1994 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1994.

Events

• January 8 — Star, Mississippi, native Faith Hill hits paydirt with her first single release, "Wild One." The song spends four weeks atop the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, the longest for a debut release by a female artist since Connie Smith's debut "Once a Day" in 1964.
• January 30 — Clint Black, Wynonna Judd, Travis Tritt and Tanya Tucker perform the halftime show (billed as "Rockin' Country Sunday") at Super Bowl XXVIII. The finale featured a special appearance by Naomi Judd, who joined Wynonna in performing The Judds' single "Love Can Build a Bridge" (their first major appearance together since their "Farewell Tour" of 1991), to which everyone eventually joined in.
• March – Tim McGraw's first major hit, "Indian Outlaw," causes considerable controversy due to lyrics about Native Americans, and the single is boycotted at a handful of stations. Nevertheless, the song's notoriety helps spur its popularity and allows it to become just the second major crossover hit in 10 years, reaching No. 15 on the Billboard magazine Hot 100 singles chart (in addition to its No. 8 peak on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart); the song will also jumpstart McGraw's fledgling career, which had gotten off to a less-than-stellar start a year earlier.

Incidentally, McGraw's first taste of success comes at approximately the same time as that of his wife-to-be — Faith Hill. At this point, their careers are on separate paths.

• April 12 — The premiere issue of Country Weekly magazine hits the store shelves. Garth Brooks graces the cover of the first issue.

Top hits of the year

Singles released by American artists

Singles released by Canadian artists

Top new album releases

Other top albums

Births

• November 8 – Lauren Alaina, runner-up of the 10th season of American Idol, with follow-up successes including "Like My Mother Does."

Deaths

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Hall of Fame inductees

Country Music Hall of Fame inductees

• Merle Haggard (born 1937)

Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees

• Dick Damron
• Hank Smith

Major awards

Grammy Awards

• Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Shut Up and Kiss Me," Mary Chapin Carpenter
• Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "When Love Finds You," Vince Gill
• Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "Blues for Dixie," Asleep at the Wheel and Lyle Lovett
• Best Country Collaboration with Vocals — "I Fall to Pieces," Aaron Neville and Trisha Yearwood
• Best Country Instrumental Performance — "Young Thing," Chet Atkins
• Best Country Song — "I Swear," Gary Baker, Frank Myers (Performer: John Michael Montgomery)
• Best Country Album — Stones in the Road, Mary Chapin Carpenter
• Best Bluegrass Album — The Great Dobro Sessions, Various Artists (Producers: Jerry Douglas and Tut Taylor)

Juno Awards

• Country Male Vocalist of the Year — Charlie Major
• Country Female Vocalist of the Year — Michelle Wright
• Country Group or Duo of the Year — Prairie Oyster

Academy of Country Music

• Entertainer of the Year — Reba McEntire
• Song of the Year — "I Swear," Gary Baker, Frank Myers (Performer: John Michael Montgomery)
• Single of the Year — "I Swear," John Michael Montgomery
• Album of the Year — Not a Moment Too Soon, Tim McGraw
• Top Male Vocalist — Alan Jackson
• Top Female Vocalist — Reba McEntire
• Top Vocal Duo — Brooks & Dunn
• Top Vocal Group — The Mavericks
• Top New Male Vocalist — Tim McGraw
• Top New Female Vocalist — Chely Wright
• Top New Vocal Duo or Group — The Mavericks
• Video of the Year — "The Red Strokes" - Garth Brooks (Director: Jon Small)

Canadian Country Music Association

• Bud Country Fans' Choice Award — Prairie Oyster
• Male Artist of the Year — Charlie Major
• Female Artist of the Year — Patricia Conroy
• Group or Duo of the Year — Prairie Oyster
• SOCAN Song of the Year — "I'm Gonna Drive You Out of My Mind," Charlie Major, Barry Brown
• Single of the Year — "I'm Gonna Drive You Out of My Mind," Charlie Major
• Album of the Year — The Other Side, Charlie Major
• Top Selling Album — In Pieces, Garth Brooks
• Video of the Year — "Stolen Moments," Jim Witter
• Vista Rising Star Award — Susan Aglukark
• Vocal Collaboration of the Year — Quartette

Country Music Association

• Entertainer of the Year — Vince Gill
• Song of the Year — "Chattahoochee," Alan Jackson and Jim McBride (Performer: Alan Jackson)
• Single of the Year — "I Swear," John Michael Montgomery
• Album of the Year — Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, Various Artists
• Male Vocalist of the Year — Vince Gill
• Female Vocalist of the Year — Pam Tillis
• Vocal Duo of the Year — Brooks & Dunn
• Vocal Group of the Year — Diamond Rio
• Horizon Award — John Michael Montgomery
• Music Video of the Year — "Independence Day," Martina McBride (Directors: Robert Deaton and George J. Flanigen IV)
• Vocal Event of the Year — "Does He Love You," Reba McEntire and Linda Davis
• Musician of the Year — Mark O'Connor

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.

References

Other links

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

External links

• Country Music Hall of Fame