When you think of country music in the 1980s, who and what comes to mind? Sometimes our memories can forget the specifics—we only recall vague shadows or bits of sounds. Sometimes we need a reminder of just what was the best of the best in a single decade or a single year.
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That’s just what we wanted to highlight below. We wanted to look into who in country music was taking home the big hardware at the turn of the 80s. Indeed, these are three CMA winners from 1980 who we still can’t get enough of today.
Emmylou Harris
Country legend Emmylou Harris released her album Roses In The Snow in 1980. At the time, no one quite knew what Harris would sound like in a given release. She worked in country music, but she did so with a rock bent, with a traditional twang, and even with a bluegrass style. Her 1980 LP showcased the latter, and on it she covered songs like Paul Simon’s “The Boxer”. For these efforts, Harris earned Female Vocalist of the Year in 1980, beating out Crystal Gayle, Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, and Anne Murray.
George Jones
Has anyone recorded more albums and released more hit singles than George Jones? The artist boasts more than 160 songs to his name that have made the Billboard charts. It’s staggering. And that’s how you earn a nickname like “The Rolls-Royce of Country Music”. In 1980, Jones released the LP, I Am What I Am, which included the No. 1 country song, “He Stopped Loving Her Today”. The hit came at a time when Jones was struggling. But with the comeback, he was given Male Vocalist of the Year, beating out John Conlee, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, and Don Williams.
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn started her country career in 1960. But it was 20 years later when she got to see her life on the big screen. Her biopic Coal Miner’s Daughter, which was named after her famous country song of the same name, came out in 1980, and its soundtrack earned Lynn and everyone involved the prestigious CMA Album of the Year award, beating out folks like Kenny Rogers and Emmylou Harris. Anytime you can celebrate Lynn is good in our book!
Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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