1956 in country music

	… 1946 ; 1947 ; 1948 ; 1949 ; 1950 ; 1951 ; 1952 ; ; 1953 ; 1954 ; 1955 ; 1956 ; 1957 ; 1958 ; 1959 ; ; 1960 ; 1961 ; 1962 ; 1963 ; 1964 ; 1965 ; 1966 … ;
	Art ; Archaeology ; Architecture ; Literature ; Music ; Philosophy ; Science ; +...

Last updated April 16, 2024

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1956.

Events

January 30 — Despite a 4-inch snowstorm, 17,000 fans attend a Coliseum concert in Denver, Colorado. On the bill are Webb Pierce, Red Foley, the Foggy River Boys, Ray Price, Floyd Cramer, Roy Hill, the Echo Valley Boys and others.^[1]
March 15 — Colonel Tom Parker becomes manager of Elvis Presley.^[2]
March 22 — Carl Perkins is seriously injured in a car accident near Wilmington, Delaware, while en route to perform on The Perry Como Show.^[3]
November 10 — George Jones is named the most promising country and western artist, according to Billboard magazine's annual nationwide disc jockey poll. Elvis Presley is the most played C&W artist.^[4]

No dates

Although he already has had one No. 1 hit (with "I Forgot to Remember to Forget") and several other smaller-scale hits, Elvis Presley's national star power explodes when "Heartbreak Hotel" soars to the top of all three of Billboard 's country charts by the end of March. The song also completes a rare feat by topping each of the Billboard pop and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.
With release of Ray Price's "Crazy Arms", the 4/4 shuffle is established and would transform country music, especially honky tonk.

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

United States

(as certified by Billboard)

Date	Single Name	Artist	Wks. No.1	Spec. Note
February 11	Why Baby Why	Red Sovine and Webb Pierce	4	^[2]
February 25	I Forgot to Remember to Forget	Elvis Presley	5	^[A]
March 17	Heartbreak Hotel	Elvis Presley	17	Also reached Number One on the Billboard Pop chart.
March 17	I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby	The Louvin Brothers	2	^[B]
April 7	Blue Suede Shoes	Carl Perkins	3	^[B]
June 23	Crazy Arms	Ray Price	20	^{[1], [2], [A]}
July 14	I Want You, I Need You, I Love You	Elvis Presley	2	Also reached Number One on the Billboard Pop chart.
July 21	I Walk the Line	Johnny Cash	6	^{[2], [A]}
September 15	Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog	Elvis Presley	10	Also reached Number One on the Billboard Pop and R&B chart.
November 10	Singing the Blues	Marty Robbins	13

Notes

1 ^ No. 1 song of the year, as determined by Billboard .
2 ^ Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot.
A ^ First Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.
B ^ Only Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.

Note: Several songs were simultaneous No. 1 hits on the separate "Most Played C&W in Juke Boxes," "Most Played C&W by Jockeys" and "C&W Best Sellers in Stores" charts.

Other major hits

US	Single	Artist
4	According to My Heart	Jim Reeves
7	Any Old Time	Webb Pierce
5	Be-Bop-A-Lula	Gene Vincent
6	Before I Met You	Carl Smith
4	The Blackboard of My Heart	Hank Thompson
7	Boppin' the Blues	Carl Perkins
15	Casey Jones (The Brave Engineer)	Eddy Arnold
7	Cash on the Barrelhead	The Louvin Brothers
12	The Cat Came Back	Sonny James
3	'Cause I Love You	Webb Pierce
14	Cheated Too	Wilma Lee Cooper and Stoney Cooper
13	Come Back to Me	Jimmy C. Newman
4	Conscience I'm Guilty	Hank Snow
10	Dixie Fried	Carl Perkins
6	Doorstep to Heaven	Carl Smith
3	Eat, Drink, and Be Merry (Tomorrow You'll Cry)	Porter Wagoner
4	Folsom Prison Blues	Johnny Cash
14	The Fool	Sanford Clark
6	Go Away with Me	The Wilburn Brothers
9	God Was So Good	Jimmy C. Newman
5	Hold Everything (Till I Get Home)	Red Sovine
9	Honky-Tonk Man	Johnny Horton
7	Hoping That You're Hoping	The Louvin Brothers
11	How Far Is Heaven	Kitty Wells
5	Hula Rock	Hank Snow
7	I Feel Like Cryin'	Carl Smith
15	I Gotta Know	Wanda Jackson
2	I Take the Chance	The Browns
13	I Want to Be Loved	Johnnie & Jack
8	I Was the One	Elvis Presley
13	I'd Rather Stay Home	Kitty Wells
7	I'm a One-Woman Man	Johnny Horton
11	I'm Moving In	Hank Snow
14	I'm Not Mad, Just Hurt	Hank Thompson
10	I'm So in Love with You	The Wilburn Brothers
11	I've Changed	Carl Smith
2	I've Got a New Heartache	Ray Price
4	I've Got Five Dollars and It's Saturday Night	Faron Young
5	It's a Great Life (If You Don't Weaken)	Faron Young
11	Just as Long as You Love Me	The Browns
3	Just One More	George Jones
5	Little Rosa	Red Sovine and Webb Pierce
7	The Lonely Side of Town	Kitty Wells
10	Love Me	Elvis Presley
3	Love Me Tender	Elvis Presley
13	My Baby Left Me	Elvis Presley
8	My Lips Are Sealed	Jim Reeves
11	Mystery Train	Elvis Presley
9	Only You, Only You	Charlie Walker
2	Poor Man's Riches	Benny Barnes
5	Run Boy	Ray Price
3	Searching (For Someone Like You)	Kitty Wells
9	Seasons of My Heart	Jimmy C. Newman
4	So Doggone Lonesome	Johnny Cash
2	Sweet Dreams	Faron Young
9	Sweet Dreams	Don Gibson
10	Teenage Boogie	Webb Pierce
12	That's All	Tennessee Ernie Ford
5	These Hands	Hank Snow
7	Trouble in Mind	Eddy Arnold
11	Tryin' to Forget the Blues	Porter Wagoner
9	Turn Her Down	Faron Young
11	Twenty Feet of Muddy Water	Sonny James
14	Uncle Pen	Porter Wagoner
14	Waltz of the Angels	Wynn Stewart
4	Wasted Words	Ray Price
7	What Am I Worth	George Jones
8	What Would You Do (If Jesus Came to Your House)	Porter Wagoner
15	What Would You Do (If Jesus Came to Your House)	Red Sovine
9	Why Baby Why	Hank Locklin
9	Wicked Lies	Carl Smith
10	Without Your Love	Bobby Lord
2	Yes I Know Why	Webb Pierce
3	You and Me	Kitty Wells and Red Foley
4	You Are the One	Carl Smith
10	You Don't Know Me	Eddy Arnold
7	You Gotta Be My Baby	George Jones
6	You're Free to Go	Carl Smith
13	You're Not Play Love	The Wilburn Brothers
7	You're Running Wild	The Louvin Brothers
3	You're Still Mine	Faron Young

Top new album releases

Single	Artist	Record Label
Songs of a Love Affair	Jean Shepard	Capitol
Grand Ole Opry's New Star	George Jones	Starday (debut album)

Births

January 18 — Mark Collie, country artist of the early 1990s.
March 26 — Charly McClain, country vocalist of the early-to-mid-1980s.
June 19 — Doug Stone, popular country vocalist during the early- to mid-1990s.
July 6 — John Jorgenson, member of The Desert Rose Band.
July 26 — Scott Hendricks, record producer (Restless Heart, Blake Shelton)
August 12 — Danny Shirley, lead singer of Confederate Railroad
September 22 — Debby Boone, granddaughter of Red Foley who enjoyed country success of her own in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
October 23 — Dwight Yoakam, neotraditionalist since the mid-1980s who helped revitalize interest in the Bakersfield Sound.
December 9 — Sylvia, pop-styled female vocalist of the early-1980s who became best known as "Sylvia."
December 18 – Ron White, comedian, member of Blue Collar Comedy with Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, and Larry the Cable Guy
December 21 — Lee Roy Parnell, alternative country star who enjoyed mainstream country success during the mid-1990s.
December 30 — Suzy Bogguss, folk-styled country artist who rose to fame in the early 1990s.

Deaths

Related Research Articles

Elvis Aaron Presley, also known mononymously as Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Known as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley's energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, brought both great success and initial controversy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockabilly</span> Early style of rock and roll music

Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blues, leading to what is considered "classic" rock and roll. Some have also described it as a blend of bluegrass with rock and roll. The term "rockabilly" itself is a portmanteau of "rock" and "hillbilly", the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style. Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing, boogie-woogie, jump blues, and electric blues.

Ronnie Lee Milsap is an American country music singer and pianist.

Blue-eyed soul is rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music performed by white artists. The term was coined in the mid-1960s, to describe white artists whose sound was similar to that of the predominantly black Motown and Stax record labels. Though many R&B radio stations in the United States in that period would only play music by black musicians, some began to play music by white acts considered to have "soul feeling"; their music was then described as "blue-eyed soul".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">That's All Right</span> 1946 song by Arthur Crudup

"That's All Right" is a song written and originally performed by the American blues singer Arthur Crudup and recorded in 1946. It was rereleased in early March 1949 by RCA Victor under the title "That's All Right, Mama", which was issued as RCA's first rhythm and blues record on its new 45 rpm single format.

<i>Elvis Presley</i> (album) 1956 studio album by Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley is the debut studio album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. It was released by RCA Victor, on March 23, 1956,. The recording sessions took place on January 10 and January 11 at the RCA Victor Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and on January 30 and January 31 at the RCA Victor studios in New York. Additional material originated from sessions at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 5, August 19 and September 10, 1954, and on July 11, 1955.

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1977.

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 1968.

"Blue Moon of Kentucky" is a waltz written in 1945 by bluegrass musician Bill Monroe and recorded by his band, the Blue Grass Boys. Some think the origins may trace back to "Roll Along, Kentucky Moon", a similar waltz recorded 20 years prior by Jimmie Rodgers. The song has since been recorded by many artists, including Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney. The song is the official bluegrass song of Kentucky.

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1958.

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1957.

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1955.

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1954.

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1950.

<i>From Elvis in Memphis</i> 1969 studio album by Elvis Presley

From Elvis in Memphis is the ninth studio album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. It was released by RCA Records on June 2, 1969. It was recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis in January and February 1969 under the direction of producer Chips Moman and backed by its house band, informally known as the Memphis Boys. Following the success of Presley's TV special Elvis and its soundtrack, the album marked Presley's return to non-soundtrack albums after the completion of his film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>Elvis</i> (1956 album) 1956 studio album by Elvis Presley

Elvis is the second studio album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor on October 19, 1956 in mono. Recording sessions took place on September 1, September 2, and September 3 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, with one track left over from the sessions for Presley's debut album at the RCA Victor recording studios on January 30 in New York. It spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart that year, making Presley the first recording artist to have both albums go straight to number one in the same year. It would go on to spend 5 weeks at #1 in total. It was certified Gold on February 17, 1960, and Platinum on August 10, 2011, by the Recording Industry Association of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain</span> 1975 single by Willie Nelson

"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" is a song written by songwriter Fred Rose. First recorded by Elton Britt in 1946, then made more popular by Roy Acuff in 1947, the song has been covered by many artists, including Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Russell, Charley Pride, and Elvis Presley. Most notably, the song was recorded by Willie Nelson as part of his 1975 album Red Headed Stranger. Both the song and album revived Nelson's success as a singer and recording artist.

The History of Rock & Roll is an American radio documentary on rock and roll music, first syndicated in 1969. Originally one of the lengthiest documentaries of any medium, The History of Rock & Roll is a definitive history of the Rock and Roll genre, stretching from the early 1950s to the present day. The "rockumentary," as producers Bill Drake and Gene Chenault called it, features hundreds of interviews and comments from numerous rock artists and people involved with rock and roll.

This article includes an overview of the major events and trends in popular music in the 1950s.

References

↑ Rolling Stone Rock Almanac: The Chronicles of Rock & Roll," Collier Books, MacMillan Publishing Co., New York and London, 1983, p. 20. ISBN 0-02-081320-1
↑ Rolling Stone Rock Almanac, p. 21.
↑ Rolling Stone Rock Almanac, p. 21.
↑ Rolling Stone Rock Almanac, p. 25.