3 CMA Winners From 1975 Who Have Become Timeless Legends

Award shows get a bad rap. Too often people can poo-poo them as trivial or unnecessary. But sometimes it’s nice to see your favorite country artists and performers dress up, look nice, and take the stage with everyone else watching. Award shows are fun!

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Not only are they fun, but they also provide a nice snapshot of the moment. And sometimes award shows can even highlight living legends in their day. That’s what we wanted to dive into here below. Indeed, these are three CMA winners from 1975 who have since become timeless legends.

John Denver

Don’t ever say John Denver wasn’t prolific. Though he died young at 53 years old in a plane crash, he wrote and released myriad albums. Denver released one record in 1974 (Back Home Again) and two more in 1975 (Windsong and Rocky Mountain Christmas). For those efforts, the songwriter garnered the covered Entertainer of the Year at the 1975 CMAs. After all, when you write an indelible track like “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”, you deserve real recognition.

Waylon Jennings

While Denver won Entertainer of the Year, it was Waylon Jennings who beat out the songwriter for Male Vocalist of the Year at the the 1975 CMAs. Jennings also beat out Freddy Fender, Ronnie Milsap, and Conway Twitty (more on him later) for the honor. The late 1970s was a good time for Jennings, who enjoyed a string of No. 1 albums on the Billboard country chart. It began in 1975 and pushed into 1980. In that time, he had five No. 1 country LPs and one that came in at No. 2. But it was likely his booming tune “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” that pushed him over the top in the middle of the decade.

Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn

Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn released 10 albums together from 1971 to 1981. Smack-dab in the middle of that run, the country duo earned Vocal Duo of the Year. Their humorous, self-referential style of songwriting and performing both displayed a real sense of country tradition and a playful reinvention of the form. For evidence, check out their 1974 LP Country Partners or 1975 LP Feelins’.

Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns