1996 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1996.

Events

• June 28 — First annual Country Stampede Music Festival begins
• October 6 — Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are married, and quickly become country music's most visible couple. Their friendship grew into romance during their successful "Spontaneous Combustion" tour that year.

Top hits of the year

Singles released by American artists

Singles released by Canadian artists

Top new album releases

Other top albums

Births

• July 23 – Danielle Bradbery, winner of season four of NBC's The Voice.

Deaths

• February 17 — Gus Hardin, 50, female singer best known for her Earl Thomas Conley duet "All Tangled Up in Love" (automobile accident)
• March 4 — Minnie Pearl, 83, legendary comedian known for her trademark greeting, "How-dee!" and her straw hat with price tag; a regular on Hee Haw (stroke).
• May 3 — Patsy Montana, 87, first female country singer to have a single sell one million copies ("I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart").
• June 16 — Anthony Armstrong Jones, 47, male singer best known for his Top Ten cover version of "Take a Letter Maria"
• December 10 — Faron Young, 64, Nicknamed "The Hillbilly Heartthrob", and "The Singing Sheriff" he had many hits including "Hello Walls" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young" (suicide).
• August 22 - Oliver Lynn commonly known as "Doolittle" or "Mooney." Was the husband of Country music legend Loretta Lynn and was a key figure in her career serving as her de facto talent manager for many years. Their marriage began when Oliver was 21 and Loretta was 15 and they stayed married for almost 50 years (officially 48 years) until his death at 69.

Hall of Fame inductees

Country Music Hall of Fame inductees

• Patsy Montana (1908–1996)
• Buck Owens (1929–2006)
• Ray Price (1925–2013)

Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees

• Myrna Lorrie
• Larry Delaney

Major awards

Grammy Awards

• Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Blue," LeAnn Rimes
• Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "Worlds Apart," Vince Gill
• Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "My Maria," Brooks & Dunn
• Best Country Collaboration with Vocals — "High Lonesome Sound," Vince Gill (featuring Alison Krauss)
• Best Country Instrumental Performance — "Jam Man," Chet Atkins
• Best Country Song — "Blue," Bill Mack (Performer: LeAnn Rimes)
• Best Country Album — The Road to Ensenada, Lyle Lovett (Producers: Billy Williams and Lyle Lovett)
• Best Bluegrass Album — True Life Blues - The Songs of Bill Monroe, Various Artists (Producer: Todd Phillips)

Juno Awards

• Country Male Vocalist of the Year — Paul Brandt
• Country Female Vocalist of the Year — Shania Twain
• Country Group or Duo of the Year — The Rankin Family

Academy of Country Music

• Entertainer of the Year — Brooks & Dunn
• Song of the Year — "Blue," Bill Mack
• Single of the Year — "Blue," LeAnn Rimes
• Album of the Year — Blue Clear Sky, George Strait
• Top Male Vocalist — George Strait
• Top Female Vocalist — Patty Loveless
• Top Vocal Duo — Brooks & Dunn
• Top Vocal Group — Sawyer Brown
• Top New Male Vocalist — Trace Adkins
• Top New Female Vocalist — LeAnn Rimes
• Top New Vocal Duo or Group — Ricochet
• Video of the Year — "I Think About You," Collin Raye (Director: Steven Goldmann)

Canadian Country Music Association

• NCN Fans' Choice Award — Shania Twain
• Male Artist of the Year — Charlie Major
• Female Artist of the Year — Shania Twain
• Group or Duo of the Year — Prairie Oyster
• SOCAN Song of the Year — "My Heart Has a History," Paul Brandt, Mark D. Sanders
• Single of the Year — "Better Things to Do," Terri Clark
• Album of the Year — Terri Clark, Terri Clark
• Top Selling Album — Fresh Horses, Garth Brooks
• Video of the Year — "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!," Shania Twain
• Vista Rising Star Award — Terri Clark
• Vocal Collaboration of the Year — Jim Witter and Cassandra Vasik

Country Music Association

• Entertainer of the Year — Brooks & Dunn
• Song of the Year — "Go Rest High on That Mountain," Vince Gill
• Single of the Year — "Check Yes or No," George Strait
• Album of the Year — Blue Clear Sky, George Strait
• Male Vocalist of the Year — George Strait
• Female Vocalist of the Year — Patty Loveless
• Vocal Duo of the Year — Brooks & Dunn
• Vocal Group of the Year — The Mavericks
• Horizon Award — Bryan White
• Music Video of the Year — "My Wife Thinks You're Dead," Junior Brown (Director: Michael McNamara)
• Vocal Event of the Year — "I Will Always Love You," Dolly Parton and Vince Gill
• Musician of the Year — Mark O'Connor

RPM Big Country Awards

• Canadian Country Artist of the Year — Shania Twain
• Best Country Album — The Woman in Me, Shania Twain
• Best Country Single — "Any Man of Mine", Shania Twain
• Top Male Vocalist — Charlie Major
• Top Female Vocalist — Shania Twain
• Top Group — Prairie Oyster
• Outstanding New Artist — Jason McCoy
• Top Country Composer(s) — Shania Twain

Further reading

• Kingsbury, Paul, "The Grand Ole Opry: History of Country Music. 70 Years of the Songs, the Stars and the Stories," Villard Books, Random House; Opryland USA, 1995
• Kingsbury, Paul, "Vinyl Hayride: Country Music Album Covers 1947-1989," Country Music Foundation, 2003 (ISBN 0-8118-3572-3)
• Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993 (ISBN 0-06-273244-7)
• Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944-2005 - 6th Edition." 2005.

Other links

• Country Music Association
• Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame

External links

• Country Music Hall of Fame