# 1970 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1970.

## Events

* April 13 - Marty Robbins is awarded Artist of the Decade for the 1960s by the Academy of Country Music
* September — That Good Ole Nashville Music debuts in syndication. The series will run until 1985.

### No Dates

Early in the year, Marty Robbins suffers a major heart attack which almost takes the life of the country star.

## 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 3 | Baby, Baby (I Know You're a Lady) | David Houston | 4 | | |
| January 31 | A Week in a Country Jail | Tom T. Hall | 2 | 32 | |
| February 14 | It's Just a Matter of Time | Sonny James | 4 | 4 | Cover of Brook Benton hit. |
| March 14 | The Fightin' Side of Me | Merle Haggard | 3 | | |
| April 4 | Tennessee Bird Walk | Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan | 2 | | |
| April 18 | Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone | Charley Pride | 2 | | |
| May 2 | My Woman My Woman My Wife | Marty Robbins | 1 | | |
| May 9 | The Pool Shark | Dave Dudley | 1 | 4 | |
| May 16 | My Love | Sonny James | 3 | 3 | |
| June 6 | Hello Darlin' | Conway Twitty | 4 | 2 | |
| July 4 | He Loves Me All the Way | Tammy Wynette | 3 | 2 | |
| July 25 | Wonder Could I Live There Anymore | Charley Pride | 2 | | |
| August 8 | Don't Keep Me Hangin' On | Sonny James | 4 | 17 | |
| September 5 | All for the Love of Sunshine | Hank Williams, Jr. with The Mike Curb Congregation | 2 | | |
| September 19 | For the Good Times | Ray Price | 1 | 2 | |
| September 26 | There Must Be More to Love Than This | Jerry Lee Lewis | 2 | | |
| October 10 | Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down | Johnny Cash | 2 | | |
| October 24 | Run Woman Run | Tammy Wynette | 2 | | |
| November 7 | I Can't Believe That You've Stopped Loving Me | Charley Pride | 2 | | |
| November 21 | Fifteen Years Ago | Conway Twitty | 1 | | |
| November 28 | Endlessly | Sonny James | 3 | 10 | |
| December 19 | Coal Miner's Daughter | Loretta Lynn | 1 | | |
| December 26 | Rose Garden | Lynn Anderson | 5 | | |

##### Notes

* 1^ No. 1 song of the year, as determined by Billboard.
* 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 10 | Blistered/See Ruby Fall | Johnny Cash | 1 | 4 | |
| January 17 | Baby, Baby (I Know You're a Lady) | David Houston | 1 | | |
| January 24 | Big in Vegas | Buck Owens | 1 | 5 | |
| January 31 | Six White Horses | Tommy Cash | 2 | 4 | |
| February 14 | Fancy | Bobbie Gentry | 2 | 26 | |
| February 28 | Brown Eyed Handsome Man | Waylon Jennings | 1 | 3 | |
| March 7 | If I Were a Carpenter | Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash | 1 | 2 | |
| March 14 | Honey Come Back | Glen Campbell | 1 | 2 | |
| March 21 | Welfare Cadillac | Guy Drake | 1 | 6 | |
| March 28 | Wayward Woman of the World | Gary Buck | 1 | — | |
| April 4 | The Fightin' Side of Me | Merle Haggard | 1 | | |
| April 11 | Tennessee Bird Walk | Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan | 1 | | |
| April 18 | Kentucky Rain | Elvis Presley | 1 | 31 | |
| April 25 | My Woman My Woman My Wife | Marty Robbins | 2 | | |
| May 9 | Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone | Charley Pride | 1 | | |
| May 16 | The Way You Play | Merv Smith | 1 | — | |
| May 23 | Big Joe Mufferaw | Stompin' Tom Connors | 2 | — | |
| June 6 | What Is Truth | Johnny Cash | 3 | 3 | |
| June 27 | Street Singer | Merle Haggard | 1 | 9 | |
| July 4 | She's a Little Bit Country | George Hamilton IV | 3 | 3 | |
| July 25 | Ketchup Song | Stompin' Tom Connors | 2 | — | |
| August 8 | Wonder Could I Live There Anymore | Charley Pride | 2 | | |
| August 22 | Snowbird | Anne Murray | 3 | 10 | |
| September 12 | Everything a Man Could Ever Need | Glen Campbell | 1 | 5 | |
| September 19 | Me and Bobby McGee | Gordon Lightfoot | 1 | — | |
| September 26 | Countryfied | Dick Damron | 3 | — | Fell to #3 on the week of October 10. |
| October 10 | All for the Love of Sunshine | Hank Williams, Jr. | 1 | | |
| October 17 | Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down | Johnny Cash | 1 | | |
| October 24 | There Must Be More to Love Than This | Jerry Lee Lewis | 1 | | |
| October 31 | Back Where It's At | George Hamilton IV | 1 | 16 | |
| November 7 | Run Woman Run | Tammy Wynette | 1 | | |
| November 14 | Ode to Suburbia | R. Harlan Smith | 1 | — | |
| November 28 | The Ballad of Muk Tuk Annie | Jimmy Arthur Ordge | 1 | — | |
| December 5 | I Can't Believe That You've Stopped Loving Me | Charley Pride | 1 | | |
| December 12 | Fifteen Years Ago | Conway Twitty | 1 | | |
| December 19 | Coal Miner's Daughter | Loretta Lynn | 1 | | |
| December 26 | Sweet Dreams of Yesterday | Hank Smith | 1 | — | |

