# 1971 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1971.

## Events
### No dates

* Seeking younger, more urban viewers, CBS cancels nearly all of its rural-themed programming. Among the most notable casualties:
** The Beverly Hillbillies – a sitcom which had aired since 1962, about the misadventures of an Appalachia clan who become oil tycoons.
** Green Acres – another sitcom about a New York attorney and his wife who move to the country and start farming.
** Hee Haw – the country music-variety show starring Roy Clark and Buck Owens.
    Fans of Hee Haw were quickly soothed when the show entered syndication in the fall. The show was an immediate success, and viewers would continue to make their weekly visit to Kornfield County for the next 20 years. Meanwhile, both The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres would continue to live on in syndication. ABC, also hoping to draw in younger viewers, canceled, among other shows, The Johnny Cash Show. Although not country-music oriented, The Lawrence Welk Show, which had among its older-leaning demographics country music fans, is also canceled, but like Hee Haw will be revived in the fall in syndication to great success.
* Up-and-coming country music star Mickey Gilley and business partner Sherwood Cryer open Gilley's, a bar/honky tonk that was featured in the 1980 movie Urban Cowboy, and became famous for featuring up-and-coming country acts and its mechanical bulls.

## 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 30 | Flesh and Blood | Johnny Cash | 1 | | |
| February 6 | Joshua | Dolly Parton | 1 | 2 | |
| February 13 | Help Me Make It Through the Night | Sammi Smith | 3 | | |
| March 6 | I'd Rather Love You | Charley Pride | 3 | | |
| March 27 | After the Fire Is Gone | Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn | 2 | 4 | |
| April 10 | Empty Arms | Sonny James | 4 | | |
| May 8 | How Much More Can She Stand | Conway Twitty | 1 | | |
| May 15 | I Won't Mention It Again | Ray Price | 3 | | |
| June 5 | You're My Man | Lynn Anderson | 2 | | |
| June 19 | When You're Hot, You're Hot | Jerry Reed | 5 | | |
| July 24 | Bright Lights, Big City | Sonny James | 1 | 4 | |
| July 31 | I'm Just Me | Charley Pride | 4 | | |
| August 28 | Good Lovin' (Makes It Right) | Tammy Wynette | 2 | | |
| September 11 | Easy Loving | Freddie Hart | 3 | | Returned to Number One on October 2. |
| September 18 | The Year Clayton Delaney Died | Tom T. Hall | 2 | 6 | |
| October 16 | How Can I Unlove You | Lynn Anderson | 3 | | |
| November 6 | Here Comes Honey Again | Sonny James | 1 | 4 | |
| November 13 | Lead Me On | Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn | 1 | | |
| November 20 | Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man) | Merle Haggard | 2 | 2 | |
| December 4 | Kiss an Angel Good Mornin' | Charley Pride | 5 | | |

##### 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.
* 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 9 | Old Bill Jones | Mercey Brothers | 1 | — | |
| January 16 | (I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden | Lynn Anderson | 2 | | Fell to #6 on the week of January 23. |
| January 23 | Flesh and Blood | Johnny Cash | 4 | | |
| February 27 | Sing High, Sing Low | Anne Murray | 1 | 53 | |
| March 6 | A Woman Always Knows | David Houston | 1 | 2 | |
| March 13 | Help Me Make It Through the Night | Sammi Smith | 1 | | |
| March 20 | A Stranger in My Place | Anne Murray | 2 | 27 | |
| April 3 | I'd Rather Love You | Charley Pride | 1 | | |
| April 10 | Anyway | George Hamilton IV | 1 | 13 | |
| April 17 | Empty Arms | Sonny James | 1 | | |
| April 24 | Man from the City | Humphrey and the Dumptrucks | 1 | — | |
| May 1 | We Sure Can Love Each Other | Tammy Wynette | 2 | 2 | |
| May 15 | How Much More Can She Stand | Conway Twitty | 1 | | |
| May 22 | I Won't Mention It Again | Ray Price | 2 | | |
| June 5 | The Final Hour | Hank Smith | 1 | — | |
| June 12 | I Wanna Be Free | Loretta Lynn | 1 | 3 | |
| June 19 | Hello Mom | Mercey Brothers | 2 | — | |
| July 3 | You're My Man | Lynn Anderson | 1 | | |
| July 10 | When You're Hot, You're Hot | Jerry Reed | 1 | | |
| July 17 | Rise 'n' Shine | Dick Damron | 1 | — | |
| July 24 | Countryfied | George Hamilton IV | 5 | 35 | |
| August 28 | Sweet City Woman | The Stampeders | 2 | — | |
| September 11 | I'm Just Me | Charley Pride | 1 | | |
| September 18 | Good Lovin' (Makes It Right) | Tammy Wynette | 1 | | |
| September 25 | When He Walks on You | Jerry Lee Lewis | 1 | 11 | |
| October 2 | Easy Loving | Freddie Hart | 1 | | |
| October 9 | Who Wrote the Words | Mercey Brothers | 2 | — | |
| October 23 | Talk It Over in the Morning | Anne Murray | 1 | — | |
| October 30 | You're Lookin' at Country | Loretta Lynn | 1 | 5 | |
| November 6 | How Can I Unlove You | Lynn Anderson | 1 | | |
| November 13 | Rollin' in My Sweet Baby's Arms | Buck Owens | 2 | 2 | |
| November 27 | Where Do We Go from Here | Hank Smith | 1 | — | |
| December 4 | I Say a Little Prayer/ By the Time I Get to Phoenix | Anne Murray and Glen Campbell | 1 | 40 | |
| December 11 | Lead Me On | Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn | 1 | | |
| December 18 | Kiss an Angel Good Mornin' | Charley Pride | 2 | | |

##### 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 |
| 18 | 21 | After All They Used to Belong to Me | Hank Williams, Jr. |
| 18 | — | All I Ever Need Is You | Ray Sanders |
| 6 | 5 | Always Remember | Bill Anderson |
| 13 | 12 | Angel's Sunday | Jim Ed Brown |
| 5 | 13 | Another Night of Love | Freddy Weller |
| 4 | 13 | The Arms of a Fool | Mel Tillis |
| 5 | 8 | Baby I'm Yours | Jody Miller |
| 30 | 7 | Bar Room Talk | Del Reeves |
| 11 | 20 | Be a Little Quieter | Porter Wagoner |
| 9 | 3 | Bed of Rose's | The Statler Brothers |
| 7 | 8 | Better Move It on Home | Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton |
| 41 | 18 | Big River (Johnny Cash song) | Johnny Cash |
| 8 | 46 | Brand New Mister Me | Mel Tillis |
| 9 | 8 | Bridge over Troubled Water | Buck Owens |
| 26 | 19 | Catch the Wind | Jack Barlow |
| 12 | 11 | Cedartown, Georgia | Waylon Jennings |
| 7 | 6 | The Chair | Marty Robbins |
| 15 | 10 | Charley's Picture | Porter Wagoner |
| 23 | 7 | Chip 'N' Dale's Place | Claude King |
| 4 | 15 | Coat of Many Colors | Dolly Parton |
| 7 | 6 | Come Sundown | Bobby Bare |
| 8 | 17 | Comin' Down | Dave Dudley |
| 5 | 7 | Country Green | Don Gibson |
| 23 | 20 | Day Drinkin' | Dave Dudley and Tom T. Hall |
| 4 | 11 | Dis-Satisfied | Bill Anderson and Jan Howard |
| 17 | — | Do Right Woman, Do Right Man | Barbara Mandrell |
| 16 | 30 | (Don't Let the Sun Set on You) Tulsa | Waylon Jennings |
| 7 | 4 | Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream) | Glen Campbell |
| 5 | — | Dream Lover | Billy "Crash" Craddock |
| 9 | 12 | Early Morning Sunshine | Marty Robbins |
| 13 | 26 | Fancy Satin Pillows | Wanda Jackson |
| 8 | 5 | Fly Away Again | Dave Dudley |
| 7 | 22 | Good Enough to Be Your Wife | Jeannie C. Riley |
| 27 | 12 | A Good Man | June Carter Cash |
| 2 | 4 | Good Year for the Roses | George Jones |
| 19 | 4 | Guess Away the Blues | Don Gibson |
| 7 | 5 | Guess Who | Slim Whitman |
| 5 | 2 | Gwen (Congratulations) | Tommy Overstreet |
| 16 | 14 | Gypsy Feet | Jim Reeves |
| 26 | 19 | Hanging Over Me | Jack Greene |
| 5 | 3 | He's So Fine | Jody Miller |
| 13 | 21 | Here I Go Again | Bobby Wright |
| 12 | — | Hitchin' a Ride | Jack Reno |
| 5 | 3 | I Don't Know You (Anymore) | Tommy Overstreet |
| 15 | 25 | I Love the Way That You've Been Lovin' Me | Roy Drusky |
| 4 | 3 | I Wonder What She'll Think About Me Leaving | Conway Twitty |
| 2 | 2 | I'd Rather Be Sorry | Ray Price |
| 13 | — | I'll Follow You (Up to Our Cloud) | George Jones |
| 17 | 34 | I'm Gonna Act Right | Nat Stuckey |
| 3 | 26 | I'm Gonna Keep on Keep on Lovin' You | Billy Walker |
| 6 | 17 | I've Got a Right to Cry | Hank Williams, Jr. |
| 19 | 29 | If You Think I Love You Now (I've Just Started) | Jody Miller |
| 3 | 4 | Indian Lake | Freddy Weller |
| 20 | 37 | It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels | Lynn Anderson |
| 2 | 2 | Just One Time | Connie Smith |
| 3 | 21 | Knock Three Times | Billy "Crash" Craddock |
| 11 | 3 | Ko-Ko Joe | Jerry Reed |
| 9 | 26 | L.A. International Airport | Susan Raye |
| 18 | 13 | The Last One to Touch Me | Porter Wagoner |
| 9 | 11 | Leavin' and Sayin' Goodbye | Faron Young |
| 15 | 5 | Listen Betty (I'm Singing Your Song) | Dave Dudley |
| 9 | 16 | Living and Learning | Mel Tillis and Sherry Bryce |
| 12 | 33 | Lovenworth | Roy Rogers |
| 28 | 8 | Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again) | Roger Miller |
| 10 | 19 | Maiden's Prayer | David Houston |
| 3 | 2 | Man in Black | Johnny Cash |
| 18 | 18 | The Mark of a Heel | Hank Thompson |
| 17 | 13 | Mary's Vineyard | Claude King |
| 7 | 3 | Me and You and a Dog Named Boo | Stonewall Jackson |
| 14 | 6 | Mississippi Woman | Waylon Jennings |
| 19 | 39 | The Morning After | Jerry Wallace |
| 20 | — | Mountain of Love | Bobby G. Rice |
| 17 | 4 | My Blue Tears | Dolly Parton |
| 9 | 24 | Nashville | David Houston |
| 8 | 31 | Never Ending Song of Love | Dickey Lee |
| 19 | 34 | New York City | The Statler Brothers |
| 15 | 36 | Next Time I Fall in Love (I Won't) | Hank Thompson |
| 15 | 7 | No Need to Worry | Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash |
| 23 | 3 | North Country/West Texas Highway | George Hamilton IV |
| 21 | 18 | Ode to Half a Pound of Ground Round | Tom T. Hall |
| 4 | 5 | Oh Singer | Jeannie C. Riley |
| 14 | 11 | One Hundred Children | Tom T. Hall |
| 5 | 3 | Padre | Marty Robbins |
| 16 | 17 | Papa Was a Good Man | Johnny Cash |
| 9 | 38 | The Philadelphia Fillies | Del Reeves |
| 13 | 27 | Pictures | The Statler Brothers |
| 6 | 9 | Pitty Pitty Patter | Susan Raye |
| 8 | 3 | Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends | Bobby Bare |
| 49 | 19 | Pledging My Love | Kitty Wells |
| 26 | 9 | Portrait of My Woman | Eddy Arnold |
| 3 | 9 | The Promised Land | Freddy Weller |
| 3 | 2 | Quits | Bill Anderson |
| 3 | 2 | Rainin' in My Heart | Hank Williams Jr. and The Mike Curb Congregation |
| 14 | 26 | The Right Combination | Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton |
| 7 | 10 | Right Won't Touch a Hand | George Jones |
| 7 | 21 | Rings | Tompall & the Glaser Brothers |
| 15 | 15 | Roses and Thorns | Jeannie C. Riley |
| 3 | 3 | Ruby (Are You Mad) | Buck Owens |
| 24 | 13 | Saturday Morning Confusion | Bobby Russell |
| 19 | 9 | She Don't Make Me Cry | David Rogers |
| 11 | 5 | She Wakes Me with a Kiss Every Morning (And She Loves Me to Sleep Every Night) | Nat Stuckey |
| 2 | 2 | She's All I Got | Johnny Paycheck |
| 8 | 9 | The Sheriff of Boone County | Kenny Price |
| 18 | — | Singing in Viet Nam Talking Blues | Johnny Cash |
| 20 | 28 | So This Is Love | Tommy Cash |
| 3 | 4 | Soldier's Last Letter | Merle Haggard |
| 2 | 2 | Someday We'll Look Back | Merle Haggard |
| 6 | 23 | Something Beautiful (To Remember) | Slim Whitman |
| 10 | 7 | Sometimes You Just Can't Win | George Jones |
| 6 | 11 | Step Aside | Faron Young |
| 14 | 23 | Sweet Misery | Ferlin Husky |
| 50 | 17 | Take Me Home, Country Roads | John Denver |
| 8 | 15 | Take My Hand | Mel Tillis and Sherry Bryce |
| 10 | 16 | Then You Walk In | Sammi Smith |
| 9 | — | There Goes My Everything | Elvis Presley |
| 13 | 15 | There's a Whole Lot About a Woman (A Man Don't Know) | Jack Greene |
| 19 | — | There's Something About a Lady | Johnny Duncan |
| 11 | 13 | Tomorrow Night in Baltimore | Roger Miller |
| 3 | 4 | Touching Home | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 12 | — | Treat Him Right | Barbara Mandrell |
| 11 | 18 | Waiting for a Train (All Around the Watertank) | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 7 | 7 | Watching Scotty Grow | Bobby Goldsboro |
| 20 | — | We've Got Everything but Love | David Houston and Barbara Mandrell |
| 11 | 20 | Where Is My Castle | Connie Smith |
| 10 | 9 | Willy Jones | Susan Raye |
| 5 | 2 | The Wonders You Perform | Tammy Wynette |
| 10 | — | You Better Move On | Billy "Crash" Craddock |
| 38 | 17 | You're Just More a Woman | Bob Yarbrough |

#### Singles released by Canadian artists

| US | CAN | Single | Artist |
| — | 2 | 24 Hours from Tulsa | Tommy Graham |
| — | 2 | The Bridge Came Tumbling Down | Stompin' Tom Connors |
| — | 11 | Carry Me | The Stampeders |
| — | 4 | Federal Grain Train | Russ Gurr |
| — | 3 | Good Morning World | Julie Lynn |
| — | 8 | Goofie Newfie | Roy Payne |
| — | 11 | It Seems | Jim Roberts |
| — | 2 | It Takes Time | Gary Buck |
| — | 6 | It Takes Time | Anne Murray |
| — | 12 | Kelly | Alan Moberg |
| — | 15 | Love Now and Pay Later | Carroll Baker |
| — | 2 | Luke's Guitar | Stompin' Tom Connors |
| — | 14 | Mem'ries of Home | Carroll Baker |
| — | 17 | The Moods of My Man | Honey West |
| 14 | 12 | The Morning After Baby Let Me Down | Ray Griff |
| — | 10 | Nobody's Singing Them Cowboy Songs No More | Gordie Tapp |
| — | 18 | Parliament Hill | Angus Walker |
| — | 2 | R.R. #2 | Family Brown |
| — | 15 | Sault Ste. Marie | Original Caste |
| — | 14 | Six Days of Paper Ladies | Humphrey and the Dumptrucks |
| — | 7 | Skip a Rope | Mike Graham |
| — | 12 | Tillsonburg | Stompin' Tom Connors |
| — | 16 | (The Whole World's) Down on You | Jack Bailey |
| — | 13 | Wrote a Song | The Rainvilles |

