1989 In Country Music , 1990 In Music , Other Events Of 1990 , 1991 In Country Music , 1990s In Music and the List Of Years In Country Music
- January 20 – Billboard Magazine begins basing the Hot Country Singles chart entirely on radio airplay through Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems (BDS), which uses a computerized system to detect actual airplay. The number of chart positions is reduced from 100 to 75. The new system has an immediate effect on how long the year's biggest songs stay at No. 1:
- --- February 3 – "Nobody's Home" by Clint Black becomes the first three-week No. 1 since Randy Travis ' "Forever and Ever, Amen" in 1987.
- --- April 7 – Travis' "Hard Rock Bottom Of Your Heart" breaks the four-week barrier, the first since 1978's "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys" by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson .
- --- July 7 – "Love Without End, Amen" by George Strait is ''Billboard'''s first five-week No. 1 song, matching 1977's "Here You Come Again" by Dolly Parton . Incidentally, "Love Without End, Amen" is Strait's first multi-week chart-topper, after his first 18 No. 1s had spent just a week on top.
: Just 23 songs would reach the chart's summit in 1990, 13 of them multi-weekers; this was less than half the number that reached the top of the chart a year earlier, and the fewest since 1972.
- February 17 – Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart is retitled "Hot Country Singles & Tracks," reflecting the growing number of radio-popular songs that were not released commercially as singles.
- The '', a 100-track, four-volume set including the most important and notable songs in the genre's history, from 1924 to 1987. The set, which includes an 84-page booklet by historian Bill Malone, replaces the Smithsonian's eight-volume, 143-track set – titled '' The Smithsonian Collection Of Classic Country Music '' – issued in 1981.
: The release of ''Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection'' continues a trend toward issuing chronicling the genre's history via Compact Disc during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Time-Life Music's '' Country USA '' series continued to issue new albums, while Columbia Records issues its five-volume '' Country Classics '' series. Rhino Records also releases ten volumes of ''Billboard Top Country Singles'', each depicting the top 10 songs from the years 1959 through 1968.
''(as certified by Billboard Magazine )''
- - No. 1 song of the year, as determined by '' Billboard Magazine ''.
- A - First ''Billboard'' No. 1 hit for that artist.
- B - Last ''Billboard'' No. 1 hit for that artist to date.
- '' Hee Haw '' (1969-1993, syndicated)
- Kingsbury, Paul, "The Grand Ole Opry: History of Country Music. 70 Years of the Songs, the Stars and the Stories," Villard Books, Random House; Opryland USA, 1995
- Kingsbury, Paul, "Vinyl Hayride: Country Music Album Covers 1947-1989," Country Music Foundation, 2003 (ISBN 0-8118-3572-3)
- Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993 (ISBN 0-06-273244-7)
- Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944-2005 - 6th Edition." 2005.
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