1980 in country music

Events

• January 25 — At age 84, octogenarian comedian George Burns becomes by far the oldest performer to have a single in the top 40 of Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart with "I Wish I Was 18 Again." The song peaks at No. 15 in March.
• March 2 — The Public Broadcasting Company telecasts the Grand Ole Opry for the third time, and this telecast lasts longer than any of the other telecasts. The telecast featured Tom T. Hall, Ronnie Milsap, Roy Acuff, Hank Snow, Minnie Pearl, Porter Wagoner, Billy Grammer, George Hamilton IV, Marty Robbins, and many others. Sissy Spacek also appeared on this telecast with Loretta Lynn, promoting the new movie Coal Miner's Daughter, which opened the next week.
• March — Alabama, a southern rock-influenced band from Fort Payne, Alabama, signs a recording contract with RCA Records, and records its first album, My Home's in Alabama. The album is released in May, and by late in the year, the band was on its way to superstardom.
• April 19 — For the first time in chart history, the top 5 positions on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart are held by female artists. The list:

1. "It's Like We Never Said Goodbye" by Crystal Gayle
2. "A Lesson in Leavin'" by Dottie West
3. "Are You on the Road to Lovin' Me Again" by Debby Boone
4. "Beneath Still Waters" by Emmylou Harris
5. "Two Story House" by Tammy Wynette

• July 5 — George Jones' classic "He Stopped Loving Her Today" reaches #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles charts.
• November 18 — The country-variety TV series, Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters, debuts.

  Country music goes Hollywood

• Country music had a major impact on the motion picture industry throughout the year, with no less than four major box office hits released during the year:
• * March 7 — Coal Miner's Daughter, the biography of Loretta Lynn told in film, opens. Sissy Spacek wins that year's Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Lynn; Tommy Lee Jones and Beverly D'Angelo also play leading roles. The movie is a huge success with critics and at the box office, and briefly sparks Spacek's singing career.
• * June 6 — The movie Urban Cowboy, starring John Travolta and Debra Winger, opens in American theaters. The movie — which showcases Mickey Gilley's nightclub, Gilley's — is a huge success at the box office, and its soundtrack includes several major hits and makes stars out of several of the artists, and will have a major impact on the direction of country music of the early 1980s.
• * July 18 — Honeysuckle Rose, starring Willie Nelson, opens.
• * December 19 — 9 to 5 – with Dolly Parton in one of the leading roles – opens.

  Top hits of the year

Singles released by American artists

Singles released by Canadian artists

Top new album releases

Other top albums

On television

Regular series

• Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters
• Hee Haw
• Pop! Goes the Country
• The Porter Wagoner Show
• That Nashville Music

  Specials

Births

• April 1 – Kip Moore, country singer of the 2010s.
• April 2 – Bobby Estell, radio personality of the 2010s-onward who uses the on-air name Bobby Bones and host of his eponymously named show.
• July 3 – Sarah Buxton, singer-songwriter best known as co-writer of "Stupid Boy."
• October 18 — Josh Gracin, rose to fame as fourth-place contestant on American Idol in 2003; had a string of hits thereafter.

  Deaths

• March 17 – Hugh Farr, 76, member of the Sons of the Pioneers.
• April 4 — Red Sovine, 62, best known for recitations of truck driving life.
• June 16 – Bob Nolan, 72, member of the Sons of the Pioneers.

  Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

• Johnny Cash
• Connie B. Gay
• Original Sons of the Pioneers

  Major awards

Grammy Awards

• Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Could I Have This Dance", Anne Murray
• Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "He Stopped Loving Her Today", George Jones
• Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again", Emmylou Harris and Roy Orbison
• Best Country Instrumental Performance — "Orange Blossom Special/Hoedown", Gilley's Urban Cowboy Band
• Best Country Song — "On the Road Again," Willie Nelson

  Juno Awards

• Country Male Vocalist of the Year — Murray McLauchlan
• Country Female Vocalist of the Year — Anne Murray
• Country Group or Duo of the Year — The Good Brothers

  Academy of Country Music

• Entertainer of the Year — Barbara Mandrell
• Song of the Year — "He Stopped Loving Her Today", Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman
• Single of the Year — "He Stopped Loving Her Today", George Jones
• Album of the Year — Urban Cowboy, Soundtrack
• Top Male Vocalist — George Jones
• Top Female Vocalist — Dolly Parton
• Top New Male Vocalist — Johnny Lee
• Top New Female Vocalist — Terri Gibbs

  Country Music Association

• Founding President's Award — Charlie Daniels
• Entertainer of the Year — Barbara Mandrell
• Song of the Year — "He Stopped Loving Her Today", Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman
• Single of the Year — "He Stopped Loving Her Today", George Jones
• Album of the Year — Coal Miner's Daughter, Soundtrack
• Male Vocalist of the Year — George Jones
• Female Vocalist of the Year — Emmylou Harris
• Vocal Duo of the Year — Moe Bandy and Joe Stampley
• Vocal Group of the Year — The Statler Brothers
• Instrumentalist of the Year — Roy Clark
• Instrumental Group of the Year — Charlie Daniels Band

  Other links

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