## Top new album releases

| Single | Artist | Record Label |
| Always Remember | Bill Anderson | Decca |
| Bed of Rose's | Statler Brothers | Mercury |
| Bill Anderson's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 | Bill Anderson | Decca |
| Cedartown, Georgia | Waylon Jennings | RCA |
| Coat of Many Colors | Dolly Parton | RCA |
| Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 | Johnny Cash | Columbia |
| He's So Fine | Jody Miller | Epic |
| How Can I Unlove You | Lynn Anderson | Columbia |
| I Wanna Be Free | Loretta Lynn | Decca |
| I've Gotta Sing | Wanda Jackson | Capitol |
| In Search of a Song | Tom T. Hall | Mercury |
| Joshua | Dolly Parton | RCA |
| Man in Black | Johnny Cash | Columbia |
| Pitty Pitty Patter | Susan Raye | Capitol |
| Porter Wayne and Dolly Rebecca | Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton | RCA |
| The Silver Tongued Devil and I | Kris Kristofferson | Monument |
| Treat Him Right | Barbara Mandrell | Columbia |
| A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills) | Merle Haggard | Capitol |
| Two of a Kind | Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton | RCA |
| We Only Make Believe | Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn | Decca |
| When You're Hot, You're Hot | Jerry Reed | RCA |
| Yesterday's Wine | Willie Nelson | RCA |
| You're My Man | Lynn Anderson | Columbia |

## Births

* January 17 – Kid Rock (born Robert Ritchie), white rap vocalist who had major country hits with "Picture" (duet with Sheryl Crow) and "All Summer Long."
* February 5 — Sara Evans, female vocalist from the late 1990s–2000s (decade).
* March 4 – Jason Sellers, singer-songwriter.
* March 10 – Daryle Singletary, neotraditonialist singer of the 1990s (died 2018).
* April 26 — Jay DeMarcus, member of Rascal Flatts.
* May 16 — Rick Trevino, Mexican-American singer who had several hits in the 1990s.
* April 30 — Carolyn Dawn Johnson, singer-songwriter.
* July 23 — Alison Krauss, bluegrass artist, vocalist and leader of Union Station.
* October 20 – Jimi Westbrook, member of Little Big Town.

## Deaths

* February 7 — Dock Boggs, 73, influential old-time country singer.
* February 28 – Fiddlin' Arthur Smith, 72, old-time fiddle player.
* June 12 — J. E. Mainer, 72, old-time fiddle player and early country music star.
* August 7 – Henry D. "Homer" Haynes, 50, of the Homer and Jethro comedy duo.
* August 20 — Tom Darby, 79, one half of the duo Darby and Tarlton, an early country music duo.

## Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

Arthur Edward Satherley (1889–1986)

## Major awards
### Grammy Awards

* Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Help Me Make It Through the Night", Sammi Smith
* Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "When You're Hot, You're Hot", Jerry Reed
* Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "After the Fire Is Gone", Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty
* Best Country Instrumental Performance — "Snowbird" Chet Atkins
* Best Country Song — "Help Me Make It Through the Night", Kris Kristofferson (Performer: Sammi Smith)

### Juno Awards

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

### Academy of Country Music

* Entertainer of the Year — Freddie Hart
* Song of the Year — "Easy Loving", Freddie Hart (Performer: Freddie Hart)
* Single of the Year — "Easy Loving", Freddie Hart
* Album of the Year — Easy Loving, Freddie Hart
* Top Male Vocalist — Freddie Hart
* Top Female Vocalist — Loretta Lynn
* Top Vocal Duo — Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
* Top New Male Vocalist — Tony Booth
* Top New Female Vocalist — Barbara Mandrell

### Country Music Association

* Entertainer of the Year — Charley Pride
* Song of the Year — "Easy Loving", Freddie Hart (Performer: Freddie Hart)
* Single of the Year — "Help Me Make It Through the Night", Sammi Smith
* Album of the Year — I Won't Mention It Again, Ray Price
* Male Vocalist of the Year — Charley Pride
* Female Vocalist of the Year — Lynn Anderson
* Vocal Duo of the Year — Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
* Vocal Group of the Year — Osborne Brothers
* Instrumentalist of the Year — Jerry Reed
* Instrumental Group of the Year — Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass