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This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1953.

Events

January 1 — Hank Williams, due to play a New Year's Day show in Canton, Ohio, dies sometime after midnight in the rear seat of his Cadillac, somewhere between Knoxville, Tennessee and Oak Hill, West Virginia. He was 29. Stories conflict on what happened in the final hours of his life, but what is not disputed is that his death gave rise to the legend. In the 60-plus years following his death, Williams' songs would be covered countless times, singers and songwriters would directly cite him as an influence, and his son – Hank Williams, Jr. - then 3, would become a star in his own right. The last song released in his lifetime was "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive."^{[citation needed]}

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

United States

(as certified by Billboard)

Date	Single Name	Artist	Wks. No.1	Spec. Note
January 10	Midnight	Red Foley	1	Foley's first Billboard Number One since "Goodnight Irene" in 1950.
January 24	I'll Go on Alone	Marty Robbins	2	^{[A], [2]}
January 24	I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive	Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys	1	The first of four posthumous Number Ones recorded by Hank Williams.
January 31	No Help Wanted	The Carlisles	4	^[B]
January 31	Eddy's Song	Eddy Arnold	3
February 7	I Let the Stars Get In My Eyes	Goldie Hill	3	^[B] With this song, Goldie Hill became the second solo female artist to have a Number One country single.
February 21	Kaw-Liga	Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys	13	^[1]
April 11	Your Cheatin' Heart	Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys	6	^[2]
May 9	Mexican Joe	Jim Reeves	9	^{[A], [2]}
June 6	Take These Chains from My Heart	Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys	4	^[2]
July 11	It's Been So Long	Webb Pierce	8	^[2]
August 1	Rub-a-Dub-Dub	Hank Thompson and His Brazo Valley Boys	3	^[2]
August 22	Hey Joe	Carl Smith	8	^[2]
August 29	A Dear John Letter	Ferlin Husky and Jean Shepard	6	^{[B] – Jean Shepard [2]}
October 17	I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know	The Davis Sisters	8	^{[B], [2]} The first Billboard Number One by a female country act, a record that would remain until The Judds with "Mama He's Crazy" in 1984. This song became a posthumous Number One hit after the death of member Betty Jack Davis in a car accident in August.
November 21	There Stands the Glass	Webb Pierce	12	^[2]
December 12	Caribbean	Mitchell Torok	2	^[B]
December 19	Let Me Be the One	Hank Locklin	3	^{[A], [2]}

Notes

1^ No. 1 song of the year, as determined by Billboard.
2^ Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot.
A^ First Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.
B^ Only Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.

Note: Several songs were simultaneous No. 1 hits on the separate "Most Played in Juke Boxes," "Most Played by Jockeys" and "National Best Sellers" charts.

Other major hits

US	Single	Artist
5	Bumming Around	Jimmy Dean
5	Bumming Around	T. Texas Tyler
4	Crying in the Chapel	Rex Allen
4	Crying in the Chapel	Darrell Glenn
7	Dear Joan	Jack Cardwell
3	Death of Hank Williams	Jack Cardwell
9	Divorce Granted	Ernest Tubb
6	Do I Like It?	Carl Smith
8	Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes	Red Foley
9	Don't Throw Your Life Away	Webb Pierce
3	Fool Such as I	Hank Snow
10	For Now and Always	Hank Snow
4	Forgive Me, John	Jean Shepard and Ferlin Husky
4	Free Home Demonstration	Eddy Arnold
4	The Gal Who Invented Kissin'	Hank Snow
6	Gambler's Guitar	Rusty Draper
2	Goin' Steady	Faron Young
8	Hey Joe	Kitty Wells
8	Hey, Mr. Cotton Picker	Tennessee Ernie Ford
7	(Honey, Baby, Hurry!) Bring Your Sweet Self Back to Me	Lefty Frizzell
9	Honeymoon on a Rocket Ship	Hank Snow
6	Hot Toddy	Red Foley
2	(How Much Is) That Hound Dog in the Window?	Homer and Jethro
4	How's the World Treating You	Eddy Arnold
5	I Can't Wait (For the Sun to Go Down)	Faron Young
5	I Couldn't Keep from Crying	Marty Robbins
10	I Found Out More Than You Ever Knew	Betty Cody
5	I Haven't Got the Heart	Webb Pierce
10	(I Just Had a Date) A Lover's Quarrel	George Morgan
4	I Won't Be Home No More	Hank Williams
4	I'll Go on Alone	Webb Pierce
3	I'm an Old, Old Man	Lefty Frizzell
2	Is Zat You, Myrtle	The Carlisles
7	Just Wait 'Til I Get You Alone	Carl Smith
3	Keep It a Secret	Slim Whitman
3	Knothole	The Carlisles
4	The Last Waltz	Webb Pierce
4	Mama, Come Get Your Baby Boy	Eddy Arnold
10	Marriage of Mexican Joe	Carolyn Bradshaw
9	No Help Wanted	Hank Thompson
7	No Help Wanted #2	Ernest Tubb
8	North Wind	Slim Whitman
3	Older and Bolder	Eddy Arnold
4	Orchids Mean Goodbye	Carl Smith
6	Paying for That Back Street Affair	Kitty Wells
7	Satisfaction Guaranteed	Carl Smith
7	Seven Lonely Days	Bonnie Lou
6	Shake a Hand	Red Foley
8	Slaves of a Hopeless Love Affair	Red Foley
3	Spanish Fire Ball	Hank Snow
6	Tennessee Wig Walk	Bonnie Lou
4	That's All Right	Autry Inman
4	That's Me Without You	Webb Pierce
9	That's Me Without You	Sonny James
9	That's the Kind of Love I'm Looking For	Carl Smith
7	Till I Waltz Again with You	Tommy Sosebee
4	Too Young to Tango	Sunrise Ruby
2	Trademark	Carl Smith
7	Weary Blues from Waitin'	Hank Williams
6	When Mexican Joe Met Jole Blon	Hank Snow
8	Yesterday's Girl	Hank Thompson

Top new album releases

Births

April 9 — Hal Ketchum, popular country artist of the early 1990s. (d. 2020)
June 1 — Ronnie Dunn, one half of Brooks & Dunn.
July 9 - David Ball - Singer-Songwriter prominent in the mid 1990's & early 2000's (Thinking Problem), (Riding With Private Malone)
July 14 - Mike Henderson, singer-songwriter and guitarist known for his work with Chris Stapleton and the SteelDrivers (d. 2023)
October 8 - Ricky Lee Phelps - Former lead singer of The Kentucky Headhunters (Dumas Walker), (Walk Softly On This Heart Of Mine)
November 4 – Van Stephenson, singer-songwriter and member of the 1990s group BlackHawk (d. 2001)

Deaths

January 1 — Hank Williams, 29, country music singing-songwriting giant and pioneer.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Multiple issues|
+{{no footnotes|date=May 2015}}
+{{Refimprove|date=May 2015}}
+}}
 This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1953.
+{{YYYY music|1953}}
 {{Year nav topic5|1953|country music}}
 == Events ==
-* January 1 — [[Hank Williams]], due to play a New Year's Day show in [[Canton, Ohio]], dies sometime after midnight in the rear seat of his [[Cadillac]], somewhere between [[Knoxville, Tennessee]] and [[Oak Hill, West Virginia]]. He was 29. Stories conflict on what happened in the final hours of his life, but what is not disputed is that his death gave rise to the legend. In the 50-plus years following his death, Williams' songs would be covered countless times, singers and songwriters would directly cite him as an influence, and his son - [[Hank Williams, Jr.]], would become a star in his own right. Ironically, the last song released in his lifetime was "[[I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive]]."{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}
+* January 1 — [[Hank Williams]], due to play a New Year's Day show in [[Canton, Ohio]], dies sometime after midnight in the rear seat of his [[Cadillac]], somewhere between [[Knoxville, Tennessee]] and [[Oak Hill, West Virginia]]. He was 29. Stories conflict on what happened in the final hours of his life, but what is not disputed is that his death gave rise to the legend. In the 60-plus years following his death, Williams' songs would be covered countless times, singers and songwriters would directly cite him as an influence, and his son – [[Hank Williams, Jr.]] - then 3, would become a star in his own right. The last song released in his lifetime was "[[I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive]]."{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}
 ==Top hits of the year==
@@ Line 32: / Line 37: @@
 |[[Marty Robbins]]
 |align="center"|2
-|<sup><span id="ref_A" />[[#endnote_A|'''[A]''']], <span id="ref_2" />[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
+|<sup>{{anchor|ref_A}}[[#endnote_A|'''[A]''']], {{anchor|ref_2}}[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
 |-
 |January 24
@@ Line 45: / Line 50: @@
 |[[The Carlisles]]
 |align="center"|4
-|<sup><span id="ref_B" />[[#endnote_B|'''[B]''']]</sup>
+|<sup>{{anchor|ref_B}}[[#endnote_B|'''[B]''']]</sup>
 |-
 |January 31
@@ Line 57: / Line 62: @@
 |[[Goldie Hill]]
 |align="center"|3
-|<sup><span id="ref_B" />[[#endnote_B|'''[B]''']]</sup>
+|<sup>{{anchor|ref_B}}[[#endnote_B|'''[B]''']]</sup>
 *With this song, Goldie Hill became the second solo female artist to have a Number One country single.
 |-
@@ Line 64: / Line 69: @@
 |Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
 |align="center"|13
-|<sup><span id="ref_1" />[[#endnote_1|'''[1]''']]</sup>
+|<sup>{{anchor|ref_1}}[[#endnote_1|'''[1]''']]</sup>
 |-
 |April 11
@@ Line 70: / Line 75: @@
 |Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
 |align="center"|6
-|<sup><span id="ref_2" />[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
+|<sup>{{anchor|ref_2}}[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
 |-
 |May 9
 |[[Mexican Joe (song)|Mexican Joe]]
-|Jim Reeves
+|[[Jim Reeves]]
 |align="center"|9
-|<sup><span id="ref_A" />[[#endnote_A|'''[A]''']], <span id="ref_2" />[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
+|<sup>{{anchor|ref_A}}[[#endnote_A|'''[A]''']], {{anchor|ref_2}}[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
 |-
 |June 6
@@ Line 82: / Line 87: @@
 |Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
 |align="center"|4
-|<sup><span id="ref_2" />[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
+|<sup>{{anchor|ref_2}}[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
 |-
 |July 11
-|[[It's Been So Long]]
+|It's Been So Long
-|Webb Pierce
+|[[Webb Pierce]]
 |align="center"|8
-|<sup><span id="ref_2" />[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
+|<sup>{{anchor|ref_2}}[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
 |-
 |August 1
@@ Line 94: / Line 99: @@
 |[[Hank Thompson (musician)|Hank Thompson and His Brazo Valley Boys]]
 |align="center"|3
-|<sup><span id="ref_2" />[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
+|<sup>{{anchor|ref_2}}[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
 |-
 |August 22
@@ Line 100: / Line 105: @@
 |[[Carl Smith (country musician)|Carl Smith]]
 |align="center"|8
-|<sup><span id="ref_2" />[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
+|<sup>{{anchor|ref_2}}[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
 |-
 |August 29
@@ Line 106: / Line 111: @@
 |[[Ferlin Husky]] and [[Jean Shepard]]
 |align="center"|6
-|<sup><span id="ref_B" />[[#endnote_B|'''[B]''']] - Jean Shepard<br /><span id="ref_2" />[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
+|<sup>{{anchor|ref_B}}[[#endnote_B|'''[B]''']] – Jean Shepard<br />{{anchor|ref_2}}[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
 |-
 |October 17
@@ Line 112: / Line 117: @@
 |[[The Davis Sisters (country band)|The Davis Sisters]]
 |align="center"|8
-|<sup><span id="ref_B" />[[#endnote_B|'''[B]''']], <span id="ref_2" />[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
+|<sup>{{anchor|ref_B}}[[#endnote_B|'''[B]''']], {{anchor|ref_2}}[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
 *The first ''Billboard'' Number One by a female country act, a record that would remain until [[The Judds]] with "[[Mama He's Crazy]]" in 1984.
 *This song became a posthumous Number One hit after the death of member Betty Jack Davis in a car accident in August.
@@ Line 120: / Line 125: @@
 |Webb Pierce
 |align="center"|12
-|<sup><span id="ref_2" />[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
+|<sup>{{anchor|ref_2}}[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
 |-
 |December 12
@@ Line 126: / Line 131: @@
 |[[Mitchell Torok]]
 |align="center"|2
-|<sup><span id="ref_B" />[[#endnote_B|'''[B]''']]</sup>
+|<sup>{{anchor|ref_B}}[[#endnote_B|'''[B]''']]</sup>
 |-
 |December 19
@@ Line 132: / Line 137: @@
 |[[Hank Locklin]]
 |align="center"|3
-|<sup><span id="ref_A" />[[#endnote_A|'''[A]''']], <span id="ref_2" />[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
+|<sup>{{anchor|ref_A}}[[#endnote_A|'''[A]''']], {{anchor|ref_2}}[[#endnote_2|'''[2]''']]</sup>
 |}
+{{refbegin}}
-<div class="references-small">
 ;Notes
-*1<span id="endnote_1" />'''[[#ref_1|^]]''' No. 1 song of the year, as determined by ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''.
