# 1985 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1985.

## Events

* January — In radio, the United Stations Programming Network’s "Solid Gold Country," a country music spinoff of the oldies-focused "Solid Gold Scrapbook," switches from a three-hour-a-week show to a five-day-a-week program (with the option to air all five hours in as a weekly program). Under the new format, each hourly program covered a different topic, such as a profile on a singer, songwriter or producer; a look back at the popular songs from the current week in a past year, gold records from the current month and other topics under virtually every conceivable topic. The new program will run 8-1/2 years.
* May 6 - 20th Academy of Country Music Awards: Alabama, George Strait, and Reba McEntire win
* A story published in The New York Times declares that country music is "dead." However, a number of new acts – Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakam among them – are working behind the scenes to change the trend.
* The Country Music Association Awards introduced a new award, Music Video of the Year. The first recipient was Hank Williams Jr.'s video for "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight."

## Top hits of the year
### Singles released by American artists

| US | CAN | Single | Artist |
| 1 | 1 | 40 Hour Week (For a Livin') | Alabama |
| 1 | 1 | Ain't She Somethin' Else | Conway Twitty |
| 8 | 8 | All Tangled Up in Love | Gus Hardin |
| 8 | 22 | Angel in Your Arms | Barbara Mandrell |
| 1 | 1 | Baby Bye Bye | Gary Morris |
| 1 | 1 | Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On | Mel McDaniel |
| 1 | 1 | The Best Year of My Life | Eddie Rabbitt |
| 5 | 5 | Betty's Bein' Bad | Sawyer Brown |
| 3 | 7 | Between Blue Eyes and Jeans | Conway Twitty |
| 15 | 13 | Blue Highway | John Conlee |
| 15 | — | Break Away | Gail Davies |
| 13 | 11 | California | Keith Stegall |
| 1 | 1 | Can't Keep a Good Man Down | Alabama |
| 9 | 11 | Carolina in the Pines | Michael Martin Murphey |
| 1 | 1 | The Chair | George Strait |
| 1 | 1 | Country Boy | Ricky Skaggs |
| 1 | 1 | Country Girls | John Schneider |
| 5 | 3 | The Cowboy Rides Away | George Strait |
| 1 | 1 | Crazy | Kenny Rogers |
| 1 | 1 | Crazy for Your Love | Exile |
| 9 | 8 | Cry Just a Little Bit | Sylvia |
| 15 | 20 | Desperados Waiting for a Train | The Highwaymen |
| 20 | 16 | Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music) | Vern Gosdin |
| 1 | 1 | Dixie Road | Lee Greenwood |
| 1 | 10 | Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind | George Strait |
| 8 | 5 | Doncha? | T. G. Sheppard |
| 1 | 1 | Don't Call Him a Cowboy | Conway Twitty |
| 3 | 5 | Don't Call It Love | Dolly Parton |
| 2 | 26 | Drinkin' and Dreamin' | Waylon Jennings |
| 20 | 17 | Eye of a Hurricane | John Anderson |
| 2 | 1 | Fallin' in Love | Sylvia |
| 5 | 10 | The Fireman | George Strait |
| 7 | 5 | The First Word in Memory Is Me | Janie Fricke |
| 1 | 1 | Forgiving You Was Easy | Willie Nelson |
| 17 | 5 | The Girl Most Likely To | B. J. Thomas |
| 1 | 1 | Girls Night Out | The Judds |
| 7 | 15 | Got No Reason Now for Goin' Home | Gene Watson |
| 15 | 13 | Hallelujah, I Love You So | George Jones with Brenda Lee |
| 1 | 1 | Hang On to Your Heart | Exile |
