Held at the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, the 1970 Country Music Awards featured big name artists that still make an imprint on both country music and mainstream popular culture today. In fact, that’s just what we wanted to explore here below.
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We wanted to highlight three award winners at the 1970 CMAs who took home trophies for their record releases and musical performances at the dawn of the new decade. Indeed, these are three Country Music Award winners from 1970 that we still can’t get enough of now.
Merle Haggard
The 1970 Country Music Awards could have been renamed the 1970 Merle Haggard Awards. Indeed, the outlaw country artist took home significant hardware on the evening, including Album of the Year for Okie From Muskogee, Male Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year for “Okie From Muskogee”, and the biggest award of the night, Entertainer of the Year. Not a bad night! But even despite all his success on the night, there still were a few more trophies to pass out that night.
Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette took home the award for Female Vocalist of the Year at the 1970 Country Music Awards. But it was not an easy path. Wynette had to beat out a stacked field for the nod, including Lynn Anderson, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and Connie Smith. For anyone wondering why Wynette received the recognition, look no further than her discography. She released two records in 1969 and then a whopping five more in 1970, finishing off the year with a Christmas album!
Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
Ah, the celebrated partnership that led to so much success for both and, eventually, to Dolly Parton’s famed song “I Will Always Love You”. She wrote that tune for Porter Wagoner when she knew she had to go solo. But before that, the two were winning awards as a duo, including Vocal Duo of the Year at the 1970 CMAs. The two beat out a great field that included names like Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash and Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens.
Photo by Ron Davis/Getty Images
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