My Kind of Country

Country music from a fan's point of view since 2008

Week ending 2/27/16: #1 singles this week in country music history

3 Comments Posted by on February 28, 2016

1956-september-1-3b1956 (Sales): I Forgot to Remember to Forget — Elvis Presley (Sun)

1956 (Jukebox): <Why Baby Why — Red Sovine & Webb Pierce (Decca)

1956 (Disc Jockeys): Love, Love, Love — Webb Pierce (Decca)

1966: Waitin’ in Your Welfare Line — Buck Owens & The Buckaroos (Capitol)

1976: Good Hearted Woman — Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson (RCA)

1986: There’s No Stopping Your Heart — Marie Osmond (Capitol/Curb)

1996: Bigger Than The Beatles — Joe Diffie (Epic)

2006: Jesus, Take The Wheel — Carrie Underwood (Arista)

2016: Die a Happy Man — Thomas Rhett (Valory)

2016 (Airplay): Backroad Song — Granger Smith (Wheelhouse)

Charts , , , , , , , , , , ,

3 responses to “Week ending 2/27/16: #1 singles this week in country music history”

  1. Erik North February 28, 2016 at 1:31 pm

    That 1956 Sales #1 figure for Elvis can now be seen as a sign that the music industry in general, and country music especially, was about to undergo an extremely radical change. Country, R&B, blues, Gospel, and jazz were coming together to form rock and roll, and Elvis was at the vanguard.

    Reply
    • Ken February 28, 2016 at 4:30 pm

      It took one more year for that change to reach critical mass. The transition to rock & roll was more of an evolution than a revolution as pop vocalists such as Perry Como, Doris Day, Patti Page, Teresa Brewer, Eddie Fisher and Frank Sinatra continued to score significant top ten hits alongside the newcomers. At times the record charts appeared rather schizophrenic with the older style of pop music played alongside the new rock & roll hits. The rise of rock & roll pushed country music to almost the brink of extinction as radio stations dropped their country music programming in favor of rock & roll. In early 1956 the darkest days for country music were looming just ahead.

      Reply
      • Erik North March 1, 2016 at 9:46 am

        Yes, and that is at least in part because Elvis might very well have become a mainstream country artist had he not been as taken with R&B, gospel, and the blues as he was with country. It’s true that country music went through some dark times at this point, but in retrospect there were opportunities lying just over the horizon as well.

        Reply

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