1986 in country music explained

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1986.

Events

• January 18 — "American Country Countdown" with Bob Kingsley expands from three to four hours. Several new features — including a chronological playback of songs reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and a calendar feature (highlighting a birthday, or anniversary of a notable song or event in country music) — are added.
• June 25 — Jenifer Strait, the 13-year-old daughter of George Strait (who by now is one of country music's top performers) is killed in a car accident in San Marcos, Texas. Her father still refuses to talk about his daughter's death to this day.
• July 19 — Columbia Records drops Johnny Cash from the label's roster after 28 years.^[1]

No dates

• For the first time in its 42-year history, there is a new No. 1 song for each week of the year, according to Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles Chart.
• 1986 was a renaissance year in country music, with a host of "A New Traditionalist"-minded artists reinvigorating a genre that critics were saying had grown increasingly stagnant and pop-oriented. Among the most successful new artists: Holly Dunn, Judy Rodman, Ricky Van Shelton, Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakam. Keith Whitley, another artist who had been around for a few years, has his first major hit early in the year. They – along with popular newcomers from earlier in the decade such as Alabama, George Strait and Reba McEntire, and longtime artists like George Jones, Merle Haggard and Conway Twitty – proved not only that country music was the music of the people, but also that the genre had real resiliency.
• After 17 years of playing co-host to Roy Clark, Buck Owens announces his departure from the still-popular "Hee Haw." Clark would soldier on alone for the next six years, with rotating guest stars each week.

Top hits of the year

See also: List of number-one country singles of 1986 (U.S.) and List of number-one country hits of 1986 (Canada).

