# 1969 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 1969.

## Events

* January 4 – Dolly Parton becomes a member of The Grand Ole Opry.
* January 29 – The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour premieres on CBS, for what will be a three-year run.
* February 16 – George Jones and Tammy Wynette marry in Ringgold, Georgia, after telling others that their marriage was in August 1968. They quickly earn the titles such as "The First Couple of Country Music", "Country's Sweethearts" and "The President and First Lady".
* February 24 – Johnny Cash records his second live album behind prison walls in as many years at San Quentin State Prison. The resulting album is At San Quentin, and contains his hit "A Boy Named Sue." The concert is also taped for television broadcast.
* June 7 – The Johnny Cash Show premieres on ABC; the series will run through 1971.
* June 15 – The summer replacement series Hee Haw airs for the first time on CBS. The first guests to Kornfield Kounty – for what will be a 23-year run, the bulk of which will be in syndication – are Charley Pride and Loretta Lynn.
* October – The Country Music Association airs its awards program live for the first time (the previous year's ceremony was taped, with the show airing a few weeks later). The annual awards show — at the time airing in October on NBC – quickly becomes one of country music's most eagerly anticipated events of the year.
* December 23 – Willie Nelson's home near Ridgeview, Tennessee, burns to the ground. Nelson enters the burning house to retrieve his guitar (later nicknamed "Trigger") and a pound of Colombian grass.

### No dates

* Tammy Wynette, who during the year becomes a member of the Grand Ole Opry, becomes the first female country artist to sell over one million copies of a single recording with her Tammy's Greatest Hits collection.

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

(as certified by Billboard)
| Date | Single Name | Artist | Wks. No.1 | CAN peak |
| January 4 | Daddy Sang Bass | Johnny Cash | 6 | |
| February 15 | Until My Dreams Come True | Jack Greene | 2 | 5 |
| March 1 | To Make Love Sweeter For You | Jerry Lee Lewis | 1 | 4 |
| March 8 | Only the Lonely | Sonny James | 3 | |
| March 29 | Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass | Buck Owens | 2 | |
| April 12 | Woman of the World (Leave My World Alone) | Loretta Lynn | 1 | — |
| April 19 | Galveston | Glen Campbell | 3 | |
| May 10 | Hungry Eyes | Merle Haggard | 1 | 2 |
| May 17 | My Life (Throw It Away If I Want To) | Bill Anderson | 2 | 2 |
| May 31 | Singing My Song | Tammy Wynette | 2 | |
| June 14 | Running Bear | Sonny James | 3 | |
| July 5 | Statue of a Fool | Jack Greene | 2 | 3 |
| July 19 | I Love You More Today | Conway Twitty | 1 | 2 |
| July 26 | Johnny B. Goode | Buck Owens | 2 | 4 |
| August 9 | All I Have to Offer You Is Me | Charley Pride | 1 | 3 |
| August 16 | Workin' Man's Blues | Merle Haggard | 1 | |
| August 23 | A Boy Named Sue | Johnny Cash | 5 | |
| September 27 | Tall Dark Stranger | Buck Owens | 1 | |
| October 4 | Since I Met You Baby | Sonny James | 3 | 3 |
| October 25 | The Ways to Love a Man | Tammy Wynette | 2 | |
| November 8 | To See My Angel Cry | Conway Twitty | 1 | |
| November 15 | Okie From Muskogee | Merle Haggard | 4 | 3 |
| December 13 | (I'm So) Afraid of Losing You Again | Charley Pride | 3 | |

