# 1960 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 1960.

## Events

* February 1 – Loretta Lynn signs her very first record deal with Zero Records. This launches the singer into country music stardom.
* March 29 — Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, destined to become one of the most prominent of the honky tonk bars in Nashville, Tennessee, opens.
* August 27 — Louisiana Hayride puts on its final performance.
* September 24 — Final telecast of ABC-TV's Jubilee USA.
* November 5 — Johnny Horton is killed in a car accident near Milano, Texas, while returning from a concert in nearby Austin. Other passengers in his car – manager Tillman Franks and guitarist Tommy Tomlinson – are injured but survive.

### No dates

* Just four songs – five, if one counts "El Paso" by Marty Robbins, which spent five of its seven weeks at No. 1 in 1960 – ascend to the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot C&W Sides chart. Those songs – listed below – would spend 14, 14, 12 and 10 weeks at No. 1, compared to 10 No. 1 songs in 1959 and eight for all of 1961. Just a quarter of a century later, it was common for 50 songs per year to play musical chairs atop Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart.
* The Chicago-based National Barn Dance moves from WLS to WGN-AM, where it will remain for the rest of its run.
* The Porter Wagoner Show, one of the most successful country music television programs, premieres on CBS late in the year. Norma Jean (Beasler) and comedian Speck Rhodes were the regulars, with guest performers appearing each week. The show ran in syndication for 21 years, and at its peak aired in more than 100 markets, and is largely credited for breaking the career of a young singer named Dolly Parton (who replaced Norma Jean in 1967).

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

(as certified by Billboard)
| Date | Single Name | Artist | Wks. No.1 | Spec. Note |
| February 8 | He'll Have to Go | Jim Reeves | 14 | |
| May 16 | Please Help Me, I'm Falling | Hank Locklin | 14 | Locklin's first Billboard Number One since "Let Me Be the One" in 1953. |
| August 22 | Alabam | Cowboy Copas | 12 | |
| November 14 | Wings of a Dove | Ferlin Husky | 10 | Husky's first Billboard Number One since "Gone" in 1957. |

##### Notes

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

### Other major hits

| US | Single | Artist |
| 3 | Above and Beyond | Buck Owens |
| 16 | Accidentally on Purpose | George Jones |
| 8 | Am I Losing You | Jim Reeves |
| 11 | Am I That Easy to Forget | Skeeter Davis |
| 5 | Amigo's Guitar | Kitty Wells |
| 2 | Another (Just Like Me) | Roy Drusky |
| 3 | Anymore | Roy Drusky |
| 12 | Are You Willing, Willie | Marion Worth |
| 15 | Baby Rocked Her Dolly | Frankie Miller |
| 7 | The Ballad of Wild River | Gene Woods |
| 4 | Before This Day Ends | George Hamilton IV |
| 5 | Big Iron | Marty Robbins |
| 18 | A Broken Dream | Jimmy Smart |
| 16 | But You Use To | Laverne Downs |
| 16 | Carmel by the Sea | Kitty Wells |
| 9 | Cruel Love | Lou Smith |
| 19 | Dead or Alive | Bill Anderson |
| 12 | Dear Mama | Merle Kilgore |
| 17 | (Doin' the) Lover's Leap | Webb Pierce |
| 11 | Drifting Texas Sand | Webb Pierce |
| 4 | Each Moment (Spent With You) | Ernest Ashworth |
| 16 | Ev'rybody's Somebody's Fool | Ernest Tubb |
| 2 | Excuse Me (I Think I've Got a Heartache) | Buck Owens |
| 12 | Eyes of Love | Margie Singleton |
| 10 | Face to the Wall | Faron Young |
| 4 | Fallen Angel | Webb Pierce |
| 10 | Family Bible | Claude Gray |
| 11 | Far, Far Away | Don Gibson |
| 6 | He'll Have to Stay | Jeanne Black |
| 5 | Heart to Heart Talk | Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan |
| 13 | Here I Am Drunk Again | Clyde Beavers |
| 14 | Hot Rod Lincoln | Charlie Ryan |
| 17 | How Far to Little Rock | The Stanley Brothers |
| 2 | (I Can't Help You) I'm Falling Too | Skeeter Davis |
| 5 | I Don't Believe I'll Fall in Love Today | Warren Smith |
| 6 | I Know One | Jim Reeves |
| 20 | I Love You Because | Johnny Cash |
| 3 | I Missed Me | Jim Reeves |
| 7 | I Think I Know | Marion Worth |
| 5 | I Wish I Could Fall in Love Today | Ray Price |
| 19 | I Wish You Love | Billy Walker |
| 14 | I'm a Honky Tonk Girl | Loretta Lynn |
| 3 | I'm Gettin' Better | Jim Reeves |
| 14 | I'm Movin' On | Don Gibson |
| 19 | Imitation of Love | Adrian Roland |
| 11 | Is It Wrong (For Loving You) | Webb Pierce |
| 17 | It's Not Wrong | Connie Hall |
| 17 | Johnny, My Love (Grandma's Diary) | Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper |
| 2 | Just One Time | Don Gibson |
| 18 | The Key's in the Mailbox | Freddie Hart |
| 5 | Left to Right | Kitty Wells |
| 9 | Let's Think About Living | Bob Luman |
| 15 | Life of a Poor Boy | Stonewall Jackson |
| 20 | Little Angel (Come Rock Me to Sleep) | Ted Self |
| 13 | A Little Guy Called Joe | Stonewall Jackson |
| 16 | Lonely River Rhine | Bobby Helms |
| 11 | The Long Walk | Bill Leatherwood |
| 10 | Love Has Made You Beautiful | Merle Kilgore |
| 6 | A Lovely Work of Art | Jimmy C. Newman |
| 12 | Mary Don't You Weep | Stonewall Jackson |
| 9 | Miller's Cave | Hank Snow |
| 15 | Money to Burn | George Jones |
| 16 | The Moon Is Crying | Alan Riddle |
| 16 | Mule Skinner Blues | The Fendermen |
| 4 | No Love Have I | Webb Pierce |
| 13 | Nobody's Darling but Mine | Johnny Sea |
| 20 | The Old Lamplighter | The Browns |
| 2 | One More Time | Ray Price |
| 13 | The One You Slip Around With | Jan Howard |
| 8 | The Picture | Ray Godfrey |
| 13 | Pinball Machine | Lonnie Irving |
| 23 | The Prison Song | Curly Putman |
| 13 | Reasons to Live | Jimmie Skinner |
| 4 | Riverboat | Faron Young |
| 14 | Riverboat Gambler | Jimmie Skinner |
| 22 | Rockin, Rollin' Ocean | Hank Snow |
| 7 | Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair) | The Browns |
| 10 | Seasons of My Heart | Johnny Cash |
| 15 | Second Honeymoon | Johnny Cash |
| 14 | She's Just a Whole Lot Like You | Hank Thompson |
| 6 | Sink the Bismarck | Johnny Horton |
| 10 | A Six Pack to Go | Hank Thompson |
| 13 | Smiling Bill McCall | Johnny Cash |
| 4 | Softly and Tenderly (I'll Hold You in My Arms) | Lewis Pruitt |
| 16 | Straight A's in Love | Johnny Cash |
| 5 | That's My Kind of Love | Marion Worth |
| 21 | There's Not Any Like You Left | Faron Young |
| 21 | This Old Heart | Skeets McDonald |
| 16 | This Ole House | Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper |
| 10 | Timbrook | Lewis Pruitt |
| 7 | The Tip of My Fingers | Bill Anderson |
| 19 | Too Much to Lose | Carl Belew |
| 20 | Until Today | Elmer Snodgrass |
| 11 | Wanting You with Me Tonight | Jimmy C. Newman |
| 11 | Who Will Buy the Wine | Charlie Walker |
| 6 | Why I'm Walkin' | Stonewall Jackson |
| 5 | Wishful Thinking | Wynn Stewart |
| 18 | World So Full of Love | Ray Sanders |
| 8 | You Can't Pick a Rose in December | Ernest Ashworth |
| 4 | You're the Only Good Thing (That's Happened to Me) | George Morgan |
| 5 | Your Old Used to Be | Faron Young |

## Top new album releases

| Single | Artist | Record Label |
| Blood on the Saddle | Tex Ritter | Capitol |
| Dutchman's Gold | Walter Brennan | Dot |
| Eddy Arnold Sings Them Again | Eddy Arnold | RCA |
| Goldie Hill | Goldie Hill | Decca |
| I'll Sing You a Song and Harmonize Too | Skeeter Davis | RCA |
| Johnny Horton Makes History | Johnny Horton | Columbia |
| Midnight Jamboree | Ernest Tubb & His Texas Troubadors, featuring Various Artists | Decca |
| More | Eddy Arnold | RCA |
| The Other Chet Atkins | Chet Atkins | RCA |

### Other album releases

| Single | Artist | Record Label |
| George Jones Salutes Hank Williams | George Jones | Mercury |
| Seasons of My Heart | Kitty Wells | Decca |
| Sixteen Tons | Tennessee Ernie Ford | Capitol |
| Smoke, Smoke, Smoke | Tex Williams | Capitol |
| Teensville | Chet Atkins | RCA |
| Town and Country | The Browns | RCA Victor |
| A Tribute to the Delmore Brothers | Louvin Brothers | Capitol |

## Births

* February 10 — Lionel Cartwright, neotraditionalist of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
* February 16 — Doug Phelps, lead singer of the Kentucky Headhunters.
* April 8 — John Schneider, singer and actor, best known for his 1980s hits and role as Bo Duke on CBS-TV series The Dukes of Hazzard.
* August 22 — Collin Raye, a favorite country artist of the 1990s.
* September 26 — Doug Supernaw, singer of the early 1990s ("I Don't Call Him Daddy") (d. 2020)
* November 4 — Kim Forester, member of The Forester Sisters.
* November 25 — Amy Grant, contemporary Christian singer, wife of Vince Gill.
* December 28 — Marty Roe, lead singer of Diamond Rio.
* December 28 — Marcus Hummon, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter ("Bless the Broken Road")

## Deaths

* January 19 — Ralph Peer, 67, pioneer in record engineering and production (pneumonia).
* May 13 — Gid Tanner, 74, fiddler and leader of pioneering country group the Skillet Lickers.
* November 5 — Johnny Horton, 35, "The Singing Fisherman" and best known for his Americana-styled hits (car accident).
* November 7 — A.P. Carter, 68, a member of The Original Carter Family, one of country music's all-time pioneers (heart disease).

## Major awards
### Grammy Awards

* Best Country and Western Performance — "El Paso", Marty Robbins