1980 in Country Music - Events

Events

• January 25 — At age 84, octogenerian comedian George Burns becomes by far the oldest performer (to that time) to have a single in the top 40 of Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart with "I Wish I Was 18 Again." The song peaks at No. 15 in March.
• March 2 — The Public Broadcasting Company (PBS) telecasts the Grand Ole Opry for the third time, and this telecast lasts longer than any of the other telecasts. The telecast featured Tom T. Hall, Ronnie Milsap, Roy Acuff, Hank Snow, Minnie Pearl, Porter Wagoner, Billy Grammer, George Hamilton IV, Marty Robbins, and many others. Sissy Spacek also appeared on this telecast with Loretta Lynn, promoting the new movie Coal Miner's Daughter, which opened the next week.
• March — Alabama, a southern rock-influenced band from Fort Payne, Alabama, signs a recording contract with RCA Records, and records its first album, My Home's in Alabama. The album is released in May, and by late in the year, the band was on its way to superstardom.
• April 19 — For the first time in chart history, the top 5 positions on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart are held (or co-held) by female artists. The list:

1. "It's Like We Never Said Goodbye" by Crystal Gayle
2. "A Lesson in Leavin'" by Dottie West
3. "Are You on the Road to Lovin' Me Again" by Debby Boone
4. "Beneath Still Waters" by Emmylou Harris
5. "Two Story House" by Tammy Wynette (Duet with George Jones)

• July 5 — George Jones' classic "He Stopped Loving Her Today" reaches #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles charts.
• November 18 — The country-variety TV series, Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters, debuts.