##### 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.

#### Canada

(as certified by RPM)
| Date | Single Name | Artist | Wks. No.1 | U.S. peak | Spec. Note |
| January 13 | Wichita Lineman | Glen Campbell | 2 | | |
| January 27 | I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am | Merle Haggard | 3 | 3 | Stayed at No. 1 for 2 weeks in late 1968. Fell to #2 on the week of January 13, 1969. |
| February 3 | The Carroll County Accident | Porter Wagoner | 3 | 2 | |
| February 24 | Mr. Brown | Gary Buck | 3 | — | Fell to #2 on the week of March 3. |
| March 3 | Daddy Sang Bass | Johnny Cash | 1 | | |
| March 10 | The Girl Most Likely | Jeannie C. Riley | 1 | 6 | |
| March 31 | While Your Lover Sleeps | Leon Ashley | 1 | 25 | |
| April 7 | Kaw-Liga | Charley Pride | 2 | 3 | |
| April 21 | The Name of the Game Was Love | Hank Snow | 1 | 16 | |
| April 28 | Only the Lonely | Sonny James | 1 | | |
| May 5 | Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass | Buck Owens | 1 | | |
| May 12 | My Woman's Good to Me | David Houston | 1 | 4 | |
| May 19 | Galveston | Glen Campbell | 1 | | |
| May 26 | Let It Be Me | Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell | 1 | 14 | |
| June 2 | It's a Sin | Marty Robbins | 1 | 5 | |
| June 9 | Who Drinks My Beer When I'm Gone | Mercey Brothers | 1 | — | |
| June 16 | Cajun Love | Lucille Starr | 1 | — | |
| June 23 | Ribbon of Darkness | Connie Smith | 1 | 13 | |
| June 30 | Singing My Song | Tammy Wynette | 1 | | |
| July 7 | Rings of Gold | Dottie West and Don Gibson | 1 | 2 | |
| July 14 | Running Bear | Sonny James | 1 | | |
| July 21 | The Days of Sand and Shovels | Waylon Jennings | 1 | 20 | |
| July 28 | One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart) | Jerry Lee Lewis | 1 | 3 | |
| August 2 | Canadian Pacific | George Hamilton IV | 3 | 25 | |
| August 23 | A Boy Named Sue | Johnny Cash | 4 | | |
| September 20 | True Grit | Glen Campbell | 1 | 9 | |
| September 27 | Workin' Man's Blues | Merle Haggard | 1 | | |
| October 4 | Invitation to Your Party | Jerry Lee Lewis | 2 | 6 | Fell to #5 on the week of October 11. |
| October 11 | Muddy Mississippi Line | Bobby Goldsboro | 1 | 15 | |
| October 18 | Tall Dark Stranger | Buck Owens | 1 | | |
| October 25 | The Ways to Love a Man | Tammy Wynette | 1 | | |
| November 8 | To See My Angel Cry | Conway Twitty | 1 | | |
| November 15 | Get Rhythm | Johnny Cash | 2 | 23 | |
| November 29 | Groovy Grubworm | Harlow Wilcox | 1 | 42 | |
| December 6 | Try a Little Kindness | Glen Campbell | 1 | 2 | |
| December 13 | She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye | Jerry Lee Lewis | 1 | 2 | |
| December 20 | Diggy Liggy Lo | Doug Kershaw | 1 | 70 | |
| December 27 | (I'm So) Afraid of Losing You Again | Charley Pride | 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 |
| 9 | — | All for the Love of a Girl | Claude King |
| 72 | 16 | All Heaven Broke Loose | Hugh X. Lewis |
| 16 | — | Always, Always | Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton |
| 25 | 2 | Another Day, Another Mile, Another Highway | Clay Hart |
| 14 | — | April's Fool | Ray Price |
| 11 | — | Are You from Dixie (Cause I'm from Dixie Too) | Jerry Reed |
| 51 | 7 | The Auctioneer | Brenda Byers |
| 16 | 21 | A Baby Again | Hank Williams, Jr. |
| 4 | 22 | Back in the Arms of Love | Jack Greene |
| 26 | 4 | Back to Denver | George Hamilton IV |
| 4 | 4 | The Ballad of Forty Dollars | Tom T. Hall |
| 5 | — | Be Glad | Del Reeves |
| 3 | — | Big Wind | Porter Wagoner |
| 13 | 38 | Bring Me Sunshine | Willie Nelson |
| 19 | — | But for Love | Eddy Arnold |
| 2 | 6 | But You Know I Love You | Bill Anderson |
| 3 | — | Cajun Baby | Hank Williams, Jr. |
| 11 | — | California Girl (And the Tennessee Square) | Tompall & the Glaser Brothers |
| 14 | — | Custody | Hank Williams, Jr. |
| 15 | — | Cut Across Shorty | Nat Stuckey |
| 2 | 2 | Darling You Know I Wouldn't Lie | Conway Twitty |
| 27 | 11 | Don't It Make You Want to Go Home | Joe South |
| 9 | — | Don't Let Me Cross Over | Jerry Lee Lewis and Linda Gail Lewis |
| 23 | 17 | Don't Wake Me I'm Dreaming | Warner Mack |
| 16 | — | Each Time | Johnny Bush |
| 11 | 27 | Flattery Will Get You Everywhere | Lynn Anderson |
| 18 | 14 | Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife | Claude King |
| 20 | — | From the Bottle to the Bottom | Billy Walker |
| 2 | — | Games People Play | Freddy Weller |
| 10 | 4 | George (And the North Woods) | Dave Dudley |
| 16 | — | God Bless America Again | Bobby Bare |
| 18 | — | Good Deal, Lucille | Carl Smith |
| 3 | 20 | Good Time Charlie's | Del Reeves |
| 22 | 17 | A Hammer and Nails | Jimmy Dean |
| 47 | 10 | Happiness Hill | Kitty Wells |
| 11 | 3 | Haunted House | The Compton Brothers |
| 5 | — | Homecoming | Tom T. Hall |
| 17 | 40 | Honey, I'm Home | Stan Hitchcock |
| 8 | 5 | I Can't Say Goodbye | Marty Robbins |
| 14 | — | I Love You Because | Carl Smith |
| 19 | — | I Want One | Jack Reno |
| 4 | 6 | I'd Rather Be Gone | Hank Williams, Jr. |
| 2 | 2 | I’ll Share My World with You | George Jones |
| 8 | — | I'll Still Be Missing You | Warner Mack |
| 3 | 4 | I'm Down to My Last "I Love You" | David Houston |
| 28 | — | I'm Dynamite | Peggy Sue |
| 6 | 16 | If Not for You | George Jones |
| 50 | 12 | In the Ghetto | Dolly Parton |
| — | 12 | It's My Time | Frank Ifield |
| 66 | 5 | Jesus Is a Soul Man | Billy Grammer |
| 13 | — | Joe and Mabel's 12th Street Bar and Grill | Nat Stuckey |
| 12 | — | Just Hold My Hand | Johnny & Jonie Mosby |
| 5 | 20 | Just Someone I Used to Know | Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton |
| 9 | 6 | Kay | John Wesley Ryles |
| 6 | — | Leave My Dream Alone | Warner Mack |
| 20 | — | Let the Whole World Sing It with Me | Wynn Stewart |
| 10 | 17 | Little Boy Sad | Bill Phillips |
| 23 | 11 | MacArthur Park | Waylon Jennings and The Kimberlys |
| 17 | — | Man and Wife Time | Jim Ed Brown |
| 4 | 7 | (Margie's At) The Lincoln Park Inn | Bobby Bare |
| 12 | 3 | Me and Bobby McGee | Roger Miller |
| 4 | 10 | Mr. Walker, It's All Over | Billie Jo Spears |
| 20 | — | My Big Iron Skillet | Wanda Jackson |
| 14 | — | My Grass Is Green | Roy Drusky |
| 15 | 28 | My Son | Jan Howard |
| 25 | 13 | "Never More" Quote the Raven | Stonewall Jackson |
| 8 | 11 | None of My Business | Henson Cargill |
| 15 | 16 | Old Faithful | Mel Tillis |
| 12 | — | One More Mile | Dave Dudley |
| 18 | 3 | Our House Is Not a Home (For It's Never Been Loved In) | Lynn Anderson |
| 10 | 3 | Please Don't Go | Eddy Arnold |
| 10 | 6 | Please Let Me Prove (My Love for You) | Dave Dudley |
| 14 | — | Raining in My Heart | Ray Price |
| 20 | — | Restless | Carl Perkins |
| 46 | 12 | Reuben James | Kenny Rogers and The First Edition |
| 23 | 12 | River Bottom | Johnny Darrell |
| 39 | 2 | Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town | Kenny Rogers and The First Edition |
| 40 | 4 | September Song | Roy Clark |
| 18 | 34 | Seven Lonely Days | Jean Shepard |
| 19 | — | Ship in the Bottle | Stonewall Jackson |
| 5 | 9 | Smokey the Bar | Hank Thompson |
| 12 | — | Smoky Places | Billy Walker |
| 19 | — | Something's Wrong in California | Waylon Jennings |
| 7 | 42 | Such a Fool | Roy Drusky |
| 8 | 4 | Sweet Thang and Cisco | Nat Stuckey |
| 11 | 8 | Sweetheart of the Year | Ray Price |
| 38 | 14 | Take My Hand for a While | George Hamilton IV |
| 2 | 2 | That's a No No | Lynn Anderson |
| 16 | 11 | That's Why I Love You So Much | Ferlin Husky |
| 5 | 12 | There Was Never a Time | Jeannie C. Riley |
| 12 | — | There Wouldn't Be a Lonely Heart in Town | Del Reeves |
| 20 | — | There's Better Things in Life | Jerry Reed |
| 5 | — | These Are Not My People | Freddy Weller |
| 9 | 13 | These Lonely Hands of Mine | Mel Tillis |
| 10 | 2 | They Don't Make Love Like They Used To | Eddy Arnold |
| 34 | 3 | Things Go Better with Love | Jeannie C. Riley |
| 14 | 17 | This Thing | Webb Pierce |
| 3 | 4 | To Make a Man (Feel Like a Man) | Loretta Lynn |
| 44 | 2 | Truck Stop | Jerry Smith |
| 15 | 5 | Vance | Roger Miller |
| 20 | — | We Had All the Good Things Going | Jan Howard |
| 19 | — | What Are Those Things (With Big Black Wings) | Charlie Louvin |
| 2 | 2 | When the Grass Grows Over Me | George Jones |
| 6 | 4 | When Two Worlds Collide | Jim Reeves |
| 14 | 14 | Where Have All the Average People Gone | Roger Miller |
| 10 | 16 | Where the Blue and Lonely Go | Roy Drusky |
| 19 | — | Which One Will It Be | Bobby Bare |
| 18 | — | Who's Gonna Take the Garbage Out | Ernest Tubb and Loretta Lynn |
| 10 | 11 | Who's Julie | Mel Tillis |
| 17 | — | Why You Been Gone So Long | Johnny Darrell |
| 2 | 3 | Wine Me Up | Faron Young |
| 20 | — | Woman Without Love | Johnny Darrell |
| 19 | — | World-Wide Travelin' Man | Wynn Stewart |
| 9 | 2 | Yesterday, When I Was Young | Roy Clark |
| 6 | — | You and Your Sweet Love | Connie Smith |
| 7 | — | You Gave Me a Mountain | Johnny Bush |
| 20 | — | Young Love | Connie Smith and Nat Stuckey |
| 4 | — | Your Time's Comin' | Faron Young |
| 5 | 5 | Yours Love | Waylon Jennings |
| 9 | — | Yours Love | Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton |

#### Singles released by Canadian artists

| US | CAN | Single | Artist |
| — | 13 | Baby's Come Home | Debbie Lori Kaye |
| — | 3 | Back in Town to Stay | Mona Vary |
| — | 9 | Bittersweet | Donna Ramsay |
| — | 13 | Can't Find a Space | Tommy Hunter |
| — | 6 | The Entertainer | Ray Griff |
| — | 13 | I'm Gonna Let George Do It | Dianne Leigh |
| — | 8 | Keep the Home Fires Burning | Dianne Leigh |
| — | 16 | The Laughing Song | B. J. Berg |
| — | 10 | No Lonelier Than You | Billy Charne |
| — | 3 | Ordinary Peeping Tom | Mercey Brothers |
| — | 20 | Pineville Country Jail | Harry Rusk |
| — | 17 | The Revenuer's Daughter | Bob King |
| — | 11 | Some Kind of Lonesome | Country Tigers |
| — | 8 | Susie's Better Half | Billy Charne |
| — | 19 | Sweet Sweet Feeling | Clint Curtiss |
| — | 18 | Wanderin' Through the Valley | Ray Griff |
| — | 9 | When You Were a Lady | Billy Charne |
| — | 14 | Wishing Tree | Lynn Jones |
| — | 19 | You're My Woman | Blake Emmons |

