This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 2011.
Events
- January 1 â Shania Twain marries Swiss businessman Frédéric Thiébaud in Puerto Rico, less than two weeks after announcing the two were engaged. Also on the same day, Kellie Pickler and songwriter Kyle Jacobs marry in the Caribbean.
- January 11 â Jewel confirms to People Magazine that she and her husband, Ty Murray, are expecting their first child together. On March 11, Jewel and her unborn baby were unharmed after a collision with a firetruck near her current hometown of Stephenville, Texas. Jewel would give birth to a son, Kase Townes Murray, on July 11.
- February 15 â Glen Campbell announces that he will release his final studio album in 2011 with a farewell concert tour to follow. He also plans an acoustic-style greatest-hits album before officially retiring.
- March 18 â Billy Ray Cyrus confirms on The View that he has dropped his divorce and has begun to reconcile his family.
- March 27 â Shania Twain is inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame during the Juno Awards. In a backstage interview, Twain confirms she is recording new music and preparing to go back on tour.
- April 19 â CMT and several other news sources confirm that actor Jeff Bridges has signed a recording contract with jazz music label Blue Note Records. He will collaborate with producer T-Bone Burnett and would release his debut album in 2011. Bridges previously won an Oscar for his portrayal of a country music singer-songwriter.
- May 14 â Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert are married at Don Strange Ranch in Boerne, Texas, after five years of dating.
- May 23 â John Rich is selected as the winner of the fourth season of the Celebrity Apprentice over actress Marlee Matlin.
- May 25 â Scotty McCreery wins the tenth-season competition of American Idol, becoming the second country music-focused artist (behind Carrie Underwood) to win. Runner-up Lauren Alaina is also rooted in country music. Days later, both sign lucrative contracts with Mercury Nashville Records.
- June 4 â A house fire destroys the home of Trace Adkins and his family; his three youngest daughters and a dog, who were home when the fire started, escape safely.
- June 22 â Glen Campbell announces that he has Alzheimer's disease, having been diagnosed with the illness about six months prior. This news comes four months after Campbell announces his retirement from the music business.
- July 11 â Gloriana, a mixed quartet, announces the departure of Cheyenne Kimball. The group is reduced to a trio at this point.
- July 15 â Bill Anderson celebrates his 50th Grand Ole Opry Anniversary
- August 4 â Jimmy C. Newman celebrates his 55th Grand Ole Opry anniversary
- August 12 â Miranda Lambert quest Carrie Underwood at the Capital Hoedown in Ottawa, Canada.
- August 13 â Seven people are killed and more than 45 people are injured when an outdoor stage collapses at the Indiana State Fair due to high winds at a concert featuring Sugarland. Neither the duo nor their opening act, Sara Bareilles, were on stage at the time of the collapse.
- August 25 â George Jones Celebrates his 55th Grand Ole Opry Anniversary
- October 3 â Hank Williams Jr.'s opening theme for Monday Night Football, "All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night", with its famous line, "Are you ready for some football?", is pulled from that night's program on ESPN, after Williams compared President Obama to Adolf Hitler on Fox & Friends. The song had been used in the show's opening broadcasts since 1989. The song would eventually return in 2017, with a remix featuring Florida Georgia Line and Jason Derulo.
- October 10 â Toby Keith releases "Red Solo Cup". The song becomes a major viral and crossover hit, with the music video acquiring more than 600,000 views on YouTube before the release of Keith's album Clancy's Tavern, and reaching #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on the Hot Country Songs chart, as well as being covered in the Glee episode "Hold On to Sixteen" two months later.
- November 3 â Keith Urban announces that he will undergo throat surgery to remove a polyp in his vocal cords. He subsequently cancels or postpones all public appearances until 2012.
- November 29 â Taylor Swift and Kenny Chesney at the CMT Artists of the Year.
Top hits of the year
The following songs placed within the Top 20 on the Hot Country Songs or Canada Country charts in 2011:
Top new album releases
The following albums placed within the Top 50 on the Top Country Albums charts in 2011:
Other top albums
Deaths
- January 10 â Margaret Whiting, 86, female country and pop vocalist of the 1940s and early 1950s. (natural causes)
- January 19 â James O'Gwynn, 82, singer of the late 1950s and early 1960s, best known for his hit "My Name Is Mud."
- January 26 â Charlie Louvin, 83, singer/songwriter who teamed with brother Ira as The Louvin Brothers, and became a star in his own right after Ira's death. (pancreatic cancer)
- March 17 â Ferlin Husky, 85, singer/songwriter of the 1950s and 1960s who had hits with "Gone" and "Wings of a Dove." (congestive heart failure)
- March 30 â Harley Allen, 55, songwriter, writer of several country songs such as "The Baby" and "Awful, Beautiful Life." (lung cancer)
- March 31 â Mel McDaniel, 68, Grand Ole Opry member and singer of several major hits in the 1980s including the No. 1 single, "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On," in 1985. (cancer)
- July 29 â Jack Barlow, 87, singer of several hits in the 1960s such as "I Love Country Music" and "Catch the Wind."
- August 7 â Marshall Grant, 83, bassist of Johnny Cash's original backing duo, The Tennessee Two.
- August 10 â Billy Grammer, 85, Grand Ole Opry member best known for his hit "Gotta Travel On." (natural causes)
- September 12 â Don Wayne, 78, songwriter who wrote "Country Bumpkin." (cancer)
- September 13 â Wilma Lee Cooper, 90, Grand Ole Opry member. (natural causes)
- September 27 â Johnnie Wright, 97, singer/songwriter who was part of Johnnie and Jack and husband of Kitty Wells. (natural causes)
- September 27 â Johnny "Country" Mathis, 80, singer/songwriter and member of Jimmy & Johnny, but not confused to the pop crooner. (pneumonia)
- October 12 â Joel "Taz" DiGregorio, 67, keyboardist for The Charlie Daniels Band. (car accident)
- October 31 â Liz Anderson, 81, singer/songwriter wrote Merle Haggard's The Fugitive and is the mother of Lynn. (heart and lung disease)
- December 14 â Billie Jo Spears, 74, singer of several major hits in the 1970s including the No. 1 single, "Blanket on the Ground," in 1975. (cancer)
Hall of Fame Inductees
Bluegrass Hall of Fame Inductees
Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees
Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees
Major awards
Academy of Country Music
(presented April 1, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada)
ACM Honors
Americana Music Honors & Awards
American Music Awards
(presented in Los Angeles on November 20, 2011)
American Country Awards
(presented December 5 in Las Vegas, Nevada)
- Artist of the Year â Jason Aldean
- Female Artist of the Year â Carrie Underwood
- Male Artist of the Year â Brad Paisley
- Group/Duo of the Year â Lady Antebellum
- Touring Artist of the Year â Jason Aldean
- Album of the Year â My Kinda Party, Jason Aldean
- Breakthrough Artist of the Year â Chris Young
- New Artist of the Year â Scotty McCreery
- Single of the Year â "Voices", Chris Young
- Female Single of the Year â "Mama's Song", Carrie Underwood
- Male Single of the Year â "My Kinda Party", Jason Aldean
- Duo/Group Single of the Year â "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not", Thompson Square
- Breakthrough Single of the Year â "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not", Thompson Square
- Single by a Vocal Collaboration â "Don't You Wanna Stay", Jason Aldean feat. Kelly Clarkson
- Music Video of the Year â "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking", Blake Shelton
- Female Music Video of the Year â "Mama's Song", Carrie Underwood
- Male Music Video of the Year â "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking", Blake Shelton
- Duo/Group Music Video of the Year â "Don't You Wanna Stay", Jason Aldean feat. Kelly Clarkson
- Breakthrough Music Video of the Year â "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not", Thompson Square
American Music Awards
(presented November 20 in Los Angeles)
ARIA Awards
(presented in Sydney on November 27, 2011)
Canadian Country Music Association
(presented September 12 in Hamilton)
Country Music Association
(presented November 9 in Nashville)
CMT Music Awards
(presented June 8 in Nashville)
CMT Artists of the Year <br /> (presented December 13 in Nashville)
Grammy Awards
(presented February 12, 2012)
Juno Awards
(presented April 1, 2012 in Ottawa)
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Star who were honored in 2011
Melissa Etheridge and Shania Twain
References
Other links