| 6 | 10 | Have I Got a Deal for You | Reba McEntire |
| 1 | 2 | Have Mercy | The Judds |
| 19 | 42 | Heart Don't Do This to Me | Loretta Lynn |
| 8 | 15 | Heart Trouble | Steve Wariner |
| 3 | 3 | Hello Mary Lou | The Statler Brothers |
| 2 | 2 | High Horse | Nitty Gritty Dirt Band |
| 1 | 1 | Highwayman | The Highwaymen |
| 1 | 1 | Honor Bound | Earl Thomas Conley |
| 1 | 6 | How Blue | Reba McEntire |
| 1 | 1 | I Don't Know Why You Don't Want Me | Rosanne Cash |
| 1 | 1 | I Don't Mind the Thorns (If You're the Rose) | Lee Greenwood |
| 1 | 3 | I Fell in Love Again Last Night | The Forester Sisters |
| 1 | 4 | I Need More of You | The Bellamy Brothers |
| 10 | 6 | I Never Made Love (Till I Made It with You) | Mac Davis |
| 8 | 6 | I Wanna Hear It from You | Eddy Raven |
| 5 | 3 | I Wanna Say Yes | Louise Mandrell |
| 10 | 9 | I Want Everyone to Cry | Restless Heart |
| 20 | — | I'd Dance Every Dance with You | The Kendalls |
| 1 | 1 | I'll Never Stop Loving You | Gary Morris |
| 1 | 5 | I'm for Love | Hank Williams Jr. |
| 10 | 7 | I'm Gonna Leave You Tomorrow | John Schneider |
| 10 | 10 | I'm the One Mama Warned You About | Mickey Gilley |
| 20 | 19 | If It Ain't Love | Ed Bruce |
| 12 | 22 | If It Ain't Love (Let's Leave It Alone) | The Whites |
| 10 | 5 | If It Weren't for Him | Vince Gill |
| 15 | 15 | If That Ain't Love | Lacy J. Dalton |
| 16 | 45 | If the Phone Doesn't Ring, It's Me | Jimmy Buffett |
| 5 | 1 | In a New York Minute | Ronnie McDowell |
| 12 | 31 | It Ain't Gonna Worry My Mind | Ray Charles and Mickey Gilley |
| 19 | 12 | It Should Have Been Love by Now | Barbara Mandrell & Lee Greenwood |
| 10 | 6 | It's a Short Walk from Heaven to Hell | John Schneider |
| 15 | 18 | It's All Over Now | John Anderson |
| 20 | 49 | It's Time for Love | Don Williams |
| 10 | 10 | Kern River | Merle Haggard |
| 4 | — | A Lady Like You | Glen Campbell |
| 9 | 8 | Lasso the Moon | Gary Morris |
| 19 | 21 | The Legend and the Man | Conway Twitty |
| 16 | — | Leona | Sawyer Brown |
| 6 | 6 | Let It Roll (Let It Rock) | Mel McDaniel |
| 16 | 33 | Let Me Down Easy | Jim Glaser |
| 23 | 20 | Let the Heartache Ride | Restless Heart |
| 2 | 3 | Lie to You for Your Love | The Bellamy Brothers |
| 1 | 1 | Little Things | The Oak Ridge Boys |
| 5 | 5 | A Long and Lasting Love | Crystal Gayle |
| 1 | 1 | Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In the Still of the Night) | Ronnie Milsap |
| 14 | — | (Love Always) Letter to Home | Glen Campbell |
| 1 | 1 | Love Don't Care (Whose Heart It Breaks) | Earl Thomas Conley |
| 1 | 1 | Love Is Alive | The Judds |
| 9 | 14 | Love Talks | Ronnie McDowell |
| 10 | 14 | Major Moves | Hank Williams Jr. |
| 1 | 1 | Make My Life with You | The Oak Ridge Boys |
| 8 | 23 | Maybe My Baby | Louise Mandrell |
| 4 | 1 | Me Against the Night | Crystal Gayle |
| 14 | 6 | Me and Paul | Willie Nelson |
| 1 | 19 | Meet Me in Montana | Marie Osmond (with Dan Seals) |
| 20 | 32 | The Mississippi Squirrel Revival | Ray Stevens |
| 1 | 2 | Modern Day Romance | Nitty Gritty Dirt Band |
| 2 | 2 | My Baby's Got Good Timing | Dan Seals |
| 9 | 9 | My Old Yellow Car | Dan Seals |
| 1 | 3 | My Only Love | The Statler Brothers |
| 19 | — | My Toot-Toot | Rockin' Sidney |