+*1{{anchor|endnote_1}}'''[[#ref_1|^]]''' No. 1 song of the year, as determined by ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''.
-*2<span id="endnote_2" />'''[[#ref 2|^]]''' Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot.
+*2{{anchor|endnote_2}}'''[[#ref 2|^]]''' Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot.
-*A<span id="endnote_A" />'''[[#ref_A|^]]''' First ''Billboard'' No. 1 hit for that artist.
+*A{{anchor|endnote_A}}'''[[#ref_A|^]]''' First ''Billboard'' No. 1 hit for that artist.
-*B<span id="endnote_B" />'''[[#ref_B|^]]''' Only ''Billboard'' No. 1 hit for that artist.
+*B{{anchor|endnote_B}}'''[[#ref_B|^]]''' Only ''Billboard'' No. 1 hit for that artist.
+{{refend}}
-</div>
-:'''''Note''': Several songs were simultaneous No. 1 hits on the separate "Most Played in Juke Boxes," "Most Played by Jockeys" and "National Best Sellers" charts.
+:'''''Note''''': Several songs were simultaneous No. 1 hits on the separate "Most Played in Juke Boxes," "Most Played by Jockeys" and "National Best Sellers" charts.
 ===Other major hits===
@@ Line 152: / Line 157: @@
 |-
 |align="center"|5
-|Bumming Around
+|[[Bumming Around]]
 |[[Jimmy Dean]]
 |-
@@ Line 232: / Line 237: @@
 |-
 |align="center"|9
-|Honeymoon On a Rocket Ship
+|Honeymoon on a Rocket Ship
 |Hank Snow
 |-
@@ Line 240: / Line 245: @@
 |-
 |align="center"|2
-|(How Much Is) That Hound Dog in the Window
+| [[(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window|(How Much Is) That Hound Dog in the Window?]]
 |[[Homer and Jethro]]
 |-
@@ Line 352: / Line 357: @@
 |-
 |align="center"|6
-|Tennessee Wig Walk
+|[[Tennessee Wig Walk]]
-|Bonnie Lou
+|[[Bonnie Lou]]
 |-
 |align="center"|4
@@ Line 377: / Line 382: @@
 |align="center"|4
 |Too Young to Tango
-|[[Sunshine Ruby]]
+|[[Sunshine Ruby|Sunrise Ruby]]
 |-
 |align="center"|2
@@ Line 384: / Line 389: @@
 |-
 |align="center"|7
-|Weary Blues from Waitin'
+|[[Weary Blues from Waitin']]
-|Hank Williams
+|[[Hank Williams]]
 |-
 |align="center"|6
@@ Line 393: / Line 398: @@
 |align="center"|8
 |Yesterday's Girl
-|Hank Thompson
+|[[Hank Thompson (musician)|Hank Thompson]]
 |}
@@ Line 400: / Line 405: @@
 == Births ==
-* April 9 — [[Hal Ketchum]], popular country artist of the early 1990s.
+* April 9 — [[Hal Ketchum]], popular country artist of the early 1990s. (d. [[2020 in country music|2020]])
 * June 1 — [[Ronnie Dunn]], one half of [[Brooks & Dunn]].
+* July 9 - [[David Ball (country singer)|David Ball]] - Singer-Songwriter prominent in the mid 1990's & early 2000's (Thinking Problem), (Riding With Private Malone)
+* July 14 - [[Mike Henderson]], singer-songwriter and guitarist known for his work with [[Chris Stapleton]] and the [[SteelDrivers]]  (d. [[2023 in country music|2023]])
+* October 8 - Ricky Lee Phelps - Former lead singer of The Kentucky Headhunters (Dumas Walker), (Walk Softly On This Heart Of Mine)
 * November 4 – [[Van Stephenson]], singer-songwriter and member of the 1990s group [[Blackhawk (band)|BlackHawk]] (d. [[2001 in country music|2001]])
@@ Line 408: / Line 416: @@
 == Further reading ==
-* Kingsbury, Paul, "Vinyl Hayride: Country Music Album Covers 1947-1989," Country Music Foundation, 2003 (ISBN 0-8118-3572-3)
+* 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)
+* 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.
+* Whitburn, Joel. "Top Country Songs 1944–2005 – 6th Edition." 2005.
+{{List of years in country music}}
 [[Category:1953 in music|Country]]
-[[Category:Years in country music]]
+[[Category:Country music by year]]