49 Fun Facts About 90s Country Music

Which singer made country a worldwide phenomenon in the 1990s, breaking sales and attendance records?

Garth Brooks dominated the decade: No Fences (1990) and Ropin' the Wind (1991) were both certified diamond by the RIAA, and his arena tours broke attendance records across North America.

How is the decade's biggest star's sound described?

Neotraditional country plus stadium rock is the usual label: honky-tonk songwriting and fiddle-and-steel arrangements delivered with arena staging, wireless headset microphones and rope swings borrowed from rock tours.

Where is that superstar from?

Oklahoma is his home state: he was born in Tulsa on February 7, 1962, grew up in Yukon and studied advertising at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater before moving to Nashville.

Which 1991 single's video, showing an abusive husband, was refused by TNN and CMT?

'The Thunder Rolls', from No Fences, had a 1991 video in which he played a cheating, violent husband shot by his wife; both TNN and CMT declined to air it, and the controversy only boosted the single.

How long did No Fences spend at number one on the country albums chart?

No Fences spent 23 weeks at number one on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart after its August 1990 release and went on to be certified 17 times platinum in the United States.

What did Ropin' the Wind achieve in 1991 that no country album had before?

Ropin' the Wind made history in September 1991: It entered the Billboard 200 at number one, the first country album ever to debut on top of the all-genre chart, and spent 18 weeks at number one in total.

How many fans attended the decade's biggest star's 1997 Central Park concert?

The free Central Park show on August 7, 1997 drew a crowd that New York City's parks department estimated at 980,000, the largest in the park's history to that point, and HBO carried it live.

What was the name of the rock alter ego that superstar adopted in 1999?

Chris Gaines was the brooding Australian rock star he played on the 1999 album In the Life of Chris Gaines, billed as a pre-soundtrack for a film, The Lamb, that was never made.

In which year did that superstar announce his retirement from recording and performing?

In 2000, at an October press conference in Nashville, he said he would stop recording and touring to raise his three daughters; Scarecrow followed in 2001 and he then stayed off the road for well over a decade.

What was the Canadian star's name at birth?

Eilleen Regina Edwards was her name at birth on August 28, 1965; she later took the surname of her stepfather, Jerry Twain, and adopted her stage name before her self-titled 1993 debut album.

How many copies has Come On Over sold worldwide?

More than 40 million copies worldwide is the figure for Come On Over, released in November 1997, including 20 million in the United States, where the RIAA certified it twenty times platinum.

Which producer did the Canadian star work with, and later marry?

Robert John 'Mutt' Lange, who had produced AC/DC's Back in Black and Def Leppard's Hysteria, co-wrote and produced her 1995 breakthrough album and married her in December 1993.

How many Grammy Awards did songs from Come On Over win?

Four Grammys went to its songs: 'You're Still the One' took Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1999, and 'Come On Over' and 'Man! I Feel Like a Woman!' won the same two the following year.

For which three consecutive years was Come On Over one of the world's best-selling albums?

1998, 1999 and 2000 were its peak years: released in November 1997, Come On Over spawned twelve singles, was the UK's best-selling album of 1999 and kept charting worldwide through 2000.

Which 1992 single by Billy Ray Cyrus set off a nationwide line dance craze?

'Achy Breaky Heart', written by Don Von Tress, reached number one on the country chart in 1992, and its video, built around a choreographed dance, is credited with taking line dancing mainstream.

Under what title was that song originally recorded by the Marcy Brothers in 1991?

'Don't Tell My Heart' was the Marcy Brothers' 1991 recording of Don Von Tress's song; their version went nowhere, and Cyrus cut it under its now-familiar title the following year.

How high did that single climb on the Billboard Hot 100?

Fourth place was its Billboard Hot 100 peak in the summer of 1992; the single also reached number one in Australia, where it was one of the year's biggest hits.

In which year were the Dixie Chicks founded?

1989 is the founding year: sisters Martie and Emily Erwin started the band with Laura Lynch and Robin Lynn Macy, busking on street corners before their independent 1990 debut, Thank Heavens for Dale Evans.

Who became the group's third lead singer, shortly before they signed a major deal?

Natalie Maines, daughter of steel guitarist Lloyd Maines, replaced Laura Lynch as lead singer in 1995, and the new line-up signed with Sony's Monument Records before the 1998 major-label debut Wide Open Spaces.

Which Dixie Chicks single, written by Dennis Linde, has two friends poison an abusive husband?

'Goodbye Earl', written by Dennis Linde, has Mary Ann and Wanda feed the abusive Earl poisoned black-eyed peas; some country stations refused to play it, yet it reached the country top 20 as a single from Fly.

What did the group do at the 2007 Grammy Awards?

Swept all five nominations: at the February 2007 ceremony Taking the Long Way took Album of the Year and Best Country Album, and 'Not Ready to Make Nice' won Record, Song and Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group.

What did the band change about its name in 2020?

It dropped a regional word: in June 2020 the trio became simply The Chicks, shedding 'Dixie' and its Confederate associations, and released the single 'March March' the same day.

Which singer holds the record for the most number one songs by any artist in any genre?

The tally stands at 60 across all charts. He is known as the King of Country Music.

How many number one songs does that singer have across all charts?

60 is the figure counted across Billboard and the other trade charts; 44 of them topped Billboard's Hot Country Songs alone, starting with 'Fool Hearted Memory' in 1982.

What is the singer's nickname?

The King of Country Music is his standing nickname, earned across forty years of number one singles and arena tours with his Ace in the Hole Band; the title had belonged to Roy Acuff before him.

In which 1992 film did that singer play the lead?

Pure Country (1992) cast him as burned-out star Dusty Chandler; its soundtrack, with 'I Cross My Heart' and 'Heartland', became the best-selling album of his career at six times platinum.

In which state was that singer born?

Poteet was the town, and he grew up in nearby Pearsall. The Texas dancehall sound runs through everything he recorded.

Where was Alan Jackson born?

Newnan, Georgia, about 40 miles southwest of Atlanta, is where Alan Jackson was born on October 17, 1958; he moved to Nashville in 1985 and worked in the mailroom at The Nashville Network before his first record deal.

How many records has Alan Jackson sold worldwide?

Over 75 million records worldwide is the usual tally for Alan Jackson, about 44 million of them in the United States, helped by multi-platinum albums such as A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'bout Love).

Which Alan Jackson single, a 1993 number one, is named after a Georgia river?

'Chattahoochee', a number one in 1993 from A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'bout Love), won the CMA Single of the Year award; its video of Jackson water-skiing in jeans became inescapable.

Which 1958 Eddie Cochran rock hit did Alan Jackson take to number one country in 1994?

'Summertime Blues', Eddie Cochran's 1958 rockabilly hit, gave Alan Jackson a country number one in 1994 as the lead single from his album Who I Am.

Which Alan Jackson album, released in 1991, produced four number one singles?

Don't Rock the Jukebox, his second album, sent the title track, 'Someday' and two more singles to number one, while a fifth, 'Midnight in Montgomery', peaked at number three.

Who was the best-selling female country artist of the 1990s?

Shania Twain outsold every other woman in country during the decade: her 1995 album and its 1997 follow-up were both certified diamond by the RIAA, and she took Best Country Album at the 1996 Grammys.

What is the Canadian star credited with doing for country music?

Breaking international boundaries for the genre is her usual credit: with pop-leaning production and alternate 'international' mixes, her 1997 album topped charts in the UK, Australia and across Europe, markets country rarely reached.

How many platinum certifications did the Dixie Chicks' 1999 album Fly reach?

Ten is right: Fly, released in August 1999, was certified diamond by the RIAA after debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, with singles including 'Cowboy Take Me Away'.

Which singer won CMA Entertainer of the Year in both 1993 and 1994?

Vince Gill won CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1993 and 1994, on the strength of hits such as 'I Still Believe in You', and hosted the CMA Awards every year from 1992 to 2003.

When did that superstar begin his comeback world tour?

September 2014 was the start: the comeback world tour opened in Rosemont, Illinois on September 4 of that year, ran for more than three years and sold over six million tickets across North America.

What was Billy Ray Cyrus's debut album called?

Some Gave All, released in May 1992, was the first debut album to enter the Billboard 200 at number one and spent 17 weeks on top, driven by its line-dance smash single.

How many weeks did that single spend at the top of the country singles chart?

Five weeks at number one on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, starting in June 1992, was the tally; the single also topped the Australian chart and was certified platinum in the United States.

Which duo's 1992 single 'Boot Scootin' Boogie' helped repopularize line dancing in the US?

Brooks & Dunn, the pairing of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, went on to notch 20 number ones on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart before a 2010 farewell show in Nashville.

Which 1990 No Fences lead single was written on paper napkins and won CMA Single of the Year?

'Friends in Low Places', by Dewayne Blackwell and Earl Bud Lee, took the 1991 CMA Single of the Year; Lee got the idea after forgetting his money at a Nashville lunch and quipping that he knew the cook.

Which 1998 Faith Hill hit was her first single to cross over onto the pop charts?

'This Kiss', from the 1998 album Faith, topped the country chart and reached number seven on the Hot 100, her first pop hit, a year before 'Breathe' crossed over even bigger.

Songwriter Bill Mack said he wrote LeAnn Rimes's 1996 hit 'Blue' for which singer?

Patsy Cline was the intended singer: Bill Mack said he wrote 'Blue' for her in the late 1950s, but she died in a 1963 plane crash before recording it; Rimes's 1996 version won her a Grammy.

In which city were the Dixie Chicks founded?

Dallas is where the band formed, busking on street corners in the West End district; the original line-up of Laura Lynch, Robin Lynn Macy and the Erwin sisters played bluegrass festivals for six years before the major-label break.

What was Tim McGraw's first country number one, from his 1994 album Not a Moment Too Soon?

'Don't Take the Girl', a ballad written by Craig Martin and Larry W. Johnson, became Tim McGraw's first country number one in 1994 and reached number 17 on the Hot 100.

Which 1995 album was the Canadian star's breakthrough before Come On Over?

The Woman in Me, released in February 1995, sold more than 12 million copies in the US for a diamond certification, and its lead single 'Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?' launched her breakthrough.

A 1991 plane crash that killed members of Reba McEntire's band happened near which city?

San Diego is the city: on March 16, 1991, after a private concert there, a chartered jet carrying seven band members and her tour manager crashed into Otay Mountain; she dedicated For My Broken Heart to them.

Whose manager's card did Alan Jackson's flight-attendant wife get from a passenger in the 1980s?

Glen Campbell, a passenger on Denise Jackson's flight, passed along his manager's card; that led to a job at Campbell's publishing company and to Jackson becoming the first act signed to the new Arista Nashville label.

Which songwriter and producer suggested that Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn team up as a duo?

Tim DuBois, the songwriter and producer who launched Arista Nashville, paired the two after hearing their solo demos; both had charted minor solo singles in the 1980s before signing to his label as a duo.