Singles released by American artists

US	CAN	Single	Artist
1	1	100% Chance of Rain	Gary Morris
6	5	1982	Randy Travis
1	1	Ain't Misbehavin'	Hank Williams, Jr.
6	1	All Tied Up	Ronnie McDowell
1	1	Always Have, Always Will	Janie Fricke
19	53	Arlene	Marty Stuart
5	16	At the Sound of the Tone	John Schneider
7	2	(Back to The) Heartbreak Kid	Restless Heart
14	7	Back When Love Was Enough	Mark Gray
12	15	Bad Love	Pake McEntire
1	1	Bop	Dan Seals
17	7	Born Yesterday	The Everly Brothers
1	1	Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)	Eddie Rabbitt & Juice Newton
10	—	Burned Like a Rocket	Billy Joe Royal
1	1	Cajun Moon	Ricky Skaggs
9	5	Cheap Love	Juice Newton
3	1	Come On In (You Did the Best You Could Do)	The Oak Ridge Boys
5	4	Count On Me	The Statler Brothers
2	4	Country State of Mind	Hank Williams, Jr.
1	1	Cry	Crystal Gayle
7	—	Daddy's Hands	Holly Dunn
1	1	Desperado Love	Conway Twitty
13	7	The Devil's on the Loose	Waylon Jennings
10	10	Didn't We	Lee Greenwood
1	1	Diggin' Up Bones	Randy Travis
1	1	Don't Underestimate My Love for You	Lee Greenwood
6	9	Doo-Wah Days	Mickey Gilley
12	35	Down in Tennessee	John Anderson
9	17	Dreamland Express	John Denver
8	21	Drinkin' My Baby Goodbye	Charlie Daniels
5	15	Easy to Please	Janie Fricke
20	47	Every Night	Pake McEntire
1	1	Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)	Dan Seals
4	2	Fast Lanes and Country Roads	Barbara Mandrell
2	8	Feelin' the Feelin'	The Bellamy Brothers
9	12	A Friend in California	Merle Haggard
17	19	A Girl Like Emmylou	Southern Pacific
1	1	Got My Heart Set on You	John Conlee
12	—	Gotta Learn to Love Without You	Michael Johnson
1	1	Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)	The Judds
7	7	Guitar Town
4	2	Guitars, Cadillacs	Dwight Yoakam
1	1	Happy, Happy Birthday Baby	Ronnie Milsap
10	19	Harmony	John Conlee
14	16	Heart Don't Fall Now	Sawyer Brown
1	2	Heartbeat in the Darkness	Don Williams
1	1	Hearts Aren't Made to Break (They're Made to Love)	Lee Greenwood
1	1	Hell and High Water	T. Graham Brown
5	6	Hold On	Rosanne Cash
3	1	Home Again in My Heart	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
10	7	Honky Tonk Crowd	John Anderson
3	1	Honky Tonk Man	Dwight Yoakam
1	1	Hurt	Juice Newton
1	1	I Could Get Used to You	Exile
5	4	I Had a Beautiful Time	Merle Haggard
9	7	I Love You by Heart	Sylvia & Michael Johnson
14	—	I Miss You Already	Billy Joe Royal
7	—	I Tell It Like It Used to Be	T. Graham Brown
3	2	I Wish That I Could Hurt That Way Again	T. Graham Brown
10	7	I've Got a New Heartache	Ricky Skaggs
1	1	In Love	Ronnie Milsap
9	28	In Over My Heart	T. G. Sheppard
1	5	It Ain't Cool to Be Crazy About You	George Strait
1	1	It'll Be Me	Exile
7	7	It's Just a Matter of Time	Glen Campbell
15	16	Juliet	The Oak Ridge Boys
1	1	Just Another Love	Tanya Tucker
1	2	Just in Case	The Forester Sisters
1	2	Life's Highway	Steve Wariner
1	2	Little Rock	Reba McEntire
1	1	Living in the Promiseland	Willie Nelson
2	3	Lonely Alone	The Forester Sisters
3	—	Love at the Five and Dime	Kathy Mattea
14	—	Love Will Get You Through Times of No Money	Girls Next Door
4	1	Love's Gonna Get You Someday	Ricky Skaggs
1	1	Makin' Up for Lost Time (The Dallas Lovers' Song)	Crystal Gayle and Gary Morris
1	1	Mama's Never Seen Those Eyes	The Forester Sisters
5	2	Memories to Burn	Gene Watson
14	38	Miami, My Amy	Keith Whitley
1	1	Mind Your Own Business	Hank Williams, Jr.
1	1	Morning Desire	Kenny Rogers
1	2	Never Be You	Rosanne Cash
4	11	Nights	Ed Bruce
6	5	No One Mends a Broken Heart Like You	Barbara Mandrell
1	1	Nobody in His Right Mind Would've Left Her	George Strait
12	9	Nothing but Your Love Matters	Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers
10	6	Oh Darlin' (Why Don't You Care for Me No More)	The O'Kanes
9	27	Oklahoma Borderline	Vince Gill
5	3	Old Flame	Juice Newton
5	6	Old School	John Conlee
1	1	On the Other Hand	Randy Travis
1	1	Once in a Blue Moon	Earl Thomas Conley
3	2	The One I Loved Back Then (The Corvette Song)	George Jones
3	1	One Love at a Time	Tanya Tucker
11	4	Out Goin' Cattin'	Sawyer Brown with Cat Joe Bonsall
6	3	Partners, Brothers and Friends	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
18	24	Perfect Stranger	Southern Pacific
7	3	Please Be Love	Mark Gray
4	5	Read My Lips	Marie Osmond
9	19	Reno Bound	Southern Pacific
4	5	Repetitive Regret	Eddie Rabbitt
1	1	Rockin' with the Rhythm of the Rain	The Judds
15	14	Rollin' Nowhere	Michael Martin Murphey
3	4	Savin' My Love for You	Pake McEntire
5	4	Second to No One	Rosanne Cash
15	7	Shakin'	Sawyer Brown
1	1	She and I	Alabama
2	3	She Used to Be Somebody's Baby	Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers
22	18	Shoe String	Mel McDaniel
7	15	Since I Found You	Sweethearts of the Rodeo
8	—	Slow Boat to China	Girls Next Door
9	20	Somebody Wants Me Out of the Way	George Jones
3	2	Sometimes a Lady	Eddy Raven
5	3	Stand a Little Rain	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
12	5	Stand on It	Mel McDaniel
4	11	Starting Over Again	Steve Wariner
1	1	Strong Heart	T. G. Sheppard
14	21	Super Love	Exile
8	34	Sweeter and Sweeter	The Statler Brothers
9	16	Ten Feet Away	Keith Whitley
1	2	That Rock Won't Roll	Restless Heart
9	9	That's How You Know When Love's Right	Nicolette Larson (with Steve Wariner)
1	1	There's No Stopping Your Heart	Marie Osmond
1	1	Think About Love	Dolly Parton
17	20	Tie Our Love (In a Double Knot)	Dolly Parton
10	11	Til I Loved You	Restless Heart
1	1	Tomb of the Unknown Love	Kenny Rogers
2	3	Too Many Times	Earl Thomas Conley & Anita Pointer
1	1	Too Much Is Not Enough	The Bellamy Brothers with The Forester Sisters
1	1	Touch Me When We're Dancing	Alabama
1	—	Until I Met You	Judy Rodman
10	—	Walk the Way the Wind Blows	Kathy Mattea
3	2	We've Got a Good Fire Goin'	Don Williams
8	7	What You'll Do When I'm Gone	Waylon Jennings
1	1	What's a Memory Like You (Doing in a Love Like This)	John Schneider
17	27	When It's Down to Me and You	Charly McClain (with Wayne Massey)
20	33	When You Get to the Heart	Barbara Mandrell (with The Oak Ridge Boys)
1	3	Whoever's in New England	Reba McEntire
5	5	Will the Wolf Survive	Waylon Jennings
10	13	Wine Colored Roses	George Jones
16	19	Working Class Man	Lacy J. Dalton
7	5	Working Without a Net	Waylon Jennings
10	8	You Are My Music, You Are My Song	Charly McClain (with Wayne Massey)
1	1	You Can Dream of Me	Steve Wariner
9	—	You Can't Stop Love	Schuyler, Knobloch & Overstreet
24	20	You Made a Rock of a Rolling Stone	The Oak Ridge Boys
3	3	You Should Have Been Gone by Now	Eddy Raven
4	4	You're Something Special to Me	George Strait
1	1	You're Still New to Me	Marie Osmond with Paul Davis
1	1	You're the Last Thing I Needed Tonight	John Schneider
5	2	Your Memory Ain't What It Used to Be	Mickey Gilley

