb to Mexico | Johnny Rodriguez | 1 | | |
| November 24 | Paper Roses | Marie Osmond | 2 | | |
| December 8 | The Most Beautiful Girl | Charlie Rich | 4 | | |

##### Notes

* 2^ Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot.
* A^ First RPM No. 1 hit for that artist.
* B^ Last RPM No. 1 hit for that artist.
* C^ Only RPM No. 1 hit for that artist.

### Other major hits
#### Singles released by American artists

| US | CAN | Single | Artist |
| 22 | 19 | Afraid I'll Want to Love Her One More Time | Billy "Crash" Craddock |
| 23 | 10 | After You | Hank Williams, Jr. |
| 14 | 7 | Ain't It Amazing Gracie | Buck Owens |
| 13 | 63 | All in the Name of Love | Narvel Felts |
| 16 | 4 | Always on My Mind | Elvis Presley |
| 12 | 9 | Am I That Easy to Forget | Jim Reeves |
| 2 | 2 | Baby's Gone | Conway Twitty |
| 22 | 5 | Blue Train (Of the Heartbreak Line) | George Hamilton IV |
| 7 | 4 | Bring It on Home (To Your Woman) | Joe Stampley |
| 15 | 11 | Broad-Minded Man | Jim Ed Brown |
| 6 | 4 | Can I Sleep in Your Arms | Jeannie Seely |
| 26 | 9 | Carry Me Back | The Statler Brothers |
| 12 | 3 | Catfish John | Johnny Russell |
| 18 | 20 | Cheating Game | Susan Raye |
| 30 | 15 | Children | Johnny Cash |
| 12 | — | Come Early Morning | Don Williams |
| 2 | 9 | Country Sunshine | Dottie West |
| 33 | 18 | Daisy a Day | Jud Strunk |
| 5 | 3 | Darling, You Can Always Come Back Home | Jody Miller |
| 2 | 4 | Do You Know What It's Like to Be Lonesome | Jerry Wallace |
| 3 | 12 | Don't Give Up on Me | Jerry Wallace |
| 8 | 48 | Drift Away | Narvel Felts |
| 20 | 12 | Drinking Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 5 | 9 | Dueling Banjos | Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell |
| 3 | 12 | The Emptiest Arms in the World | Merle Haggard |
| 9 | 9 | Good News | Jody Miller |
| 2 | 3 | Good Things | David Houston |
| 14 | 36 | Got Leaving on Her Mind | Nat Stuckey |
| 12 | 14 | Hank | Hank Williams, Jr. |
| 14 | 20 | Hello We're Lonely | Patti Page and Tom T. Hall |
| 17 | 13 | Honky Tonk Wine | Wayne Kemp |
| 12 | 11 | I Can't Believe That It's All Over | Skeeter Davis |
| 10 | 14 | I Hate You | Ronnie Milsap |
| 4 | 3 | I Love You More and More Everyday | Sonny James |
| 11 | 3 | I Need Somebody Bad | Jack Greene |
| 16 | — | I Recall a Gypsy Woman | Tommy Cash |
| 22 | 14 | I Used It All on You | Nat Stuckey |
| 24 | 16 | I Wish (You Had Stayed) | Brian Collins |
| 7 | 10 | I'll Never Break These Chains | Tommy Overstreet |
| 8 | 8 | I'm Your Woman | Jeanne Pruett |
| 15 | 11 | If She Just Helps Me Get Over You | Sonny James |
| 3 | 5 | If Teardrops Were Pennies | Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton |
| 2 | 2 | If You Can Live with It (I Can Live Without It) | Bill Anderson |
| 3 | 5 | If You Can't Feel It (It Ain't There) | Freddie Hart |
| 26 | 9 | If You're Goin' Girl | Don Gibson |
| 22 | 16 | It'll Be Her | David Rogers |
| 20 | 22 | It's a Man's World (If You Had a Man Like Mine) | Diana Trask |
| 17 | 18 | Just Thank Me | David Rogers |
| 9 | 9 | Just What I Had in Mind | Faron Young |
| 19 | 10 | Keep on Truckin' | Dave Dudley |
| 3 | 4 | Last Love Song | Hank Williams, Jr. |
| 7 | 11 | Let Me Be There | Olivia Newton-John |
| 17 | 12 | Lila | Doyle Holly |
| 2 | 2 | Little Girl Gone | Donna Fargo |
