This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1987.
Events
- June 13 â Randy Travis' "Forever and Ever, Amen" spends three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It is the first multi-week chart-topping song since "Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In the Still of the Night)" by Ronnie Milsap spent two weeks atop the chart in September 1985; in that time span, 85 other songs had been No. 1. Only three other songs during the 1980s â all of them in 1980 â would spend more than two weeks at No. 1, owing much to how Billboard compiled the chart data at the time.
- June 27- Pee Wee King Celebrates is 50th Grand ole opry anniversary
- September â Dolly Parton's TV variety series, Dolly, premieres on ABC in September. Despite strong ratings in its early weeks, the show was panned by critics and viewership declined. The series was cancelled at the end of the 1987âÂÂ1988 season.
No dates
- 46-year-old singer-songwriter K.T. Oslin becomes the success story of the year with her hit "80s Ladies", a Grammy Award-winner which tells the story of three childhood friends who stay together through an era of social change. The song spawns an award-winning video and, despite only reaching No. 7 on the Hot Country Singles chart, was one of the most played songs of the year. Oslin's rise to fame in her mid-40s came at a time when mainstream country radio was beginning to shun older female artists for younger, more attractive stars.
Top hits of the year
Singles released by American artists
Singles released by Canadian artists
Top new album releases
Other top albums
On television
Regular series
- Dolly (1987âÂÂ1988, ABC)
- Hee Haw (1969âÂÂ1993, syndicated)
Specials
Births
- January 31 â Tyler Hubbard, member of Florida Georgia Line, a duo of the 2010s.
- May 7 â Russell Dickerson, country performer of the 2010s onward.
- May 21 â Cody Johnson, Texas country singer-songwriter of the 2010s onward ("'Til You Can't").
- August 16 â Dan Smyers, member of Dan + Shay, a rising duo of the 2010s.
- September 25 â Greg Bates, up-and-coming country singer of the early 2010s.
- October 17 â Jameson Rodgers, up-and-coming country singer-songwriter of the early 2020s.
Deaths
- June 25 â Boudleaux Bryant, 67, songwriter (with wife Felice) of many 1950s and 1960s hits.
Hall of Fame inductees
Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
Major awards
Grammy Awards
Juno Awards
Academy of Country Music
ARIA Awards
(presented in Sydney on March 2, 1987)
Canadian Country Music Association
Country Music Association
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 1947âÂÂ1989," Country Music Foundation, 2003 ()
- Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993 ()
- Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944âÂÂ2005 â 6th Edition." 2005.
Other links
External links