December 8 — The death of Marty Robbins at age 57 stuns the country music world and leaves a huge void among fans. He is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame just weeks earlier.
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Drake-Chenault syndicates The History of Country Music, a 52-hour country music version of the radio syndicator's successful The History of Rock and Roll (which had three editions issued, the last in 1981). Produced in 1981 and early 1982 before syndicating to radio stations, the radio documentary was hosted by Ralph Emery. Like its rock and roll forebear, the program featured artist interviews, outtakes from notable radio and television broadcasts; spotlights on notable artists, styles and trends, along with songs that helped illustrate the subject; and time sweeps of individual years through 1981, with a montage of the biggest and most noteworthy hits of each year played. The final hour, Hour 52, was a time sweep of all of the country No. 1 songs from 1944 to the then-present, or approximately 650 individual songs that had topped the Billboardcountry charts.[1] The special was structured much like the Rock and Roll program, allowing radio programmers to air it as a one-time "marathon" special (such as over holiday weekends), in multiple parts over a period of time, or as one-hour weekly programs.
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 (ISBN0-8118-3572-3)
Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993 (ISBN0-06-273244-7)
Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944–2005 – 6th Edition." 2005.