##### 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 |
| 6 | 4 | After Closing Time | David Houston and Barbara Mandrell |
| 6 | 2 | All I Have to Do Is Dream | Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell |
| 9 | 12 | All My Hard Times | Roy Drusky |
| 16 | — | Amos Moses | Jerry Reed |
| 34 | 11 | Angel of the Morning | Connie Eaton |
| 4 | 21 | Angels Don't Lie | Jim Reeves |
| 12 | — | Another Lonely Night | Jean Shepard |
| 23 | 9 | Big Mama's Medicine Show | Buddy Alan |
| 27 | 18 | Big Wheel Cannonball | Dick Curless |
| 10 | 19 | Biloxi | Kenny Price |
| 10 | 2 | Carmella | Marty Robbins |
| 29 | 3 | Carolina in My Mind | George Hamilton IV |
| 16 | 10 | Charlie Brown | The Compton Brothers |
| 8 | 14 | Commercial Affection | Mel Tillis |
| 7 | 16 | Country Girl | Jeannie C. Riley |
| 19 | — | Cowboy Convention | Buddy Alan and Don Rich |
| 7 | 12 | Daddy Was an Old Time Preacher Man | Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton |
| 20 | — | Do It to Someone You Love | Norro Wilson |
| 13 | — | Don't Cry Daddy | Elvis Presley |
| 17 | 31 | Don't Take All Your Loving | Don Gibson |
| 37 | 8 | Down in the Boondocks | Penny DeHaven |
| 21 | 13 | Duty Not Desire | Jeannie C. Riley |
| 16 | — | Georgia Sunshine | Jerry Reed |
| 5 | 8 | Goin' Steady | Faron Young |
| 41 | 9 | Gotta Get to Oklahoma ('Cause California's Gettin' to Me) | The Hagers |
| 8 | 9 | The Great White Horse | Buck Owens and Susan Raye |
| 15 | — | He'd Still Love Me | Lynn Anderson |
| 3 | 5 | Heart Over Mind | Mel Tillis |
| 5 | 3 | Heaven Everyday | Mel Tillis |
| 11 | 6 | Heavenly Sunshine | Ferlin Husky |
| 26 | 4 | Hello I'm a Jukebox | George Kent |
| 14 | 9 | Hello Mary Lou | Bobby Lewis |
| 3 | 22 | How I Got to Memphis | Bobby Bare |
| 20 | 46 | How I Love Them Old Songs | Carl Smith |
| 5 | 24 | Humphrey the Camel | Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan |
| 3 | 2 | I Can't Be Myself | Merle Haggard |
| 7 | 4 | I Can't Seem to Say Goodbye | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 3 | 4 | I Do My Swinging at Home | David Houston |
| 4 | 13 | I Know How | Loretta Lynn |
| 5 | 17 | I Never Once Stopped Loving You | Connie Smith |
| 5 | 2 | I Never Picked Cotton | Roy Clark |
| 12 | 33 | I Walked Out on Heaven | Hank Williams, Jr. |
| 22 | 11 | I Wish I Had a Mommy Like You | Patti Page |
| 9 | — | I Wouldn't Live in New York City (If They Gave Me the Whole Damn Town) | Buck Owens |
| 11 | 33 | I'll Make Amends | Roy Drusky |
| 2 | 3 | I'll See Him Through | Tammy Wynette |
| 9 | 7 | I'm a Lover (Not a Fighter) | Skeeter Davis |
| 20 | 37 | I'm Alright | Lynn Anderson |
| 18 | 21 | I'm Leaving It Up to You | Johnny & Jonie Mosby |
| 16 | 21 | I've Been Everywhere | Lynn Anderson |
| 17 | 6 | I've Just Been Wasting My Time | John Wesley Ryles |
| 4 | 2 | If I Ever Fall in Love (With a Honky Tonk Girl) | Faron Young |
| 62 | 13 | If I'd Only Come and Gone | Clay Hart |
| 2 | 8 | If It's All the Same to You | Bill Anderson and Jan Howard |
| 13 | 33 | It's a Beautiful Day | Wynn Stewart |
| 3 | 4 | It's Only Make Believe | Glen Campbell |
| 3 | 3 | Jesus, Take a Hold | Merle Haggard |
| 7 | 7 | Jolie Girl | Marty Robbins |
| 2 | 6 | The Kansas City Song | Buck Owens |
| 20 | 24 | Land Mark Tavern | Del Reeves and Penny DeHaven |
| 17 | — | Lilacs and Fire | George Morgan |
| 16 | 24 | Live for the Good Times | Warner Mack |
| 23 | 19 | Lodi | Buddy Alan |
| 5 | 4 | Long Long Texas Road | Roy Drusky |
| 16 | 16 | Lord Is That Me | Jack Greene |
| 14 | — | Louisiana Man | Connie Smith |
| 19 | 23 | Love Hungry | Warner Mack |
| 5 | 10 | Love Is a Sometimes Thing | Bill Anderson |
| 14 | — | A Lover's Question | Del Reeves |
| 13 | — | (Lovin' Man) Oh Pretty Woman | Arlene Harden |
| 42 | 5 | Luziana River | Van Trevor |
| 17 | 27 | Marty Gray | Billie Jo Spears |
| 4 | 2 | Morning | Jim Ed Brown |
| 18 | — | The Most Uncomplicated Goodbye I've Ever Heard | Henson Cargill |
| 3 | 4 | Mule Skinner Blues | Dolly Parton |
| 15 | 42 | No Love at All | Lynn Anderson |
| 10 | 4 | Nobody's Fool | Jim Reeves |
| 17 | 6 | Northeast Arkansas Mississippi County Bootlegger | Kenny Price |
| 6 | 15 | Occasional Wife | Faron Young |
| 25 | 11 | Oh Happy Day | Glen Campbell |
| 2 | 17 | Once More with Feeling | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 2 | 2 | One Minute Past Eternity | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 9 | — | One Song Away | Tommy Cash |
| — | 9 | Orange Blossom Special | Doug Kershaw |
| 16 | — | Perfect Mountain | Don Gibson |
| 18 | 48 | Playin' Around with Love | Barbara Mandrell |
| 18 | — | Pull My String and Wind Me Up | Carl Smith |
| 21 | 16 | Right or Left at Oak Street | Roy Clark |
| 9 | 8 | Rise and Shine | Tommy Cash |
| 17 | 33 | Rocky Top | Lynn Anderson |
| 71 | 12 | Roll Over Beethoven | Linda Gail Lewis and Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 20 | 2 | Runnin' Bare | Jim Nesbitt |
| 8 | 14 | Salute to a Switchblade | Tom T. Hall |
| 3 | 8 | She Goes Walking Through My Mind | Billy Walker |
| 10 | 4 | She'll Be Hangin' Around Somewhere | Mel Tillis |
| 6 | 33 | She's Mine | George Jones |
| 8 | 10 | Shoeshine Man | Tom T. Hall |
| 12 | 11 | Singer of Sad Songs | Waylon Jennings |
| 33 | 16 | Sittin' in Atlanta Station | Nat Stuckey |
| 12 | 10 | So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad) | Hank Williams, Jr. and Lois Johnson |
| 4 | 3 | Someday We'll Be Together | Bill Anderson and Jan Howard |
| 18 | 26 | Something to Brag About | Charlie Louvin and Melba Montgomery |
| 36 | 14 | Something to Think About | Luke the Drifter, Jr. |
| 15 | 17 | Something Unseen | Jack Greene |
| 15 | 24 | South | Roger Miller |
| 7 | 22 | Stay There, Till I Get There | Lynn Anderson |
| 8 | 8 | Take a Letter Maria | Anthony Armstrong Jones |
| 5 | 8 | The Taker | Waylon Jennings |
| 14 | — | Talk About the Good Times | Jerry Reed |
| 13 | 10 | Tell Me My Lying Eyes Are Wrong | George Jones |
| 6 | 2 | Thank God and Greyhound | Roy Clark |
| 3 | 4 | That's When She Started to Stop Loving You | Conway Twitty |
| 8 | 27 | Then He Touched Me | Jean Shepard |
| 31 | 12 | Then She's a Lover | Roy Clark |
| 7 | — | There's a Story (Goin' 'Round) | Dottie West and Don Gibson |
| 9 | 32 | Thinking 'Bout You, Babe | Billy Walker |
| 20 | 22 | This Night (Ain't Fit for Nothing but Drinking) | Dave Dudley |
| 12 | 18 | Togetherness | Buck Owens and Susan Raye |
| 9 | 34 | Tomorrow Is Forever | Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton |
| 63 | 3 | Wabash Cannon Ball | Danny Davis |
| 56 | 6 | Walk a Mile in My Shoes | Joe South |
| 13 | 6 | We're Gonna Get Together | Buck Owens and Susan Raye |
| 3 | — | When a Man Loves a Woman (The Way That I Love You) | Billy Walker |
| 21 | 6 | When You're Hot, You're Hot | Porter Wagoner |
| 6 | 9 | Where Have All Our Heroes Gone | Bill Anderson |
| 14 | 13 | The Whole World Comes to Me | Jack Greene |
| 11 | 5 | Wings Upon Your Horns | Loretta Lynn |
| 2 | 21 | Wish I Didn't Have to Miss You | Jack Greene and Jeannie Seely |
| 17 | — | A Woman Lives for Love | Wanda Jackson |
| 37 | 17 | The Wonder of You | Elvis Presley |
| 6 | 5 | Wonders of the Wine | David Houston |
| 15 | 30 | You and Me Against the World | Bobby Lord |
| 6 | 4 | You Wanna Give Me a Lift | Loretta Lynn |
| 8 | 15 | You Wouldn't Know Love | Ray Price |
| 27 | 11 | You've Got Your Troubles (I've Got Mine) | Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan |

#### Singles released by Canadian artists

| US | CAN | Single | Artist |
| — | 15 | The Call | Gene MacLellan |
| — | 6 | Cool Green Waters | Donna Ramsay |
| — | 18 | Don't Hate, Communicate | Gary Buck |
| — | 12 | Don't It Make You Wanna Go Home | Terry Roberts |
| — | 20 | Foolin' Around | Chaparrel Brothers |
| — | 12 | Fortunate Son | The Rainvilles |
| — | 12 | From Pulpit to Prison | Singing Parson |
| — | 18 | Hot Wheels | Stan Farlow |
| — | 2 | My Song for You | Mercey Brothers |
| — | 19 | Newfie Screech | Stevedore Steve |
| — | 14 | No Pity for a Fool | Mike Graham |
| 26 | 13 | Patches | Ray Griff |
| — | 4 | Pickin' Up the Pieces | Mercey Brothers |
| — | 12 | These Things | Mike Graham |
| — | 20 | Thorn in My Shoe | Gene MacLellan |
| — | 2 | To-Ma-Ray Tom-O-Ray | Billy Charne |
| — | 9 | Trucker's Cafe | Great Speckled Bird |
| — | 3 | Wait for Sunday | Tommy Hunter |
| — | 4 | Walk with Your Neighbour | Tommy Hunter |

## Top new album releases

| Single | Artist | Record Label |
| Charley Pride's 10th Album | Charley Pride | RCA |
| Christmas in My Home Town | Charley Pride | RCA |
| Coal Miner's Daughter | Loretta Lynn | Decca |
| The Fightin' Side of Me | Merle Haggard | Capitol |
| For the Good Times | Ray Price | Columbia |
| Hello Darlin' | Conway Twitty | Decca |
| Hello, I'm Johnny Cash | Johnny Cash | Columbia |
| Just Plain Charley | Charley Pride | RCA |
| Love Is a Sometimes Thing | Bill Anderson | Decca |
| Okie From Muskogee | Merle Haggard | Capitol |
| Tammy's Touch | Tammy Wynette | Epic |
| The Johnny Cash Show | Johnny Cash | Columbia |
| The World of Tammy Wynette | Tammy Wynette | Epic |

