1997 in country music.html

Events

July 12 - The song, "It's Your Love," by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill becomes the first song in 20 years to spend six weeks atop Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. The last song to do so was 1977's "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" by Waylon Jennings. In that span, more than 750 songs had reached No. 1 on the country chart, a majority of them for just one week.

"It's Your Love" sparks a renewed wave of songs that spend at least five weeks at No. 1, thanks in part to newer chart tracking methods and programming changes at country radio stations. However, as of 2007, no No. 1 song has approached the mega-week No. 1 status (i.e., spending at least 10 weeks at No. 1), a feat that was common through the early 1960s.

No dates

Jimmie Rodgers is elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as an early influence).
Trisha Yearwood and LeAnn Rimes both record the song "How Do I Live" for the movie Con Air. Producers from the film ask Rimes to record it first but feel her version isn't what they are looking for due to the performance itself and her young age. Yearwood then records the song and releases at the same time Rimes releases her song. Rimes version is shunned from the country charts but reaches No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Yearwood's version, meanwhile, peaks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and also makes the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

United States

(as certified by Billboard magazine)

Date	Song Name	Artist	Wks. No. 1	Spec. Note
January 11	Nobody Knows	Kevin Sharp	4	^C A cover of the Tony Rich Project's hit single from the previous year.
February 8	It's a Little Too Late	Mark Chesnutt	2
February 22	A Man This Lonely	Brooks & Dunn	1
March 1	Running Out of Reasons to Run	Rick Trevino	1	^C
March 8	Me Too	Toby Keith	1
March 15	We Danced Anyway	Deana Carter	2
March 29	How Was I to Know	Reba McEntire	1	Later in 1997, John Michael Montgomery reached #2 with an un-related song also titled "How Was I to Know".
April 5	(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing	Trace Adkins	1	^A
April 12	Rumor Has It	Clay Walker	2	^B
April 26	One Night at a Time	George Strait	5
May 31	Sittin' on Go	Bryan White	1	^B
June 7	It's Your Love	Tim McGraw with Faith Hill	6	¹ This song marks the first time since that a song has spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart since the Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson duet, "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)", achieved that same feat in 1977. Reached Number One in its fifth chart week. At the time, this song tied a record previously set in 1991 by Garth Brooks' "Shameless" for the fastest climb to Number One since the inception of Nielsen SoundScan in 1990.
July 19	Carrying Your Love With Me	George Strait	4
August 16	Come Cryin' to Me	Lonestar	2
August 30	She's Got It All	Kenny Chesney	3	^A
September 20	There Goes	Alan Jackson	1
September 27	How Your Love Makes Me Feel	Diamond Rio	3
October 18	How Do I Get There	Deana Carter	1	^B
October 25	Everywhere	Tim McGraw	2
November 8	Love Gets Me Every Time	Shania Twain	5	Debuted on the country charts at #29, setting a record for the highest country chart debut ever made by a female artist.
December 13	From Here to Eternity	Michael Peterson	1	^C
December 20	Longneck Bottle	Garth Brooks	3	Also reached No. 1 on its fifth chart week. Co-written by Steve Wariner.

¹ - No. 1 song of the year, as determined by Billboard magazine.
^A - First Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.
^B - Last Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist to date.
^C - Only Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist to date.

Canada

(as certified by RPM)

Date	Song Name	Artist	Wks. No. 1	Spec. Note
January 13	I Meant to Do That	Paul Brandt	1
January 20	Nobody Knows	Kevin Sharp	1	^[C]
January 27	Maybe We Should Just Sleep on It	Tim McGraw	1
February 3	Friends	John Michael Montgomery	1
February 10	Is That a Tear	Tracy Lawrence	1	^[B]
February 17	Everybody Knows	Trisha Yearwood	1
February 24	We Danced Anyway	Deana Carter	6	^{[1], [2], [B]} Fell to #2 on the week of March 17.
March 17	Emotional Girl	Terri Clark	1
April 14	How Was I to Know	Reba McEntire	1
April 21	(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing	Trace Adkins	2	^[A]
May 5	Rumor Has It	Clay Walker	1	^[B]
May 12	One Night at a Time	George Strait	3
June 2	Sad Lookin' Moon	Alabama	1
June 9	Take It from Me	Paul Brandt	1
June 16	Sittin' on Go	Bryan White	1	^[B]
June 23	It's Your Love	Tim McGraw with Faith Hill	4
July 21	Little Ol' Kisses	Julian Austin	1	^[C]
July 28	Carrying Your Love with Me	George Strait	2
August 11	I Left Something Turned On at Home	Trace Adkins	1
August 18	Still Holding On	Clint Black with Martina McBride	2
September 1	How Do I Live	Trisha Yearwood	2
September 15	She's Got It All	Kenny Chesney	1	^[A]
September 22	There Goes	Alan Jackson	1
September 29	How Your Love Makes Me Feel	Diamond Rio	2
October 13	Love Gets Me Every Time	Shania Twain	6
November 24	A Little in Love	Paul Brandt	1
December 1	I'm Feeling Kinda Lucky Tonight	Charlie Major	1	^[B]
December 8	Longneck Bottle	Garth Brooks	4	^[2] Fell to #2 on the week of January 19, 1998.

Notes

1^ No. 1 song of the year, as determined by RPM.
2^ Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot.
A^ First RPM No. 1 hit for that artist.
B^ Last RPM No. 1 hit for that artist.
C^ Only RPM No. 1 hit for that artist.

