# 2017 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 2017.

## Events

* April 3 – Luke Bryan's "Fast" reaches No. 1 on Country Airplay, making Bryan the first artist ever to achieve six No. 1 singles from the same album.
* April 11 – Jeff Cook of Alabama announces he will stop touring with the band, after revealing he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease four years earlier.
* April 23 – The Andrew Johnson Hotel in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Hank Williams stayed December 31, 1952, hours before his death, makes headlines after mayor Tim Burchett announces that Knox County would seek proposals to redevelop the building, sparking re-interest in the circumstances and events surrounding Williams' final hours.
* May 4 – Loretta Lynn suffers a stroke at her Hurricane Mills, Tennessee ranch weeks after celebrating her 85th birthday at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Lynn is said to make a full recovery but postpones numerous shows.
* August – Taylor Swift sues and prevails in a civil trial against David Mueller, a former morning show personality for Denver's KYGO-FM, in connection with an incident in 2013 – when Swift was still touring and being billed as primarily a country music performer – where Swift accused Mueller of sexually assaulting her by groping her at an event. Mueller later sued Swift, accusing her of lying and causing him to be fired from his job at KYGO, but Swift countersued for sexual assault. During the trial, a jury rejects Mueller's claims and rules in favor of Swift. In December, Swift, as a result of the 2013 incident and subsequent civil trial, is one of the "Silence Breakers" named Time's 2017 Person of the Year
* August 12 – "Body Like a Back Road" by Sam Hunt breaks two Billboard Hot Country Songs chart records for No. 1 longevity within a month of each other. On July 22, upon spending its 22nd week at No. 1, "... Back Road" becomes the longest-running No. 1 song by a male solo artist since the start of the charts in 1944, bumping three songs that had been tied for first with 21 weeks: "I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)" by Eddy Arnold (1947), "I'm Movin' On" by Hank Snow with the Rainbow Ranch Boys (1950), and "In the Jailhouse Now" by Webb Pierce (1955). On August 12, the song's 25th week at No. 1, Hunt bumps Florida Georgia Line's "Cruise" for lengthiest No. 1 run (previously 24 weeks) in chart history; the song eventually logs 34 weeks at No. 1, finally dropping from the top spot (to No. 2) on the chart dated October 21. The song's long-running popularity is attributed in part due to downloads and live streaming, and its No. 6 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, all without a music video for the track.
* September 8 – Troy Gentry, half of the duo Montgomery Gentry, is killed in a helicopter crash in New Jersey.
* September 9 – The radio countdown program American Country Countdown returns to using the Billboard chart as its source after eight years of using the Mediabase chart. The Country Airplay chart is used.
* September 29 - Shania Twain releases her first studio album in nearly 15 years, Now.
* October 1 – A mass shooting occurs at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Paradise, Nevada, during a closing performance by Jason Aldean. A shooter fired into the crowd from a 32nd-floor balcony of the Mandalay Bay hotel, located to the southeast of the Las Vegas Village outdoor concert venue. Initial reports indicated that more than 50 people had died and more than 400 were wounded, with those numbers expected to rise, and that the gunman was also dead. Aldean was able to escape uninjured and later posts social media messages confirming his safety. Less than a week later, Aldean pays tribute to the victims and others impacted by the events in Las Vegas by appearing on Saturday Night Live, giving words of support before performing Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down"; the tribute also honors Petty, who died the day after the shooting.
* October 1 – Loretta Lynn returns to the stage after a near 5-month absence from the spotlight after suffering a stroke on May 4, at her Hurricane Mills, Tennessee Ranch. Lynn sung three of her hit songs at a concert at her ranch which include "Coal Miner’s Daughter," "You Ain’t Woman Enough" and "Dear Uncle Sam."

