1998_in_country_music

1998 in country music

1998 in country music

Overview of the events of 1998 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1998.

Quick Facts List of years in country music (table) ...

Events

  • January 10 — "Retro Country USA," a weekly two-hour syndicated radio program spotlighting major country hits of the 1980s (along with some from the 1970s and early 1990s), premieres. The show is initially hosted by Tampa radio personality Ken Cooper, and later "Big" Steve Kelly.
  • February 25 — Johnny Cash's album, Unchained, wins a Grammy Award for Best Country Album. The album had been a critical success but was largely ignored by mainstream country radio, a fact Cash and producer Rick Rubin pick up on when they purchase a full-page advertisement in Billboard magazine. The ad, which appeared in March, featured a young Cash displaying his middle finger and sarcastically "thanking" radio for supporting the album.
  • June 30 — The divorce of Vince and Janis Gill (of Sweethearts of the Rodeo) is finalized.[1]
  • December — The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts honors Willie Nelson for his lifetime contributions to the arts. Nelson is the first primarily country performer so honored.

Top hits of the year

See also: List of number-one country singles of 1998 (U.S.) and List of RPM number-one country singles of 1998

Singles released by American artists

More information US, CAN ...

Singles released by Canadian artists

More information US, CAN ...

Top new album releases

See also: List of number-one country albums of 1998 (U.S.) and List of number-one country albums of 1998 (Canada)
More information US, CAN ...

Other top albums

More information US, CAN ...

Deaths

  • January 7 — Owen Bradley, 82, legendary record producer for top artists. (respiratory illness)
  • January 17 — Cliffie Stone, 80, music executive and bassist.
  • January 19 — Carl Perkins, 65, top picker and rockabilly artist. (complications from multiple strokes)
  • January 24 — Justin Tubb, 62, singer-songwriter who fused honky-tonk and rockabilly in the 1950s.
  • February 19 — Grandpa Jones, 84, banjo player, old-time country/gospel singer, comedian and regular on "Hee Haw" (stroke)
  • February 25 — Rockin' Sidney Simien, 59, rhythm and blues, Zydeco, and soul musician best known to country audiences for his 1985 hit, "My Toot Toot." (cancer)
  • April 6 — Tammy Wynette, 55, top country female vocalist of the 1960s and 1970s, best known for hits "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and "Stand By Your Man." (blood clot)
  • April 16 — Rose Maddox, 71, female honky-tonk and rockabilly pioneer who fronted the Maddox Brothers and Rose (kidney failure)
  • May 7 — Eddie Rabbitt, 56, prolific songwriter and pop-country vocalist who once had 35 Top 10 hits in as many releases. (lung cancer)
  • May 22 – Royce Kendall, 62, sang alongside daughter, Jeannie Kendall, of The Kendalls. (stroke)
  • June 10 — Steve Sanders, 45, member of the Oak Ridge Boys from 1987 to 1995; replaced and succeeded by William Lee Golden. (suicide)
  • July 6 — Roy Rogers, 86, actor, singer and "King of the Cowboys." (congestive heart failure)
  • October 2 — Gene Autry, 91, actor and "The Singing Cowboy" (lymphoma).

Hall of Fame inductees

Bluegrass Music 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 October 20, 1998)

Canadian Country Music Association

Country Music Association

RPM Big Country Awards

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Pruett, David B. (2015-01-13). "Gill, Vince(nt Grant)". Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.a2275832.

Further reading

  • Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944–2005 – 6th Edition." 2005.
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