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See also: 1963 in country music, 1964 in music, other events of 1964, 1965 in country music and the List of years in Country Music
[edit] Events
- January 11 — Billboard magazine increases the length of its Hot Country Singles chart to 50 positions, up from 30.
- February 1 — Buck Owens' mega-hit, "Love's Gonna Live Here," finishes its 16-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart. To date, it is the most recent song to spend 10 or more weeks atop the chart.
- July 31 — A private aircraft piloted by Jim Reeves crashes during a thunderstorm near Nashville, Tennessee. Both Reeves and business partner Dean Manuel are killed in the crash; their bodies are found two days later, following a massive search for the two missing men. Reeves, already a huge country star, would leave behind hundreds of un-released recordings; many of those songs became huge posthumous hits during the next decade. Reeves' death comes just 16 months after the airplane crash deaths of Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas, leaving a huge void among country music fans.
- November 28 – "Once a Day," by Connie Smith, begins an eight-week stay at No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart. To date, it is the longest-running No. 1 song by a solo female act, and will make the 23-year-old Smith — a native of Elkhart, Indiana-native — an overnight senation.
[edit] Top hits of the year
[edit] Number one hits
(As certified by Billboard magazine)
- "Begging to You" by Marty Robbins returns to No. 1 on February 22
- "My Heart Skips a Beat" by Buck Owens returns to No. 1 on June 20
[edit] Other major hits
[edit] Top new album releases
[edit] Births
[edit] Deaths
July 31 — Jim Reeves, 39, velvet-voiced singer and leading force in the Nashville Sound; many of his hits came posthumously. (plane crash)
[edit] Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees
[edit] Major Awards
[edit] Grammy awards
[edit] 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 1947-1989," Country Music Foundation, 2003 (ISBN 0-8118-3572-3)
- Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993 (ISBN 0-06-273244-7)
- Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944-2005 - 6th Edition." 2005.
[edit] Other links
[edit] External links
1964 in country music - Related Items
1964 in country music - In the news