| 1 | 2 | Natural High | Merle Haggard |
| 1 | 1 | Nobody Falls Like a Fool | Earl Thomas Conley |
| 3 | 4 | Nobody Wants to Be Alone | Crystal Gayle |
| 2 | 1 | Old Hippie | The Bellamy Brothers |
| 4 | 3 | One Owner Heart | T. G. Sheppard |
| 5 | 6 | Only in My Mind | Reba McEntire |
| 9 | 8 | Operator, Operator | Eddy Raven |
| 1 | 1 | A Place to Fall Apart | Merle Haggard featuring Janie Fricke |
| 10 | 12 | Pretty Lady | Keith Stegall |
| 1 | 1 | Radio Heart | Charly McClain |
| 1 | 1 | Real Love | Dolly Parton (duet with Kenny Rogers) |
| 9 | 9 | Rollin' Lonely | Johnny Lee |
| 12 | 12 | Save the Last Chance | Johnny Lee |
| 1 | 1 | Seven Spanish Angels | Ray Charles (with Willie Nelson) |
| 1 | 1 | She Keeps the Home Fires Burning | Ronnie Milsap |
| 11 | 11 | She Used to Love Me a Lot | David Allan Coe |
| 1 | 1 | She's a Miracle | Exile |
| 6 | 22 | She's Comin' Back to Say Goodbye | Eddie Rabbitt |
| 9 | 5 | She's Gonna Win Your Heart | Eddy Raven |
| 2 | 1 | She's My Rock | George Jones |
| 2 | 2 | She's Single Again | Janie Fricke |
| 19 | 11 | Size Seven Round (Made of Gold) | George Jones with Lacy J. Dalton |
| 10 | 7 | Slow Burning Memory | Vern Gosdin |
| 1 | 1 | Some Fools Never Learn | Steve Wariner |
| 4 | 4 | Somebody Else's Fire | Janie Fricke |
| 1 | 8 | Somebody Should Leave | Reba McEntire |
| 26 | 14 | Someone Like You | Emmylou Harris |
| 2 | 1 | Something in My Heart | Ricky Skaggs |
| 6 | 24 | Sometimes When We Touch | Mark Gray & Tammy Wynette |
| 5 | 3 | Stand Up | Mel McDaniel |
| 1 | 1 | Step That Step | Sawyer Brown |
| 10 | — | (That's What You Do) When You're in Love | The Forester Sisters |
| 1 | 1 | (There's A) Fire in the Night | Alabama |
| 7 | 24 | There's No Love in Tennessee | Barbara Mandrell |
| 1 | 2 | There's No Way | Alabama |
| 19 | 37 | They Never Had to Get Over You | Johnny Lee |
| 14 | 14 | Thing About You | Southern Pacific with Emmylou Harris |
| 4 | 22 | This Ain't Dallas | Hank Williams Jr. |
| 1 | 1 | Too Much on My Heart | The Statler Brothers |
| 1 | 1 | Touch a Hand, Make a Friend | The Oak Ridge Boys |
| 14 | 18 | Two Old Cats Like Us | Ray Charles with Hank Williams Jr. |
| 3 | 1 | Used to Blue | Sawyer Brown |
| 2 | 3 | Walkin' a Broken Heart | Don Williams |
| 10 | 14 | Waltz Me to Heaven | Waylon Jennings |
| 4 | 3 | Warning Sign | Eddie Rabbitt |
| 3 | 1 | What I Didn't Do | Steve Wariner |
| 8 | 6 | What She Wants | Michael Martin Murphey |
| 17 | 46 | When Givin' Up Was Easy | Ed Bruce |
| 14 | 6 | White Line | Emmylou Harris |
| 3 | 2 | Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes | George Jones |
| 5 | 9 | With Just One Look in Your Eyes | Charly McClain (with Wayne Massey) |
| 7 | 6 | Working Man | John Conlee |
| 10 | 27 | A World Without Love | Eddie Rabbitt |
| 2 | 2 | Years After You | John Conlee |
| 20 | 20 | You Can't Run Away from Your Heart | Lacy J. Dalton |
| 7 | 8 | You Make Me Feel Like a Man | Ricky Skaggs |
| 1 | 1 | You Make Me Want to Make You Mine | Juice Newton |
| 3 | 3 | You Turn Me On (Like a Radio) | Ed Bruce |
| 10 | 8 | You're Going Out of My Mind | T. G. Sheppard |
| 9 | 6 | You've Got a Good Love Comin' | Lee Greenwood |
| 10 | 7 | You've Got Something on Your Mind | Mickey Gilley |

