1986 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1986.

• January 18 — "American Country Countdown" with Bob Kingsley expands from three to four hours. Several new features — including a chronological playback of songs reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and a calendar feature (highlighting a birthday, or anniversary of a notable song or event in country music) — are added.
• June 25 — Jenifer Strait, the 13-year-old daughter of George Strait (who by now is one of country music's top performers) is killed in a car accident in San Marcos, Texas. Her father still refuses to talk about his daughter's death to this day.
• July 19 — Columbia Records drops Johnny Cash from the label's roster after 28 years.^[1]

• For the first time in its 42-year history, there is a new No. 1 song for each week of the year, according to Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles Chart.
• 1986 was a renaissance year in country music, with a host of "A New Traditionalist"-minded artists reinvigorating a genre that critics were saying had grown increasingly stagnant and pop-oriented. Among the most successful new artists: Holly Dunn, Judy Rodman, Ricky Van Shelton, Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakam. Keith Whitley, another artist who had been around for a few years, has his first major hit early in the year. They – along with popular newcomers from earlier in the decade such as Alabama, George Strait and Reba McEntire, and longtime artists like George Jones, Merle Haggard and Conway Twitty – proved not only that country music was the music of the people, but also that the genre had real resiliency.
• After 17 years of playing co-host to Roy Clark, Buck Owens announces his departure from the still-popular "Hee Haw." Clark would soldier on alone for the next six years, with rotating guest stars each week.

• Hee Haw (1969–1993, syndicated)

• February 2 — Blaine Larsen, 2000's (decade) singer better known for his single "How Do You Get That Lonely".
• March 23 — Brett Eldredge, singer of the 2010s best known for hits including "Don't Ya" and "Beat of the Music".
• April 1 — Hillary Scott, member of Lady Antebellum and daughter of Linda Davis.
• April 2 — Chris Janson, singer-songwriter known for his 2015 hit "Buy Me a Boat".
• June 18 — Jimmie Allen, singer-songwriter known for his late 2010s hits "Best Shot" and "Make Me Want To".
• June 28 — Kellie Pickler, sixth-place finalist on the fifth season of American Idol.
• August 16 — Ashton Shepherd, debuted in late 2007-early 2008 with her top 20 single "Takin' Off This Pain".
• September 10 — Ashley Monroe, singer-songwriter of the 2000s and 2010s and member of the Pistol Annies.
• September 19 — Chase Rice, singer of the 2010s best known for the hit "Ready Set Roll."

• February 10 — Arthur E. Satherley, 96, music executive.
• May 30 — "Papa Joe" Brown, 60, founding member of Canadian country group Family Brown.
• June 20 — Whitey Ford, 85, beloved Grand Ole Opry comedian and storyteller.
• June 25 — Jenifer Strait, 13, daughter of George Strait (car accident).
• June 27 — Joe Maphis, 65, prolific guitarist and fiddler, prominently featured on the theme to "Bonanza" (cancer).
• December 5 — Carmol Taylor, 53, songwriter.

• Duke of Paducah (1901–1986)
• Wesley Rose (1918–1990)

• Papa Joe Brown

• Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Whoever's in New England", Reba McEntire
• Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "Lost in the Fifties Tonight", Ronnie Milsap
• Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Ol' Days)". The Judds
• Best Country Instrumental Performance — "Raisin' the Dickins", Ricky Skaggs
• Best Country Song — "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)", Jamie O'Hara (Performer: The Judds)

• Country Male Vocalist of the Year — Murray McLauchlan
• Country Female Vocalist of the Year — Anne Murray
• Country Group or Duo of the Year — Prairie Oyster

• Entertainer of the Year — Hank Williams, Jr.
• Song of the Year — "On the Other Hand", Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz (Performer: Randy Travis)
• Single of the Year — "On the Other Hand", Randy Travis
• Album of the Year — Storms of Life, Randy Travis
• Top Male Vocalist — Randy Travis
• Top Female Vocalist — Reba McEntire
• Top Vocal Duo — The Judds
• Top Vocal Group — The Forester Sisters
• Top New Male Vocalist — Dwight Yoakam
• Top New Female Vocalist — Holly Dunn
• Video of the Year — "Whoever's in New England", Reba McEntire (Directors: Jeff Schock and Jon Small)

• Entertainer(s) of the Year — Family Brown
• Male Artist of the Year — Terry Carisse
• Female Artist of the Year — Anita Perras
• Group of the Year — Family Brown
• SOCAN Song of the Year — "Now and Forever", David Foster, Jim Vallance, Charles Randolph Goodrum (Performer: Anne Murray)
• Single of the Year — "Now and Forever," Anne Murray
• Album of the Year — Feel the Fire, Family Brown
• Top Selling Album — Hymns of Gold, Carroll Baker
• Vista Rising Star Award — J. K. Gulley
• Duo of the Year — Anita Perras and Tim Taylor

• Entertainer of the Year — Reba McEntire
• Song of the Year — "On the Other Hand", Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz (Performer: Randy Travis)
• Single of the Year — "Bop", Dan Seals
• Album of the Year — Lost in the Fifties Tonight, Ronnie Milsap
• Male Vocalist of the Year — George Strait
• Female Vocalist of the Year — Reba McEntire
• Vocal Duo of the Year — Marie Osmond and Dan Seals
• Vocal Group of the Year — The Judds
• Horizon Award — Randy Travis
• Music Video of the Year — "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes?", George Jones (Director: Marc Ball)
• Instrumentalist of the Year — Johnny Gimble
• Instrumental Group of the Year — The Oak Ridge Boys

• Kingsbury, Paul, "The Grand Ole Opry: History of Country Music. 70 Years of the Songs, the Stars and the Stories," Villard Books, Random House; Opryland USA, 1995
• Kingsbury, Paul, "Vinyl Hayride: Country Music Album Covers 1947–1989," Country Music Foundation, 2003 (ISBN 0-8118-3572-3)
• Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993 (ISBN 0-06-273244-7)
• Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944–2005 – 6th Edition." 2005.

• Country Music Association
• Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame

• Country Music Hall of Fame