| 8 | 6 | Love Is the Look You're Looking for | Connie Smith |
| 9 | 3 | Love Me | Marty Robbins |
| 17 | 18 | Love Sure Feels Good in My Heart | Susan Raye |
| 5 | 8 | Lovin' on Back Streets | Mel Street |
| 7 | 5 | The Midnight Oil | Barbara Mandrell |
| 20 | 10 | Monday Morning Secretary | The Statler Brothers |
| 2 | 3 | Mr. Lovemaker | Johnny Paycheck |
| 15 | 10 | My Tennessee Mountain Home | Dolly Parton |
| 7 | 17 | Neither One of Us | Bob Luman |
| 3 | 3 | Neon Rose | Mel Tillis |
| 19 | 3 | No More Hanging On | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 7 | 8 | Nothing Ever Hurt Me (Half as Bad as Losing You) | George Jones |
| 33 | 17 | One Last Time | Glen Campbell |
| 14 | 8 | Open Up Your Heart | Roger Miller |
| 9 | 7 | Pass Me By (If You're Only Passing Through) | Johnny Rodriguez |
| 13 | 7 | The Perfect Stranger | Freddy Weller |
| 11 | 4 | Ride Me Down Easy | Bobby Bare |
| 17 | 12 | Satisfaction | Jack Greene |
| 2 | 5 | Sawmill | Mel Tillis |
| 15 | 8 | Say When | Diana Trask |
| 50 | 5 | Second Cup of Coffee | George Hamilton IV |
| 7 | 10 | Send Me No Roses | Tommy Overstreet |
| 15 | 6 | She Fights That Lovin' Feeling | Faron Young |
| 11 | 3 | She Loves Me (Right Out of My Mind) | Freddy Weller |
| 3 | 6 | She's All Woman | David Houston |
| 20 | 43 | She's My Rock | Stoney Edwards |
| 14 | — | The Shelter of Your Eyes | Don Williams |
| 3 | 3 | Sing About Love | Lynn Anderson |
| 14 | 13 | Slippin' and Slidin' | Billy "Crash" Craddock |
| 4 | 3 | Slippin' Away | Jean Shepard |
| 28 | 15 | So Many Ways | Eddy Arnold |
| 10 | 20 | Something About You I Love | Johnny Paycheck |
| 6 | 6 | Sometimes a Memory Ain't Enough | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 21 | 16 | Sound of Goodbye | Jerry Wallace |
| 6 | 6 | Southern Loving | Jim Ed Brown |
| 31 | 20 | Steamroller Blues/Fool | Elvis Presley |
| 6 | 8 | Sunday Sunrise | Brenda Lee |
| 6 | 8 | Sweet Country Woman | Johnny Duncan |
| 10 | 14 | Take Time to Love Her | Nat Stuckey |
| 18 | 42 | Talkin' with My Lady | Johnny Duncan |
| 21 | 12 | Thank You for Being You | Mel Tillis |
| 8 | 18 | 'Till the Water Stops Runnin' | Billy "Crash" Craddock |
| 12 | 23 | Too Far Gone | Joe Stampley |
| 8 | 7 | Too Much Monkey Business | Freddy Weller |
| 6 | 5 | Touch the Morning | Don Gibson |
| 20 | 12 | Travelin' Man | Dolly Parton |
| 11 | 6 | Walk Softly on the Bridges | Mel Street |
| 6 | 5 | Walking Piece of Heaven | Marty Robbins |
| 16 | 20 | Watergate Blues | Tom T. Hall |
| 28 | 17 | We Had It All | Waylon Jennings |
| 6 | — | What My Woman Can't Do | George Jones |
| 32 | 17 | When a Man Loves a Woman (The Way That I Love You) | Tony Booth |
| 20 | 30 | Wherefore and Why | Glen Campbell |
| 13 | 38 | Whole World's Making Love Again Tonight | Bobby G. Rice |
| 13 | 11 | You Ain't Gonna Have Ol' Buck to Kick Around No More | Buck Owens |
| 8 | 8 | You Ask Me To | Waylon Jennings |
| 7 | 2 | You Can Have Her | Waylon Jennings |
| 8 | 8 | You Give Me You | Bobby G. Rice |
| 30 | 13 | You Know Who | Bobby Bare |
| 3 | 7 | You Lay So Easy on My Mind | Bobby G. Rice |
| 6 | 11 | You Really Haven't Changed | Johnny Carver |
| 18 | 8 | You Took All the Ramblin' Out of Me | Jerry Reed |
| 36 | 19 | Your Side of the Bed | Mac Davis |