### Singles released by Canadian artists

| US | CAN | Single | Artist |
| — | 12 | Blue Moon Cafe | Albert Hall |
| — | 13 | Counting the I Love Yous | Terry Carisse |
| 73 | 10 | Heaven Knows | Audie Henry |
| — | 12 | Hold On to What You Got | Gilles Godard |
| 7 | 4 | I Don't Think I'm Ready for You | Anne Murray |
| — | 18 | I Just Didn't Love You Very Well | John Winters |
| — | 9 | I'll Take Her Love Anytime | George Carone |
| — | 10 | I'm Glad We're Bad at Something | Ronnie Prophet & Glory-Anne Carriere |
| — | 9 | If You Can't Stand the Heat | Carroll Baker |
| 95 | 5 | It Always Hurts the First Time | Carroll Baker |
| — | 19 | The Loneliest Star in Texas | Terry Sumsion |
| — | 7 | Love Is the Reason | Mercey Brothers |
| — | 9 | Magic in the Music | C-Weed Band |
| — | 11 | She Saves Her Love for Me | Stoker Bros |
| — | 18 | She's No Lady | Paul Weber |
| — | 17 | Sonny's Dream | Valdy |
| — | 10 | Sweet Blue | Terry Carisse |
| 71 | 10 | Sweet Salvation | Audie Henry |
| — | 10 | Take Me Home Mississippi | Jamie Warren |
| — | 15 | That's When You Know It's Over | Terry Sumsion |
| 2 | 1 | Time Don't Run Out on Me | Anne Murray |
| — | 17 | Two Broken Hearts | Terry Carisse |
| — | 12 | We Can Only Pretend | George Carone |
| — | 7 | We Won't Ever Say Goodbye | Gilles Godard |
| — | 10 | You Lifted Me High Enough | Mercey Brothers |