### Other top albums

| Single | Artist | Record Label |
| A Real Live Dolly | Dolly Parton | RCA |
| Color Me Country | Linda Martell | Plantation |
| Country Boy & Country Girl | Jimmy Dean and Dottie West | RCA |
| Forever Yours | Dottie West | RCA |
| Husband Hunting | Liz Anderson | RCA |
| I'm Alright | Lynn Anderson | Chart |
| If It's All the Same to You | Bill Anderson and Jan Howard | Decca |
| Jack Greene, Jeannie Seely | Jack Greene and Jeannie Seely | Decca |
| Look at Mine | Jody Miller | Epic |
| No Love at All | Lynn Anderson | Columbia |
| Rock Me Back to Little Rock | Jan Howard | Decca |
| Skid Row Joe: Down in the Alley | Porter Wagoner | RCA |
| Snowbird | Anne Murray | Capitol |
| Stay There 'Til I Get There | Lynn Anderson | Columbia |
| Uptown Country Girl | Lynn Anderson | Chart |
| We're Gonna Get Together | Buck Owens and Susan Raye | Capitol |
| Where Have All Our Heroes Gone | Bill Anderson | Decca |
| Here's Loretta Singing "Wings Upon Your Horns" | Loretta Lynn | Decca |

## Births

* March 14 — Kristian Bush, member of Sugarland
* July 10 — Gary LeVox, lead singer of Rascal Flatts.
* August 22 – George Canyon, country singer from the late 1990s who enjoyed success in the mid 2000s.
* August 24 — Kristyn Osborn, member of SHeDAISY
* August 25 — Jo Dee Messina, female vocalist of the 1990s and 2000s (decade).
* October 5 — Georgette Jones, the only biological child of George Jones and Tammy Wynette.
* October 25 — Chely Wright, country singer of the late 1990s and 2000s (decade).
* November 5 – Heather and Jennifer Kinley, recorded in the late 1990s as the duo The Kinleys
* November 15 — Jack Ingram, rock-styled country singer-songwriter since the mid-2000s (decade).
* December 10 — Kevin Sharp, country singer from the 1990s, best known for "Nobody Knows" (d. 2014)

## Deaths

* January 4 – Clayton McMichen, 69, pioneering fiddle player and member of the Skillet Lickers.
* April 1 — Paul Cohen, 61, pioneering record producer at Decca Records.
* September 5 – Curley Williams, 56, songwriter most famous for writing "Half as Much."

## Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

* The Original Carter Family – (A. P. Carter 1891–1960, Sara Carter 1898–1979 and Mother Maybelle Carter 1909–1978)

## Major awards
### Grammy Awards

* Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden", Lynn Anderson
* Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "For the Good Times", Ray Price
* Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "If I Were a Carpenter", Johnny Cash and June Carter
* Best Country Instrumental Performance — Me & Jerry, Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed
* Best Country Song — "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife", Marty Robbins (Performer: Marty Robbins)

### Juno Awards

* Country Male Vocalist of the Year — Tommy Hunter
* Country Female Vocalist of the Year — Dianne Leigh
* Country Group or Duo of the Year — Mercey Brothers

### Academy of Country Music

* Entertainer of the Year — Merle Haggard
* Song of the Year — "For the Good Times", Kris Kristofferson (Performer: Ray Price)
* Single of the Year — "For the Good Times", Ray Price
* Album of the Year — For the Good Times, Ray Price
* Top Male Vocalist — Merle Haggard
* Top Female Vocalist — Lynn Anderson
* Top Vocal Group — The Kimberleys
* Top New Male Vocalist — Buddy Alan
* Top New Female Vocalist — Sammi Smith

### Country Music Association

* Entertainer of the Year — Merle Haggard
* Song of the Year — "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", Kris Kristofferson (Performer: Johnny Cash)
* Single of the Year — "Okie from Muskogee", Merle Haggard
* Album of the Year — Okie from Muskogee, Merle Haggard
* Male Vocalist of the Year — Merle Haggard
* Female Vocalist of the Year — Tammy Wynette
* Vocal Duo of the Year — Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
* Vocal Group of the Year — Tompall and the Glaser Brothers
* Instrumentalist of the Year — Jerry Reed
* Instrumental Group of the Year — Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass
* Comedian of the Year — Roy Clark