1958 in country music
# 1958 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1958.

## Events

* January 1 — Johnny Cash performs at San Quentin Prison. One of the audience members is Merle Haggard, in the midst of a two-year prison term for burglary.
* February — Struggling singer-songwriter Don Gibson finally gets a career break when his first major hit, "Oh Lonesome Me" reaches No. 1 on Billboard's "C&W Best Sellers in Stores" and "Most Played C&W by Jockeys" charts. The flip side of the single is "I Can't Stop Loving You," which went on to be recorded more than 700 times. Gibson is considered by many to be one of the originators of the Nashville Sound, a form of country music that uses pop music-styled arrangements (such as orchestrated strings) rather than traditional honky-tonk sounds.
* March — BMI opens its Nashville office, headed by Frances Preston.
* March 24 — Elvis Presley is inducted into the United States Army at the Memphis Draft Board, thus beginning his two years of service.
* May — The fledgling career of Jerry Lee Lewis is rocked by scandal when his marriage to second cousin Myra Gale Brown becomes public. A British tour is cancelled, and Lewis' career goes into decline until 1968, when he begins concentrating on country music.
* October 13 — Billboard discontinues the "C&W Best Sellers in Stores" and "Most Played C&W by Jockeys" charts. Starting with the October 20 issue, there is one all-encompassing "Hot C&W Sides" chart. The new chart has 30 positions, and "City Lights" by Ray Price is the first No. 1 song.
* November — The Country Music Association is founded to promote country music. Harry Stone, the former station manager of WSM, is named executive director.
* November — Conway Twitty begins a remarkable career ... in rock and roll, with his hit, "It's Only Make Believe." The song – which contains all the Twitty hallmarks – skyrockets to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the fall, and begins a string of hits that continues through the early 1960s. Twitty makes the switch to country in the mid-1960s. Although "... Make Believe" is never a country hit, the song has become a country standard in the years since Twitty became a country giant.
* December 26 — Johnny Cash tops a country and western concert at the Showboat Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada; also appearing are Tex Ritter and the Sons of the Pioneers.

## Top hits of the year

### Number-one hits

**United States**

(as certified by Billboard)

| Date | Single Name | Artist | Wks. No.1 | Spec. Note |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| January 6 | The Story of My Life | Marty Robbins | 4 | |
| January 6 | Great Balls of Fire | Jerry Lee Lewis | 2 | Also reached Number One in the United Kingdom. |
| February 3 | Ballad of a Teenage Queen | Johnny Cash | 10 | |
| April 14 | Oh Lonesome Me / I Can't Stop Loving You | Don Gibson | 8 | |
| May 26 | Just Married | Marty Robbins | 2 | |
| June 2 | All I Have to Do is Dream | The Everly Brothers | 3 | Also reached Number One on the Billboard Pop and R&B charts. |
| June 23 | Guess Things Happen That Way | Johnny Cash | 8 | |
| July 21 | Alone With You | Faron Young | 13 | Young's first Billboard Number One since "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young" in 1955. |
| August 25 | Blue Blue Day | Don Gibson | 2 | |
| September 8 | Bird Dog | The Everly Brothers | 6 | |
| October 20 | City Lights | Ray Price | 13 | |

**United States**

**Notes**

* 1^ No. 1 song of the year, as determined by Billboard.
* 2^ Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot.
* A^ First Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.
* B^ Last Billboard No. 1 hit for that artist.

    Note: Through October 13, several songs were simultaneous No. 1 hits on the separate "Most Played C&W by Jockeys" and "C&W Best Sellers in Stores" charts. Only one No. 1 per week is possible starting with the "Hot C&W Sides" chart, which begins October 20.

