Favorite Country Music Grammy Wins

The 2013 Grammy Awards are on Sunday, February 10, so I thought it would be fun to rewind the clock and look at some of my favorite Grammy Winners from yesteryear.  These are my 10 favorite picks from the Grammy archives in Country Music.

1. 1965- King Of The Road- Roger Miller
Roger wins 6 Grammy awards this year for this huge hit.  He takes home every Country category but Female and Group of the Year.  Plus, he takes a win in the all-genre category for Single of the Year.  The song is still a winner today, everyone starts snappin' and singin' whenever this one is performed by a lounge act or at your favorite karaoke bar.

2. 1968- Harper Valley P.T.A- Jeannie C. Riley
The words in this song were so strong for the time it was released.   Today, any parent, or child, wouldn't think twice about belting out these lyrics at a school meeting.  Jeannie wins Best Country Female Vocal Performance of the Year for "sockin' it to 'em" in song.

3. 1972- Kiss An Angel Good Morning-Charley Pride
This two minute classic love song, written by Ben Peters, was short and sweet!  After 120 seconds of this catchy hook and positive message, you were singing this song all day.  I recently found out that Charley uses this song as his ring tone.  I'm sure every time he gets a call his eyes light up with dollar signs and Grammy gold!  Good choice for this 1972 Grammy winning Song of the Year.

4. 1978- The Gambler- Kenny Rogers
It's still one of the catchiest Country songs of all-time.  You can go anywhere in the world and start singing this song, and people will finish it with you.  Written by Don Schlitz, the song takes the jackpot for Best Country Song of the Year!

5. 1980- Could I Have This Dance- Anne Murray
This song is timeless!  I have played this at nearly every wedding reception I've hosted over the last 25 years.   There are not many songs that I can play that get both the grandparents and kids singing along together.  This Grammy winner for Best Country Female Vocal Performance will have us waltzing for the next 25 years!

6. 1985- Lost In The Fifties Tonight (In The Still Of The Night)- Ronnie Milsap
This song is just as powerful as the flux capacitor in "Back To The Future."  One listen and you are wearing a poodle skirt, pumping nickels in the jukebox and headed to the sock-hop.  What a great way to remember those Magic Moments of life with this Best Country Male Vocal Performance.  Ronnie Rocks!

7. 1986- Whoever's In New England-Reba McEntire
10 years earlier Reba had released her first single for Mercury Records that peaked at #88!  It was a slow steady climb to the top and this dramatic performance pushed her to the next level of stardom.  In addition to winning the Best Country Female Vocal Performance, 1986 also brought Reba her big CMA award for Entertainer of the Year.  Plus, the video for the song gave us a glimpse of what was to come for this multi-media entertainment monster.

8. 1987- 80's Ladies- K.T. Oslin
This woman had class!  K.T. came along and delivered mature songs for life's aging realities.  One listen to this song and you'll feel like your childhood friends are sitting right next to you planning out your future again.   Did you end up where you wanted to be in life?  This one deserved the Grammy gold for Best Country Female Vocal Performance hands down!

9. 1990- Where've You Been- Kathy Mattea
This one grabs Best Country Female Vocal and Best Country Song while bringing tears to the eyes of children watching their parents slip away.  If you've ever seen a parent lose a spouse, if you've ever visited someone in a nursing home and felt the loneliness, if you have a heart, this song spoke to you!

10. 2000- Choices- George Jones
The song barely broke the top 40 on the Country Radio Charts, but the song was considered a "come back" smash hit for Classic Country fans who were just happy to see George put out another great single.  Everyone, regardless of musical preference, could relate to this amazing story.  The regret and acceptance of making good and bad choices in one's lifetime.  We all have stupid choices in our past we wish we could change, hopefully this song gives you the strength to make better choices in the future and say sorry to the people you've hurt along the way.  The song actually reminded me of a Grandpa sharing his words of wisdom with the younger generation.  Since the song was delivered by a man who was far from perfect and made many mistakes of his own, it was believable, it was real and it was a perfect Grammy winner for Best Country Male Vocal Performance.