March 16 — The country music world is stunned when seven members of
Reba McEntire's band and her road manager are killed in a plane crash in California. McEntire – who traveled separately – recorded her album, For My Broken Heart in their memory.
August 16 —
Holly Dunn asks that radio stations withdraw her single "
Maybe I Mean Yes" due to listener complaints that its lyrics condone
date rape.[1]
August 30 — Country music pioneer,
Dottie West is seriously injured while en route to a
Grand Ole Opry performance in
Nashville, Tennessee. Her fans and contemporaries are deeply saddened when she dies of her injuries
September 4 at a Nashville hospital. President
George H. W. Bush sends his condolences to the country music world during the
CMA Awards later that year.
September 28 — Ropin' the Wind by
Garth Brooks becomes the first album to debut at No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Top Country Albums andBillboard 200 Albums charts. The album, Brooks' third, vaults the 29-year-old singer into superstardom and goes on to sell 16 million copies worldwide. The album became the second best selling album of all genres in 1991, coming in second to
Mariah Carey's debut album.
November 24 — Hot Country Nights begins a one-season run on
NBC. The series was created to cash in on the exploding popularity of country music, and showcased several acts on each episode; featured on the premiere were
Alabama,
Clint Black,
K.T. Oslin,
Kenny Rogers and
Pam Tillis. The series did not catch on in the ratings and is canceled at the end of the season.
No dates
Naomi Judd announces she had been diagnosed with
Hepatitis C, a potentially fatal chronic liver disease, and would be retiring from touring with daughter
Wynonna at the end of the year. The resulting "Farewell" tour becomes the year's top-grossing act in country music and ends with a New Year's Eve
pay-per-view concert.
"SoundScan" is introduced, providing more accurate Billboard magazine chart ratings that are based on actual sales. Immediate evidence proved country music had a much bigger audience than previously thought.
December 27 –
Shay Mooney, member of Dan + Shay, a rising duo of the 2010s.
September 27 -
Sierra Hull Mandolin virtuoso, IBMA mandolin Player of the year 2016 and 2018. Continuous innovator of mandolin and mandolin family instruments, playing in traditional and non traditional ways
Deaths
February 24 —
Webb Pierce, 69, honky tonk stylist and pioneer (pancreatic cancer).
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
Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993 (
ISBN0-06-273244-7)
Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944–2005 – 6th Edition." 2005.
March 16 — The country music world is stunned when seven members of
Reba McEntire's band and her road manager are killed in a plane crash in California. McEntire – who traveled separately – recorded her album, For My Broken Heart in their memory.
August 16 —
Holly Dunn asks that radio stations withdraw her single "
Maybe I Mean Yes" due to listener complaints that its lyrics condone
date rape.[1]
August 30 — Country music pioneer,
Dottie West is seriously injured while en route to a
Grand Ole Opry performance in
Nashville, Tennessee. Her fans and contemporaries are deeply saddened when she dies of her injuries
September 4 at a Nashville hospital. President
George H. W. Bush sends his condolences to the country music world during the
CMA Awards later that year.
September 28 — Ropin' the Wind by
Garth Brooks becomes the first album to debut at No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Top Country Albums andBillboard 200 Albums charts. The album, Brooks' third, vaults the 29-year-old singer into superstardom and goes on to sell 16 million copies worldwide. The album became the second best selling album of all genres in 1991, coming in second to
Mariah Carey's debut album.
November 24 — Hot Country Nights begins a one-season run on
NBC. The series was created to cash in on the exploding popularity of country music, and showcased several acts on each episode; featured on the premiere were
Alabama,
Clint Black,
K.T. Oslin,
Kenny Rogers and
Pam Tillis. The series did not catch on in the ratings and is canceled at the end of the season.
No dates
Naomi Judd announces she had been diagnosed with
Hepatitis C, a potentially fatal chronic liver disease, and would be retiring from touring with daughter
Wynonna at the end of the year. The resulting "Farewell" tour becomes the year's top-grossing act in country music and ends with a New Year's Eve
pay-per-view concert.
"SoundScan" is introduced, providing more accurate Billboard magazine chart ratings that are based on actual sales. Immediate evidence proved country music had a much bigger audience than previously thought.
December 27 –
Shay Mooney, member of Dan + Shay, a rising duo of the 2010s.
September 27 -
Sierra Hull Mandolin virtuoso, IBMA mandolin Player of the year 2016 and 2018. Continuous innovator of mandolin and mandolin family instruments, playing in traditional and non traditional ways
Deaths
February 24 —
Webb Pierce, 69, honky tonk stylist and pioneer (pancreatic cancer).
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
Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993 (
ISBN0-06-273244-7)
Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944–2005 – 6th Edition." 2005.