This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1986.
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- For the first time in its 42-year history, there is a new No. 1 song for each week of the year, according to Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles Chart.
- 1986 was a renaissance year in country music, with a host of "A New Traditionalist"-minded artists reinvigorating a genre that critics were saying had grown increasingly stagnant and pop-oriented. Among the most successful new artists: Holly Dunn, Judy Rodman, Ricky Van Shelton, Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakam. Keith Whitley, another artist who had been around for a few years, has his first major hit early in the year. They – along with popular newcomers from earlier in the decade such as Alabama, George Strait and Reba McEntire, and longtime artists like George Jones, Merle Haggard and Conway Twitty – proved not only that country music was the music of the people, but also that the genre had real resiliency.
- After 17 years of playing co-host to Roy Clark, Buck Owens announces his departure from the still-popular "Hee Haw." Clark would soldier on alone for the next six years, with rotating guest stars each week.
Singles released by American artists
More information US, CAN ...
US |
CAN |
Single |
Artist |
1 |
1 |
100% Chance of Rain |
Gary Morris |
6 |
5 |
1982 |
Randy Travis |
1 |
1 |
Ain't Misbehavin' |
Hank Williams, Jr. |
6 |
1 |
All Tied Up |
Ronnie McDowell |
1 |
1 |
Always Have, Always Will |
Janie Fricke |
19 |
53 |
Arlene |
Marty Stuart |
5 |
16 |
At the Sound of the Tone |
John Schneider |
7 |
2 |
(Back to The) Heartbreak Kid |
Restless Heart |
14 |
7 |
Back When Love Was Enough |
Mark Gray |
12 |
15 |
Bad Love |
Pake McEntire |
1 |
1 |
Bop |
Dan Seals |
17 |
7 |
Born Yesterday |
The Everly Brothers |
1 |
1 |
Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers) |
Eddie Rabbitt & Juice Newton |
10 |
— |
Burned Like a Rocket |
Billy Joe Royal |
1 |
1 |
Cajun Moon |
Ricky Skaggs |
9 |
5 |
Cheap Love |
Juice Newton |
3 |
1 |
Come On In (You Did the Best You Could Do) |
The Oak Ridge Boys |
5 |
4 |
Count On Me |
The Statler Brothers |
2 |
4 |
Country State of Mind |
Hank Williams, Jr. |
1 |
1 |
Cry |
Crystal Gayle |
7 |
— |
Daddy's Hands |
Holly Dunn |
1 |
1 |
Desperado Love |
Conway Twitty |
13 |
7 |
The Devil's on the Loose |
Waylon Jennings |
10 |
10 |
Didn't We |
Lee Greenwood |
1 |
1 |
Diggin' Up Bones |
Randy Travis |
1 |
1 |
Don't Underestimate My Love for You |
Lee Greenwood |
6 |
9 |
Doo-Wah Days |
Mickey Gilley |
12 |
35 |
Down in Tennessee |
John Anderson |
9 |
17 |
Dreamland Express |
John Denver |
8 |
21 |
Drinkin' My Baby Goodbye |
Charlie Daniels |
5 |
15 |
Easy to Please |
Janie Fricke |
20 |
47 |
Every Night |
Pake McEntire |
1 |
1 |
Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold) |
Dan Seals |
4 |
2 |
Fast Lanes and Country Roads |
Barbara Mandrell |
2 |
8 |
Feelin' the Feelin' |
The Bellamy Brothers |
9 |
12 |
A Friend in California |
Merle Haggard |
17 |
19 |
A Girl Like Emmylou |
Southern Pacific |
1 |
1 |
Got My Heart Set on You |
John Conlee |
12 |
— |
Gotta Learn to Love Without You |
Michael Johnson |
1 |
1 |
Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days) |
The Judds |
7 |
7 |
Guitar Town |
Steve Earle |
4 |
2 |
Guitars, Cadillacs |
Dwight Yoakam |
1 |
1 |
Happy, Happy Birthday Baby |
Ronnie Milsap |
10 |
19 |
Harmony |
John Conlee |
14 |
16 |
Heart Don't Fall Now |
Sawyer Brown |
1 |
2 |
Heartbeat in the Darkness |
Don Williams |
1 |
1 |
Hearts Aren't Made to Break (They're Made to Love) |
Lee Greenwood |
1 |
1 |
Hell and High Water |
T. Graham Brown |
5 |
6 |
Hold On |
Rosanne Cash |
3 |
1 |
Home Again in My Heart |