#### Singles released by Canadian artists

| US | CAN | Single | Artist |
| — | 20 | All Them Irons in the Fire | Carroll Baker |
| — | 12 | Blind Jonathon/Make It Over the Hill | Dianne Leigh |
| — | 18 | But Tomorrow There's Another Day | Hank Smith |
| — | 5 | Carpenter of Wood | Cliff Edwards |
| — | 18 | Champlain and St. Lawrence Line | Orval Prophet |
| — | 8 | The Farmer's Song | Murray McLauchlan |
| — | 16 | The Feeling's Too Strong | Family Brown |
| — | 13 | Flying East | Sharon Lowness |
| — | 19 | Going Home to the Country | Dick Damron |
| — | 19 | Highway Driving | Alabama |
| — | 4 | It's So Easy to Please Me | Mercey Brothers |
| — | 12 | It's Worth Believin' | Gordon Lightfoot |
| — | 15 | Judgment Day Express | Orval Prophet |
| — | 19 | Meant to Be with Me | Mercey Brothers |
| 71 | 20 | North to Chicago | Hank Snow |
| — | 15 | Old Ira Gray | Dallas Harms |
| — | 14 | Pictou County Jail | Jim and Don Haggart |
| — | 20 | The Prisoner | Shannon Two Feathers |
| 79 | 10 | Send a Little Love My Way | Anne Murray |
| — | 18 | Too Many Memories | Joe Firth |
| 20 | 2 | What About Me | Anne Murray |
| 46 | 5 | What Got to You (Before It Got to Me) | Ray Griff |
| — | 16 | The World I Know Is Now | Carroll Baker |

## Top new album releases

| Single | Artist | Record Label |
| Bill | Bill Anderson | MCA |
| Bubbling Over | Dolly Parton | RCA |
| Can I Sleep in Your Arms/Lucky Ladies | Jeannie Seely | MCA |
| Country Sunshine | Dottie West | RCA |
| Entertainer of the Year | Loretta Lynn | Decca |
| Full Moon | Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge | A&M |
| Good News! | Jody Miller | Epic |
| Honky Tonk Heroes | Waylon Jennings | RCA |
| Kid Stuff | Barbara Fairchild | Columbia |
| Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man | Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn | MCA |
| Love and Music | Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton | RCA |
| Love Is the Foundation | Loretta Lynn | MCA |
| My Second Album | Donna Fargo | Dot |
| My Tennessee Mountain Home | Dolly Parton | RCA |
| Satin Sheets | Jeanne Pruett | MCA |
| Slippin' Away | Jean Shepard | United Artists |
| Shotgun Willie | Willie Nelson | Atlantic |
| Top of the World | Lynn Anderson | Columbia |
| We Found It | Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton | RCA |
| What's Your Mama's Name | Tanya Tucker | Columbia |

