3 CMA Winners From 1968 We Still Can’t Get Enough of Today

Hosted by Dale Evans and Roy Rogers, the second-annual Country Music Awards changed locations from its original home, moving from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium to the Ryman Auditorium. With the debut show under their belts, it was time to set the new CMA tradition in motion.

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Here below, we wanted to highlight some of the country stars who received awards at the Ryman during the evening. We wanted to showcase the songwriters and performers celebrated on November 20, 1968. Indeed, these are three CMA winners from 1968 we still can’t get enough of today.

Glen Campbell

While there are several important awards handed out during the CMAs, the most coveted trophy has to be Entertainer of the Year. And in 1968, the field was stacked. Big names like (the previous year’s winner) Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and Charley Pride were all nominated. But it was Glen Campbell who took home the award. The list of nominees could fill in for a country music Mount Rushmore, but it was Campbell who outshone all at the time, thanks to three LP releases in 1967 and a whopping five more in 1968.

Johnny Cash

While Glen Campbell took home the biggest award of the night, the 1968 Country Music Awards also highlighted other big names, including Johnny Cash. It was Cash’s seminal LP, At Folsom Prison, which took home the award for Album of the Year. The live record, which had Cash playing songs for inmates, is celebrated today for its style and raw attitude. But in the moment? They knew it was special then, too. With Cash’s booming voice and prisoners whooping and hollering at every dastardly detail, the record remains a romp even today.

Tammy Wynette

Along with winning Entertainer of the Year, Campbell also took home Male Vocalist of the Year. But it was Tammy Wynette who took home the trophy for Female Vocalist of the Year. The magnetic country artist received the nod thanks to a quartet of album releases in 1967 and 1968, including D-I-V-O-R-C-E. That album’s title track became Wynette’s fourth No. 1 country song. She was unstoppable then and unstoppable now!

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns