1989 in country music explained
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1989.
Events
- May 9 – Rising country star Keith Whitley is found dead at his home, a victim of alcohol poisoning. News of his death sent shockwaves through the industry, given that he had been hailed as a future superstar who helped bring neotraditionalism to the forefront during the 1980s. His widow, Lorrie Morgan, would become a major superstar after his death.
No dates
- 1989 was one of two years during the 1980s which sprouted the most prolific class of newcomers in country music history (1986 being the other), a trend that had not been seen since the mid-1950s (when artists such as Elvis Presley, George Jones and Johnny Cash first rose to fame). Clint Black was at the head of the class early on, given that he had two of the year's most memorable singles – "A Better Man" and "Killin' Time" – and one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year (Killin' Time), and was already selling out shows nationwide. Garth Brooks, however, proved to be the 1989 newcomer that stood head and shoulders above everyone else, eventually selling millions of albums, taking worldwide tours and creating some of the most influential music of the 1990s and beyond. Another newcomer, Alan Jackson, had a minor hit with his first release in the autumn of that year with "Blue Blooded Woman;" future singles – all featuring the neotraditional style, would do considerably better, to say the least. Travis Tritt contributed with his brand of rock-influenced country, while Lorrie Morgan (daughter of Grand Ole Opry legend George Morgan) became a star in her own right following the alcohol-poisoning death of her husband, Keith Whitley.
Other top newcomers of the year were Suzy Bogguss, and Lionel Cartwright.
Top hits of the year
See also: List of number-one country singles of 1989 (U.S.) and List of number-one country hits of 1989 (Canada).
Singles released by American artists
Singles released by Canadian artists
Top new album releases
See also: List of number-one country albums of 1989 (U.S.).
Other top albums
On television
Regular series
- Hee Haw (1969–1993, syndicated)
Specials
Births
Deaths
- February 4 – Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns, 68, of the Homer and Jethro comedy duo.
- March 8 – Stuart Hamblen, 80, one of radio's first country music superstars, whose later works reflected his religious convictions.
- May 9 – Keith Whitley, 33, honky tonk-styled singer who rose to fame in the mid-1980s (alcohol poisoning)
- August 25 – Al Cherney, 56, Albertan fiddler
- September 23 – Bradley Kincaid, 94, Singer and Guitarist who started his career in 1927 in Chicago over WLS Radio, performing the traditional mountain ballads he had learned during his boyhood in Kentucky, he soon became the genre's first Multimedia superstar. He collected, recorded, and published many of the old Folk ballads, thereby preserving them for posterity. (Automobile Accident).
Hall of Fame inductees
Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
Major awards
Grammy Awards
Juno Awards
Academy of Country Music
ARIA Awards
(presented in Sydney on March 6, 1989)
Canadian Country Music Association
- Entertainer Artist of the Year – k.d. lang
- Male Artist of the Year – Gary Fjellgaard
- Female Artist of the Year – k.d. lang
- Group of the Year – Family Brown
- SOCAN Song of the Year – "Town of Tears", Barry Brown, Randall Prescott, Bruce Campbell (Performer: Family Brown)
- Single of the Year – "Town of Tears", Family Brown
- Album of the Year – Shadowland, k.d. lang
- Top Selling Album – Old 8×10, Randy Travis
- Vista Rising Star Award – George Fox
- Duo of the Year – Gary Fjellgaard and Linda Kidder
Country Music Association
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
External links