Singles released by Canadian artists

US	CAN	Single	Artist
91	9	Being a Fool Again	Audie Henry
—	15	Call Me Up	Rae Palmer
—	16	Fiddlin' Man	Whiskey Jack
—	13	Forget About Me	Anne Lord
—	4	He's My Gentle Man	Audie Henry
—	10	Heads You Win (Tails I Lose)	Anita Perras
—	8	Hot on the Heels of Love	The Haggertys
—	6	I'll Never Get Over You	Anne Lord
—	13	I'm Best at Lovin' You	Murray McLauchlan
—	9	I'm Taking Care of Myself	Carroll Baker
—	5	In My Arms Tonight	Bootleg
—	9	It's Times Like This	Carol Martyn
—	18	Love Crazy	Gilles Godard
—	6	Love Sweet Love	Terry Carisse
—	16	Lovin' the Night Away	Terry Sumsion
1	1	Now and Forever (You and Me)	Anne Murray
—	8	Pretty Diamond Ring	Mercey Brothers
—	9	Reach Out and Touch Her	Harvey Henry
—	14	Rise Against the Wind	Dick Damron with Ginny Mitchell
—	19	Something Good	Anita Perras with Tim Taylor
—	14	Stealer of Hearts	Ronnie Prophet
—	17	Summer Nights	The Ellis Family Band
—	6	Take a Little Chance on Love	Mercey Brothers
—	15	Two Hearts in a Lonely Mind	Jules
80	8	What If It's Right	Family Brown
—	18	You Can't Hide from Love	Stoker Bros

Top new album releases

See also: List of number-one country albums of 1986 (U.S.).

US	Album	Artist	Record Label
1	7	George Strait	MCA
1	Black & White	Janie Frickie	Columbia
22	Born Yesterday	The Everly Brothers	Mercury/PolyGram
15	Class of '55	Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison & Johnny Cash	America/Smash
17	Countrified	John Anderson	Warner Bros.
7	Four for the Show	The Statler Brothers	Mercury/PolyGram
2	A Friend in California	Merle Haggard	Epic
16	From the Pages of My Mind	Ray Charles	Columbia
20	Girls Like Me	Tanya Tucker	Capitol
1	Greatest Hits	Alabama	RCA
2	Greatest Hits	Exile	Epic
1	Guitar Town	Steve Earle	MCA
1	Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.	Dwight Yoakam	Reprise
9	Harmony	John Conlee	Columbia
13	Heroes	Johnny Cash & Waylon Jennings	Columbia
19	I Only Wanted You	Marie Osmond	Capitol/Curb
15	I Tell It Like It Used to Be	T. Graham Brown	Capitol
23	Judy	Judy Rodman	MTM
25	Just Can't Sit Down Music	Mel McDaniel	Capitol
21	Looking Ahead	Billy Joe Royal	Atlantic America
9	Love Will Find Its Way to You	Lee Greenwood	MCA
3	Love's Gonna Get Ya!	Ricky Skaggs	Epic
14	Lyle Lovett	Lyle Lovett	Curb/MCA
17	Merry Christmas Strait to You	George Strait	MCA
1	Montana Cafe	Hank Williams, Jr.	Curb/Warner Bros.
9	The O'Kanes	The O'Kanes	Columbia
12	On the Front Line	Dan Seals	Capitol
15	Out Among the Stars	Merle Haggard	Epic
8	Out Goin' Cattin'	Sawyer Brown	Capitol/Curb
13	Partners	Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers	Columbia
13	Partners	Willie Nelson	Columbia
9	Plain Brown Wrapper	Gary Morris	Warner Bros.
1	The Promiseland	Willie Nelson	Columbia
6	Rabbitt Trax	Eddie Rabbitt	RCA
8	Seasons	The Oak Ridge Boys	MCA
2	Something to Talk About	Anne Murray	Capitol
1	Storms of Life	Randy Travis	Warner Bros.
12	Straight to the Heart	Crystal Gayle	Warner Bros.
11	Surely You Joust	Ray Stevens	MCA
8	Sweethearts of the Rodeo	Sweethearts of the Rodeo	Columbia
17	Take the Long Way Home	John Schneider	MCA
16	They Don't Make Them Like They Used To	Kenny Rogers	RCA
9	Thirteen	Emmylou Harris	Warner Bros.
3	Too Many Times	Earl Thomas Conley	RCA
1	The Touch	Alabama	RCA
10	Twenty Years of Dirt	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band	Warner Bros.
13	Walk the Way the Wind Blows	Kathy Mattea	Mercury
1	What Am I Gonna Do About You	Reba McEntire	MCA
1	Wheels	Restless Heart	RCA
1	Whoever's in New England	Reba McEntire	MCA
1	Will the Wolf Survive	Waylon Jennings	MCA
5	Wine Colored Roses	George Jones	Epic

Other top albums

US	Album	Artist	Record Label
34	All Tied Up in Love	Ronnie McDowell	MCA
53	American Vagabond	William Lee Golden	MCA
59	The Boys Are Back in Town	The Maines Brothers Band	Mercury/PolyGram
65	Chance	Chance	Mercury/PolyGram
50	Christmas Again	The Oak Ridge Boys	MCA
65	Christmas with Ronnie Milsap	Ronnie Milsap	RCA
49	Everybody Knows I'm Yours	Jim Glaser	MCA/Noble Vision
37	Fallin' for You for Years	Conway Twitty	Warner Bros.
47	Fire at First Sight	The Kendalls	MCA
29	Floridays	Jimmy Buffett	MCA
30	The Girls Next Door	Girls Next Door	MTM
48	Greatest Hits	Vern Gosdin	Compleat
27	Greatest Hits Volume Two	The Bellamy Brothers	Curb/MCA
32	Highway Diner	Lacy J. Dalton	Columbia
29	Holly Dunn	Holly Dunn	MTM
26	It Still Rains in Memphis	T. G. Sheppard	Columbia
35	Killbilly Hill	Southern Pacific	Warner Bros.
26	L.A. to Miami	Keith Whitley	RCA
34	Marty Stuart	Marty Stuart	Columbia
62	Memphis Sessions	Rick Nelson	Epic
53	Moments	Barbara Mandrell	MCA
66	New Grass Revival	New Grass Revival	Capitol
29	New Moves	Don Williams	Capitol
53	Night Things	Ed Bruce	RCA
40	One and Only	Mickey Gilley	Epic
35	Patty Loveless	Patty Loveless	MCA
27	Perfume, Ribbons & Pearls	The Forester Sisters	Warner Bros.
56	Portrait of a Singer	Ray Price	Step One
31	Radio Gospel Favorites	The Statler Brothers	Mercury/PolyGram
40	Reba Nell McEntire	Reba McEntire	Mercury/PolyGram
31	Repossessed	Kris Kristofferson	Mercury/PolyGram
57	Robin Lee	Robin Lee	Evergreen
40	Rose of My Heart	Nicolette Larson	MCA
39	Schuyler, Knobloch & Overstreet	S-K-O	MTM
70	The Shoppe	The Shoppe	MTM
31	Son of the South	David Allan Coe	Columbia
49	Starting New Memories	Gene Watson	Epic
38	Street Language	Rodney Crowell	Columbia
59	Thank God for the Radio… And All the Hits	The Kendalls	Mercury/PolyGram
35	That Feeling Inside	Mark Gray	Columbia
54	Think About Love	Dolly Parton	RCA
46	Tonight We Ride	Michael Martin Murphey	Warner Bros.
52	Too Old to Grow Up	Pake McEntire	RCA
28	When Love Is Right	Charly McClain & Wayne Massey	Epic
26	Wings	Michael Johnson	RCA
50	Winners	Donna Fargo	Mercury/PolyGram