## Top new album releases

| Single | Artist | Record Label |
| At Home with Lynn | Lynn Anderson | Chart |
| The Carroll County Accident | Porter Wagoner | RCA |
| From the Heart | Diana Trask | Dot |
| It's A Sin | Marty Robbins | Columbia |
| Jan Howard | Jan Howard | Decca |
| Miss Country Soul | Diana Trask | Dot |
| Mr. Walker, It's All Over! | Billie Jo Spears | Capitol |
| My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy | Dolly Parton | RCA |
| My Life/But You Know I Love You | Bill Anderson | Decca |
| Songs That Made Country Girls Famous | Lynn Anderson | Chart |
| The Bill Anderson Story: His Greatest Hits | Bill Anderson | Decca |
| With Love, from Lynn | Lynn Anderson | Chart |
| Yearbooks and Yesterdays | Jeannie C. Riley | Plantation |

## Births

* January 3 – Nikki Nelson, female lead vocalist of the band Highway 101 (on and off since the early 1990s).
* March 28 – Rodney Atkins, singer-songwriter since the mid to late 2000s (decade).
* March 29 – Brady Seals, singer, keyboardist and member of Little Texas from 1988 to 1994.
* April 20 – Wade Hayes, honky tonk-styled singer of the mid-to-late 1990s.
* August 19 – Clay Walker, neotraditionalist who began enjoying hits in the mid-1990s.
* September 28 – Karen Fairchild, member of Little Big Town.
* October 12 – Martie Maguire, member of the Dixie Chicks (she plays the fiddle, mandolin and viola).
* October 13 – Rhett Akins, singer who enjoyed most of his success in the mid-1990s, and later became a prolific songwriter; father of Thomas Rhett.
* October 15 – Kimberly Schlapman, member of Little Big Town.

## Deaths

* September 11 – Leon Payne, 52, singer and prolific songwriter ("I Love You Because", "You've Still Got a Place in My Heart" and many others).
* November 23 – Spade Cooley, 59, singer/songwriter/fiddler of the 1940s; best known for "Detour" and "Shame on You." (heart attack)

## Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

* Gene Autry (1907–1998)
* Bill Monroe (1911–1996)

## Major awards
### Grammy Awards

* Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Stand by Your Man", Tammy Wynette
* Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "A Boy Named Sue", Johnny Cash
* Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "MacArthur Park", Waylon Jennings and The Kimberleys
* Best Country Instrumental Performance — The Nashville Brass featuring Danny Davis Play More Nashville Sounds, Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass
* Best Country Song — "A Boy Named Sue", Shel Silverstein (Performer: Johnny Cash)

### Academy of Country Music

* Single of the Year — "Okie from Muskogee", Merle Haggard
* Album of the Year — Okie from Muskogee, Merle Haggard
* Top Male Vocalist — Merle Haggard
* Top Female Vocalist — Tammy Wynette
* Top Vocal Duo — Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens
* Top Vocal Group — The Kimberleys
* Top New Male Vocalist — Freddy Weller
* Top New Female Vocalist — Donna Fargo

### Country Music Association

* Entertainer of the Year — Johnny Cash
* Song of the Year — "The Carroll County Accident", Bob Ferguson (Performer: Porter Wagoner)
* Single of the Year — "A Boy Named Sue", Johnny Cash
* Album of the Year — At San Quentin, Johnny Cash
* Male Vocalist of the Year — Johnny Cash
* Female Vocalist of the Year — Tammy Wynette
* Vocal Group of the Year — Johnny Cash and June Carter
* Instrumentalist of the Year — Chet Atkins
* Instrumental Group of the Year — Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass
* Comedian of the Year — Archie Campbell