1999 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1999.

Events

• March 6 — Legendary performer George Jones, in the midst of a comeback this year, is seriously injured when he crashed his Lexus into a bridge. It is later revealed that alcohol was a factor in the accident, and he pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges.
• June — Comedian Jeff Foxworthy debuts his syndicated radio countdown show, "The Foxworthy Countdown." The radio show would end ten years later.
• September 4 — Lonestar's hit, "Amazed," spends its eighth week at No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, becoming the first song to do so since Jack Greene's 1966 hit, "There Goes My Everything." In several other trade magazines, including Radio & Records, "Amazed" reigns for nine weeks, which made it the longest-lasting Number One single since 1966's "Almost Persuaded" by David Houston. By year's end, "Amazed" is gaining popularity on CHR and adult contemporary stations (in re-mixed versions, which excised the steel guitar).

Top hits of the year

Singles released by American artists

Singles released by Canadian artists

Top new album releases

Other top albums

Deaths

• February 8 - Lulu Belle (born Myrtle Eleanor Cooper), 85, one-half of the 1930s-1940s husband-and-wife duo Lulu Belle and Scotty, later a state Representative in the North Carolina Legislature.
• October 2 — Danny Mayo, 49, writer of hit singles by Alabama, Confederate Railroad, Pirates of the Mississippi, and Tracy Byrd, father of songwriter Aimee Mayo (heart attack)
• December 17 — Rex Allen, 78, "The Arizona Cowboy" and traveling rodeo performer.
• December 20 — Hank Snow, 85, "The Singing Ranger," best known for "I'm Movin' On."

Hall of Fame inductees

Country Music Hall of Fame inductees

• Johnny Bond (1915-1978)
• Dolly Parton (born 1946)
• Conway Twitty (1933-1993)

Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees

• Ronnie Prophet
• Walt Grealis

Major awards

Grammy Awards

• Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!," Shania Twain
• Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "Choices," George Jones
• Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "Ready to Run," Dixie Chicks
• Best Country Collaboration with Vocals — "After the Gold Rush," Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt
• Best Country Instrumental Performance — "Bob's Breakdowns," Tommy Allsup, Asleep at the Wheel, Floyd Domino, Larry Franklin, Vince Gill and Steve Wariner
• Best Country Song — "Come on Over," Shania Twain and Robert John "Mutt" Lange
• Best Country Album — Fly, Dixie Chicks
• Best Bluegrass Album — Ancient Tones, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

Juno Awards

• Best Country Male Artist — Paul Brandt
• Best Country Female Artist — Shania Twain
• Best Country Group or Duo — The Rankins

Academy of Country Music

• Entertainer of the Year — Shania Twain
• Song of the Year — "Amazed," Marv Green, Aimee Mayo
• Single of the Year — "Amazed," Lonestar
• Album of the Year — Fly, Dixie Chicks
• Top Male Vocalist — Tim McGraw
• Top Female Vocalist — Faith Hill
• Top Vocal Duo or Group — Dixie Chicks
• Top New Male Vocalist — Brad Paisley
• Top New Female Vocalist — Jessica Andrews
• Top New Vocal Duo or Group — Montgomery Gentry
• Video of the Year — "Breathe," Faith Hill (Director: Lili Fini Zanuck)
• Vocal Event of the Year — "When I Said I Do," Clint Black with Lisa Hartman Black

Canadian Country Music Association

• CMT Maple Leaf Foods Fans' Choice Award — Shania Twain
• Male Artist of the Year — Paul Brandt
• Female Artist of the Year — Shania Twain
• Group or Duo of the Year — The Wilkinsons
• SOCAN Song of the Year — "26 Cents," Steve Wilkinson, William Wallace
• Single of the Year — "26 Cents," The Wilkinsons
• Album of the Year — Nothing but Love, The Wilkinsons
• Top Selling Album — Wide Open Spaces, Dixie Chicks
• Video of the Year — "That Don't Impress Me Much," Shania Twain
• Wrangler Rising Star Award — The Wilkinsons
• Vocal/Instrumental Collaboration of the Year — "From This Moment On," Shania Twain and Bryan White

Country Music Association

• Entertainer of the Year — Shania Twain
• Song of the Year — "This Kiss," Robin Lerner, Annie Roboff and Beth Nielsen Chapman
• Single of the Year — "Wide Open Spaces," Dixie Chicks
• Album of the Year — A Place in the Sun, Tim McGraw
• Male Vocalist of the Year — Tim McGraw
• Female Vocalist of the Year — Martina McBride
• Vocal Duo of the Year — Brooks & Dunn
• Vocal Group of the Year — Dixie Chicks
• Horizon Award — Jo Dee Messina
• Music Video of the Year — "Wide Open Spaces," Dixie Chicks (Director: Thom Oliphant)
• Vocal Event of the Year — "My Kind of Woman, My Kind of Man," Vince Gill and Patty Loveless
• Musician of the Year — Randy Scruggs

RPM Big Country Awards

• Canadian Country Artist of the Year — Shania Twain
• Best Country Album — Nothing but Love, The Wilkinsons
• Best Country Single — "26 Cents", The Wilkinsons
• Male Artist of the Year — Paul Brandt
• Female Artist of the Year — Shania Twain
• Group of the Year — The Wilkinsons
• Outstanding New Male Artist — Gil Grand
• Outstanding New Female Artist — Stephanie Beaumont
• Outstanding New Group or Duo — The Johner Brothers
• Canadian Country Video — "26 Cents", The Wilkinsons
• Top Country Composer(s) — Bruce Guthro

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.

Other links

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

External links

• Country Music Hall of Fame