1955 in country music
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1955.
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Events
- January 22 — Ozark Jubilee debuts on ABC-TV, the first popular country music show on network TV. It would run through September 1960.
- July 15 — Slim Whitman's "Rose Marie" becomes an international smash, debuting on the British charts and quickly rising to No. 1; its 11-week run will stand as one of the longest runs for many years.[1]
- July 27 — Billboard magazine claims that Webb Pierce is one of only two singing stars that "can be considered guaranteed hitmakers these days"; pop and R&B singer Nat King Cole is the other.[2]
- November 12 — Elvis Presley is voted the most promising country and western artist, according to Billboard magazine's annual disc jockey poll.
No dates
- 1955 was one of the most prolific years for new artists, many of whom would revolutionize country music. Some of the more prominent names were Johnny Cash, George Jones, Elvis Presley and Porter Wagoner; it was also the year one of the best-known duos ever — the Louvin Brothers (Charlie and Ira) — would join the Grand Ole Opry. Many of them would go on to record and popularize the best known songs in the genre, and have recording careers that lasted for decades. It would be more than 30 years before another gifted group this prominent would rise to fame and create a revolution in country music in a single year.
Top hits of the year
Number-one hits
United States
(as certified by Billboard)
| Date | Single Name | Artist | Wks. No.1 | Spec. Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 8 | Loose Talk | Carl Smith | 7 | |
| January 29 | Let Me Go, Lover! | Hank Snow | 2 |
|
| February 26 | In the Jailhouse Now | Webb Pierce | 21 | [1]
|
| June 18 | Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young | Faron Young | 3 | |
| July 9 | A Satisfied Mind | Porter Wagoner | 4 | [A]
|
| July 16 | I Don't Care | Webb Pierce | 12 | |
| October 8 | The Cattle Call | Eddy Arnold | 2 | |
| October 22 | Love Love Love | Webb Pierce | 13 | [2] |
| October 22 | That Do Make It Nice | Eddy Arnold | 2 | |
| December 17 | Sixteen Tons | Tennessee Ernie Ford | 10 |
- Notes
- Note: Several songs were simultaneous No. 1 hits on the separate "Most Played in Juke Boxes," "Most Played by Jockeys" and "Best Sellers in Stores" charts.
Other major hits
| US | Single | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | All Right | Faron Young |
| 13 | Annie Over | Hank Thompson |
| 2 | Are You Mine | Ginny Wright and Tom Tall |
| 6 | Are You Mine | Myrna Lorrie and Buddy DeVal |
| 14 | Are You Mine | Red Sovine and Goldie Hill |
| 3 | As Long as I Live | Kitty Wells and Red Foley |
| 5 | Baby Let's Play House | Elvis Presley |
| 4 | The Ballad of Davy Crockett | Tennessee Ernie Ford |
| 10 | The Ballad of Davy Crockett | Mac Wiseman |
| 4 | Beautiful Lies | Jean Shepard |
| 7 | Blue Darlin' | Jimmy C. Newman |
| 5 | Born to Be Happy | Hank Snow |
| 7 | Breakin' In Another Heart | Hank Thompson |
| 11 | The Cattle Call | Slim Whitman |
| 7 | Company's Comin' | Porter Wagoner |
| 14 | Cry! Cry! Cry! | Johnny Cash |
| 7 | Cryin', Prayin', Waitin', Hopin' | Hank Snow |
| 5 | Cuzz Yore So Sweet | Simon Crum |
| 8 | Daddy, You Know What? | Jim Wilson |
| 7 | Daydreamin' | Jimmy C. Newman |
| 12 | Don't Forget | Eddy Arnold |
| 5 | Don't Take It Out On Me | Hank Thompson |
| 11 | Don't Tease Me | Carl Smith |
| 9 | Drinking Tequila | Jim Reeves |
| 11 | Go Back You Fool | Faron Young |
| 4 | Hearts of Stone | Red Foley |
| 7 | Here Today and Gone Tomorrow | The Browns |
| 13 | His Hands | Tennessee Ernie Ford |
| 10 | I Dreamed of a Hill-Billy Heaven | Eddie Dean |
| 6 | I Feel Better All Over (More Than Anywhere's Else) | Ferlin Husky |
| 8 | I Gotta Go Get My Baby | Justin Tubb |
| 13 | I Guess I'm Crazy | Tommy Collins |
| 11 | I Love You Mostly | Lefty Frizzell |
| 10 | I Thought of You | Jean Shepard |
| 6 | I Walked Alone Last Night | Eddy Arnold |
| 13 | I Wanna Wanna Wanna | The Wilburn Brothers |
| 14 | I'll Baby Sit with You | Ferlin Husky |
| 7 | I'm Glad I Got to See You Once Again | Hank Snow |