## Top hits of the year

The following songs placed within the Top 20 on the Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay, or Canada Country charts in 2017:

### Singles released by American artists

| Songs | Airplay | Canada | Single | Artist |
| 11 | 12 | 17 | "80s Mercedes" | Maren Morris |
| 7 | 1 | 2 | "All the Pretty Girls" | Kenny Chesney |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | "Any Ol' Barstool" | Jason Aldean |
| 13 | 1 | 30 | "Ask Me How I Know" | Garth Brooks |
| 29 | 15 | 24 | "Baby, Let's Lay Down and Dance" | Garth Brooks |
| 17 | 10 | 2 | "Bar at the End of the World" | Kenny Chesney |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | "Better Man" | Little Big Town |
| 4 | 2 | 8 | "Black" | Dierks Bentley |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | "Blue Ain't Your Color" | Keith Urban |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | "Body Like a Back Road" | Sam Hunt |
| 32 | 20 | 50 | "California" | Big & Rich |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | "Craving You" | Thomas Rhett featuring Maren Morris |
| 18 | — | — | "The Dance" | Lauren Duski |
| 18 | 29 | 39 | "Dear Hate" | Maren Morris featuring Vince Gill |
| 4 | — | — | "Deja Vu" | Lauren Duski |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | "Dirt on My Boots" | Jon Pardi |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | "Dirty Laundry" | Carrie Underwood |
| 5 | 1 | 3 | "Do I Make You Wanna" | Billy Currington |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | "Drinkin' Problem" | Midland |
| 16 | — | — | "Drinkin' Too Much" | Sam Hunt |
| 17 | 26 | — | "Either Way" | Chris Stapleton |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | "Every Little Thing" | Carly Pearce |
| 8 | 1 | 2 | "Every Time I Hear That Song" | Blake Shelton |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | "Fast" | Luke Bryan |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | "The Fighter" | Keith Urban featuring Carrie Underwood |
| 10 | 2 | 4 | "Fix a Drink" | Chris Janson |
| 10 | 2 | 4 | "Flatliner" | Cole Swindell featuring Dierks Bentley |
| 17 | 10 | 1 | "For Her" | Chris Lane |
| 13 | — | — | "Found You" | Kane Brown |
| 19 | — | — | "Ghost in This House" | Lauren Duski |
| 4 | 1 | 3 | "God, Your Mama, and Me" | Florida Georgia Line featuring Backstreet Boys |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | "Greatest Love Story" | LANco |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | "A Guy with a Girl" | Blake Shelton |
| 5 | 3 | 1 | "Heartache on the Dance Floor" | Jon Pardi |
| 25 | 20 | — | "Holdin' Her" | Chris Janson |
| 5 | 2 | 7 | "Hometown Girl" | Josh Turner |
| 9 | 3 | 7 | "How I'll Always Be" | Tim McGraw |
| 7 | 1 | 25 | "How Not To" | Dan + Shay |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | "Hurricane" | Luke Combs |
| 16 | — | — | "I Pray" | Red Marlow |
| 6 | 1 | 1 | "I'll Name the Dogs" | Blake Shelton |
| 4 | 1 | 23 | "If I Told You" | Darius Rucker |
| 14 | 6 | 9 | "If the Boot Fits" | Granger Smith |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | "In Case You Didn't Know" | Brett Young |
| 14 | 12 | 10 | "It Ain't My Fault" | Brothers Osborne |
| 9 | 6 | 2 | "Kill a Word" | Eric Church featuring Rhiannon Giddens |
| 26 | 19 | 34 | "Last Time for Everything" | Brad Paisley |
| 4 | 1 | 3 | "Light It Up" | Luke Bryan |
| 8 | 4 | 3 | "More Girls Like You" | Kip Moore |
| 3 | 1 | 13 | "My Girl" | Dylan Scott |
| 10 | 14 | 22 | "My Old Man" | Zac Brown Band |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | "No Such Thing as a Broken Heart" | Old Dominion |
| 24 | 10 | 17 | "Outta Style" | Aaron Watson |
| 12 | 17 | 46 | "Parachute" | Chris Stapleton |
| 22 | 16 | 35 | "Ring on Every Finger" | LoCash |
| 8 | 1 | 3 | "Road Less Traveled" | Lauren Alaina |
| 5 | 1 | 4 | "Seein' Red" | Dustin Lynch |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | "Small Town Boy" | Dustin Lynch |
| 16 | 14 | 11 | "Smooth" | Florida Georgia Line |
| 4 | 1 | 3 | "Sober Saturday Night" | Chris Young featuring Vince Gill |
| 9 | 1 | 6 | "Somebody Else Will" | Justin Moore |
| 6 | 19 | 27 | "Speak to a Girl" | Tim McGraw and Faith Hill |
| 4 | 1 | 1 | "Star of the Show" | Thomas Rhett |
| 27 | 18 | 44 | "There's a Girl" | Trent Harmon |
| 8 | 3 | 2 | "They Don't Know" | Jason Aldean |
| 3 | 2 | 23 | "Think a Little Less" | Michael Ray |
| 15 | 22 | 50 | "Tin Man" | Miranda Lambert |
| 7 | 3 | 5 | "Today" | Brad Paisley |
| 4 | 1 | 1 | "Unforgettable" | Thomas Rhett |
| 25 | 26 | 20 | "We Should Be Friends" | Miranda Lambert |
| 9 | 7 | 18 | "The Weekend" | Brantley Gilbert |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | "What Ifs" | Kane Brown featuring Lauren Alaina |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | "When It Rains It Pours" | Luke Combs |
| 9 | 3 | 2 | "Yeah Boy" | Kelsea Ballerini |
| 8 | 4 | 8 | "You Look Good" | Lady Antebellum |
| 13 | 1 | 7 | "Yours If You Want It" | Rascal Flatts |

