List of Hot Country Singles number ones of 1979

Two grey-haired men wearing cowboy hats, standing in front of the sea at sunset
The Bellamy Brothers had their first number-one country single in 1979 with "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me".

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1979, 33 different singles topped the chart, which was published at the time under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine. Chart placings were based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.[1]

Waylon Jennings, Anne Murray, Kenny Rogers, and Conway Twitty tied for the highest total number of weeks spent at number one in 1979, each spending five weeks at the top of the chart. Jennings, Murray and Twitty each had a run of three consecutive weeks at number one with "Amanda", "I Just Fall in Love Again" and "Happy Birthday Darlin'" respectively. The three songs tied for the longest unbroken run in the top spot during 1979 with "Every Which Way but Loose" by Eddie Rabbitt, "Golden Tears" by Dave & Sugar and "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me" by the Bellamy Brothers, each of which also spent three weeks atop the listing. Murray, Rogers and Twitty each had three number ones in 1979, the most by an individual act.

In January, John Conlee achieved the first of seven number one country singles with "Lady Lay Down";[2] he would reach number one for the second time in May. Two weeks after Conlee's second number one, the Bellamy Brothers topped the chart for the first time.[3] The brother duo had topped Billboard's all-genres singles chart, the Hot 100, three years earlier with "Let Your Love Flow", but had not previously topped the country listing until the 1979 success of "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me".[3] In August, the Charlie Daniels Band reached number one for the first and only time with "The Devil Went Down to Georgia".[4] The following month Leon Russell made his first appearance at the top of the country chart when he collaborated with Willie Nelson on a cover version of Elvis Presley's 1950s song "Heartbreak Hotel".[5] This was Russell's first song to appear on the country singles chart under the name which he used for the majority of his recording career, although he had previously entered the lower reaches of the chart with two songs released under the alter ego Hank Wilson.[6][7] The final artist to top the Hot Country chart for the first time in 1979 was Moe Bandy, who achieved his first chart-topper in September when he collaborated with Joe Stampley on the novelty single "Just Good Ol' Boys", before going on to gain a solo number one with "I Cheated Me Right Out of You" in December.[8]

Chart history

A blonde woman wearing an orange blouse and a black vest
Anne Murray was one of several acts to spend five total weeks at number one in 1979.
A grey-haired man with a large beard wearing a cowboy hat, holding a guitar and talking into a microphone
The Charlie Daniels Band (Daniels pictured) topped the chart for the only time in 1979 with "The Devil Went Down to Georgia".
A grey-haired man with a beard wearing a cowboy hat, blue shirt and jeans, playing a guitar and singing into a microphone
Don Williams had two chart-toppers in 1979.
Issue date Title Artist(s) Ref.
January 6 "Tulsa Time" Don Williams [9]
January 13 "Lady Lay Down" John Conlee [10]
January 20 "Baby I'm Burnin'" Dolly Parton [11]
January 27 "Why Have You Left the One You Left Me For" Crystal Gayle [12]
February 3 [13]
February 10 "Every Which Way but Loose" Eddie Rabbitt [14]
February 17 [15]
February 24 [16]
March 3 "Golden Tears" Dave & Sugar [17]
March 10 [18]
March 17 [19]
March 24 "I Just Fall in Love Again" Anne Murray [20]
March 31 [21]
April 7 [22]
April 14 "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" Barbara Mandrell [23]
April 21 "All I Ever Need Is You" Kenny Rogers and Dottie West [24]
April 28 "Where Do I Put Her Memory" Charley Pride [25]
May 5 "Backside of Thirty" John Conlee [26]
May 12 "Don't Take It Away" Conway Twitty [27]
May 19 "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me" The Bellamy Brothers [28]
May 26 [29]
June 2 [30]
June 9 "She Believes in Me" Kenny Rogers [31]
June 16 [32]
June 23 "Nobody Likes Sad Songs" Ronnie Milsap [33]
June 30 "Amanda" Waylon Jennings [34]
July 7 [35]
July 14 [36]
July 21 "Shadows in the Moonlight" Anne Murray [37]
July 28 "You're the Only One" Dolly Parton [38]
August 4 [39]
August 11 "Suspicions" Eddie Rabbitt [40]
August 18 "Coca-Cola Cowboy" Mel Tillis [41]
August 25 "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" Charlie Daniels Band [42]
September 1 "Heartbreak Hotel" Willie Nelson and Leon Russell [43]
September 8 "I May Never Get to Heaven" Conway Twitty [44]
September 15 "You're My Jamaica" Charley Pride [45]
September 22 "Just Good Ol' Boys" Moe Bandy & Joe Stampley [46]
September 29 "It Must Be Love" Don Williams [47]
October 6 "Last Cheater's Waltz" T.G. Sheppard [48]
October 13 [49]
October 20 "All the Gold in California" Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers [50]
October 27 [51]
November 3 "You Decorated My Life" Kenny Rogers [52]
November 10 [53]
November 17 "Come with Me" Waylon Jennings [54]
November 24 [55]
December 1 "Broken Hearted Me" Anne Murray [56]
December 8 "I Cheated Me Right Out of You" Moe Bandy [57]
December 15 "Happy Birthday Darlin'" Conway Twitty [58]
December 22 [59]
December 29 [60]

See also

References

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. p. ix. ISBN 9780898201659.
  2. ^ Kingsbury, Paul, ed. (2004). The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Oxford University Press. p. 108. ISBN 9780199770557.
  3. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Bellamy Brothers - Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  4. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Charlie Daniels - Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  5. ^ "Leon Russell Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  6. ^ "Hank Wilson Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  7. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Best of Hank Wilson – Leon Russell". AllMusic. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  8. ^ "Moe Bandy Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  9. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for January 6, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  10. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for January 13, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  11. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for January 20, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  12. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for January 27, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  13. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for February 3, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  14. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for February 10, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  15. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for February 17, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  16. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for February 24, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  17. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for March 3, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  18. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for March 10, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  19. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for March 17, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  20. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for March 24, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  21. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for March 31, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  22. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for April 7, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  23. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for April 14, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  24. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for April 21, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  25. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for April 28, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  26. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for May 5, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  27. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for May 12, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  28. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for May 19, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  29. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for May 26, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  30. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for June 2, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  31. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for June 9, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  32. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for June 16, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  33. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for June 23, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  34. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for June 30, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  35. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for July 7, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  36. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for July 14, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  37. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for July 21, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  38. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for July 28, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  39. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for August 4, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  40. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for August 11, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  41. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for August 18, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  42. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for August 25, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  43. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for September 1, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  44. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for September 8, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  45. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for September 15, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  46. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for September 22, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  47. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for September 29, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  48. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for October 6, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  49. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for October 13, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  50. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for October 20, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  51. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for October 27, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  52. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for November 3, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  53. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for November 10, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  54. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for November 17, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  55. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for November 24, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  56. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 1, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  57. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 8, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  58. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 15, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  59. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 22, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  60. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 29, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2010.