3 CMA Winners From 1978 That We Still Can’t Get Enough of Today

Country music’s history extends back well beyond the history of recorded music. It also extends well beyond the history of music award shows. Country music comes from the people, from the porches and homes and minds of the masses. A good song with a bit of truth can go a long way.

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But despite all these timeless qualities country music boasts, it can also be fun to celebrate the genre with a little glitzy pageantry. And that’s just what we wanted to do here. Indeed, these are three Country Music Award-winners from 1978 that we still can’t get enough of today.

Dolly Parton

We’d guess that being our cover star recently was Dolly Parton’s career highlight. But if not for that, maybe it was winning Entertainer of the Year at the 1978 CMAs. Parton released two albums in 1977—New Harvest…First Gathering and Here You Come Again—and then followed them up with her 1978 LP Heartbreaker. This is an award that could go to Dolly every year—really, who would complain? But in 1978 it was all hers to enjoy. Check out “I Really Got The Feeling” and bask in Parton’s own brand of sunshine.

Crystal Gayle

Sometimes at the awards shows, you get some old timers, those long-in-the-tooth artists who have been around for a while. But Crystal Gale was a relative newcomer on the country scene in the late 1970s. Her self-titled debut album dropped in 1975, and she followed that up with a whopping six more releases in the decade, alone. Gayle also won Female Vocalist of the Year at the 1978 CMAs, which celebrated her LP that year, When I Dream.

Don Williams

Country artists are often prolific, sometimes even releasing multiple albums a year. Don Williams certainly fits into that category. He released two albums in 1977—Visions and Country Boy—and then one each in 1978 (Expressions) and 1979 (Portrait). For his steady output, the deep-singing Williams garnered the coveted Male Vocalist of the Year in 1978, out-dueling some other big names in the genre, including Ronnie Milsap, Willie Nelson, Larry Gatlin, and Kenny Rogers.

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