A man with long grey hair and a grey beard, wearing a black cowboy hat and black t-shirt
Willie Nelson (pictured in 2009) topped the chart both in his own right and in a duet with Waylon Jennings.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1982, 48 different singles topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.[1]

The band Alabama achieved the most number ones by a single act, topping the chart four times. Ronnie Milsap, T. G. Sheppard, Ricky Skaggs and Conway Twitty each had three number ones. Alabama, Twitty and Willie Nelson tied for the most weeks in the top spot with four each. Nelson's four weeks consisted of two weeks with "Always on My Mind" followed immediately by a further two with "Just to Satisfy You", a collaboration with Waylon Jennings. In October, Dolly Parton topped the chart with the double A-sided single "I Will Always Love You" / "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind". Both tracks were re-recordings of songs she had previously released in the 1970s, and the original recording of "I Will Always Love You" had reached number one in 1974, making Parton the first artist to top the chart with two different recordings of the same song.[2]

Ed Bruce, best known for writing "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys", a highly successful chart-topper for Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson four years earlier, achieved his only number one as a performer in 1982 with "You're the Best Break This Old Heart Ever Had".[3] Several other artists reached the top spot for the first time in 1982, including Juice Newton with "The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)",[4] Ricky Skaggs with "Crying My Heart Out Over You",[5] Michael Murphey (later known as Michael Martin Murphy) with "What's Forever For",[6][7] and John Anderson with "Wild and Blue".[8] In August George Strait topped the chart for the first time with "Fool Hearted Memory";[9] Strait would go on to top the chart regularly for more than 25 years, achieving a record-breaking 44 Hot Country number ones.[10]

Chart history

A woman with long brown hair
Sylvia (pictured in 2016) topped the chart with "Nobody", which was her only song to cross over to the Billboard Hot 100.[11]
A man with long grey hair wearing glasses, a dark jacket and a blue and white shirt
Ricky Skaggs (pictured in 2016) had three number ones in 1982.
A man with a large mustache wearing a cowboy hat and light-coloured jacket
Ed Bruce had his only number one in 1982 with "You're the Best Break This Old Heart Ever Had".
A woman with blonde hair wearing a red top and an elaborate gold necklace
Janie Fricke was a two-time chart-topper in 1982.
Table of number one songs
Issue date Title Artist(s) Ref.
January 2 "Love in the First Degree" / "Ride the Train"[a] Alabama [12]
January 9 "Fourteen Carat Mind" Gene Watson [13]
January 16 "I Wouldn't Have Missed It for the World" Ronnie Milsap [14]
January 23 "Red Neckin' Love Makin' Night" Conway Twitty [15]
January 30 "The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)" Juice Newton [16]
February 6 "Lonely Nights" Mickey Gilley [17]
February 13 "Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight" Eddie Rabbitt [18]
February 20 "Only One You" T. G. Sheppard [19]
February 27 "Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good" Don Williams [20]
March 6 "You're the Best Break This Old Heart Ever Had" Ed Bruce [21]
March 13 "Blue Moon with Heartache" Rosanne Cash [22]
March 20 "Mountain of Love" Charley Pride [23]
March 27 "She Left Love All Over Me" Razzy Bailey [24]
April 3 "Bobbie Sue" The Oak Ridge Boys [25]
April 10 "Big City" Merle Haggard [26]
April 17 "The Clown" Conway Twitty [27]
April 24 "Crying My Heart Out Over You" Ricky Skaggs [28]
May 1 "Mountain Music" Alabama [29]
May 8 "Always on My Mind" Willie Nelson [30]
May 15 [31]
May 22 "Just to Satisfy You" Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson [32]
May 29 [33]
June 5 "Finally" T. G. Sheppard [34]
June 12 "For All the Wrong Reasons" The Bellamy Brothers [35]
June 19 "Slow Hand" Conway Twitty [36]
June 26 [37]
July 3 "Any Day Now" Ronnie Milsap [38]
July 10 "Don't Worry 'bout Me Baby" Janie Fricke [39]
July 17 "'Till You're Gone" Barbara Mandrell [40]
July 24 "Take Me Down" Alabama [41]
July 31 "I Don't Care" Ricky Skaggs [42]
August 7 "Honky Tonkin'" Hank Williams Jr. [43]
August 14 "I'm Gonna Hire a Wino to Decorate Our Home" David Frizzell [44]
August 21 "Nobody" Sylvia [45]
August 28 "Fool Hearted Memory" George Strait [46]
September 4 "Love Will Turn You Around" Kenny Rogers [47]
September 11 "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)" Jerry Reed [48]
September 18 [49]
September 25 "What's Forever For" Michael Murphey [50]
October 2 "Put Your Dreams Away" Mickey Gilley [51]
October 9 "Yesterday's Wine" Merle Haggard and George Jones [52]
October 16 "I Will Always Love You" / "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind"[a] Dolly Parton [53]
October 23 "He Got You" Ronnie Milsap [54]
October 30 "Close Enough to Perfect" Alabama [55]
November 6 "You're So Good When You're Bad" Charley Pride [56]
November 13 "Heartbroke" Ricky Skaggs [57]
November 20 "War Is Hell (On the Homefront Too)" T. G. Sheppard [58]
November 27 "It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy" Janie Fricke [59]
December 4 "You and I" Eddie Rabbitt with Crystal Gayle [60]
December 11 "Redneck Girl" The Bellamy Brothers [61]
December 18 "Somewhere Between Right and Wrong" Earl Thomas Conley [62]
December 25 "Wild and Blue" John Anderson [63]

a. ^ Double A-sided single

See also

References

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005. Record Research. p. ix. ISBN 9780898201659.
  2. ^ Ellison, Curtis W. (1995). Country Music Culture: From Hard Times to Heaven. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 195. ISBN 9781604739343.
  3. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Ed Bruce Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  4. ^ Stromblad, Cory (September 5, 2012). "No, 89: Juice Newton, "The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)" – Top 100 Country Love Songs". Taste of Country. Townsquare Media. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  5. ^ Freeman, Jon (September 11, 2017). "How Ricky Skaggs Redefined Bluegrass and Brought It to the Mainstream". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  6. ^ "Michael Murphey Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 20, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  7. ^ "Michael Martin Murphey Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  8. ^ Huey, Steve. "John Anderson Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  9. ^ Thompson, Gayle (August 28, 2017). "35 Years Ago: George Strait Earns First No. 1 Hit with "Fool Hearted Memory"". The Boot. Townsquare Media. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  10. ^ Gage, Jeff (August 7, 2017). "Watch Miranda Lambert, Wade Bowen Cover George Strait Classic". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  11. ^ "Sylvia Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  12. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for January 2, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  13. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for January 9, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  14. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for January 16, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  15. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for January 23, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  16. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for January 30, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  17. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for February 6, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  18. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for February 13, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  19. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for February 20, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  20. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for February 27, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  21. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for March 6, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  22. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for March 13, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  23. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for March 20, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  24. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for March 27, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  25. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for April 3, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  26. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for April 10, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  27. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for April 17, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  28. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for April 24, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  29. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for May 1, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  30. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for May 8, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  31. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for May 15, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  32. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for May 22, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  33. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for May 29, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  34. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for June 5, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  35. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for June 12, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  36. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for June 19, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  37. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for June 26, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  38. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for July 3, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  39. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for July 10, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  40. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for July 17, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  41. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for July 24, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  42. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for July 31, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  43. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for August 7, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  44. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for August 14, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  45. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for August 21, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  46. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for August 28, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  47. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for September 4, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  48. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for September 11, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  49. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for September 18, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  50. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for September 25, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  51. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for October 2, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  52. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for October 9, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  53. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for October 16, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  54. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for October 23, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  55. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for October 30, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  56. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for November 6, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  57. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for November 13, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  58. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for November 20, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  59. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for November 27, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  60. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 4, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  61. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 11, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  62. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 18, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  63. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 25, 1982". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.

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