### Other major hits

| US | Single | Artist |
| - | - | - |
| 8 | All Grown Up | Johnny Horton |
| 4 | All Over Again | Johnny Cash |
| 3 | Anna Marie | Jim Reeves |
| 13 | Are You Really Mine? | Jimmie Rodgers |
| 10 | Believe What You Say | Ricky Nelson |
| 4 | Big River | Johnny Cash |
| 7 | Big Wheels | Hank Snow |
| 2 | Blue Boy | Jim Reeves |
| 4 | Breathless | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 15 | Claudette | The Everly Brothers |
| 7 | Color of the Blues | George Jones |
| 6 | Come In, Stranger | Johnny Cash |
| 3 | Crying Over You | Webb Pierce |
| 3 | Curtain in the Window | Ray Price |
| 7 | Devoted to You | The Everly Brothers |
| 2 | Don't | Elvis Presley |
| 10 | Every Time I'm Kissing You | Faron Young |
| 10 | Falling Back to You | Webb Pierce |
| 5 | Give Myself a Party | Don Gibson |
| 8 | Half a Mind | Ernest Tubb |
| 2 | Hard Headed Woman | Elvis Presley |
| 14 | Have Blues-Will Travel | Eddie Noack |
| 16 | He's Lost His Love for Me | Kitty Wells |
| 9 | Hey, Mr. Bluebird | Ernest Tubb and The Wilburn Brothers |
| 9 | High School Confidential | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 13 | House of Glass | Ernest Tubb |
| 11 | How Do You Hold a Memory | Hank Thompson |
| 4 | I Beg of You | Elvis Presley |
| 3 | I Can't Stop Loving You | Kitty Wells |
| 7 | I Can't Stop Loving You | Don Gibson |
| 5 | I Found My Girl in the USA | Jimmie Skinner |
| 8 | I Love You More | Jim Reeves |
| 18 | I Want to Go Where No One Knows Me | Jean Shepard |
| 19 | I'll Make It All Up to You | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 3 | Invitation to the Blues | Ray Price |
| 9 | Is It Wrong (For Loving You) | Warner Mack |
| 3 | It's a Little More Like Heaven | Hank Locklin |
| 5 | Jacqueline | Bobby Helms |
| 7 | Jealousy | Kitty Wells |
| 10 | Just a Little Lonesome | Bobby Helms |
| 18 | Lonely Island Pearl | Johnnie & Jack |
| 8 | Look Who's Blue | Don Gibson |
| 15 | Lost to a Geisha Girl | Skeeter Davis |
| 12 | Love Bug Crawl | Jimmy Edwards |
| 10 | My Bucket's Got a Hole in It | Ricky Nelson |
| 11 | Nothin' Needs Nothin' (Like I Need You) | Marvin Rainwater |
| 5 | Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again | Jimmie Rodgers |
| 8 | Once More | Roy Acuff |
| 13 | Once More | Osborne Brothers and Red Allen |
| 12 | One Week Later | Webb Pierce and Kitty Wells |
| 10 | Overnight | Jim Reeves |
| 18 | Patricia | Perez Prado |
| 2 | Pick Me Up On Your Way Down | Charlie Walker |
| 17 | Pink Pedal Pushers | Carl Perkins |
| 9 | Please Pass the Biscuits | Gene Sullivan |
| 3 | Poor Little Fool | Ricky Nelson |
| 6 | Raunchy | Bill Justis |
| 11 | Raunchy | Ernie Freeman |
| 17 | Rebel-'Rouser | Duane Eddy |
| 14 | Rock Hearts | Jimmy Martin |
| 5 | Secretly | Jimmie Rodgers |
| 5 | Send Me the Pillow You Dream On | Hank Locklin |
| 4 | She Was Only Seventeen (He Was One Year More) | Marty Robbins |
| 10 | Should We Tell Him | The Everly Brothers |
| 14 | Splish Splash | Bobby Darin |
| 2 | Squaws Along the Yukon | Hank Thompson |
| 2 | Stairway of Love | Marty Robbins |
| 8 | Stood Up | Ricky Nelson |
| 7 | Stop the World (And Let Me Off) | Johnnie & Jack |
| 16 | Talk to Me Lonesome Heart | James O'Gwynn |
| 9 | That's the Way I Feel | Faron Young |
| 4 | This Little Girl of Mine | The Everly Brothers |
| 15 | Touch and Go Heart | Kitty Wells |
| 6 | Treasure of Love | George Jones |
| 7 | Tupelo County Jail | Webb Pierce |
| 8 | Uh-Huh-mm | Sonny James |
| 12 | Waitin' in School | Ricky Nelson |
| 2 | The Ways of a Woman in Love | Johnny Cash |
| 3 | Wear My Ring Around Your Neck | Elvis Presley |
| 7 | What Do I Care | Johnny Cash |
| 8 | What Makes a Man Wander | Jimmie Skinner |
| 13 | When | Kalin Twins |
| 15 | Whispering Rain | Hank Snow |
| 15 | Whole Lotta Woman | Marvin Rainwater |
| 16 | A Woman Captured Me | Hank Snow |
| 13 | Would You Care | The Browns |
| 2 | You Win Again | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 10 | You'll Come Back | Webb Pierce |
| 5 | You're the Nearest Thing to Heaven | Johnny Cash |
| 6 | Your Name Is Beautiful | Carl Smith |

## Top new album releases

* Foreign Love – Hank Locklin (RCA Victor)
* Sings the Songs that Made Him Famous – Johnny Cash (Sun)

## Births

* February 21 — Mary Chapin Carpenter, folk-styled country singer of the 1990s.
* February 24 — Sammy Kershaw, neotraditionalist of the 1990s and beyond.
* March 28 — Elisabeth Andreassen, Norwegian female country singer.
* May 23 — Shelly West, country singer of the 1980s, daughter of Dottie West.
* July 3 — Aaron Tippin, honky-tonk styled singer-songwriter of the 1990s and 2000s (decade).
* July 29 — Bobby Jensen, keyboardist from the Western Underground.
* July 30 — Neal McCoy, Asian country singer of the 1990s.
* September 6 — Jeff Foxworthy, comedian best known for "You Must Be a Redneck If ..." tagline; host of eponymously named countdown and "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" game show.
* September 16 — Terry McBride, lead singer of the 1990s trio McBride & the Ride.
* September 30 — Marty Stuart, neotraditionalist and Grand Ole Opry stalwart.
* October 10 — Tanya Tucker, teen-aged country star of the 1970s, who continued to be a major country star during the 1980s and 1990s.
* October 17 — Alan Jackson, neotraditionalist singer since the 1990s.
* October 25 — Mark Miller, lead singer of Sawyer Brown.
* December 28 — Joe Diffie, honky tonk-styled singer of the 1990s and early 2000s (decade) (d. 2020).

## Deaths

* September 12 – Rod Brasfield, 48, comedian who was immensely popular with Grand Ole Opry audiences (heart failure).
