3 Winners From the First-Ever Country Music Awards in 1967

Hosted by Sonny James and Bobbie Gentry, the first-ever Country Music Awards show was held in Music City on October 20, 1967, at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. Ever since, the CMAs have become an essential way to both honor and remember each year in country music.

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Here below, we wanted to look at that original show. Let’s highlight three award-winners from the evening who we still love, even nearly 60 years later. Indeed, these are three winners from the first-ever Country Music Awards show in 1967.

Eddy Arnold

Here is a good piece of trivia for you. Imagine you’re sitting in your favorite saloon, and someone asks, “Who was the Country Music Awards’ first-ever Entertainer of the Year?”

You can reply right back, “Eddy Arnold!” and someone will owe you a cold one. Yes, Arnold took home the first coveted trophy given to the artist who had the very best year in country music. It was a stacked field, though. He beat out Bill Anderson, Merle Haggard, Sonny James, and Buck Owens. Arnold was the one who got the nod thanks to the prolific artist releasing three LPs in 1966 and two more in 1967.

Jack Greene

While Eddy Arnold took home the award for Entertainer of the Year at the inaugural 1967 Country Music Awards, it was Jack Green who won the trophy for Male Vocalist of the Year. He beat out Arnold, Haggard, James, and Owens for the recognition. At the time, Greene was something of a newcomer on the scene. He released his debut LP in 1966, There Goes My Everything, and then followed it up with two more records in 1967.

Loretta Lynn

At the inaugural Country Music Awards, it was burgeoning country icon Loretta Lynn who took home the award for Female Vocalist of the Year. Lynn, who got her start in music in the Pacific Northwest, later became a staple of the country scene in Nashville. She released her debut LP in 1963, and later she released a whopping four albums in 1965, three more in 1966, and three more in 1967. Loretta Lynn couldn’t be stopped!

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