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band |
10 |
7 |
Honky Tonk Crowd |
John Anderson |
3 |
1 |
Honky Tonk Man |
Dwight Yoakam |
1 |
1 |
Hurt |
Juice Newton |
1 |
1 |
I Could Get Used to You |
Exile |
5 |
4 |
I Had a Beautiful Time |
Merle Haggard |
9 |
7 |
I Love You by Heart |
Sylvia & Michael Johnson |
14 |
— |
I Miss You Already |
Billy Joe Royal |
7 |
— |
I Tell It Like It Used to Be |
T. Graham Brown |
3 |
2 |
I Wish That I Could Hurt That Way Again |
T. Graham Brown |
10 |
7 |
I've Got a New Heartache |
Ricky Skaggs |
1 |
1 |
In Love |
Ronnie Milsap |
9 |
28 |
In Over My Heart |
T. G. Sheppard |
1 |
5 |
It Ain't Cool to Be Crazy About You |
George Strait |
1 |
1 |
It'll Be Me |
Exile |
7 |
7 |
It's Just a Matter of Time |
Glen Campbell |
15 |
16 |
Juliet |
The Oak Ridge Boys |
1 |
1 |
Just Another Love |
Tanya Tucker |
1 |
2 |
Just in Case |
The Forester Sisters |
1 |
2 |
Life's Highway |
Steve Wariner |
1 |
2 |
Little Rock |
Reba McEntire |
1 |
1 |
Living in the Promiseland |
Willie Nelson |
2 |
3 |
Lonely Alone |
The Forester Sisters |
3 |
— |
Love at the Five and Dime |
Kathy Mattea |
14 |
— |
Love Will Get You Through Times of No Money |
Girls Next Door |
4 |
1 |
Love's Gonna Get You Someday |
Ricky Skaggs |
1 |
1 |
Makin' Up for Lost Time (The Dallas Lovers' Song) |
Crystal Gayle and Gary Morris |
1 |
1 |
Mama's Never Seen Those Eyes |
The Forester Sisters |
5 |
2 |
Memories to Burn |
Gene Watson |
14 |
38 |
Miami, My Amy |
Keith Whitley |
1 |
1 |
Mind Your Own Business |
Hank Williams, Jr. |
1 |
1 |
Morning Desire |
Kenny Rogers |
1 |
2 |
Never Be You |
Rosanne Cash |
4 |
11 |
Nights |
Ed Bruce |
6 |
5 |
No One Mends a Broken Heart Like You |
Barbara Mandrell |
1 |
1 |
Nobody in His Right Mind Would've Left Her |
George Strait |
12 |
9 |
Nothing but Your Love Matters |
Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers |
10 |
6 |
Oh Darlin' (Why Don't You Care for Me No More) |
The O'Kanes |
9 |
27 |
Oklahoma Borderline |
Vince Gill |
5 |
3 |
Old Flame |
Juice Newton |
5 |
6 |
Old School |
John Conlee |
1 |
1 |
On the Other Hand |
Randy Travis |
1 |
1 |
Once in a Blue Moon |
Earl Thomas Conley |
3 |
2 |
The One I Loved Back Then (The Corvette Song) |
George Jones |
3 |
1 |
One Love at a Time |
Tanya Tucker |
11 |
4 |
Out Goin' Cattin' |
Sawyer Brown with Cat Joe Bonsall |
6 |
3 |
Partners, Brothers and Friends |
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band |
18 |
24 |
Perfect Stranger |
Southern Pacific |
7 |
3 |
Please Be Love |
Mark Gray |
4 |
5 |
Read My Lips |
Marie Osmond |
9 |
19 |
Reno Bound |
Southern Pacific |
4 |
5 |
Repetitive Regret |
Eddie Rabbitt |
1 |
1 |
Rockin' with the Rhythm of the Rain |
The Judds |
15 |
14 |
Rollin' Nowhere |
Michael Martin Murphey |
3 |
4 |
Savin' My Love for You |
Pake McEntire |
5 |
4 |
Second to No One |
Rosanne Cash |
15 |
7 |
Shakin' |
Sawyer Brown |
1 |
1 |
She and I |
Alabama |
2 |
3 |
She Used to Be Somebody's Baby |
Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers |
22 |
18 |
Shoe String |
Mel McDaniel |
7 |
15 |
Since I Found You |
Sweethearts of the Rodeo |
8 |
— |
Slow Boat to China |
Girls Next Door |
9 |
20 |
Somebody Wants Me Out of the Way |
George Jones |
3 |
2 |
Sometimes a Lady |
Eddy Raven |
5 |
3 |
Stand a Little Rain |
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band |
12 |
5 |
Stand on It |
Mel McDaniel |
4 |
11 |
Starting Over Again |
Steve Wariner |
1 |
1 |
Strong Heart |
T. G. Sheppard |
14 |
21 |
Super Love |
Exile |
8 |
34 |
Sweeter and Sweeter |
The Statler Brothers |
9 |
16 |
Ten Feet Away |
Keith Whitley |
1 |
2 |
That Rock Won't Roll |
Restless Heart |
9 |
9 |
That's How You Know When Love's Right |
Nicolette Larson (with Steve Wariner) |
1 |
1 |
There's No Stopping Your Heart |
Marie Osmond |
1 |
1 |
Think About Love |
Dolly Parton |
17 |
20 |
Tie Our Love (In a Double Knot) |
Dolly Parton |
10 |
11 |
Til I Loved You |
Restless Heart |
1 |
1 |
Tomb of the Unknown Love |
Kenny Rogers |
2 |
3 |
Too Many Times |
Earl Thomas Conley & Anita Pointer |
1 |
1 |
Too Much Is Not Enough |
The Bellamy Brothers with The Forester Sisters |
1 |
1 |
Touch Me When We're Dancing |
Alabama |
1 |
— |
Until I Met You |
Judy Rodman |
10 |
— |
Walk the Way the Wind Blows |
Kathy Mattea |
3 |
2 |
We've Got a Good Fire Goin' |
Don Williams |
8 |
7 |
What You'll Do When I'm Gone |
Waylon Jennings |
1 |
1 |
What's a Memory Like You (Doing in a Love Like This) |
John Schneider |
17 |
27 |
When It's Down to Me and You |
Charly McClain (with Wayne Massey) |
20 |
33 |
When You Get to the Heart |
Barbara Mandrell (with The Oak Ridge Boys) |
1 |
3 |
Whoever's in New England |
Reba McEntire |
5 |
5 |
Will the Wolf Survive |
Waylon Jennings |
10 |
13 |
Wine Colored Roses |
George Jones |
16 |
19 |
Working Class Man |
Lacy J. Dalton |
7 |
5 |
Working Without a Net |
Waylon Jennings |
10 |
8 |
You Are My Music, You Are My Song |
Charly McClain (with Wayne Massey) |
1 |
1 |
You Can Dream of Me |
Steve Wariner |
9 |
— |
You Can't Stop Love |
Schuyler, Knobloch & Overstreet |
24 |
20 |
You Made a Rock of a Rolling Stone |
The Oak Ridge Boys |
3 |
3 |
You Should Have Been Gone by Now |
Eddy Raven |
4 |
4 |
You're Something Special to Me |
George Strait |
1 |
1 |
You're Still New to Me |
Marie Osmond with Paul Davis |
1 |
1 |
You're the Last Thing I Needed Tonight |
John Schneider |
5 |
2 |
Your Memory Ain't What It Used to Be |
Mickey Gilley |
Close
Singles released by Canadian artists
More information US, CAN ...
US |
CAN |
Single |
Artist |
91 |
9 |
Being a Fool Again |
Audie Henry |
— |
15 |
Call Me Up |
Rae Palmer |
— |
16 |
Fiddlin' Man |
Whiskey Jack |
— |
13 |
Forget About Me |
Anne Lord |
— |
4 |
He's My Gentle Man |
Audie Henry |
— |
10 |
Heads You Win (Tails I Lose) |
Anita Perras |
— |
8 |
Hot on the Heels of Love |
The Haggertys |
— |
6 |
I'll Never Get Over You |
Anne Lord |
— |
13 |
I'm Best at Lovin' You |
Murray McLauchlan |
— |
9 |
I'm Taking Care of Myself |
Carroll Baker |
— |
5 |
In My Arms Tonight |
Bootleg |
— |
9 |
It's Times Like This |
Carol Martyn |
— |
18 |
Love Crazy |
Gilles Godard |
— |
6 |
Love Sweet Love |
Terry Carisse |
— |
16 |
Lovin' the Night Away |
Terry Sumsion |
1 |
1 |
Now and Forever (You and Me) |
Anne Murray |
— |
8 |
Pretty Diamond Ring |
Mercey Brothers |
— |
9 |
Reach Out and Touch Her |
Harvey Henry |
— |
14 |
Rise Against the Wind |
Dick Damron with Ginny Mitchell |
— |
19 |
Something Good |
Anita Perras with Tim Taylor |
— |
14 |
Stealer of Hearts |
Ronnie Prophet |
— |
17 |
Summer Nights |
The Ellis Family Band |
— |
6 |
Take a Little Chance on Love |
Mercey Brothers |
— |
15 |
Two Hearts in a Lonely Mind |
Jules |
80 |
8 |
What If It's Right |
Family Brown |
— |
18 |
You Can't Hide from Love |
Stoker Bros |
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Other top albums
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- February 10 — Arthur E. Satherley, 96, music executive.
- May 30 — "Papa Joe" Brown, 60, founding member of Canadian country group Family Brown.
- June 20 — Whitey Ford, 85, beloved Grand Ole Opry comedian and storyteller.
- June 25 — Jenifer Strait, 13, daughter of George Strait (car accident).
- June 27 — Joe Maphis, 65, prolific guitarist and fiddler, prominently featured on the theme to "Bonanza" (cancer).
- December 5 — Carmol Taylor, 53, songwriter.
Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
Canadian Country Music Association
Country Music Association
- 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.