### Other top new albums

| Single | Artist | Record Label |
| Brenda | Brenda Lee | MCA |
| Cheating Game | Susan Raye | Capitol |
| Country Keepsakes | Wanda Jackson | Capitol |
| Daisy a Day | Jud Strunk | MGM |
| Entertainer of the Year - Loretta | Loretta Lynn | MCA |
| It's a Man's World | Diana Trask | Dot |
| Keep Me in Mind | Lynn Anderson | Columbia |
| Let Me Be There | Olivia Newton-John | MCA |
| The Midnight Oil | Barbara Mandrell | Columbia |
| New Sunrise | Brenda Lee | MCA |
| Rub it In | Billy "Crash" Craddock | ABC-Dot |
| Where My Heart Is | Ronnie Milsap | RCA |

## Births

* March 6 — Trent Willmon, rising country music star of the early- to mid-2000s (decade).
* May 24 — Jill Johnson, Swedish female country singer.
* June 6 — Lisa Brokop, Canadian country star of the 1990s and early-2000s (decade).
* June 26 — Gretchen Wilson, singer-songwriter and key member of the MuzikMafia of the 2000s (decade).
* July 29 — James Otto, rising male vocalist of the 2000s (decade).
* August 8 — Mark Wills, country star of the mid-to-late-1990s and early-2000s (decade) ("19 Somethin'", "Wish You Were Here").
* August 13 — Andy Griggs, country music star of late-1990s and early-2000s (decade).
* November 19 — Billy Currington, rising star of the mid-2000s (decade).

## Deaths

* March 26 – Don Messer, 63, Canadian fiddler and folk music icon whose career spanned 40 years (heart attack).
* September 19 — Gram Parsons, 26, influential country rock and alt-country singer-songwriter-guitarist who was a member of such bands as The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, and also recorded a critically acclaimed body of solo recordings (drug overdose).
* November 10 — Stringbean, 58, banjo player and comedian on the TV series Hee Haw (homicide).

## Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

* Chet Atkins (1924–2001)
* Patsy Cline (1932–1963), first female to be inducted as a solo act.

## Major awards
### Grammy Awards

* Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Let Me Be There", Olivia Newton-John
* Best Male Country Vocal Performance —c"Behind Closed Doors", Charlie Rich
* Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "From the Bottle to the Bottom", Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge
* Best Country Instrumental Performance — "Dueling Banjos", Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell
* Best Country Song — "Behind Closed Doors", Kenny O'Dell (Performer: Charlie Rich)

### Juno Awards

* Country Male Vocalist of the Year — Stompin' Tom Connors
* Country Female Vocalist of the Year — Shirley Eikhard
* Country Group or Duo of the Year — Mercey Brothers

### Academy of Country Music

* Entertainer of the Year — Roy Clark
* Song of the Year — "Behind Closed Doors", Kenny O'Dell (Performer: Charlie Rich)
* Single of the Year — "Behind Closed Doors", Charlie Rich
* Album of the Year — Behind Closed Doors, Charlie Rich
* Top Male Vocalist — Charlie Rich
* Top Female Vocalist — Loretta Lynn
* Top Vocal Group — Brush Arbor
* Top New Male Vocalist — Dorsey Burnette
* Top New Female Vocalist — Olivia Newton-John

### Country Music Association

* Entertainer of the Year — Roy Clark
* Song of the Year — "Behind Closed Doors", Kenny O'Dell (Performer: Charlie Rich)
* Single of the Year — "Behind Closed Doors", Charlie Rich
* Album of the Year — Behind Closed Doors, Charlie Rich
* Male Vocalist of the Year — Charlie Rich
* Female Vocalist of the Year — Loretta Lynn
* Vocal Duo of the Year — Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
* Vocal Group of the Year — The Statler Brothers
* Instrumentalist of the Year — Charlie McCoy
* Instrumental Group of the Year — Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass