1956 in country music
See also: 1955 in country music, 1956 in music, other events of 1956, 1957 in country music and the List of years in Country Music
Events
No dates
- With release of Ray Prices's "Crazy Arms", the 4/4 shuffle is established and would transform country music, especially honky tonk.
Top hits of the year
Number one hits
(As certified by Billboard magazine)
- February 11 - "Why Baby Why" - Webb Pierce and Red Sovine
- February 25 - "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" - Elvis Presley
- March 17 - "Heartbreak Hotel" - Elvis Presley
- March 17 - "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby" - The Louvin Brothers
- April 7 - "Blue Suede Shoes" - Carl Perkins
- June 23 - "Crazy Arms" - Ray Price
- July 14 - "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" - Elvis Presley
- July 21 - "I Walk the Line" - Johnny Cash
- September 15 - "Don't Be Cruel"/"Hound Dog" - Elvis Presley
- November 10 - "Singing the Blues" - Marty Robbins
- Note: Several songs were simultaneous No. 1 hits on the separate "Most Played C&W in Juke Boxes," "Most Played C&W by Jockeys" and "C&W Best Sellers in Stores" charts.
Other major hits
- "The Blackboard of My Heart" - Hank Thompson
- "Eat, Drink and Be Merry (Tomorrow You'll Cry)" - Porter Wagoner
- "Folsom Prison Blues" - Johnny Cash
- "Honky Tonk Man" - Johnny Horton
- "I Take the Chance" - The Browns featuring Jim Ed Brown
- "I've Got Five Dollars and it's Saturday Night" - Faron Young
- "It's a Great Life (If You Don't Weaken)" - Faron Young
- "Searching (For Someone Like You)" - Kitty Wells
- "Sweet Dreams" - Faron Young
- "You're Still Mine" - Faron Young
- "I'm A One Woman Man"-Johnny Horton
- "You're Free To Go"-Carl Smith
- "You Are The One"-Carl Smith
- "Be Bop A Lula"- Gene Vincent
- "So Doggone Lonesome"-Johnny Cash
- "You Don't Know Me"-Eddy Arnold
- "You And Me"- Red Foley & Kitty Wells
- "You're Running Wild"-Louvin Brothers
- "According To My Heart"-Jim Reeves
- "Yes I Know Why"-Webb Pierce
- "Just One More" - George Jones
- "Poor Man's Riches"-Benny Barne
- "My Lips Are Sealed"-Jim Reeves
- "If Jesus Came To Your House"-Porter Wagoner
- "Love Me Tender"-Elvis Presley
- "I've Got A New Heartache"-Ray Price
- "For Rent"-Sonny James–
- "Before I Met You"-Carl Smith
- "Wicked Lies"-Carl Smith
Top new album releases
Births
- January 18 - Mark Collie, country artist of the early 1990s.
- June 19 - Doug Stone, popular country vocalist during the early- to mid-1990s.
- December 9 - Sylvia Kirby, pop-styled female vocalist of the early-1990s who became best known as "Sylvia."
- December 21 - Lee Roy Parnell, alternative country star who enjoyed mainstream country success during the mid-1990s.
- December 30 - Suzy Bogguss, folk-styled country artist who rose to fame in the early 1990s.
Deaths
Further reading
- 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.