List of Hot Country Singles & Tracks number ones of 1990

A man with long curly hair and a beard, wearing a white jacket and grey shirt, playing a guitar and singing into a microphone
Keith Whitley, who died the previous year, had a posthumous number one in January 1990 with "It Ain't Nothin'".

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1990, 24 different songs topped the chart in 52 issues of the magazine. The chart was published under the title Hot Country Singles through the February 10 issue and Hot Country Singles & Tracks thereafter.[1] With effect from the January 20 issue, Billboard discontinued its longstanding methodology of compiling the chart based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores and instead began basing the chart on weekly airplay data from radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.[1]

At the start of the year, the number one song on the chart was Highway 101's "Who's Lonely Now", which had been at the top of the chart since the issue of Billboard dated December 30, 1989.[2] It remained in the top spot for one further week in 1990 before being replaced by "It Ain't Nothin'" by Keith Whitley. This was the second of two posthumous number ones for Whitley, who had died in May of the previous year.[3] Three months later, Whitley's widow Lorrie Morgan topped the chart for the first time with "Five Minutes".[4] Other artists who topped the chart for the first time in 1990 were Travis Tritt, who spent one week at number one with "Help Me Hold On",[5] and Joe Diffie, who reached number one with his debut single "Home".[6]

The change in the chart's methodology led to an increase in the length of time songs spent in the top spot;[7] in 1990, thirteen songs spent more than one week at number compared with just two in the previous year.[8] When Randy Travis spent four weeks at the top of the chart in March and April with "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart", it was the first time that a song had spent as long in the top spot since "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson in 1978.[8] George Strait's "Love Without End, Amen", which topped the chart for five weeks in June and July, was the nineteenth number-one country song of his career but the first to spend more than one week at the top.[9] The five weeks spent at the top by the song was the longest run at number one by a song. Strait also spent four weeks at number one with "I've Come to Expect It from You" to give him a total of nine weeks at the top of the chart in 1990, the most by any artist. Clint Black, Dan Seals, Garth Brooks and Alabama were the only other acts to place two songs at number one during the year. Strait's "I've Come to Expect It from You" was the final number one of the year.

Chart history

A man wearing a black cowboy hat, white shirt and blue jeans, playing a guitar and singing into a microphone
George Strait spent nine weeks at number one in 1990, the most by any artist.
A man wearing a brown cowboy hat and red shirt, playing a guitar
Clint Black had two chart-toppers in 1990.
A blonde woman wearing a white jacket singing into a microphone
Lorrie Morgan reached number one for the first time in 1990. Her debut chart-topper came three months after her late husband, Keith Whitley, achieved his final number one.
A man with long hair and a beard, wearing a black shirt, playing a guitar and singing into a microphone
Travis Tritt also topped the chart for the first time in 1990.
Issue date Title Artist(s) Ref.
January 6 "Who's Lonely Now" Highway 101 [10]
January 13 "It Ain't Nothin'" Keith Whitley [11]
January 20 "Nobody's Home" Clint Black [12]
January 27 [13]
February 3 [14]
February 10 "Southern Star" Alabama [15]
February 17 "On Second Thought" Eddie Rabbitt [16]
February 24 [17]
March 3 "No Matter How High" The Oak Ridge Boys [18]
March 10 "Chains" Patty Loveless [19]
March 17 "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart" Randy Travis [20]
March 24 [21]
March 31 [22]
April 7 [23]
April 14 "Five Minutes" Lorrie Morgan [24]
April 21 "Love on Arrival" Dan Seals [25]
April 28 [26]
May 5 [27]
May 12 "Help Me Hold On" Travis Tritt [28]
May 19 "Walkin' Away" Clint Black [29]
May 26 [30]
June 2 "I've Cried My Last Tear for You" Ricky Van Shelton [31]
June 9 "Love Without End, Amen" George Strait [32]
June 16 [33]
June 23 [34]
June 30 [35]
July 7 [36]
July 14 "The Dance" Garth Brooks [37]
July 21 [38]
July 28 [39]
August 4 "Good Times" Dan Seals [40]
August 11 [41]
August 18 "Next to You, Next to Me" Shenandoah [42]
August 25 [43]
September 1 [44]
September 8 "Jukebox in My Mind" Alabama [45]
September 15 [46]
September 22 [47]
September 29 [48]
October 6 "Friends in Low Places" Garth Brooks [49]
October 13 [50]
October 20 [51]
October 27 [52]
November 3 "You Lie" Reba McEntire [53]
November 10 "Home" Joe Diffie [54]
November 17 "You Really Had Me Going" Holly Dunn [55]
November 24 "Come Next Monday" K. T. Oslin [56]
December 1 [57]
December 8 "I've Come to Expect It from You" George Strait [58]
December 15 [59]
December 22 [60]
December 29 [61]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005. Record Research. p. ix. ISBN 9780898201659.
  2. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 30, 1989". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  3. ^ Dicaire, David (2008). The New Generation of Country Music Stars: Biographies of 50 Artists Born After 1940. McFarland. p. 25. ISBN 9780786485598.
  4. ^ Brennan, Sandra. "Lorrie Morgan Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  5. ^ The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Oxford University Press. 2012. ISBN 9780199920839.
  6. ^ Huey, Steve. "Joe Diffie: Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  7. ^ "Hot Country Songs 70th Anniversary: Top 70 Country Songs 1989-2014". Billboard. January 13, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2018. Prior to the Hot Country Song's implementation in January 1990 of monitored radio airplay by Nielsen BDS, titles on those lists had shorter reigns at No. 1 and shorter chart lives.
  8. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Watson-Guptill. pp. 537. ISBN 0823076326.
  9. ^ Carroll Dawson, Elisabeth (November 6, 2014). "George Strait: 10 Prime Hits". CMT. Archived from the original on 2014-11-14. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  10. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for January 6, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  11. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for January 13, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  12. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for January 20, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  13. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for January 27, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  14. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for February 3, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  15. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for February 10, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  16. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for February 17, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  17. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for February 24, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  18. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for March 3, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  19. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for March 10, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  20. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for March 17, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  21. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for March 24, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  22. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for March 31, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  23. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for April 7, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  24. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for April 14, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  25. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for April 21, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  26. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for April 28, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  27. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for May 5, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  28. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for May 12, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  29. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for May 19, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  30. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for May 26, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  31. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for June 2, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  32. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for June 9, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  33. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for June 16, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  34. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for June 23, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  35. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for June 30, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  36. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for July 7, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  37. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for July 14, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  38. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for July 21, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  39. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for July 28, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  40. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for August 4, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  41. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for August 11, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  42. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for August 18, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  43. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for August 25, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  44. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for September 1, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  45. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for September 8, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  46. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for September 15, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  47. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for September 22, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  48. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for September 29, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  49. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for October 6, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  50. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for October 13, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  51. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for October 20, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  52. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for October 27, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  53. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for November 3, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  54. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for November 10, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  55. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for November 17, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  56. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for November 24, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  57. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 1, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  58. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 8, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  59. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 15, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  60. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 22, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  61. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 29, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2010.