This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 2015.

Events

• January 15 – Parodist Cledus T. Judd announces his retirement from the performing aspect of the music business.^[1]
• February 27 – Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher give birth to their son, Isaiah Michael Fisher.
• March 4 – Shania Twain announces that her Rock This Country tour will be her last but that she intends to continue releasing albums
• April – A new syndicated radio program, American Country Countdown Rewind with Bob Kingsley, consisting of Kingsley-hosted ACC programs from 1990–2005, is announced by Nash FM (the media brand and network of country music stations owned by Cumulus Media). The first programs aired the weekend of May 2.^[2][3]
• May 26 – Radio consultant Keith Hill is criticized when stating in an interview that music stations should limit the airplay of female country artists. The story, dubbed Tomato-gate is further ignited when Hill compares female artists to that of "tomatoes in a salad". In response, Sara Evans, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, and Jennifer Nettles criticize Hill's comments via social media.^[4][5][6]
• June 15 – Country Weekly is rebranded as Nash Country Weekly, as part of a co-branding with Nash FM's radio product.^[7]
• June 19 – Almost a year after successfully recovering from cervical cancer, Joey Martin Feek of Joey + Rory is diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer.^[8]
• June 22 – With "Love Me Like You Mean It", Kelsea Ballerini becomes the first female artist to send her debut single to No. 1 on Country Airplay since Carrie Underwood did in 2006, and the first female artist to do so on an independent label.^[9]
• July 9 – Luke Bryan causes controversy in an interview with "HITS Double Daily" for implying that Outlaw country artists (particularly Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, and Willie Nelson) spent their career "laying in the gutter, strung out on drugs." Bryan would later call Jennings' widow Jessi Colter, as well as Haggard's son, Ben, to apologize.^[10]
• July 18 – "Girl Crush" by Little Big Town makes country music history by breaking the record of weeks spent at number 1 by a group of three or more members, surpassing the current record holders The Browns and their song The Three Bells.^[11]
• July 20 – Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton announce their divorce after four years of marriage.^[12]
• August 3 – Reba McEntire announces the separation from long-time husband and manager Narvel Blackstock. Although they will be ending their marriage, they will continue to support one another professionally.^[13][14]
• September 25 – Kenny Rogers announces his plans to retire following a Christmas album and a 2016 farewell tour
• September 27 – Producer Dave Brainard is hospitalized after being found unconscious with a broken jaw from a beating.^[15]
• October – Joey Martin Feek of Joey + Rory ends treatment for stage IV colorectal cancer after treatments fail to control growth of tumors.^[16]
• November 2 – Chris Cagle announces his retirement from the music business.^[17]
• November 4 - Chris Stapleton becomes an overnight sensation after his performance with Justin Timberlake of "Tennessee Whiskey" and "Drink You Away" at the Country Music Association Awards; the performance is considered the best of the show, and one of the best performances in CMA history. Stapleton wins New Artist, Male Vocalist and Album of the Year for Traveller.
• November 9 – Joey Martin Feek of Joey and Rory enters Hospice care after terminal cancer diagnosis^[18]

Top hits of the year

The following songs placed within the Top 20 on the Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay or Canada Country charts in 2015:

Top new album releases

The following albums placed on the Top Country Albums charts in 2015:

Deaths

• January 2 – Little Jimmy Dickens, 94, Grand Ole Opry member best known for "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose", "Take an Old Cold Tater (and Wait)", and standing at only 4.2 feet tall, as well as for his cameos in videos by artists such as Brad Paisley and Vince Gill. (cardiac arrest) ^[41]
• January 12 – A. J. Masters, 64, singer-songwriter (prostate cancer)^[42]
• January 16 – Dixie Hall, 80, bluegrass songwriter and wife of Country Music Hall of Fame member Tom T. Hall (brain tumor)
• January 17 – Don Harron, 90, Canadian comedian and playwright best known to country audiences as "Charlie Farquharson" on television's Hee Haw (cancer).^[43]
• March 9 – Wayne Kemp, 74, writer of Johnny Cash's "One Piece at a Time" among others; also a recording artist for MCA Nashville (various ailments)^[44]
• April 30 – Steven Goldmann, 53, music video director who directed a plethora of videos for many acts in the 90's and 2000's. (cancer)^[45]
• May 18 – Elbert West, 46, singer-songwriter^[46]
• June 11 – Jim Ed Brown, 81, Grand Ole Opry star and member of The Browns (cancer)^[47]
• July 20 – Wayne Carson, 72, writer of Elvis Presley's "Always on My Mind," later covered by Willie Nelson^[48]
• July 22 – Daron Norwood, 49, country singer from the 1990s^[49]
• July 29 – Buddy Emmons, 78, steel guitarist^[50]
• July 30 – Lynn Anderson, 67, singer best known for the 1970 crossover hit "Rose Garden." (heart attack)^[51]
• August 4 – Billy Sherrill, 78, record producer best known for his work with George Jones and Tammy Wynette^[52]
• September 4 – Hal Willis, 82, Canadian singer-songwriter, best known for the song "The Lumberjack"^[53]
• September 25 – Hugh Wright, 63, drummer for Boy Howdy (natural causes)^[54]
• October 6 – Billy Joe Royal, 73, country and rock singer best known for his hits "Down in the Boondocks" and "Tell It Like It Is"^[55]
• October 17 – John Jennings, 62, record producer and guitarist best known for his work with Mary Chapin Carpenter (kidney cancer)^[56]
• November 2 – Tommy Overstreet, 78, country singer from the 1970s^[57]
• November 8 – Charlie Dick, 81, widower of Patsy Cline who helped keep alive her legacy in the decades following her death; became a record promoter and publisher in his own right^[58]
• November 15 – Ron Hynes, 64, Canadian country-folk artist, best known for the songs "Sonny's Dream" and "Cryer's Paradise" (cancer)^[59]
• December 6 – Don Chapel, songwriter of hits by George Jones, Conway Twitty, ex-wife Tammy Wynette, and others^[60]
• December 7 – Don Pfrimmer, 78, songwriter known for co-writing many modern hits including "Meet in the Middle" and "My Front Porch Looking In" (leukemia)^[61]

Hall of Fame inductees

Major awards

References

Other links

• Country Music Association
• Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame