2005 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 2005.

List of years in country music (table)
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Events

• April 30 – Billboard magazine renames the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart "Hot Country Songs." The chart's renaming is part of a major redesign of the 110-year-old magazine.
• May 25 – Oklahoma-born Carrie Underwood becomes the fourth-season winner of " American Idol ." Although her first single, "Inside Your Heaven," tops the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the 22-year-old Underwood's influences and music are predominantly country. Late in the year, she entered the top 10 of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the first time with "Jesus, Take the Wheel". Her debut album, Some Hearts , rockets to No. 1 on the album charts.
• May 25 – Garth Brooks proposes to longtime girlfriend and fellow country music star Trisha Yearwood in Bakersfield, California, ending long-standing speculation about their relationship
• May 27 - Gretchen Wilson guest Miranda Lambert at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.
• September – Country music acts participate in benefit concerts to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina. On September 9, Dixie Chicks, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are among the artists participating in "Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast," which airs live on cable and broadcast television stations in the United States and worldwide.

"ReAct Now: Music & Relief" is held September 10. Country performers at the 4½-hour concert — which airs live on CMT – include Alan Jackson and Gretchen Wilson.

• October – Koch Records Nashville folds when its parent company goes out of business.
• November 9 – After 27 years as host of " American Country Countdown ," radio personality Bob Kingsley steps down, after his production company and ABC Radio Networks (which distributes the show) fail to come to terms in renegotiating a distribution agreement. Kix Brooks, one half of the superstar duo Brooks & Dunn, is named the new host and was slated to take over January 21, 2006. Kingsley's last shows with "ACC" are the December 24 countdown program and "Christmas in America".
• November 18 – The Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line , opens nationwide. The movie stars Joaquin Phoenix as "The Man in Black" and Reese Witherspoon as his girlfriend (and wife-to-be) June Carter. The movie is widely praised by critics and a major box office hit, culminating in Reese winning the Best Actress Oscar the following year.
• November 25 – Garth Brooks releases The Limited Series, his second box set to be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores. The set contains his previous two studio albums, Sevens and Scarecrow ; plus his Double Live album; The Lost Sessions , a new album of previously unreleased material; and an All Access DVD containing behind-the-scenes footage of his concerts. The Limited Series is Brooks' first box set to be released under his label, Pearl Records; he had left his longtime label, Capitol Records, earlier in the year.
• December 10 – Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood marry at their home in Oklahoma. It is Brooks' second marriage, Yearwood's third.
• December 31 – Bob Kingsley's new countdown program, "Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40", premieres with the annual year-end countdown. The new four-hour show, which aired on many of the same stations that aired "ACC," is distributed by the Jones Radio Network.

No dates

• Mindy McCready endures a rough year, with stories about her personal and legal problems making headlines. They include violent run-ins with her ex-boyfriend, Billy McKnight; various crimes she had been charged with (including fraud, prescription drug crimes, driving under the influence and probation violation) and at least two suicide attempts. Late in the year, Mindy spoke about her problems on The Oprah Winfrey Show and Larry King Live .
• Toby Keith, the flagship artist for DreamWorks Nashville, departs to form his own label, Show Dog Nashville. DreamWorks – which had never really lived up to its expectations – is shut down shortly thereafter by its parent company, Universal Music Group.
• The Country Music Association announces a new TV deal to move the CMA Awards to ABC, after years of being broadcast on CBS.
• Tammy Genovese becomes the head of the Country Music Association, succeeding Ed Benson.
• Country music icon George Jones marks his 50th year in country music.

Top hits of the year

The following songs placed within the Top 20 on the Hot Country Songs or Canada Country charts in 2005:

See also: List of number-one country hits of 2005 (U.S.) and List of number-one country singles of 2005 (Canada)

US	CAN	Single	Artist
4	6	Alcohol	Brad Paisley
8	2	All Jacked Up	Gretchen Wilson
1	2	Anything but Mine	Kenny Chesney
16	—	Arlington	Trace Adkins
1	2	As Good as I Once Was	Toby Keith
1	8	Awful, Beautiful Life	Darryl Worley
2	1	Baby Girl	Sugarland
7	13	Best I Ever Had	Gary Allan
1	1	Better Life	Keith Urban
5	1	Big Blue Note	Toby Keith
20	19	Big Time	Big & Rich
10	11	Billy's Got His Beer Goggles On	Neal McCoy
1	1	Bless the Broken Road	Rascal Flatts
16	28	Class Reunion (That Used to Be Us)	Lonestar
1	3	Come a Little Closer	Dierks Bentley
5	3	Do You Want Fries with That	Tim McGraw
24	4	Don't!	Shania Twain
16	—	Don't Ask Me How I Know	Bobby Pinson
7	13	Don't Worry 'bout a Thing	SHeDAISY
14	6	Drugs or Jesus	Tim McGraw
1	2	Fast Cars and Freedom	Rascal Flatts
15	22	Georgia Rain	Trisha Yearwood
16	19	God's Will	Martina McBride
3	4	Gone	Montgomery Gentry
3	2	Good Ride Cowboy	Garth Brooks
10	18	Goodbye Time	Blake Shelton
7	12	He Gets That from Me	Reba McEntire
8	29	Help Somebody	Van Zant
10	27	Hicktown	Jason Aldean
15	9	Holy Water	Big & Rich
2	2	Homewrecker	Gretchen Wilson
8	6	Honkytonk U	Toby Keith
4	20	How Am I Doin'	Dierks Bentley
18	25	How Do You Get That Lonely	Blaine Larsen
45	8	I Ain't No Quitter	Shania Twain
10	6	I May Hate Myself in the Morning	Lee Ann Womack
18	19	(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden	Martina McBride
17	—	I'll Take That as a Yes (The Hot Tub Song)	Phil Vassar
5	23	If Heaven	Andy Griggs
9	26	If Something Should Happen	Darryl Worley
1	4	It's Getting Better All the Time	Brooks & Dunn
6	5	Keg in the Closet	Kenny Chesney
8	14	Let Them Be Little	Billy Dean
17	—	Long, Slow Kisses	Jeff Bates
3	1	Lot of Leavin' Left to Do	Dierks Bentley
1	1	Making Memories of Us	Keith Urban
12	29	Miss Me Baby	Chris Cagle
1	1	Mississippi Girl	Faith Hill
5	4	Monday Morning Church	Alan Jackson
1	1	Mud on the Tires	Brad Paisley
1	4	Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right	Billy Currington
1	1	My Give a Damn's Busted	Jo Dee Messina
44	4	My Name	George Canyon
16	17	My Sister	Reba McEntire
1	1	Nothin' to Lose	Josh Gracin
18	—	Paper Angels	Jimmy Wayne
8	14	Pickin' Wildflowers	Keith Anderson
1	1	Play Something Country	Brooks & Dunn
3	19	Probably Wouldn't Be This Way	LeAnn Rimes
1	1	A Real Fine Place to Start	Sara Evans
2	9	Redneck Yacht Club	Craig Morgan
25	15	She Didn't Have Time	Terri Clark
2	2	Skin (Sarabeth)	Rascal Flatts
3	6	Somebody's Hero	Jamie O'Neal
2	1	Something More	Sugarland
1	5	Something to Be Proud Of	Montgomery Gentry
2	15	Songs About Me	Trace Adkins
5	6	Stay with Me (Brass Bed)	Josh Gracin
18	15	The Talkin' Song Repair Blues	Alan Jackson
1	1	Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off	Joe Nichols
1	3	That's What I Love About Sunday	Craig Morgan
18	24	Trying to Find Atlantis	Jamie O'Neal
18	—	USA Today	Alan Jackson
36	5	Waitin' on the Wonderful	Aaron Lines
4	11	What's a Guy Gotta Do	Joe Nichols
4	2	When I Think About Cheatin'	Gretchen Wilson
2	1	Who You'd Be Today	Kenny Chesney
4	5	You'll Be There	George Strait
8	7	You're Like Comin' Home	Lonestar
2	1	You're My Better Half	Keith Urban

Top new album releases

The following albums placed within the Top 50 on the Top Country Albums charts in 2005:

See also: List of number-one country albums of 2005 (U.S.)

