This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1979.

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• March 2 - Queen of Country Music, Loretta Lynn is named ACM Artist of the Decade after the dominant hold Lynn held on the charts during the decade. Lynn is the only female ACM Artist of the Decade.
• March 3 — The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) would telecast an entire Saturday night live from the Grand Ole Opry for the very first time – the show would last until 12:30 am with a half-hour break between the two shows at 9 pm CDT. The show featured many acts including Del Reeves, Barbara Mandrell, Bill Monroe, Hank Snow, Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Don Gibson and many others. The telecast became the most popular one of the year for PBS, and was a part of their March fundraising campaigns.
• December 21 — The Electric Horseman, starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, premieres. Willie Nelson is a supporting character in the film, and he will contribute to the movie's soundtrack.

• February 1 — Julie Roberts, country music singer-songwriter.
• April 24 — Rebecca Lynn Howard, pop-styled singer-songwriter of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
• May 18 – David Nail, singer of the 2010s best known for "Let It Rain."
• June 10 — Lee Brice, singer-songwriter of the 2010 best for his hits "Love Like Crazy" and the number-one single "A Woman Like You" as well as his 2012 second studio album Hard 2 Love.
• July 24 – Jerrod Niemann, songwriter who wrote Garth Brooks' hit "Good Ride Cowboy" before achieving his own success with hits like "Lover, Lover."

• January 8 — Sara Carter, 80, lead singer and member of the pioneering Carter Family.
• February 21 — Carl T. Sprague, 83, "The Original Singing Cowboy," active mainly in the 1920s.
• May 11 — Lester Flatt, 64, early bluegrass pioneer who, with Earl Scruggs, formed the Foggy Mountain Boys. (heart failure)
• November 29 — Jimmie Tarlton, 87, one half of Darby and Tarlton, an early country music duo.

• Hubert Long (1923–1972)
• Hank Snow (1914–1999)

• 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

• Country Music Hall of Fame