Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American country singer

Jackson is known for blending traditional honky tonk and mainstream country sounds and penning many of his own hits. He has recorded 15 studio albums, 3 Greatest Hits albums, 2 Christmas albums, 2 Gospel albums and several compilations. WIKIPEDIA Jackson has sold over 80 million records worldwide with more than 50 of his singles having appeared on Billboard's list of the "Top 30 Country Songs". Of Jackson's entries, 35 were number-one hits, with 50 in the Top 10. He is the recipient of 2 Grammys, 16 CMA Awards, 17 ACM Awards and nominee of multiple other awards. He is a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer

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\In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The gold-certified debut album also produced two more Top 20 hits ("All Over Me" and "Ol' Red"). Although the album was released on Giant Records Nashville, he was transferred to Warner Bros. Records Nashville after Giant closed in late 2001

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Miranda Leigh Lambert-Shelton (born November 10, 1983) is an American country music singer

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Lambert gained fame as a finalist on the 2003 season of Nashville Star, where she finished in third place and later signed to Epic Records. Lambert made her debut with the release of "Me and Charlie Talking", the first single from her 2005 debut album Kerosene. This album, which was certified Platinum in the United States, also produced the singles "Bring Me Down", "Kerosene", and "New Strings". All four singles were Top 40 hits on Billboard Hot Country Songs.

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Lady Antebellum is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2006.

The trio is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar), and Dave Haywood (background vocals, guitar, piano, mandolin). Scott is the daughter of country music singer Linda Davis, and Kelley is the brother of pop singer Josh Kelley. WIKIPEDIA The group made its debut in 2007 as guest vocalists on Jim Brickman's single "Never Alone", before signing to Capitol Records Nashville. Lady Antebellum has released four albums for Capitol: Lady Antebellum (2008), Need You Now (2010), Own the Night (2011), and Golden (2013), plus one Christmas album (2012's On This Winter's Night) and two extended plays. Their sixth album, 747, was released in September 2014. Their first three albums are certified platinum or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). They have charted 15 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, of which 9 have reached #1; all of their singles have charted on the Billboard Hot 100 as well. Their most successful single is 2009's "Need You Now", which spent five weeks at #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, in addition to topping the Adult Contemporary chart and reaching #2 on the Hot 100.

Brad Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country singer-songwriter

His songs are frequently laced with humor and popular culture references. WIKIPEDIA Starting with his 1999 debut album Who Needs Pictures, Paisley has released 10 studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashville label, with all of his albums certified gold or higher by the RIAA. As of 2013 he has scored 32 Top 10 singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, 18 of which have reached No. 1 and holds the record of 10 consecutive singles reaching the top spot on the chart. Paisley has sold over 12 million albums and won three Grammy Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music Awards, 14 Country Music Association Awards, two American Music Awards and has earned country music's crowning achievement, becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry. OFFICIAL WEBSITE

George Harvey Strait (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer

"King of Country" and one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. He is known for his neotraditionalist country style, cowboy look, and being one of the first and main country artists to bring country music back to its roots and away from the pop country era in the 1980s. WIKIPEDIA Strait's success began when his first single "Unwound" was a hit in 1981. During the 1980s, seven of his albums reached number one on the country charts. In the 2000s, Strait was named Artist of the Decade by the Academy of Country Music, was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and won his first Grammy award for the album Troubadour.

Richard Edward "Eddy" Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer

Eddy Arnold performed for six decades. He was a so-called Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the Billboard country music charts, second only to George Jones. He sold more than 85 million records. A member of the Grand Ole Opry (beginning 1943) and the Country Music Hall of Fame (beginning 1966), Arnold ranked 22nd on Country Music Television's 2003 list of "The 40 Greatest Men of Country Music."WIKIPEDIA

Jeannie C. Riley (born Jeanne Carolyn Stephenson, October 19, 1945) is an American country music and gospel singer.

She is best known for her 1968 country and pop hit "Harper Valley PTA" (written by Tom T. Hall), which missed (by one week) becoming the Billboard Country and Pop number one hit at the same time. In subsequent years, she had moderate chart success with country music, but never again duplicated the success of "Harper Valley PTA". She became a born-again Christian and began recording gospel music during the late 1970s.

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Charles (Charlie) Rich (December 14, 1932 – July 25, 1995) was an American country music singer

His eclectic style of music was often hard to classify in a single genre, encompassing the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country, and gospel genres. WIKIPEDIA In the latter part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname The Silver Fox. He is perhaps best remembered for a pair of 1973 hits, "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl". "The Most Beautiful Girl" topped the U.S. country singles charts, as well as the pop singles charts and earned him two Grammy Awards.

Paul Craft, Witty Country Music Songwriter, Dies at 76

Paul Craft, Witty Country Music Songwriter, Dies at 76
  NYTimes Obit By BILL FRISKICS-WARREN

Mr. Craft’s hits included “Brother Jukebox” and “Dropkick Me, Jesus.”

 Paul Craft (August 12, 1938 – October 18, 2014) was an American singer/songwriter. He was known as the songwriter for Mark Chesnutt's single "Brother Jukebox", and for "It's Me Again, Margaret", recorded by Ray Stevens. Between 1977 and 1978, Craft charted three singles on RCA Records. WIKIPEDIA His song "Keep Me From Blowing Away" was originally recorded by the The Seldom Scene on their 1973 album Act II and was then recorded by Linda Ronstadt on her 1974 album "Heart Like a Wheel", and has since been recorded by Moe Bandy, T. Graham Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis and Willie Nelson. His song "Midnight Flyer" was recorded by the Eagles. His song "Dropkick Me, Jesus" was a number 17 country hit for Bobby Bare in 1976. Craft died at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee on October 18, 2014 at the age of 76.

Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American Hall of Fame pianist

Cramer was one of the architects of the "Nashville sound". He was known for his "slip note" piano style, where an out-of-key note slides into the correct note. Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Cramer grew up in the small town of Huttig, Arkansas, teaching himself to play the piano. After finishing high school, he returned to Shreveport, where he worked as a pianist for the Louisiana Hayride radio show. In 1953, he cut his first single, "Dancin' Diane", backed with "Little Brown Jug", for the local Abbott label. During 1955 he played dates with an emerging talent who would later figure significantly in his career, Elvis Presley. Cramer moved to Nashville in 1955 where the use of piano accompanists in country music was growing in popularity. By the next year he was, in his words, "in day and night doing session".  Before long, he was one of the busiest studio musicians in the industry, playing piano for stars such as Elvis Presley, Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, the Browns, Jim Reeves, Eddy Arnold, Roy Orbison, Don Gibson, and the Everly Brothers, among others. It was Cramer's piano playing, for instance, on Presley's first national hit, "Heartbreak Hotel". However, Cramer remained strictly a session player, a virtual unknown to anyone outside the music industry. Cramer had released records under his own name since the early 1950s, and became well known following the release of "Last Date", a 45 rpm single, in 1960.



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Donald Eugene "Don" Gibson (April 3, 1928 – November 17, 2003) was an American songwriter and country musician.

A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson penned such country standards as "Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjoyed a string of country hits from 1957 into the early 1970s.

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Noble Ray Price (January 12, 1926 – December 16, 2013) was an American country music singer,

His wide ranging baritone has often been praised as among the best male voices of country music. Some of his well-known recordings include "Release Me", "Crazy Arms", "Heartaches by the Number", "For the Good Times", "Night Life", and "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me". He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996. Price continued to record and tour well into his mid-eighties.WIKIPEDIA During the 1960s, Ray experimented increasingly with the so-called Nashville sound, singing slow ballads and utilizing lush arrangements of strings and backing singers. Examples include his 1967 rendition of "Danny Boy", and "For the Good Times" in 1970 which was Price's first country music chart No. 1 hit since "The Same Old Me" in 1959. Written by Kris Kristofferson, the song also scored No. 11 on the popular music chart and featured a mellower Price backed by sophisticated musical sounds, quite in contrast to the honky tonk sounds Price had pioneered two decades before. Price had three more No. 1 country music successes during the 1970s: "I Won't Mention It Again", "She's Got To Be A Saint", and "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me." His final top ten hit was "Diamonds In The Stars" in early 1982. Price continued to have songs on the country music chart through 1989. Later, he sang gospel music and recorded such songs as "Amazing Grace", "What A Friend We Have In Jesus", "Farther Along" and "Rock of Ages."

 

Kenny Chesney

Kenneth Arnold "Kenny" Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer. Chesney has recorded 15 albums, 14 of which have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA. He has also produced more than 30 Top Ten singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, 22 of which climbed to the top of the charts. Chesney has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. WIKIPEDIA Over the life of his career, Chesney has been honored with numerous awards from the Academy of Country Music (ACM), Country Music Association (CMA), American Music Awards (AMA), Country Music Television (CMT), Billboard Music Awards (BMA), People's Choice Awards (PCA).

Lynn Rene Anderson (born September 26, 1947) is a multi-award-winning American country music singer

WIKIPEDIA She was known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s, most notably her country-pop, worldwide mega-hit "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden." She has charted 11 No. 1, 18 Top-10, and more than 50 Top-40 hits. Anderson's crossover appeal and regular exposure on national television helped her become one of the most popular and successful country singers of the 1970s. In addition to being named "Top Female Vocalist" by the Academy of Country Music (ACM) twice and "Female Vocalist of the Year" by the Country Music Association (CMA), Anderson has won a Grammy Award, People's Choice Award and an American Music Award (AMA). She was named Record World Magazine's and Billboard Magazine's Female Artist of the Decade (1970–1980).[2] Anderson was the first female country artist to win the American Music Award in 1974, as well as the first to headline and sellout Madison Square Garden that same year.
 

Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American singer and actor.

He has been married to country singer Faith Hill since 1996, and is the son of baseball player Tug McGraw. WIKIPEDIA McGraw has released thirteen studio albums: eleven for Curb Records and two for Big Machine Records. Ten of his albums have reached number 1 on the Top Country Albums charts, with his 1994 breakthrough album Not a Moment Too Soon being the top country album of 1994. These albums have produced over 50 singles, of which 25 have reached number 1 on the Hot Country Songs or Country Airplay charts. Three of his singles — "It's Your Love", "Just to See You Smile", and "Live Like You Were Dying" — were the top country songs of 1997, 1998, and 2004 respectively. He has also won three Grammys, 14 Academy of Country Music awards, 11 Country Music Association (CMA) awards, 10 American Music Awards, and three People's Choice Awards. His Soul2Soul II Tour with Faith Hill is the highest grossing tour in country music history, and one of the Top 5 among all genres of music.

 

Jimmy Ray Dean (August 10, 1928 – June 13, 2010) was an American country music singer

Additionally Jimmy Dean was a television host, actor and businessman. Although he may be best known today as the creator of the Jimmy Dean sausage brand, he became a national television personality starting in 1957, rising to fame for his 1961 country crossover hit "Big Bad John" and his television series, The Jimmy Dean Show, which also gave puppeteer Jim Henson his first national media exposure. His acting career included a supporting role as Willard Whyte in the 1971 James Bond movie, Diamonds Are Forever. He lived near Richmond, Virginia, and was nominated for the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010, although he was formally inducted posthumously.

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