On television

Regular series

• Hee Haw (1969–1993, syndicated)

Specials

Births

• February 2 — Blaine Larsen, 2000's (decade) singer better known for his single "How Do You Get That Lonely".
• March 23 — Brett Eldredge, singer of the 2010s best known for hits including "Don't Ya" and "Beat of the Music".
• April 1 — Hillary Scott, member of Lady Antebellum and daughter of Linda Davis.
• April 2 — Chris Janson, singer-songwriter known for his 2015 hit "Buy Me a Boat".
• June 18 — Jimmie Allen, singer-songwriter known for his late 2010s hits "Best Shot" and "Make Me Want To".
• June 28 — Kellie Pickler, sixth-place finalist on the fifth season of American Idol.
• August 16 — Ashton Shepherd, debuted in late 2007-early 2008 with her top 20 single "Takin' Off This Pain".
• September 10 — Ashley Monroe, singer-songwriter of the 2000s and 2010s and member of the Pistol Annies.
• September 19 — Chase Rice, singer of the 2010s best known for the hit "Ready Set Roll."

Deaths

• February 10 — Arthur E. Satherley, 96, music executive.
• May 30 — "Papa Joe" Brown, 60, founding member of Canadian country group Family Brown.
• June 20 — Whitey Ford, 85, beloved Grand Ole Opry comedian and storyteller.
• June 25 — Jenifer Strait, 13, daughter of George Strait (car accident).
• June 27 — Joe Maphis, 65, prolific guitarist and fiddler, prominently featured on the theme to "Bonanza" (cancer).
• December 5 — Carmol Taylor, 53, songwriter.

Hall of Fame inductees

Country Music Hall of Fame inductees

• Duke of Paducah (1901–1986)
• Wesley Rose (1918–1990)

Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees

• Papa Joe Brown

Major awards

Grammy Awards

• Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Whoever's in New England", Reba McEntire
• Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "Lost in the Fifties Tonight", Ronnie Milsap
• Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Ol' Days)". The Judds
• Best Country Instrumental Performance — "Raisin' the Dickins", Ricky Skaggs
• Best Country Song — "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)", Jamie O'Hara (Performer: The Judds)

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 — Prairie Oyster

Academy of Country Music

• Entertainer of the Year — Hank Williams, Jr.
• Song of the Year — "On the Other Hand", Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz (Performer: Randy Travis)
• Single of the Year — "On the Other Hand", Randy Travis
• Album of the Year — Storms of Life, Randy Travis
• Top Male Vocalist — Randy Travis
• Top Female Vocalist — Reba McEntire
• Top Vocal Duo — The Judds
• Top Vocal Group — The Forester Sisters
• Top New Male Vocalist — Dwight Yoakam
• Top New Female Vocalist — Holly Dunn
• Video of the Year — "Whoever's in New England", Reba McEntire (Directors: Jeff Schock and Jon Small)

Canadian Country Music Association

• Entertainer(s) of the Year — Family Brown
• Male Artist of the Year — Terry Carisse
• Female Artist of the Year — Anita Perras
• Group of the Year — Family Brown
• SOCAN Song of the Year — "Now and Forever", David Foster, Jim Vallance, Charles Randolph Goodrum (Performer: Anne Murray)
• Single of the Year — "Now and Forever," Anne Murray
• Album of the Year — Feel the Fire, Family Brown
• Top Selling Album — Hymns of Gold, Carroll Baker
• Vista Rising Star Award — J. K. Gulley
• Duo of the Year — Anita Perras and Tim Taylor

Country Music Association

• Entertainer of the Year — Reba McEntire
• Song of the Year — "On the Other Hand", Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz (Performer: Randy Travis)
• Single of the Year — "Bop", Dan Seals
• Album of the Year — Lost in the Fifties Tonight, Ronnie Milsap
• Male Vocalist of the Year — George Strait
• Female Vocalist of the Year — Reba McEntire
• Vocal Duo of the Year — Marie Osmond and Dan Seals
• Vocal Group of the Year — The Judds
• Horizon Award — Randy Travis
• Music Video of the Year — "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes?", George Jones (Director: Marc Ball)
• Instrumentalist of the Year — Johnny Gimble
• Instrumental Group of the Year — The Oak Ridge Boys

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
• Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993
• 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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Columbia Label Drops Johnny Cash. July 19, 1986. Los Angeles Times.