US	Album	Artist	Record Label
1	All Jacked Up	Gretchen Wilson	Epic
4	Anywhere but Here	Chris Cagle	Capitol Nashville
1	Be as You Are (Songs from an Old Blue Chair)	Kenny Chesney	BNA
8	Blame the Vain	Dwight Yoakam	New West
6	Brave	Jamie O'Neal	Capitol Nashville
3	Coming Home	Lonestar	BNA
3	Comin' to Your City	Big & Rich	Warner Bros.
6	Countryman	Willie Nelson	Lost Highway
1	Delicious Surprise	Jo Dee Messina	Curb
2	Doin' Somethin' Right	Billy Currington	Mercury Nashville
5	Erika Jo	Erika Jo	Universal South
1	Fireflies	Faith Hill	Warner Bros.
6	Garage	Cross Canadian Ragweed	Universal South
2	Get Right with the Man	Van Zant	Columbia
2	Her Story: Scenes from a Lifetime	Wynonna	Asylum-Curb
1	Hillbilly Deluxe	Brooks & Dunn	Arista Nashville
1	Honkytonk University	Toby Keith	DreamWorks Nashville
6	Hot Apple Pie	Hot Apple Pie	DreamWorks Nashville
2	III	Joe Nichols	Universal South
6	Jason Aldean	Jason Aldean	Broken Bow
1	Jasper County	Trisha Yearwood	MCA Nashville
1	Kerosene	Miranda Lambert	Epic
2	The Legend of Johnny Cash	Johnny Cash	Island
8	Let Them Be Little	Billy Dean	Asylum-Curb
4	Life Goes On	Terri Clark	Mercury Nashville
2	Loco Motive	Cowboy Troy	RAYBAW
1	Modern Day Drifter	Dierks Bentley	Capitol Nashville
7	My Kind of Livin'	Craig Morgan	Broken Bow
1	Real Fine Place	Sara Evans	RCA Nashville
3	Reba #1's	Reba McEntire	MCA Nashville
4	R.I.D.E.	Trick Pony	Asylum-Curb
1	The Right to Bare Arms	Larry the Cable Guy	Warner Bros.
1	The Road and the Radio	Kenny Chesney	BNA
1	Some Hearts	Carrie Underwood	Arista Nashville
2	Something to Be Proud Of: The Best of 1999-2005	Montgomery Gentry	Columbia
1	Somewhere Down in Texas	George Strait	MCA Nashville
1	Songs About Me	Trace Adkins	Capitol Nashville
8	That's Life	Neal McCoy	903
8	Then & Now: The Hits Collection	Tracy Lawrence	Mercury Nashville
3	There's More Where That Came From	Lee Ann Womack	MCA Nashville
9	Those Were the Days	Dolly Parton	Blue Eye
2	This Woman	LeAnn Rimes	Asylum-Curb
1	Time Well Wasted	Brad Paisley	Arista Nashville
1	Timeless	Martina McBride	RCA Nashville
5	Times Like These	Buddy Jewell	Columbia
1	Totally Country Vol. 4	Various Artists	Sony BMG
1	Tough All Over	Gary Allan	MCA Nashville
3	Walk the Line Soundtrack	Various Artists	Wind-Up

Other top albums

US	Album	Artist	Record Label
42	16 Biggest Hits	Waylon Jennings	RCA Nashville
13	All of Me	Anne Murray	StraightWay
20	Anthology, Volume 1	Chris LeDoux	Capitol Nashville
35	Barely Famous Hits	The Warren Brothers	BNA
47	Childish Things	James McMurtry	Compadre
14	Cost of Living	Delbert McClinton	New West
39	Country's Got Heart	Various Artists	Time Life
13	Dream Big	Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand	Capitol Nashville
29	Dreamin' My Dreams	Patty Loveless	Epic
36	Drinkin' Songs and Other Logic	Clint Black	Equity
39	Everything and More	Billy Gilman	Image
28	Glory Train: Songs of Faith, Worship, and Praise	Randy Travis	Word/Curb
43	Gold	Patsy Cline	MCA Nashville
14	Greatest Hits	Tracy Byrd	BNA
42	Hanna-McEuen	Hanna-McEuen	DreamWorks Nashville
13	Hits I Missed...And One I Didn't	George Jones	Bandit
47	Hitstory	Elvis Presley	RCA
31	The Legend	Johnny Cash	Legacy
23	Man Like Me	Bobby Pinson	RCA Nashville
18	The Metropolitan Hotel	Chely Wright	Dualtone
47	Mission Temple Fireworks Stand	Sawyer Brown	Curb
39	My Kind of Music	Ray Scott	Warner Bros.
40	Nashville Star 2005 Finalists	Various Artists	Universal South
42	Nothing Left to Hide	Cory Morrow	Write On
14	Off to Join the World	Blaine Larsen	BNA
37	The Outsider	Rodney Crowell	Columbia
22	Patriotic Country 2	Various Artists	BMG Heritage
22	Put the "O" Back in Country	Shooter Jennings	Universal South
31	Ride	Shelly Fairchild	Columbia
73	Right Out of Nowhere	Kathy Mattea	Narada
12	The Road to Here	Little Big Town	Equity
13	Songs	Willie Nelson	Lost Highway
26	The Story of My Life	Deana Carter	Vanguard
12	Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll	Keith Anderson	Arista Nashville
23	The Very Best of Emmylou Harris: Heartaches & Highways	Emmylou Harris	Rhino
21	What I Really Mean	Robert Earl Keen	Koch

Deaths

• February 6 – Merle Kilgore, 70, prolific songwriter ("Wolverton Mountain," "Ring of Fire") and manager of Hank Williams Jr. (cancer)
• February 12 – Sammi Smith, 61, best known for "Help Me Make it Through the Night."
• February 25- Goldie Hill, 72, best known for "I Let the Stars Get in My Eyes" and wife of Carl Smith.
• March 2 – Joe Carter, 78, son of A.P. and Sara Carter.
• March 9 – Chris LeDoux, 56, world champion bareback rider who sang about the rodeo circuit and cowboy life.
• May 14 – Jimmy Martin, 77, the "King of Bluegrass."
• June 27 – Robert Byrne, 50, songwriter (unknown causes) ^[1]
• August 16 – Vassar Clements, 77, legendary fiddle player. (cancer)

Hall of Fame inductees

Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductees

• Red Allen
• Benny Martin

Country Music Hall of Fame inductees

• Alabama (Randy Owen (born 1949); Teddy Gentry (born 1952); Jeff Cook (1949-2022); and Mark Herndon (born 1955)).
• DeFord Bailey (1899–1982)
• Glen Campbell (1936–2017)

Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees

• Gary Fjellgaard
• R. Harlan Smith
• Paul Kennedy

Major awards

Grammy Awards

(presented February 8, 2006 in Los Angeles)

• Best Female Country Vocal Performance – "The Connection", Emmylou Harris
• Best Male Country Vocal Performance – "You'll Think of Me", Keith Urban
• Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal – "Restless", Alison Krauss & Union Station
• Best Country Collaboration with Vocals – "Like We Never Loved At All", Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
• Best Country Instrumental Performance – "Unionhouse Branch", Alison Krauss & Union Station
• Best Country Song – "Bless the Broken Road", Bobby Boyd, Jeff Hanna & Marcus Hummon
• Best Country Album – Lonely Runs Both Ways , Alison Krauss & Union Station
• Best Bluegrass Album – The Company We Keep, Del McCoury Band

Juno Awards

(presented April 2, 2006 in Halifax)

• Country Recording of the Year – The Road Hammers , The Road Hammers

CMT Music Awards

(presented April 11 in Nashville)

• Video of the Year – "Days Go By", Keith Urban
• Male Video of the Year – "I Go Back", Kenny Chesney
• Female Video of the Year – "When I Think About Cheatin'" Gretchen Wilson
• Group/Duo Video of the Year – "Feels Like Today", Rascal Flatts
• Breakthrough Video of the Year – "Redneck Woman", Gretchen Wilson
• Collaborative Video of the Year – "Whiskey Lullaby", Brad Paisley Featuring Alison Krauss
• Hottest Video of the Year – "Whiskey Girl", Toby Keith
• Most Inspiring Video of the Year – "Live Like You Were Dying", Tim McGraw
• Video Director of the Year – "Whiskey Lullaby", Brad Paisley Featuring Alison Krauss (Director: Rick Schroder)
• Johnny Cash Visionary Award – Loretta Lynn

Americana Music Honors & Awards

• Album of the Year – Universal United House of Prayer (Buddy Miller)
• Artist of the Year – John Prine
• Song of the Year – "Worry Too Much" (Mark Heard)
• Emerging Artist of the Year – Mary Gauthier
• Instrumentalist of the Year – Sonny Landreth
• Spirit of Americana/Free Speech Award – Judy Collins
• Lifetime Achievement: Songwriting – Guy Clark
• Lifetime Achievement: Performance – Marty Stuart
• Lifetime Achievement: Executive – The Rounder Founders (Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton, Bill Nowlin)

Academy of Country Music

(presented May 23, 2006 in Las Vegas)

• Entertainer of the Year – Kenny Chesney
• Song of the Year – "Believe", Ronnie Dunn and Craig Wiseman
• Single of the Year – "Jesus, Take the Wheel", Carrie Underwood
• Album of the Year – Time Well Wasted , Brad Paisley
• Top Male Vocalist – Keith Urban
• Top Female Vocalist – Sara Evans
• Top Vocal Duo – Brooks & Dunn
• Top Vocal Group – Rascal Flatts
• Top New Male Vocalist – Jason Aldean
• Top New Female Vocalist – Carrie Underwood
• Top New Duo or Group – Sugarland
• Video of the Year – "When I Get Where I'm Going", Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton (Director: Jim Shea)
• Vocal Event of the Year – "When I Get Where I'm Going", Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton
• ACM/Home Depot Humanitarian of the Year – Vince Gill
• Pioneer Awards – Little Jimmy Dickens, Kris Kristofferson, Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs

ARIA Awards

(presented in Sydney on October 23, 2005)

• Best Country Album – Be Here (Keith Urban)
• ARIA Hall of Fame – Smoky Dawson

Canadian Country Music Association

(presented September 12 in Calgary)

• Kraft Cheez Whiz Fans' Choice Award – George Canyon
• Male Artist of the Year – George Canyon
• Female Artist of the Year – Terri Clark
• Group or Duo of the Year – The Road Hammers
• SOCAN Song of the Year – "My Name", George Canyon, Gordie Sampson
• Single of the Year – "My Name", George Canyon
• Album of the Year – This Time Around , Paul Brandt
• Top Selling Album – Greatest Hits , Shania Twain
• CMT Video of the Year – "Convoy," Paul Brandt
• Chevy Trucks Rising Star Award – Amanda Wilkinson
• Roots Artist or Group of the Year – Corb Lund

Country Music Association

(presented November 15 in New York City)

• Entertainer of the Year – Keith Urban
• Song of the Year – "Whiskey Lullaby", Bill Anderson and Jon Randall
• Single of the Year – "I May Hate Myself in the Morning", Lee Ann Womack
• Album of the Year – There's More Where That Came From , Lee Ann Womack
• Male Vocalist of the Year – Keith Urban
• Female Vocalist of the Year – Gretchen Wilson
• Vocal Duo of the Year – Brooks & Dunn
• Vocal Group of the Year – Rascal Flatts
• Horizon Award – Dierks Bentley
• Video of the Year – "As Good As I Once Was", Toby Keith (Director: Michael Salomon)
• Vocal Event of the Year – "Good News, Bad News", George Strait and Lee Ann Womack
• Musician of the Year – Jerry Douglas

Further reading

• Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944–2005 – 6th Edition." 2005.

References

• Stark, Phyllis, "Toby Keith topped country charts, shook up Music Row," Billboard magazine, December 24, 2005, p. YE-18.

Notes

1. "Robert Byrne". Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2012.

Other links

• Country Music Association
• Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame
• 2005 in Swiss music

External links

• Country Music Hall of Fame