### Singles released by Canadian artists

| Songs | Airplay | Canada | Single | Artist |
| — | — | 9 | "All Alright" | Lindsay Ell |
| — | — | 19 | "Barn Burner" | Dan Davidson |
| — | — | 11 | "Be Country with Me" | Meghan Patrick |
| — | — | 9 | "Bonfire" | River Town Saints |
| — | — | 1 | "Chills" | James Barker Band |
| — | — | 7 | "Crazy About You" | The Road Hammers |
| — | — | 5 | "Dear Life" | High Valley |
| — | — | 3 | "Drive Me Away" | Jess Moskaluke |
| — | — | 13 | "Fall in Love If You Want To" | Gord Bamford |
| — | — | 19 | "Get While the Gettin's Good" | Bobby Wills |
| — | — | 19 | "Head Over Heels" | The Washboard Union |
| — | — | 11 | "Homemade" | Cold Creek County |
| — | — | 16 | "Hometown Kids" | Reklaws |
| — | — | 1 | "I Be U Be" | High Valley |
| — | — | 3 | "It's Working" | James Barker Band |
| — | — | 16 | "The Journey" | Paul Brandt |
| — | — | 10 | "Just Got Paid" | Emerson Drive |
| — | — | 7 | "Just Sayin'" | James Barker Band |
| — | — | 16 | "Kill Your Love" | Jess Moskaluke |
| — | — | 5 | "Livin' on Summertime" | Gord Bamford |
| — | — | 8 | "Lonely Drum" | Aaron Goodvin |
| — | — | 20 | "Made for You" | Jojo Mason |
| 21 | 17 | — | "Make You Mine" (U.S. release) | High Valley |
| — | — | 14 | "Might As Well Be Me" | Chad Brownlee |
| — | — | 8 | "Motel Flamingo" | Madeline Merlo |
| — | — | 11 | "On Me" | Andrew Hyatt |
| — | — | 17 | "Out of the Blue" | Chad Brownlee |
| — | — | 13 | "Over and Over" | Madeline Merlo |
| — | — | 8 | "Paradise Found" | Shawn Austin |
| — | — | 9 | "Shine" | Washboard Union |
| — | — | 1 | "Side Effects" | Dallas Smith |
| — | — | 1 | "Sky Stays This Blue" | Dallas Smith |
| — | — | 2 | "Slide Over" | Tim Hicks |
| — | — | 9 | "Slow Burn" | Tim Hicks |
| — | — | 18 | "Soggy Bottom Summer" | Dean Brody featuring Alan Doyle |
| — | — | 8 | "Something to Wrap My Heart Around" | Jojo Mason |
| — | — | 7 | "Something We Shouldn't Do" | Chad Brownlee |
| — | — | 10 | "Still Loving You" | Meghan Patrick |
| — | — | 19 | "That's When You Know" | Chris Buck Band featuring Kira Isabella |
| — | — | 2 | "Time" | Dean Brody |
| — | 42 | 4 | "Waiting on You" | Lindsay Ell |
| — | — | 4 | "We Were That Song" | Brett Kissel |
| — | — | 5 | "When a Momma's Boy Meets a Daddy's Girl" | Aaron Pritchett |