2003_in_country

2003 in country music

1 Events
- 1.1 No dates
2 Top hits of the year
- 2.1 Number one hits
- 2.2 Other major hits
3 Top new album releases
- 3.1 Other top albums
4 Births
5 Deaths
6 Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees
7 Major Awards
8 Further reading
9 Other links
10 External links

Events

March 10 – During a concert in London, England, Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines said that the band was "ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas" (referring to Maines' hometown of Lubbock and President Bush hailing from the same state). The comment sparked intense controversy and outrage among Americans, including a large share of country music fans.

Those who took offense to Maines' comments based their feelings on a number of grounds, including that the country was then on the verge of declaring war on Iraq (which happened less than two weeks later) and that Maines made the comments on foreign soil. Chicks' supporters, meanwhile, cited their right to free speech. Radio stations – perhaps riding the wave of fan sentiment – refuse to play their music on the air, including their then-current hit, "Travelin' Soldier" (which ironically was about a soldier who is about to go to war); some even sponsor anti-Dixie Chicks promotional events, such as disposing and destroying Chicks' compact discs and other merchandise. Maines, meanwhile, defended her stance during a televised interview with Diane Sawyer

Maines and her bandmates – Emily Robison and Martie Maguire – appeared nude (with private parts strategically covered) on the May 2 cover of Entertainment Weekly. Their bodies were covered with words such as "Saddam's Angels" and "Traitor." [1]

July – The Rascal Flatts video, "I Melt," comes under fire by conservative groups because it contains brief scenes of nudity. The video stars band member Joe Don Rooney and model Christina Auria. Groups called for the video to be banned from airplay on CMT and Great American Country. Eventually, Rascal Flatts released an edited version of the video, which aired during daytime hours on the two country music-oriented networks. [2]
December — The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts honors Loretta Lynn for her lifetime contributions to the arts.

No dates

Throughout the year, country music was beset by the deaths of numerous legends. Headlining the list was Johnny Cash, whose vastly influential musicianship transcended genres. His wife of 35 years (and longtime singing partner), June Carter Cash, had passed away just four months earlier. Both had appeared in a CMT-aired interview, discussing their lives and careers; it was taped earlier in the year.

Other notables that died during the year: Johnny Paycheck, Felice Bryant, Floyd Tillman, Wilma Burgess, Don Gibson, Dave Dudley and Gary Stewart.

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

(As certified by Billboard magazine)

Date	Song Name	Artist	Wks. No. 1	Spec. Note
January 11	19 Somethin'	Mark Wills	6	^B
February 22	The Baby	Blake Shelton	3
March 15	Man to Man	Gary Allan	1	^A
March 22	Travelin' Soldier	Dixie Chicks	1	^B After falling to No. 3 after just one week atop the chart, the song disappeared from the Billboard charts as part of the radio backlash to Natalie Maines' remarks made about George W. Bush during a concert a few weeks earlier in London.
March 29	Brokenheartsville	Joe Nichols	1	^A
April 5	Have You Forgotten?	Darryl Worley	7	Reached #1 in its fifth chart week. Contains references to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and Iraq War.
May 24	Three Wooden Crosses	Randy Travis	1	^B Travis' first Number One since "Whisper My Name" in 1994.
May 31	I Believe	Diamond Rio	2	^B
June 14	Beer for My Horses	Toby Keith (with Willie Nelson)	6	^{B - Willie Nelson} At age 70 years, one month and four days, Willie Nelson became the oldest country singer to have a No. 1 hit on the Billboard country chart, smashing a three-year old record set by 61-year-old Kenny Rogers. The "Red-Headed Stranger" becomes one of the few septegenerians to top the charts in any format in Billboard.
July 26	My Front Porch Looking In	Lonestar	1	Stayed at #2 for six weeks before reaching #1.
August 2	Red Dirt Road	Brooks & Dunn	1
August 9	It's Five O'Clock Somewhere	Alan Jackson (with Jimmy Buffett)	8	^{1, 2} ^{C - Jimmy Buffett} This song became just the second song since 1966 to spend eight weeks atop the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. Fell to #2 on the week of September 27.
September 27	What Was I Thinkin'	Dierks Bentley	1	^A
October 11	Real Good Man	Tim McGraw	2
October 25	Tough Little Boys	Gary Allan	2
November 8	Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me	Keith Urban	1
November 15	I Love This Bar	Toby Keith	5
December 20	There Goes My Life	Kenny Chesney	7

¹ – No. 1 song of the year, as determined by Billboard magazine.
² – Song dropped from No. 1 on September 27 and later returned to top spot on October 4.
^A - First Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.
^B - Last Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist to date.
^C - Only Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist to date.

Other major hits

Peak	Single	Artist	Notes
10	99.9% Sure (I've Never Been Here Before)	Brian McComas
6	Almost Home	Craig Morgan	Morgan's first Top 40 single since "Something to Write Home About" in 2000.
18	At the End of the Day	Kellie Coffey
16	Backseat of a Greyhound Bus	Sara Evans
16	Beautiful Goodbye	Jennifer Hanson
2	Big Star	Kenny Chesney
3	Celebrity	Brad Paisley
5	Chicks Dig It	Chris Cagle
10	Chrome	Trace Adkins
5	Concrete Angel	Martina McBride
2	Cowboys Like Us	George Strait
24	Days Like This	Rachel Proctor
3	Fall into Me	Emerson Drive
9	A Few Questions	Clay Walker
4	Forever and for Always	Shania Twain
4	Hell Yeah	Montgomery Gentry
3	Help Pour out the Rain (Lacey's Song)	Buddy Jewell	This was the debut single for Jewell, the first winner of the talent show Nashville Star.
16	I Can't Be Your Friend	Rushlow	The only Top 40 single for Rushlow, a short-lived sextet fronted by former Little Texas vocalist Tim Rushlow.
24	I Can't Take You Anywhere	Scotty Emerick with Toby Keith	Emerick's only Top 40 country single, this song was previously recorded by Keith on his 2001 album Pull My Chain.
2	I Just Wanna Be Mad	Terri Clark	^A
2	I Melt	Rascal Flatts
15	I Wish	Jo Dee Messina
7	I Wish You'd Stay	Brad Paisley
14	I'm Gonna Take That Mountain	Reba McEntire
6	A Lot of Things Different	Kenny Chesney
8	The Love Song	Jeff Bates
3	Love You out Loud	Rascal Flatts
18	Lovin' All Night	Patty Loveless	Cover of Rodney Crowell's Top Ten hit from 1990.
17	Next Big Thing	Vince Gill
2	No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems	Kenny Chesney
19	On a Mission	Trick Pony
23	Only God (Could Stop Me Loving You)	Emerson Drive
21	Picture	Kid Rock with Sheryl Crow or Allison Moorer
24	Playboys of the Southwestern World	Blake Shelton
3	Raining on Sunday	Keith Urban	Co-written by Radney Foster, who originally recorded it on his 1998 album See What You Want to See.
13	Rock You Baby	Toby Keith
17	She Only Smokes When She Drinks	Joe Nichols
2	She's My Kind of Rain	Tim McGraw	^A
5	Speed	Montgomery Gentry
3	Stay Gone	Jimmy Wayne
18	Streets of Heaven	Sherrié Austin	Austin's first Top 40 hit since 1999's "Never Been Kissed".
11	Tell Me Something Bad About Tulsa	George Strait	Cover of a Merle Haggard song.
2	That'd Be Alright	Alan Jackson
9	Then They Do	Trace Adkins
17	There's More to Me Than You	Jessica Andrews
14	There's No Limit	Deana Carter	Carter's first Top 40 chart single since 1999's "Angels Working Overtime".
17	This Is God	Phil Vassar	Due to positive reception among test audiences, this song was added onto later presses of Vassar's American Child album and released as a single.
3	This One's for the Girls	Martina McBride	Reached Number One on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.
13	The Truth About Men	Tracy Byrd with Andy Griggs, Blake Shelton and Montgomery Gentry
12	Unusually Unusual	Lonestar
12	Up!	Shania Twain
8	Walk a Little Straighter	Billy Currington
8	Walking in Memphis	Lonestar	Cover of the Marc Cohn song.
21	Was That My Life	Jo Dee Messina
3	Wave on Wave	Pat Green
3	What a Beautiful Day	Chris Cagle
14	What the World Needs	Wynonna	Wynonna's first Top 40 single since 2000's "Can't Nobody Love You (Like I Do)".
24	Why Ain't I Running	Garth Brooks
16	Wrinkles	Diamond Rio
4	You Can't Hide Beautiful	Aaron Lines

^A Reached #1 on U.S. Radio & Records (now Mediabase 24/7) country singles charts.

Births

Deaths

February 19 - Johnny Paycheck, legendary singer and songwriter, best known for "Take This Job and Shove It." (died from a lengthy battle with asthma and emphysema
April 22 - Felice Bryant, 77, songwriter and husband of collaborator Boudleaux Bryant.
May 15 – June Carter Cash, 73, member of the Carter Family and wife of Johnny Cash (complications from heart surgery).
August 22 – Floyd Tillman, 88, 1930s and 1940s singer instrumental in creating the genre's western swing and honky-tonk styles.
August 26 - Wilma Burgess, 64, country vocalist of the 1960s best known for "Misty Blue."
September 12 - Johnny Cash, 71, vastly influential singer/songwriter/guitarist whose music transcended musical boundaries; best known for hits like "Ring of Fire," "I Walk the Line," "Hurt," and "A Boy Named Sue" (diabetic complications).
November 17 - Don Gibson, 75, influential songwriter (best known for "I Can't Stop Loving You") and singer who helped introduce the Nashville Sound (natural causes).
December 16 - Gary Stewart, 58, rough, outlaw-styled country singer known for his drinking songs ("She's Actin' Single (I'm Drinkin' Doubles)") (suicide).
December 22 - Dave Dudley, 75, best known for his 1960s-era truck driving songs, such as "Six Days on the Road" (heart attack).

Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

Floyd Cramer (1933–1997)
Carl Smith (born 1927)

Major Awards

Grammy awards

Best Female Country Vocal Performance -- "Keep on the Sunny Side," June Carter Cash
Best Male Country Vocal Performance -- "Next Big Thing," Vince Gill
Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal -- "A Simple Life," Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
Best Country Collaboration with Vocals -- "How's the World Treating You," Alison Krauss and James Taylor
Best Country Instrumental Performance -- "Cluck Old Hen," Alison Krauss & Union Station
Best Country Song -- "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," Jim "Moose" Brown and Don Rollins
Best Country Album -- Livin', Lovin', Losin' – Songs of the Louvin Brothers, Various Artists (Producer: Carl Jackson)
Best Bluegrass Album -- Live, Alison Krauss & Union Station

Academy of Country Music

Entertainer Of The Year -- Toby Keith
Song Of The Year -- "Three Wooden Crosses," Douglas Johnson, Kim Williams
Single Of The Year -- "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett
Album Of The Year -- Shock'n Y'all, Toby Keith
Top Male Vocalist -- Toby Keith
Top Female Vocalist -- Martina McBride
Top Vocal Duo -- Brooks & Dunn
Top Vocal Group -- Rascal Flatts
Top New Artist -- Dierks Bentley
Video Of The Year -- "Beer for My Horses," Toby Keith and Willie Nelson (Director: Michael Salomon)
Vocal Event Of The Year -- "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett

Country Music Association

Entertainer of the Year -- Alan Jackson
Song of the Year -- "Three Wooden Crosses," Doug Johnson, Kim Williams
Single of the Year -- "Hurt," Johnny Cash
Album of the Year -- American IV: The Man Comes Around, Johnny Cash
Male Vocalist of the Year -- Alan Jackson
Female Vocalist of the Year -- Martina McBride
Vocal Duo of the Year -- Brooks & Dunn
Vocal Group of the Year -- Rascal Flatts
Horizon Award -- Joe Nichols
Video of the Year -- "Hurt," Johnny Cash (Director: Mark Romanek)
Vocal Event of the Year -- "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett
Musician of the Year -- Randy Scruggs

External links

Country Music Hall of Fame

Contents