Other major hits

United States

Peak	Single	Artist	Notes
21	455 Rocket	Kathy Mattea
25	All Lit Up in Love	David Lee Murphy
4	All the Good Ones Are Gone	Pam Tillis
2	Amen Kind of Love	Daryle Singletary
3	Another You	David Kersh	Written by Brad Paisley, who had not yet begun his recording career.
2	Better Man, Better Off	Tracy Lawrence
3	Big Love	Tracy Byrd
5	Count Me In	Deana Carter
3	Dancin', Shaggin' on the Boulevard	Alabama
21	Dark Horse	Mila Mason
11	Day In, Day Out	David Kersh
25	Did I Shave My Legs for This?	Deana Carter
17	Don't Love Make a Diamond Shine	Tracy Byrd
4	(Don't Take Her) She's All I Got	Tracy Byrd	Cover of a song originally recorded by Freddie North and made famous by Johnny Paycheck.
3	Drink, Swear, Steal, & Lie	Michael Peterson
20	Ease My Troubled Mind	Ricochet
10	Emotional Girl	Terri Clark
3	Everybody Knows	Trisha Yearwood
9	Everything I Love	Alan Jackson
2	The Fool	Lee Ann Womack
2	Friends	John Michael Montgomery
4	A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)	Mindy McCready
3	Go Away	Lorrie Morgan
4	Good as I Was to You	Lorrie Morgan
6	Half Way Up	Clint Black
18	He Left a Lot to Be Desired	Ricochet
18	Heartbroke Every Day	Lonestar	This was the only single of Lonestar's career to feature former member John Rich on lead vocals.
18	Helping Me Get Over You	Travis Tritt with Lari White
7	Her Man	Gary Allan
4	Holdin'	Diamond Rio
3	Honky Tonk Truth	Brooks & Dunn
4	How a Cowgirl Says Goodbye	Tracy Lawrence
2	How Do I Live	Trisha Yearwood	Yearwood and LeAnn Rimes concurrently released versions of this same song. While Rimes' version was a #43 on the country charts, it was more successful on the pop and Adult Contemporary formats.
2	How Was I to Know	John Michael Montgomery
8	I Can't Do That Anymore	Faith Hill	Written by Alan Jackson.
17	I Have to Surrender	Ty Herndon
2	I Left Something Turned On at Home	Trace Adkins
6	I Miss You a Little	John Michael Montgomery
7	I Only Get This Way with You	Rick Trevino
19	I Will, If You Will	John Berry
2	I'd Rather Ride Around with You	Reba McEntire
9	If She Don't Love You	The Buffalo Club	This was one of only three chart singles for The Buffalo Club, a short-lived group which included Restless Heart drummer John Dittrich.
4	If You Love Somebody	Kevin Sharp
2	Is That a Tear	Tracy Lawrence
19	It's All the Same to Me	Billy Ray Cyrus	Cyrus' first Top 40 country hit since "Storm in the Heartland" in mid-1994.
19	King of the Mountain	George Strait
5	Land of the Living	Pam Tillis
8	Let It Rain	Mark Chesnutt
11	Let Me into Your Heart	Mary Chapin Carpenter
5	The Light in Your Eyes	LeAnn Rimes
2	A Little More Love	Vince Gill
9	Little Things	Tanya Tucker
4	Love Is the Right Place	Bryan White
2	Loved Too Much	Ty Herndon
18	Maybe He'll Notice Her Now	Mindy McCready with Richie McDonald	This was the first single for McDonald, who was then co-lead vocalist of Lonestar.
4	Maybe We Should Just Sleep on It	Tim McGraw
23	Never Again, Again	Lee Ann Womack
22	Of Course I'm Alright	Alabama
2	On the Verge	Collin Raye
18	One, Two, I Love You	Clay Walker
5	Places I've Never Been	Mark Wills
7	Please	The Kinleys
2	Pretty Little Adrianna	Vince Gill
4	The Rest of Mine	Trace Adkins
2	Sad Lookin' Moon	Alabama
5	The Shake	Neal McCoy
4	She Drew a Broken Heart	Patty Loveless
21	She Wants to Be Wanted Again	Ty Herndon
24	She's Going Home with Me	Travis Tritt
3	She's Sure Taking It Well	Kevin Sharp
2	She's Taken a Shine	John Berry
14	Shut Up and Drive	Chely Wright
13	Six Days on the Road	Sawyer Brown	Cover of Dave Dudley's #2 hit from 1963.
22	Somebody Slap Me	John Anderson
2	Something That We Do	Clint Black
11	Still Holding On	Clint Black with Martina McBride
2	Thank God for Believers	Mark Chesnutt
15	That's Another Song	Bryan White
25	This Is Your Brain	Joe Diffie
6	This Night Won't Last Forever	Sawyer Brown	Cover of a song originally released by pop singer Bill LaBounty in 1978, and by Michael Johnson a year later.
3	Today My World Slipped Away	George Strait	Cover of Vern Gosdin's #10 hit from 1983.
15	The Trouble with the Truth	Patty Loveless
3	Unchained Melody	LeAnn Rimes	Cover of a pop standard made famous by The Righteous Brothers.
4	Watch This	Clay Walker
2	We Were in Love	Toby Keith
15	What If It's You	Reba McEntire
21	What If Jesus Comes Back Like That	Collin Raye
2	What the Heart Wants	Collin Raye
10	Whatever Comes First	Sons of the Desert
2	When I Close My Eyes	Kenny Chesney
13	When Love Starts Talkin'	Wynonna
6	Where Corn Don't Grow	Travis Tritt
2	Who's Cheatin' Who	Alan Jackson	Cover of Charly McClain's #1 hit from 1981.
8	Why Would I Say Goodbye	Brooks & Dunn
8	You and You Alone	Vince Gill
14	You Don't Seem to Miss Me	Patty Loveless with George Jones	Jones's first Top 40 country hit since "High-Tech Redneck" in 1993.

Canada

Peak	Single	Artist
16	455 Rocket	Kathy Mattea
10	Ain't No Justice	Greg Hanna
22	All I Do Is Love Her	James Bonamy
21	All Lit Up in Love	David Lee Murphy
4	All the Good Ones Are Gone	Pam Tillis
3	Almost Always	Chris Cummings
2	Amen Kind of Love	Daryle Singletary
14	Another You	David Kersh
4	The Answer Is Yes	Michelle Wright
3	Better Man, Better Off	Tracy Lawrence
5	Big Love	Tracy Byrd
3	Born Again in Dixieland	Jason McCoy
17	A Broken Wing	Martina McBride
16	Cold Outside	Big House
3	Come Cryin' to Me	Lonestar
7	Count Me In	Deana Carter
9	The Craziest Thing	Rick Tippe
4	Dancin', Shaggin' on the Boulevard	Alabama
12	Dark Horse	Mila Mason
12	Day In, Day Out	David Kersh
13	Don't Love Make a Diamond Shine	Tracy Byrd
4	(Don't Take Her) She's All I Got	Tracy Byrd
19	A Dozen Red Roses	Joan Kennedy
2	Drink, Swear, Steal & Lie	Michael Peterson
22	Ease My Troubled Mind	Ricochet
6	Everything I Love	Alan Jackson
2	Everywhere	Tim McGraw
22	Far Cry from Leavin'	Terry Kelly
5	The Fool	Lee Ann Womack
11	From Here to Eternity	Michael Peterson
10	Girl Out of the Ordinary	Beverley Mahood
4	A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)	Mindy McCready
3	Go Away	Lorrie Morgan
7	God Bless the Child	Shania Twain
17	Good as I Was to You	Lorrie Morgan
4	Half Way Up	Clint Black
21	Hand of Fate	Sons of the Desert
14	He Left a Lot to Be Desired	Ricochet
22	Heartbroke Every Day	Lonestar
11	Heaven Help Her Heart	Jason McCoy
21	Helping Me Get Over You	Travis Tritt with Lari White
9	Her Man	Gary Allan
5	Holdin'	Diamond Rio
3	Honky Tonk Truth	Brooks & Dunn
5	How a Cowgirl Says Goodbye	Tracy Lawrence
2	How Do I Get There	Deana Carter
8	How Was I to Know	John Michael Montgomery
11	I Can't Do That Anymore	Faith Hill
7	I Give You My Word	George Fox
5	I Miss You a Little	John Michael Montgomery
18	I Will, If You Will	John Berry
2	I'd Rather Ride Around with You	Reba McEntire
12	If She Don't Love You	The Buffalo Club
7	If You Love Somebody	Kevin Sharp
2	In Another's Eyes	Garth Brooks with Trisha Yearwood
20	Indian Woman	Montgomery Steele
23	It Could Happen to You	Blue Rodeo
5	It's a Little Too Late	Mark Chesnutt
14	It's All the Same to Me	Billy Ray Cyrus
16	Just the Same	Terri Clark
22	Landslide	The Cruzeros
16	Let It Rain	Mark Chesnutt
3	Let It Rain	Shirley Myers
5	Let Me Into Your Heart	Mary Chapin Carpenter
13	The Light in Your Eyes	LeAnn Rimes
2	Little Bitty	Alan Jackson
6	A Little More Love	Vince Gill
12	A Little Thing Called Love	Beverley Mahood
8	Little Things	Tanya Tucker
15	Lonely Gypsy Wind	Farmer's Daughter
3	Love Is the Right Place	Bryan White
2	Loved Too Much	Ty Herndon
19	Lying Here with You	Thomas Wade
4	A Man This Lonely	Brooks & Dunn
11	Maybe He'll Notice Her Now	Mindy McCready with Richie McDonald
6	Me Too	Toby Keith
17	The Night the Barn Burned Down	George Fox
10	Now That I'm On My Own	Farmer's Daughter
2	On the Verge	Collin Raye
12	One, Two, I Love You	Clay Walker
4	One Way Ticket (Because I Can)	LeAnn Rimes
4	One Way Track	Prairie Oyster
7	Places I've Never Been	Mark Wills
22	Please	The Kinleys
3	Pretty Little Adriana	Vince Gill
15	The Real Thing	Rick Tippe
16	Running Out of Reasons to Run	Rick Trevino
23	Sadies Kitchen	Don Neilson
7	The Shake	Neal McCoy
2	She Drew a Broken Heart	Patty Loveless
19	She Wants to Be Wanted Again	Ty Herndon
12	She Won't Be Lonely Long	Prairie Oyster
6	She's Getting Serious	Thomas Wade
17	She's Going Home with Me	Travis Tritt
4	She's Sure Taking It Well	Kevin Sharp
2	She's Taken a Shine	John Berry
10	She's Tough	Duane Steele
21	Shut Up and Drive	Chely Wright
9	Six Days on the Road	Sawyer Brown
20	Slow Turning	Sean Hogan
4	Something That We Do	Clint Black
4	Somewhere Inside	Chris Cummings
16	The Swing	James Bonamy
9	Tell the Girl	Duane Steele
7	Thank God for Believers	Mark Chesnutt
3	That Ol' Wind	Garth Brooks
10	That's Another Song	Bryan White
8	This Crazy Heart of Mine	Charlie Major
11	This Night Won't Last Forever	Sawyer Brown
22	Til You Love Somebody	Amy Sky
7	Today My World Slipped Away	George Strait
19	Tonight There's a Blue Moon	Prairie Oyster
24	The Trouble with the Truth	Patty Loveless
21	Two Names on an Overpass	Duane Steele with Lisa Brokop
3	Unchained Melody	LeAnn Rimes
25	Vulnerable	Sean Hogan
13	Watch This	Clay Walker
2	We Were in Love	Toby Keith
19	What If I Do	Mindy McCready
22	What If Jesus Comes Back Like That	Collin Raye
4	What Love Looks Like	Michelle Wright
2	What the Heart Wants	Collin Raye
19	What's It Gonna Take	Denise Murray
12	Whatever Comes First	Sons of the Desert
4	When I Close My Eyes	Kenny Chesney
6	When Love Starts Talkin'	Wynonna
8	Where Corn Don't Grow	Travis Tritt
3	Who's Cheatin' Who	Alan Jackson
9	Why Would I Say Goodbye	Brooks & Dunn
19	Wild Rose	Sean Hogan
18	Would I	Randy Travis
8	You and You Alone	Vince Gill
9	You Said	Farmer's Daughter
25	You're All I Need	Rick Tippe
15	Your Love	Jim Brickman with Michelle Wright

Top new album releases

US	CAN	Album	Artist	Record Label
45	11	An Intimate Evening with Anne Murray	Anne Murray	Capitol
24		Back to You	Anita Cochran	Warner Bros.
23	31	Be Good at It	Neal McCoy	Atlantic
23	11	The Best of Billy Ray Cyrus: Cover to Cover	Billy Ray Cyrus	Mercury Nashville
4	3	The Best of Collin Raye: Direct Hits	Collin Raye	Epic
8		The Best of John Denver Live	John Denver	Legacy
7	26	Big Time	Trace Adkins	Capitol Nashville
24		Blink of an Eye	Ricochet	Columbia
1	1	Carrying Your Love with Me	George Strait	MCA Nashville
16		A Celebration of Life/The Last Recordings	John Denver	River North
	4	CMT Canada '97	Various Artists	BMG
4	6	The Coast Is Clear	Tracy Lawrence	Atlantic
9	8	Collection	Wynonna	Curb/MCA Nashville
1	1	Come On Over	Shania Twain	Mercury/PolyGram
15	11	Complicated	Tanya Tucker	Capitol Nashville
12		A Country Superstar Christmas	Various Artists	Hip-O
16	28	Crazy Nights	Lonestar	BNA
5	2	Dancin' on the Boulevard	Alabama	RCA Nashville
8		Dream Walkin'	Toby Keith	Mercury Nashville
	11	Everything's Alright	Charlie Major	ViK.
1	1	Everywhere	Tim McGraw	Curb
4	7	Evolution	Martina McBride	RCA Nashville
	19	The Gift	Jim Brickman	Windham Hill
	10	Greatest Country Love Songs	Various Artists	MCA
8		Greatest Hits	Diamond Rio	Arista Nashville
5		Greatest Hits	Neal McCoy	Atlantic
5	11	Greatest Hits	John Michael Montgomery	Atlantic
6		Greatest Hits	Pam Tillis	Arista Nashville
17		Greatest Hits… and Then Some	Aaron Tippin	RCA Nashville
2	1	The Greatest Hits Collection	Brooks & Dunn	Arista Nashville
5		Here's Your Sign	Bill Engvall	Warner Bros.
24		A Holiday Album to Benefit St. Jude	Various Artists	BNA
10		I Will Stand	Kenny Chesney	BNA
12	12	If I Don't Stay the Night	Mindy McCready	BNA
22	32	Just Between You and Me	The Kinleys	Epic
	11	Kickin' Country 4	Various Artists	Sony
5	9	Labor of Love	Sammy Kershaw	Mercury/PolyGram
	1	Leahy	Leahy	Virgin
9		Lee Ann Womack	Lee Ann Womack	Decca Nashville
25	23	Let Me In	Chely Wright	MCA Nashville
8	10	Lila	Lila McCann	Asylum
9	31	Long Stretch of Lonesome	Patty Loveless	Epic
8		Love & Gravity	BlackHawk	Arista Nashville
15		Love Travels	Kathy Mattea	Mercury/PolyGram
17	13	Michael Peterson	Michael Peterson	Reprise
	1	New Country 4	Various Artists	Warner
4	5	Nothin' but the Taillights	Clint Black	RCA Nashville
15		One of the Fortunate Few	Delbert McClinton	Rising Tide
5	17	The Other Side	Wynonna	Curb/Universal
50	1	Outside the Frame	Paul Brandt	Reprise
	17	Playin' for Keeps	Jason McCoy	Universal
7	15	The Right Place	Bryan White	Asylum
25		Roots and Wings	James Bonamy	Epic
4	7	Rumor Has It	Clay Walker	Giant
1	1	Sevens	Garth Brooks	Capitol Nashville
9		Shakin' Things Up	Lorrie Morgan	BNA
8		Six Days on the Road	Sawyer Brown	Curb
4		So Long So Wrong	Alison Krauss & Union Station	Rounder
1	1	(Songbook) A Collection of Hits	Trisha Yearwood	MCA Nashville
22	16	Stone Country: Songs of the Rolling Stones	Various Artists	Tommy Boy
48	22	Sunday Morning to Saturday Night	Matraca Berg	Rising Tide
19		Takin' the Country Back	John Anderson	Mercury Nashville
25		Thank God for Believers	Mark Chesnutt	Decca Nashville
	1	Tremolo	Blue Rodeo	Warner
1	1	Unchained Melody: The Early Years	LeAnn Rimes	Curb
8	8	Under the Covers	Dwight Yoakam	Reprise
	9	What My Heart Already Knows	Julian Austin	ViK.
1	1	You Light up My Life: Inspirational Songs	LeAnn Rimes	Curb

Other top albums

US	CAN	Album	Artist	Record Label
26		Across My Heart	Kenny Rogers	Magnatone
60		All Because of You	Daryle Singletary	Giant
40		Amazing Grace 2 – A Country Salute to Gospel	Various Artists	Sparrow
75		Annabelle's Wish Soundtrack	Various Artists	Rising Tide
45		The Best of Country	Various Artists	Madacy
29		The Best of Roy Orbison	Roy Orbison	Virgin
33		Big House	Big House	MCA Nashville
56		Billy Yates	Billy Yates	Almo Sounds
53		Bitter Sweet	Kim Richey	Mercury/PolyGram
45		Bluegrass Rules!	Ricky Skaggs	Rounder
75		Born Country	Alabama	BMG
69		The Buffalo Club	The Buffalo Club	Rising Tide
74		Burnin' Daylight	Burnin' Daylight	Curb
39		Butterfly Kisses	Jeff Carson	Curb
32		Come On Christmas	Dwight Yoakam	Reprise
75		Country Lovin' Songs from the Heart	Various Artists	Rhino
33		The Country Roads Collection	John Denver	RCA
44		Cowboy Up – The Official PRCA Rodeo Album	Various Artists	Edel America
75		Elvis Greatest Jukebox Hits	Elvis Presley	RCA
53		Every Night's a Saturday Night	Lee Roy Parnell	Arista Nashville
47		Gospel Super Hits Amazing Grace	Various Artists	Epic
74		The Girl Next Door	Crystal Bernard	River North
42		Hallelujah, He Is Born	Sawyer Brown	Curb
60		Hill Country Christmas	Willie Nelson & Bobbie Nelson	Finer Arts
75		Hits	Johnny Cash	Legacy
60		Hopechest	Stephanie Bentley	Epic
51		Hot Country '97	Various Artists	K-Tel
39		How Big a Boy Are Ya?	Roy D. Mercer	Capitol Nashville
43		How Big a Boy Are Ya? Volume 2	Roy D. Mercer	Capitol Nashville
31		How Big a Boy Are Ya? Volume 3	Roy D. Mercer	Capitol Nashville
53		I'd Be with You	Kippi Brannon	Curb
50		It's on the House	Emilio	Capitol Nashville
47		Little Texas	Little Texas	Warner Bros.
26		Live	Chris LeDoux	Capitol Nashville
32		Live at the Cimarron Ballroom	Patsy Cline	MCA Nashville
75		Merry Texas Christmas Y'all	Asleep at the Wheel	High Street
61		One Ride in Vegas	Deryl Dodd	Columbia
	27	A Paul Brandt Christmas: Shall I Play for You?	Paul Brandt	Reprise
31		Peace in the Valley	Various Artists	Arista Nashville
69		Ray Stevens Christmas	Ray Stevens	MCA Nashville
31		The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers – A Tribute	Various Artists	Columbia
47		Tammy Graham	Tammy Graham	Career
44	36	The Truth	Brady Seals	Reprise
56		Three Chords and the Truth	Sara Evans	RCA Nashville
33		Twice Upon a Time	Joe Diffie	Epic
39		We Can't All Be Angels	David Lee Murphy	MCA Nashville
38		Whatever Comes First	Sons of the Desert	Epic
41		Words	Sherrié Austin	Arista Nashville

Deaths

January 21 – Colonel Tom Parker, 87, manager of prolific country singers Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow, comedienne Minnie Pearl
June 19 – Bobby Helms, 62, singer who enjoyed his peak popularity in 1957; best known for "Jingle Bell Rock."
October 12 – John Denver, 53, country crossover artist of the 1970s; also a singer and songwriter (plane crash).
December 27 - Amie Comeaux, 21, a newcomer artist of the mid '90s (car accident).
December 31 – Floyd Cramer, 64, prolific session pianist.

Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

Major Awards

Grammy awards

Best Female Country Vocal Performance -- "How Do I Live," Trisha Yearwood
Best Male Country Vocal Performance -- "Pretty Little Adriana," Vince Gill
Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal -- "Looking in the Eyes of Love," Alison Krauss & Union Station
Best Country Collaboration with Vocals -- "In Another's Eyes," Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood
Best Country Instrumental Performance -- "Little Liza Jane," Alison Krauss & Union Station
Best Country Song -- "Butterfly Kisses," Bob Carlisle / Jeff Carson / The Raybon Brothers
Best Country Album -- Unchained, Johnny Cash
Best Bluegrass Album -- So Long So Wrong, Alison Krauss & Union Station

Academy of Country Music

Entertainer Of The Year -- Garth Brooks
Song Of The Year -- "It's Your Love," Stephony Smith
Single Of The Year -- "It's Your Love," Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
Album Of The Year -- Carrying Your Love with Me, George Strait
Top Male Vocalist -- George Strait
Top Female Vocalist -- Trisha Yearwood
Top Vocal Duo Or Group -- Brooks & Dunn
Top New Male Vocalist -- Kenny Chesney
Top New Female Vocalist -- Lee Ann Womack
Top New Vocal Duo Or Group -- The Kinleys
Video Of The Year -- "It's Your Love," Tim McGraw and Faith Hill (Director: Sherman Halsey)
Vocal Event Of The Year -- "It's Your Love," Tim McGraw with Faith Hill

Country Music Association

Entertainer Of The Year -- Garth Brooks
Song Of The Year -- "Strawberry Wine," Matraca Berg and Gary Harrison
Single Of The Year -- "Strawberry Wine," Deana Carter
Album Of The Year -- Carrying Your Love with Me, George Strait
Male Vocalist Of The Year -- George Strait
Female Vocalist Of The Year -- Trisha Yearwood
Vocal Duo Of The Year -- Brooks & Dunn
Vocal Group Of The Year -- Diamond Rio
Horizon Award -- LeAnn Rimes
Music Video Of The Year -- "455 Rocket," Kathy Mattea (Director: Steven Goldmann)
Vocal Event Of The Year -- "It's Your Love," Tim McGraw (featuring Faith Hill)
Musician Of The Year -- Brent Mason

External links

Country Music Hall of Fame

1997 in country music.html

Contents

Events

No dates

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

United States

Canada

Other major hits

United States

Canada

Top new album releases

Other top albums

Deaths

Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

Major Awards

Grammy awards

Academy of Country Music

Country Music Association

Further reading

Other links

External links