This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1972.

• March — For the first time since 1967, Sonny James fails to hit the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot Country Singles Chart with a single release. His hit, "Only Love (Can Break a Heart)" stops at No. 2. James' record streak would hold for more than 14 years, until Alabama scored its 17th-straight with "40 Hour Week (For a Livin')" in August 1985. "The Southern Gentleman" would return to the No. 1 spot twice more during 1972 — "That's Why I Love You Like I Do" (a retitled remake of his 1957 hit, "You're the Reason I'm in Love," the lesser-known flip side of "Young Love"; and also his last major hit with Capitol Records); and "When the Snow is on the Roses."

During 1972, James inks a recording deal with Columbia Records; "When the Snow..." is his first hit with his new label.

• March — Merle Haggard is pardoned by California Gov. Ronald Reagan for his 1957 robbery; which had landed him a prison term that lasted two-and-a-half years.
• April — The first Fan Fair is held in Nashville, Tennessee.
• June 3 — The Opryland USA country music theme park opens in Nashville.
• June 13 — The Country Music Foundation Library and Media Center is dedicated.
• September — The premiere issue of Country Music magazine hits the newsstand. The magazine, which will be issued monthly (later bi-monthly), is an immediate hit with critics and readers.
• September 17 — Faron Young — who has international success with "It's Four in the Morning" — is charged with assault for spanking a girl in the audience at a concert in Clarksburg, West Virginia after claiming she spat on him.^[1] Young appeared before a Wood County, West Virginia justice of the peace and was fined $24, plus $11 in court costs.^[2] It is the first in a string of incidents involving Young, whose increasingly bizarre behavior would begin overshadowing his success.
• October — The Country Music Association moves from NBC to CBS, where it remained until 2006 when the awards show moved to ABC. Loretta Lynn becomes the first woman to win the CMA's Entertainer of the Year award.

• February 23 — Steve Holy, 2000s (decade) country singer best known for his No. 1 hit "Good Morning Beautiful."
• April 5 — Pat Green, "Texas country"-styled singer/songwriter.
• July 17 — Paul Brandt, Canadian country singer who began enjoying U.S. success in the late 1990s.
• August 16 — Emily Robison, member of the Dixie Chicks (she plays the guitar, banjo and dobro).
• October 23 — Jimmy Wayne, singer-songwriter of the 2000s (decade).
• October 28 — Brad Paisley, new traditionalist of the 2000s (decade).

• January 28 — T. Texas Tyler, 55, 1940s country star best known for "The Deck of Cards."
• June 23 — Elton Britt, 59, 1940s country star best known for "There's a Star-Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere."
• July 16 – Charlie Chamberlain, 61, Canadian Country Singer, who was the Male vocalist for Don Messer's Islanders from the band's inception in 1933 until shortly before his death (Heart Attack).

• Jimmie Davis (1899–2000)

• 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.

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