| 10 | I'm Gonna Fall Out of Love with You | Webb Pierce |
| 12 | I'm in Love with You | Kitty Wells |
| 2 | I've Been Thinking | Eddy Arnold |
| 7 | I've Kissed You My Last Time | Kitty Wells |
| 12 | If Lovin' You Is Wrong | Hank Thompson |
| 2 | If You Ain't Lovin' | Faron Young |
| 7 | If You Were Me | Webb Pierce |
| 7 | In the Jailhouse Now No. 2 | Jimmie Rodgers |
| 6 | In Time | Eddy Arnold |
| 5 | It Tickles | Tommy Collins |
| 2 | Just Call Me Lonesome | Eddy Arnold |
| 8 | The Kentuckian Song | Eddy Arnold |
| 7 | Kiss-Crazy Baby | Johnnie & Jack |
| 5 | Kisses Don't Lie | Carl Smith |
| 7 | Little Tom | Ferlin Husky |
| 5 | Mainliner (The Hawk with Silver Wings) | Hank Snow |
| 6 | Make Believe ('Til We Can Make It Come True) | Kitty Wells and Red Foley |
| 2 | Making Believe | Kitty Wells |
| 5 | Making Believe | Jimmy Work |
| 9 | Maybellene | Marty Robbins |
| 13 | Mister Sandman | Chet Atkins |
| 5 | More Than Anything Else in the World | Carl Smith |
| 6 | Most of All | Hank Thompson |
| 15 | The Next Voice You Hear | Hank Snow |
| 13 | No, I Don't Believe I Will | Carl Smith |
| 14 | No One Dear but You | Johnnie & Jack |
| 11 | Old Lonesome Times | Carl Smith |
| 5 | Penny Candy | Jim Reeves |
| 9 | Please Don't Let Me Love You | Hank Williams |
| 10 | The Richest Man (In the World) | Eddy Arnold |
| 15 | S.O.S. | Johnnie & Jack |
| 3 | A Satisfied Mind | Red Foley and Betty Foley[3] |
| 4 | A Satisfied Mind | Jean Shepard |
| 15 | Silver Bell | Hank Snow and Chet Atkins |
| 14 | So Lovely, Baby | Rusty & Doug |
| 11 | Sure Fire Kisses | Justin Tubb and Goldie Hill |
| 13 | Take Possession | Jean Shepard |
| 7 | That's All Right | Marty Robbins |
| 6 | That's What Makes the Juke Box Play | Jimmy Work |
| 3 | There She Goes | Carl Smith |
| 9 | There's Poison in Your Heart | Kitty Wells |
| 7 | Thirty Days (To Come Back Home) | Ernest Tubb |
| 14 | Time Goes By | Marty Robbins |
| 9 | Two Kinds of Love | Eddy Arnold |
| 10 | Untied | Tommy Collins |
| 12 | Wait a Little Longer Please, Jesus | Carl Smith |
| 8 | When I Stop Dreaming | The Louvin Brothers |
| 7 | Whose Shoulder Will You Cry On | Kitty Wells |
| 4 | Why Baby Why | George Jones |
| 5 | Wildwood Flower | Hank Thompson and Merle Travis |
| 3 | Would You Mind? | Hank Snow |
| 7 | The Yellow Rose of Texas | Ernest Tubb |
| 3 | Yellow Roses | Hank Snow |
| 4 | Yonder Comes a Sucker | Jim Reeves |
| 15 | You Oughta See Pickles Now | Tommy Collins |
Top new album releases
Births
- March 11 — Jimmy Fortune, songwriter and member of The Statler Brothers (he sang tenor).
- March 17 — Paul Overstreet, singer-songwriter who penned hit singles for artists such as Randy Travis and Tanya Tucker, and also had a career as a recording artist as well.
- March 26 — Dean Dillon, songwriter whose works were instrumental in the new traditionalist movement of the 1980s.
- March 28 — Reba McEntire, singer and actress who has enjoyed fame since the early 1980s.
- May 11 — Mark Herndon, drummer with Alabama.
- May 12 — Kix Brooks, half of Brooks & Dunn; host of radio's American Country Countdown.
- May 23 — Garry Koehler, Australian country musician and songwriter (died 2019).[4]
- May 24 — Rosanne Cash, daughter of Johnny Cash; rose to fame in the early 1980s for her "alternative country" style.
- July 1 — Keith Whitley, honky tonk-styled singer of the 1980s (died 1989).
- September 24 — Lane Brody, female vocalist best known for dueting with Johnny Lee on 1984's "The Yellow Rose".
- November 1 — Keith Stegall, record producer who enjoyed a string of hits in the mid-1980s.
Deaths
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References
- Rolling Stone Rock Almanac: The Chronicles of Rock & Roll," Collier Books, MacMillan Publishing Co., New York and London, 1983, p. 15. ISBN 0-02-081320-1
- Rolling Stone Rock Almanac, p. 15.
- Barry McCloud (1995) Definitive Country: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Country Music and Its Performers, p. 290, ISBN 0-399-52144-5
- The Man in the Picture songwriter, Garry Koehler of The Bobkatz, dies aged 64
Further reading
- 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.
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