## Top new album releases

| US | Album | Artist | Record Label |
| 1 | 40-Hour Week | Alabama | RCA |
| 8 | Alabama Christmas | Alabama | RCA |
| 25 | Amber Waves of Grain | Merle Haggard | Epic |
| 1 | Anything Goes | Gary Morris | Warner Bros. |
| 8 | The Ballad of Sally Rose | Emmylou Harris | Warner Bros. |
| 7 | Centerfield | John Fogerty | Warner Bros. |
| 22 | Darlin', Darlin' | David Allan Coe | Columbia |
| 7 | Don't Call Him a Cowboy | Conway Twitty | Warner Bros. |
| 24 | Favorite Country Hits | Ricky Skaggs | Epic |
| 1 | Five-O | Hank Williams Jr. | Curb/Warner Bros. |
| 4 | The Forester Sisters | The Forester Sisters | Warner Bros. |
| 4 | Greatest Hits | George Strait | MCA |
| 25 | Get to the Heart | Barbara Mandrell | MCA |
| 1 | Greatest Hits | Earl Thomas Conley | RCA |
| 4 | Greatest Hits | Lee Greenwood | MCA |
| 1 | Greatest Hits Vol. 2 | Ronnie Milsap | RCA |
| 10 | Half Nelson | Willie Nelson | Columbia |
| 1 | Greatest Hits Volume 2 | Hank Williams Jr. | Curb/Warner Bros. |
| 2 | Hang On to Your Heart | Exile | Epic |
| 1 | The Heart of the Matter | Kenny Rogers | RCA |
| 23 | High Country Snows | Dan Fogelberg | Full Moon/Epic |
| 1 | Highwayman | The Highwaymen | Columbia |
| 10 | Howard & David | The Bellamy Brothers | Curb/MCA |
| 1 | I Have Returned | Ray Stevens | MCA |
| 8 | Kern River | Merle Haggard | Epic |
| 7 | Last Mango in Paris | Jimmy Buffett | MCA |
| 4 | Let It Roll | Mel McDaniel | Capitol |
| 22 | Life Highway | Steve Wariner | MCA |
| 1 | Live in London | Ricky Skaggs | Epic |
| 1 | Lost in the Fifties Tonight | Ronnie Milsap | RCA |
| 17 | Love Is What We Make It | Kenny Rogers | Liberty |
| 3 | Me and Paul | Willie Nelson | Columbia |
| 1 | A Memory Like You | John Schneider | MCA |
| 13 | My Toot Toot | Rockin' Sidney | Epic |
| 17 | Nobody Wants to Be Alone | Crystal Gayle | Warner Bros. |
| 12 | Old Flame | Juice Newton | RCA |
| 24 | Old Ways | Neil Young | Geffen |
| 20 | One Good Night Deserves Another | Steve Wariner | MCA |
| 19 | One Step Closer | Sylvia | RCA |
| 1 | Pardners in Rhyme | The Statler Brothers | Mercury/PolyGram |
| 9 | Partners, Brothers and Friends | Nitty Gritty Dirt Band | Warner Bros. |
| 15 | Radio Heart | Charly McClain | Epic |
| 9 | Real Love | Dolly Parton | RCA |
| 10 | Restless Heart | Restless Heart | RCA |
| 1 | Rhythm & Romance | Rosanne Cash | Columbia |
| 1 | Rockin' with the Rhythm | The Judds | Curb/RCA |
| 2 | Sawyer Brown | Sawyer Brown | Capitol/Curb |
| 3 | Shakin' | Sawyer Brown | Capitol/Curb |
| 21 | Somebody Else's Fire | Janie Fricke | Columbia |
| 1 | Something Special | George Strait | MCA |
| 25 | Southern Pacific | Southern Pacific | Warner Bros. |
| 25 | Stand Up | Mel McDaniel | Capitol |
| 3 | Step On Out | The Oak Ridge Boys | MCA |
| 1 | Streamline | Lee Greenwood | MCA |
| 6 | Sweet Dreams–The Life and Times of Patsy Cline (Soundtrack) | Patsy Cline | MCA |
| 16 | There's No Stopping Your Heart | Marie Osmond | Capitol/Curb |
| 24 | Tokyo, Oklahoma | John Anderson | Warner Bros. |
| 15 | Tryin' to Outrun the Wind | John Schneider | MCA |
| 23 | Turn the Page | Waylon Jennings | RCA |
| 6 | Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes? | George Jones | Epic |
| 1 | Won't Be Blue Anymore | Dan Seals | Capitol |

### Other top albums

| US | Album | Artist | Record Label |
| 27 | 12 Greatest Hits | Patsy Cline | MCA |
| 50 | 19 Hot Country Requests | Various Artists | Epic |
| 59 | 19 Hot Country Requests–Vol. 2 | Various Artists | Epic |
| 33 | Atlanta | Atlanta | MCA |
| 61 | The Bama Band | The Bama Band | Compleat |
| 29 | The Best of Reba McEntire | Reba McEntire | Mercury/PolyGram |
| 39 | Big River–The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | Various Artists | MCA |
| 39 | Biggest Hits | Charly McClain | Epic |
| 33 | Can't Run Away from Your Heart | Lacy J. Dalton | Columbia |
| 29 | Chasin' Rainbows | Conway Twitty | Warner Bros. |
| 42 | Christmas Present | The Statler Brothers | Mercury/PolyGram |
| 29 | Christmas to Christmas | Lee Greenwood | MCA |
| 38 | Cut from a Different Stone | Razzy Bailey | MCA |
| 40 | Dallas–The Music Story | Various Artists | Warner Bros. |
| 28 | Don't Make Me Wait on the Moon | Shelly West | Viva |
| 64 | Dreamland Express | John Denver | RCA |
| 34 | Eddie Rabbitt #1's | Eddie Rabbitt | Warner Bros. |
| 42 | From My Heart | Kathy Mattea | Mercury/PolyGram |
| 27 | Greatest Hits | Barbara Mandrell | MCA |
| 33 | Greatest Hits Vol. 2 | John Conlee | MCA |
| 60 | Greatest Hits, Volume 2 | Charley Pride | RCA |
| 60 | Greatest Hits Vol. IV | Don Williams | MCA |
| 27 | Have I Got a Deal for You | Reba McEntire | MCA |
| 38 | His Best | Merle Haggard | MCA |
| 40 | I Feel Good (About Lovin' You) | Mickey Gilley | Epic |
| 32 | It's Just a Matter of Time | Glen Campbell | Atlantic America |
| 49 | John McEuen | John McEuen | Warner Bros. |
| 63 | Just a Woman | Loretta Lynn | MCA |
| 36 | Keep Me Hangin' On | Johnny Lee | Warner Bros. |
| 45 | Keith Stegall | Keith Stegall | Epic |
| 55 | Lane Brody | Lane Brody | Capitol |
| 53 | Live! At Gilley's | Mickey Gilley | Epic |
| 26 | Livin' on the Edge | T. G. Sheppard | Columbia |
| 62 | Lone Justice | Lone Justice | Geffen |
| 64 | Love and Other Hard Times | Eddy Raven | RCA |
| 60 | Maybe My Baby | Louise Mandrell | RCA |
| 27 | Me and the Boys | The Charlie Daniels Band | Epic |
| 35 | Memories to Burn | Gene Watson | Epic |
| 55 | Music from Rustler's Rhapsody and Other Songs | Various Artists | Warner Bros. |
| 58 | Old Friends | Terri Gibbs | Warner Bros. |
| 40 | Past the Point of No Return | Jim Glaser | MCA/Noble Vision |
| 48 | ...Say When | Nicolette Larson | MCA |
| 35 | Smile | Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers | Columbia |
| 32 | Sometimes When We Touch | Tammy Wynette | Epic |
| 63 | Song in a Seashell | Tom T. Hall | Mercury/PolyGram |
| 27 | Songs You Know by Heart | Jimmy Buffett | MCA |
| 42 | The Spirit of Christmas | Ray Charles | Columbia |
| 54 | T. G. Sheppard | T. G. Sheppard | Warner Bros. |
| 54 | Tender Loving Care | Tom Jones | Mercury/PolyGram |
| 45 | Tennessee Christmas | Various Artists | MCA |
| 63 | The Things That Matter | Vince Gill | RCA |
| 48 | Till I Made It with You | Mac Davis | MCA |
| 31 | Time Stood Still | Vern Gosdin | Compleat |
| 27 | Two Heart Harmony | The Kendalls | Mercury/PolyGram |
| 49 | Unchained | David Allan Coe | Columbia |
| 33 | The Very Best of Janie | Janie Fricke | Columbia |
| 64 | Wall of Tears | Gus Hardin | RCA |
| 52 | Where's the Fire | Leon Everette | Mercury/PolyGram |
| 42 | Whole New World | The Whites | MCA |

## On television
### Regular series

* Hee Haw (1969–1993, syndicated)
* That Nashville Music (1970–1985, syndicated)

### Specials
## Births

* January 20 – Brantley Gilbert, singer of the 2010s best known for "Country Must Be Country Wide" and "You Don't Know Her Like I Do"
* May 14 – Dustin Lynch, country singer-songwriter of the 2010s and 2020s
* May 20 – Jon Pardi, country singer of the 2010s
* June 12 – Chris Young, winner on the fourth season of Nashville Star
* August 26 – Brian Kelley, member of Florida Georgia Line, a duo of the 2010s.
* September 1 — Charlie Worsham, singer/multi-instrumentalist honored by the Mississippi state senate
* September 19 — Chase Rice, country singer of the 2010s

## Deaths

* July 17 – Wynn Stewart, 51, key progenitor of the Bakersfield sound, known for hits such as "It's Such a Pretty World Today" (heart attack)
* August 8 – Benny Barnes, 51, former rhythm guitarist for George Jones, best known for his 1956 hit "Poor Man's Riches"
* October 11 -- Tex Williams, 68, Western swing and talking blues performer best known for "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" (pancreatic cancer)

## Hall of Fame inductees
### Country Music Hall of Fame inductees

* Flatt and Scruggs (Lester Flatt 1914–1979 and Earl Scruggs 1924–2012)

### Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees

* Don Messer
* Hank Snow

## Major awards
### Grammy Awards

* Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "I Don't Know Why You Don't Want Me", Rosanne Cash
* Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "Lost in the Fifties Tonight", Ronnie Milsap
* Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "Why Not Me" The Judds
* Best Country Instrumental Performance — "Cosmic Square Dance", Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler
* Best Country Song — "Highwayman," Jimmy Webb (Performer: The Highwaymen)

### Juno Awards

* Country Male Vocalist of the Year — Murray McLauchlan
* Country Female Vocalist of the Year — Anne Murray
* Country Group or Duo of the Year — Family Brown

### Academy of Country Music

* Entertainer of the Year — Alabama
* Song of the Year — "Lost in the Fifties Tonight", Fred Parris, Mike Reid and Troy Seals (Performer: Ronnie Milsap)
* Single of the Year — "Highwayman", The Highwaymen
* Album of the Year — Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind, George Strait
* Top Male Vocalist — George Strait
* Top Female Vocalist — Reba McEntire
* Top Vocal Duo — The Judds
* Top Vocal Group — Alabama
* Top New Male Vocalist — Randy Travis
* Top New Female Vocalist — Judy Rodman
* Video of the Year — "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes?", George Jones (Directors: Marc Ball)

### Canadian Country Music Association

* Entertainer of the Year — Dick Damron
* Male Artist of the Year — Terry Carisse
* Female Artist of the Year — Carroll Baker
* Group of the Year — The Mercey Brothers
* SOCAN Song of the Year — "Counting the I Love You's", Terry Carisse, Bruce Rawlins (Performer: Terry Carisse)
* Single of the Year — "Riding on the Wind", Gary Fjellgaard
* Album of the Year — Closest Thing to You, Terry Carisse
* Top Selling Album — Once Upon a Christmas, Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers
* Vista Rising Star Award — Ginny Mitchell
* Duo of the Year — Anita Perras and Tim Taylor

### Country Music Association

* Entertainer of the Year — Ricky Skaggs
* Song of the Year — "God Bless the USA", Lee Greenwood (Performer: Lee Greenwood)
* Single of the Year — "Why Not Me", The Judds
* Album of the Year — Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind, George Strait
* Male Vocalist of the Year — George Strait
* Female Vocalist of the Year — Reba McEntire
* Vocal Duo of the Year — Dave Loggins and Anne Murray
* Vocal Group of the Year — The Judds
* Horizon Award — Sawyer Brown
* Music Video of the Year — "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight", Hank Williams Jr. (Director: John Goodhue)
* Instrumentalist of the Year — Chet Atkins
* Instrumental Group of the Year — Ricky Skaggs Band