3 Country Music AMA Winners From 1974 We Still Dance Along To

What does it take to make a golden era of music? Well, you need great artists, you need great songs, you need a confluence of styles, and you need some of all that to rise from the day and become timeless.

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Well, smack-dab in the middle of the 1970s, country music fans had all that and more. Here below, we wanted to highlight that very fact. Indeed, these are three country music American Music Award winners from 1974 we still dance along to.

Charley Pride

But in the 1970s, if you turned on the country music station and heard Charley Pride’s voice, you might think you’d died and gone to heaven. The man boasts perhaps the most quintessential country twang ever. And in 1974, the singer garnered several American Music Award trophies for his work, including the ones for Favorite Country Male Artist and Favorite Country Album for his 1972 LP, A Sunshiny Day with Charley Pride.

Lynn Anderson

While Charley Pride took home the coveted trophy for Favorite Country Male Artist, it was Lynn Anderson who won the award for Favorite Country Female Artist, beating out two legends, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. There may have been no person more prolific than Anderson in the 1970s. She released a whopping five LPs in 1970, three more in 1971, and two more each in 1972, 1973, and 1974. For that and more, she earned her accolade at the 1974 AMAs.

The Carter Family

There is no family more famous in country music than The Carter Family. And the First Family of Country received yet another trophy to add to their trophy case thanks to the voters at the 1974 AMAs. Indeed, The Carter Family took home the award for Favorite Country Band/Duo/Group at the show, thanks to a trio of albums they released in the early 1970s, including Lonesome Pine Special in 1972, My Old Cottage Home in 1973, and Legendary Performers the following year in 1974. For country fans, sometimes there is nothing better than reliving the releases of the olden days. Thank goodness for The Carter Family.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns