2008 in country music

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See also: 2007 in country music, 2008 in music, other events of 2008, 2009 in country music and the List of years in Country Music

Contents 1 Events 2 Top hits of the year 2.1 Number one hits 2.1.1 United States 2.1.2 Canada 2.2 Other major hits 2.2.1 United States 2.2.2 Canada 3 Top new album releases 3.1 Other top albums 3.2 Announced 4 Deaths 5 Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees 6 Major Awards 6.1 United States 6.1.1 Grammy awards 6.1.2 CMT Music Awards 6.1.3 Academy of Country Music 6.1.4 Country Music Association 6.2 Canada 6.2.1 Canadian Country Music Association 7 Further reading 8 References 9 Other links 10 External links

[edit] Events

• April 27 — A story in the New York Daily News reported a possible long-term relationship between Mindy McCready and baseball star Roger Clemens that began when she was 15 years old.^[1] Though Clemens' attorney, Rusty Hardin, acknowledged that McCready was a "close family friend," Hardin denied the affair and threatened to bring a defamation suit against him.^[1]
• May 15 — People Magazine reported Canadian singer Shania Twain and her husband, music producer Robert Lange, had separated after 14 years of marriage. The couple were married on December 28, 1993, after Twain met Lange at Nashville's Fan Fair earlier in the year.^[2]

[edit] Top hits of the year

[edit] Number one hits

[edit] United States

Date	Single Name	Artist	Wks. No.1	Spec. Note
February 2	Letter to Me	Brad Paisley	4
March 1	Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)	Rodney Atkins	2
March 15	All-American Girl	Carrie Underwood	2
March 29	Small Town Southern Man	Alan Jackson	2	Jackson's first No. 1 since "Remember When" in February 2004.
April 12	You're Gonna Miss This	Trace Adkins	3
May 3	I Saw God Today	George Strait	2	With this song, Strait broke the overall record for the most #1 singles (on all trade charts) with 56, a record previously held by Conway Twitty with 55.
May 17	Just Got Started Lovin' You	James Otto	2	A
May 31	I'm Still a Guy	Brad Paisley	3
June 21	Last Name	Carrie Underwood	1	Current No. 1 song.

• ^A - First Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.

[edit] Canada

Date	Single Name	Artist	Wks. No.1	Spec. Note
January 4	Letter to Me	Brad Paisley	5	2 The song fell to #2 on the chart dated January 11.
January 11	Our Song	Taylor Swift	1	2 Stayed at No. 1 for 3 weeks in late 2007. The song fell to #2 on the chart dated January 4.
February 15	In My Next Life	Terri Clark	1	Clark's first #1 in Canada since 1998's "You're Easy on the Eyes", which was also a #1 in the U.S.
February 22	All-American Girl	Carrie Underwood	5
March 28	You're Gonna Miss This	Trace Adkins	3
April 18	I Saw God Today	George Strait	1
April 25	Picture to Burn	Taylor Swift	1
May 2	I'm Still a Guy	Brad Paisley	6
June 13	Good Time	Alan Jackson	1	Current No. 1 song.

• ² Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot.

[edit] Other major hits

[edit] United States

Peak	Single	Artist	Notes
33	All I Ever Wanted	Chuck Wicks	B
18	All I Want to Do	Sugarland	B
15	Another Try	Josh Turner and Trisha Yearwood	B
6	Back When I Knew It All	Montgomery Gentry	B
4	Better as a Memory	Kenny Chesney	B
28	Busy Being Fabulous	Eagles
36	Come on Over	Jessica Simpson	B
28	Country Man	Luke Bryan	B
27	Do You Believe Me Now	Jimmy Wayne	B
30	Don't Think I Don't Think About It	Darius Rucker	B
5	Everybody	Keith Urban
2	Every Day	Rascal Flatts	B
19	Every Other Weekend	Reba McEntire	B The radio edit of this song features Skip Ewing as a duet partner, although most stations play the Kenny Chesney version. Neither Ewing nor Chesney are credited on the charts.
11	Get My Drink On	Toby Keith
11	God Must Be Busy	Brooks & Dunn
9	Good Time	Alan Jackson	B
12	Gunpowder & Lead	Miranda Lambert	B
22	Holler Back	The Lost Trailers	B
5	Home	Blake Shelton	B Cover of the Michael Bublé song.
23	I Can Sleep When I'm Dead	Jason Michael Carroll	B
14	I Still Miss You	Keith Anderson	B
10	International Harvester	Craig Morgan
16	It Ain't No Crime	Joe Nichols
11	It's Good to Be Us	Bucky Covington
31	Johnny and June	Heidi Newfield	B
16	Kristofferson	Tim McGraw
6	Laughed Until We Cried	Jason Aldean
20	Learning How to Bend	Gary Allan	B
3	Love Don't Live Here	Lady Antebellum
2	Love Is a Beautiful Thing	Phil Vassar	This song was released in 1999 by Paul Brandt under the title "It's a Beautiful Thing".
24	Maybe She'll Get Lonely	Jack Ingram
3	Picture to Burn	Taylor Swift
13	Put a Girl in It	Brooks & Dunn	B
4	Ready, Set, Don't Go	Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus	This song marked Billy Ray's return to the Top 5 since "Busy Man" in 1999, and Miley's first Top 5 on any Billboard chart.
25	Rollin' With the Flow	Mark Chesnutt	Cover of Charlie Rich's Number One hit from 1977.
13	She's a Hottie	Toby Keith
2	Shiftwork	Kenny Chesney and George Strait
24	Should've Said No	Taylor Swift	B
15	Something About a Woman	Jake Owen
2	Stay	Sugarland	A
5	Stealing Cinderella	Chuck Wicks
13	Stronger Woman	Jewel
12	Suspicions	Tim McGraw	Cover of Eddie Rabbitt's Number One hit from 1979.
20	Takin' Off This Pain	Ashton Shepherd
26	That Song in My Head	Julianne Hough	B
16	Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind	Kellie Pickler
25	This Is Me You're Talking To	Trisha Yearwood	B
34	Troubadour	George Strait	B
10	Trying to Stop Your Leaving	Dierks Bentley	B
2	Watching Airplanes	Gary Allan	A
17	We Weren't Crazy	Josh Gracin	B
3	What Do Ya Think About That	Montgomery Gentry
3	What Kinda Gone	Chris Cagle
2	Winner at a Losing Game	Rascal Flatts
19	Workin' for a Livin'	Garth Brooks and Huey Lewis	Cover of Huey Lewis & The News's single from 1983.
29	You Look Good In My Shirt	Keith Urban	B Re-recorded version of a song which Urban originally recorded on his 2002 album Golden Road.
22	You Still Own Me	Emerson Drive	Cover of Johnny Reid's single from 2004, which was a Top 5 country hit in Canada.

• ^A Reached #1 on U.S. Mediabase 24/7 country singles charts.
• ^B Current single(s).

[edit] Canada

Peak	Single	Artist
22	All I Want to Do	Sugarland
13	Back When I Knew It All	Montgomery Gentry
5	Beautiful Life	Doc Walker
19	Best of Me	Jessie Farrell
2	Better as a Memory	Kenny Chesney
21	Breakin' on the Love Thing	Alex J. Robinson
5	Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)	Rodney Atkins
9	Crazy Days	Adam Gregory
8	Don't Waste Your Pretty	Willie Mack
11	Drive Me Home	Shane Yellowbird
5	Every Day	Rascal Flatts
16	Every Other Weekend	Reba McEntire
9	Everyday Woman	Emerson Drive
10	First Time in a Long Time	Deric Ruttan
5	Flirtin' With Me	Jason Blaine
14	Flower Child	The Higgins
8	Get My Drink On	Toby Keith
11	God Must Be Busy	Brooks & Dunn
19	Golden Years	Willie Mack
2	Just Got Started Lovin' You	James Otto
19	Kristofferson	Tim McGraw
3	Last Name	Carrie Underwood
6	Laughed Until We Cried	Jason Aldean
8	Love Don't Live Here	Lady Antebellum
17	Love Is a Beautiful Thing	Phil Vassar
8	Moments That Matter	Aaron Lines
7	Put a Girl in It	Brooks & Dunn
7	Ready, Set, Don't Go	Billy Ray Cyrus with Miley Cyrus
17	She's a Hottie	Toby Keith
2	Shiftwork	Kenny Chesney with George Strait
3	Small Town Southern Man	Alan Jackson
5	Stay	Sugarland
6	Stayed 'Til Two	Gord Bamford
11	Stealing Cinderella	Chuck Wicks
12	Suspicions	Tim McGraw
13	Thank You	Johnny Reid
10	That Train	Doc Walker
10	That's Worth Fighting For	Paul Brandt
13	Trying to Stop Your Leaving	Dierks Bentley
11	Watching Airplanes	Gary Allan
25	What Do I Have to Do	Crystal Shawanda
8	What Do Ya Think About That	Montgomery Gentry
4	What Kinda Gone	Chris Cagle
2	Winner at a Losing Game	Rascal Flatts
19	Workin' for a Livin'	Garth Brooks with Huey Lewis
5	You Can Let Go	Crystal Shawanda

[edit] Top new album releases

US	CAN	Album	Artist	Record Label	Release Date
1	1	35 Biggest Hits	Toby Keith	Show Dog	May 6
		All I Intended to Be	Emmylou Harris	Nonesuch	June 10
8	1	Anne Murray Duets: Friends and Legends	Anne Murray	Manhattan/EMI	January 15 (US)
		Back When I Knew It All	Montgomery Gentry	Columbia Nashville	June 10
2	11	Backwoods Barbie	Dolly Parton	Dolly	February 26
	3	Beautiful Life	Doc Walker	Open Road	April 29
	2	Country Hits 2008	Various Artists	UMG Canada	April 1
1	1	Good Time	Alan Jackson	Arista Nashville	March 4
2	4	Greatest Hits/Every Mile a Memory 2003-2008	Dierks Bentley	Capitol Nashville	May 6
1		Greatest Hits: Limited Edition	Tim McGraw	Curb	April 29
18	55	How Great Thou Art: Gospel Favorites from the Grand Ole Opry	Various Artists	RCA	February 5
1	4	Julianne Hough	Julianne Hough	Mercury Nashville	May 20
1	29	Lady Antebellum	Lady Antebellum	Capitol Nashville	April 15
8	21	Moment of Forever	Willie Nelson	Lost Highway	January 29
	3	More Country Heat 2008	Various Artists	Sony BMG Canada	May 20
1	31	My Life's Been a Country Song	Chris Cagle	Capitol Nashville	February 19
19	14	Martina McBride: Live In Concert	Martina McBride	RCA Nashville	April 29
1	2	Perfectly Clear	Jewel	Valory	June 3
8		Phil Stacey	Phil Stacey	Lyric Street	April 29
3		Prayer of a Common Man	Phil Vassar	Universal South	April 22
16		Sounds So Good	Ashton Shepherd	MCA Nashville	March 4
7		Starting Now	Chuck Wicks	RCA Nashville	January 22
2	25	Sunset Man	James Otto	Raybaw/Warner Bros.	April 8
1	1	Troubadour	George Strait	MCA Nashville	April 1
11		Vintage Country: The Golden Age of Country Music	Various Artists	Sony BMG	March 25
4	40	We Weren't Crazy	Josh Gracin	Lyric Street	April 1

[edit] Other top albums

US	CAN	Album	Artist	Record Label	Release Date
28		Angels & Outlaws	Aaron Watson	Thirty Tigers	April 1
47		The Best of The Johnny Cash TV Show	Johnny Cash	Sony BMG	January 8
54		The Best of SHeDAISY	SHeDAISY	Lyric Street	February 5
27		Blake Shelton: Collector's Edition	Blake Shelton	Warner Bros.	February 26
33		Broken In	Trent Willmon	Compadre	February 26
26		Classic Chris LeDoux	Chris LeDoux	Capitol Nashville	April 29
64		Coal	Kathy Mattea	Narada	April 1
72		Collector's Edition	Tim McGraw	Curb	May 6
57		Country's Got Hits	Various Artists	Time Life	February 5
		Dancing with the Best of Marie Osmond	Marie Osmond	Curb	April 8
	65	The Definitive Collection	Terri Clark	Mercury Nashville	February 5
	25	First Time in a Long Time	Deric Ruttan	On Ramp/EMI Canada	April 1
59		God Bless the USA: 17 Inspirational Songs	Various Artists	Word	April 29
70		The Good Life	Justin Townes Earle	Bloodshot	March 25
		The Good Life	Andy Griggs	Montage	May 27
35		Good Thing Going	Rhonda Vincent	Rounder	January 8
67		Hank Jr.: Collector's Edition	Hank Williams, Jr.	Curb	May 6
29		Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 and 1947	Ricky Skaggs	Skaggs Family	March 25
44		I Will Always Love You: 17 Inspirational Songs	Various Artists	Word	January 15
32		Jeff Bates	Jeff Bates	Black River	April 8
67		Last of the Good Guys	One Flew South	Decca	May 27
		Love Revival	Reba McEntire	Hallmark/MCA Nashville	January 2
53		A Love Song Collection	Kenny Rogers	Capitol Nashville	January 15
63		Love Songs	Billy Ray Cyrus	Mercury Nashville	January 29
35	42	Love Songs	Trisha Yearwood	MCA Nashville	January 15
	34	Make My Move	Jason Blaine	Koch	May 20
67		Mountain Tracks: Volume 5	Yonder Mountain String Band	Frog Pad	April 15
	54	Never Say Never	Alex J. Robinson	Dale Speaking	March 25
46		One Hell of a Ride	Willie Nelson	Lost Highway	April 1
68		Playlist: The Very Best of John Denver	John Denver	Sony BMG	April 29
65		Playlist: The Very Best of Johnny Cash	Johnny Cash	Sony BMG	April 29
74		Playlist: The Very Best of Roy Orbison	Roy Orbison	Sony BMG	April 29
70		Playlist: The Very Best of Waylon Jennings	Waylon Jennings	Sony BMG	April 29
57		The Steeldrivers	The Steeldrivers	Rounder	February 26
69		Stronger	Carlene Carter	Eleven Thirty	March 4
68		Super Hits	Kenny Chesney	BNA	March 18
70		Ultimate Grammy Collection: Contemporary Country	Various Artists	Shout	January 8
45		Vagrants & Kings	Cory Morrow	Sustain	May 20
51		The Very Best of Neal McCoy	Neal McCoy	Rhino	June 3

[edit] Announced

Album	Artist	Record Label	Release Date
Around the Bend	Randy Travis	Warner Bros.	July 15
Back to Tennessee	Billy Ray Cyrus	Walt Disney	TBA
Beautiful Thing	Jimmy Wayne	Valory	TBA
Blood, Sweat, and Steel	The Road Hammers	Montage	June 24
Carolina	Eric Church	Capitol Nashville	TBA
Carter's Chord	Carter's Chord	Show Dog	September 16
Complicated Man	Billy Currington	Mercury	August 26
C'mon!	Keith Anderson	Columbia Nashville	June 24
Darius Rucker	Darius Rucker	Capitol	TBA
Dawn of a New Day	Crystal Shawanda	RCA Nashville	July 15
Dustbowl Dreams	Bryan White	Covenant	TBA
The Foundation	Zac Brown Band	Live Nation Artists	August 26
The Future Is Now	Lonestar	Lonestar/CO5	TBA
Holler Back	The Lost Trailers	BNA	August 26
I Walk Alone	Lorrie Morgan	Image	TBA
Jypsi	Jypsi	Arista Nashville	TBA
Lonesome Town	Tanya Tucker	Tuckertime	TBA
Love on the Inside	Sugarland	Mercury Nashville	July 22
My Next Life	Terri Clark	BNA	TBA
No Rules	Rebecca Lynn Howard	Saguaro Road	June 17
Notes to the Coroner	Chely Wright	Vanguard	September 9
One on One	Randy Owen	Broken Bow	November 11
Picture of Me	Lee Brice	Asylum-Curb	TBA
Rollin' with the Flow	Mark Chesnutt	Lofton Creek	June 24
Time Flies	John Michael Montgomery	Stringtown	September 9
Unmistakable	Jo Dee Messina	Curb	August 5
Voices	Chris Young	RCA Nashville	August 26
What Am I Waiting For	Heidi Newfield	Asylum-Curb	August 5
Wheels	Dan Tyminski	Rounder	June 17

[edit] Deaths

• January 6 — Ken Nelson, 96, record producer for artists including Hank Thompson, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and many others.
• April 22 — Paul Davis, 60, crossover artist whose collaborations with Marie Osmond and Tanya Tucker reached No. 1 in the 1980s. (heart attack)
• May 1 - Jim Hager, 61, country singer and actor who along with his twin brother Jon were regulars on Hee Haw from 1969 to 1986. (heart attack)
• May 5 - Jerry Wallace, 79, crossover artist who scored several country hits during the 1970's including the No. 1 "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry" in 1972. (congestive heart failure)
• May 8 - Eddy Arnold, 89, country and pop singer whose career spanned 7 decades. (natural causes)
• May 11 - Dottie Rambo, 74, southern gospel singer-songwriter. (bus accident)

[edit] Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

• Tom T. Hall (born 1936), singer and songwriter, known as "The Storyteller"
• Emmylou Harris (born 1947), neo-traditional singer and songwriter
• The Statler Brothers (Harold Reid (born 1939), Don Reid (born 1945), Phil Balsley (born 1939), Lew DeWitt (1938-1990), Jimmy Fortune (born 1955)), diverse country music group known for pop-styled, nostalgic and gospel songs.
• Ernest "Pop" Stoneman (1893-1968), singer, songwriter, and musician, patriarch of the family group The Stonemans

[edit] Major Awards

[edit] United States

[edit] Grammy awards

(Presented on February 10 in Los Angeles)

• Best Female Country Vocal Performance -- "Before He Cheats", Carrie Underwood
• Best Male Country Vocal Performance -- "Stupid Boy", Keith Urban
• Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal -- "How Long", Eagles
• Best Country Collaboration with Vocals -- "Lost Highway", Willie Nelson and Ray Price
• Best Country Instrumental Performance -- "Throttleneck", Brad Paisley
• Best Country Song -- "Before He Cheats", Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins
• Best Country Album -- These Days, Vince Gill
• Best Bluegrass Album -- The Bluegrass Diaries, Jim Lauderdale

[edit] CMT Music Awards

(Presented April 14 in Nashville)

• Video of the Year -- "Our Song", Taylor Swift
• Male Video of the Year -- "I Got My Game On", Trace Adkins
• Female Video of the Year -- "Our Song", Taylor Swift
• Group Video of the Year -- "Take Me There", Rascal Flatts
• Duo Video of the Year -- "Stay", Sugarland
• USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year -- "I Wonder", Kellie Pickler
• Collaborative Video of the Year -- "Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore", Bon Jovi & LeAnn Rimes
• Performance of the Year -- "I Wonder", Kellie Pickler
• Supporting Character of the Year -- Rodney Carrington in "I Got My Game On"
• Wide Open Country Video of the Year -- "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)", Alison Krauss & Robert Plant
• Tearjerker Video of the Year -- "I Wonder", Kellie Pickler
• Comedy Video of the Year -- "Online", Brad Paisley
• Video Director of the Year -- Michael Salomon

[edit] Academy of Country Music

(Presented May 18 in Las Vegas)

• Entertainer of the Year — Kenny Chesney
• Song of the Year — "Stay", Sugarland
• Single of the Year — "Stay", Sugarland
• Album of the Year — Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Miranda Lambert
• Top Male Vocalist — Brad Paisley
• Top Female Vocalist — Carrie Underwood
• Top Vocal Duo — Brooks & Dunn
• Top Vocal Group — Rascal Flatts
• Top New Male Vocalist — Jack Ingram
• Top New Female Vocalist — Taylor Swift
• Top New Duo or Group — Lady Antebellum
• Video of the Year — "Online", Brad Paisley
• Vocal Event of the Year — "Find out Who Your Friends Are", Tracy Lawrence, Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney
• ACM/Home Depot Humanitarian Award — Rascal Flatts
• Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award — Brenda Lee, The Oak Ridge Boys, Conway Twitty, Porter Wagoner
• Crystal Milestone Award — Garth Brooks
• Poets Award — Bill Anderson and Fred Rose

[edit] Country Music Association

[edit] Canada

[edit] Canadian Country Music Association

[edit] Further reading

• 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.

[edit] References

[edit] Other links

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

[edit] External links