Country USA was a 23-volume series issued by Time-Life Music during the late 1980s and early 1990s, spotlighting country music of the 1950s through early 1970s.
Each volume in the series chronicled a specific year in country music, from 1950 through 1972, and was issued on a double-length compact disc or cassette, or two vinyl albums. Individual volumes contained 24 tracks, usually representing the year's most popular and important songs. Also included was a booklet, containing liner notes written by some of the most respected historians of the genre, photographs of the artists, and information on the songs (writers, performers and peak position on Billboard magazine's country charts).
All told, the entire series contains 553 tracks.
"Country USA" was first issued during the summer of 1988, and is patterned after Time-Life's successful "Rock'n'Roll Era" and "Your Hit Parade" series. It represented Time-Life's first real attempt at chronicling country music's post-1950 history; earlier in the 1980s, Time-Life had a budget "Country Series" and the later "Country & Western Classics."
During its peak, the "Country USA" series was advertised in television and magazine advertisements. The series was available by subscription (by calling a 1-800 number); those who purchased the series in that fashion received a new volume roughly every other month (on the format of their choice), and had the option of keeping just the volumes they wanted. Each volume was also offered for individual sale.
New volumes continued to be issued through 1991. Another series, "Contemporary Country," essentially picked up where "Country USA" left off, as that series covered the 1970s through early 1990s.
Time-Life continued to offer "Country USA" through the early first decade of the 21st century. The series has essentially been replaced by "Classic Country." Three newer series — "Country Gold," "Superstars of Country" and "Lifetime of Country Romance" — have also since been issued.
Critics widely hailed "Country USA" as a definitive overview of the genre during what some refer to as the Golden Age. In many cases, the songs offered on each volume represented the first time they had ever been re-released on compact disc. However, critics tempered their praise by pointing out a few minor faults, such as the exclusion of some tracks (in lieu of songs that weren't necessarily hits) and alternate versions/re-recordings of some hits.
The track listings below represent the sequencing on the compact discs. While the sequencing is identical on the records and cassettes, some songs may be on different sides.
Also, while the years will be listed sequentially under the track listing section, the "Country USA" series was not issued sequentially by year. The series was issued in the following order:
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1975.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1981.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1970.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 1969.
Contemporary Country was a 22-volume series issued by Time-Life during the early 1990s, spotlighting country music of the 1970s through mid 1990s.
Jerry Donald Chesnut was an American country music songwriter. His hits include "Good Year for the Roses", "It's Four in the Morning" and "T-R-O-U-B-L-E"
Claude "Curly" Putman Jr. was an American songwriter.
Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes is the 45th studio album by American country music artist George Jones, released in 1985 on the Epic Records label.
The Johnny Cash Show was an American television music variety show hosted by Johnny Cash. The Screen Gems 58-episode series ran from June 7, 1969, to March 31, 1971, on ABC; it was taped at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The show reached No. 17 in the Nielsen ratings in 1970.
The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Country Music was a multi-volume set of recordings released by the Smithsonian Institution. Released in 1981, the collection contains 143 tracks deemed to be significantly important to the history of country music.
Murrey Mizell "Buddy" Harman, Jr. was an American country music session musician.
The Legend and the Legacy is a compilation album by American country singer Ernest Tubb, released in 1979. The initial release was issued on LP as The Legend and the Legacy Volume 1. It was released on First Generation Records, but due to legal issues, was withdrawn and released on Cachet Records.
Sony Music Nashville is the country music branch of the Sony Music Group.
"Making Believe" is a country music song written by Jimmy Work. Kitty Wells recorded a chart-topping version in 1955. The song is on many lists of all-time greatest country music songs and has been covered by scores of artists over the past fifty years, including Thorleifs, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Don Gibson, Roy Acuff, Lefty Frizzell, Wanda Jackson, Connie Francis, Ray Charles, Anita Carter, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard, Ernest Tubb, Skeeter Davis, The Haden Triplets, Social Distortion and Volbeat. The song is occasionally called "Makin' Believe".
Neon Boots Dancehall & Saloon is a Country and Western bar/honky tonk that was founded as the Esquire Ballroom in 1955 by Raymond Proske in Houston, Texas, at 11410 Hempstead northwest of downtown Houston. In the 1970s and 1980s the club was considered the main rival to Gilley's Club across town in Pasadena.
Just Between the Two of Us is a duet album by country singers Bonnie Owens and Merle Haggard with the Strangers. It was released in 1966 by Capitol Records.
The following list shows the recipients for the Country Music Association Award for Vocal Duo of the Year. The award is based on the musical performance of the duo on solo country single or album release, as well as their overall contribution to country music during the eligibility period. For the purposes of the award, a duo is defined as "as an act composed of two people, both of whom normally perform together and neither of whom is known primarily as an individual performing artist", though this was not always the case.
