2012 in country music
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 2012.
Events
- February 29 – Branson, Missouri, a city famous for its country music-oriented tourist attractions, sustained damage from the Leap Day tornadoes. Three of Branson's 50-plus theaters are extensively damaged.
- May 11 – ABC picks up Malibu Country, starring Reba McEntire, to series. The new series debuts in November but is later cancelled in May 2013 after 18 episodes.
- May 21 – Scott Borchetta announces the signing of Tim McGraw to Big Machine Records.
- June 4 – Sony Music Nashville closes its BNA Records division after 21 years of operation; all its artists and staff are transferred to Columbia Nashville.
- June 18 – Gail Gellman, manager for Sugarland, confirms that member Jennifer Nettles is expecting a baby in November with husband Justin Miller.
- August – Randy Travis is involved in a number of legal incidents, including a drunk driving incident where he was found sitting nude outside his wrecked vehicle and – as police officers were trying to take him into custody – making verbal threats to injure and kill the officers, and a domestic disturbance approximately two weeks later.
- August 14 – George Jones announces plans for a 60-date farewell tour, titled The Grand Tour, for 2013.
- August 18 – Wynonna Judd's husband Scott "Cactus" Moser, who plays drums in both her road band and Highway 101, is involved in a motorcycle crash in South Dakota which results in the amputation of a leg.
- September 25 – Country legend Loretta Lynn celebrates her 50th Anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
- September 26 – George Strait announces plans for a farewell tour, titled The Cowboy Rides Away, for 2013 and 2014. Strait revealed he will continue recording and will perform on special occasions.
- October 11 – Billboard changes its Hot Country Songs from an airplay-only chart to one that reflects both airplay and music downloads, similarly to the Hot 100. The airplay-only methodology is transferred to a new chart called Country Airplay. As a result of the new methodology, Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" – which had previously peaked at No. 13 – rebounds back up the chart and becomes the first No. 1 single under the new methodology. In the process, the song becomes the first to top both the country and Billboard Hot 100 charts since "Amazed" by Lonestar in March 2000 and – with nine weeks at No. 1 – is the longest running chart-topper on the country chart since "Almost Persuaded" by David Houston in 1966. The song also is the longest-running No. 1 country song ever by a female artist, topping Connie Smith's "Once a Day".
- October 27- Sonny James Celebrates his 50th Grand Ole Opry anniversary
- November 1 – Luken Communications and Jim Owens Entertainment relaunch Nashville Network as a digital broadcast television network.
Top hits of the year
The following songs placed within the Top 20 on the Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay or Canada Country charts in 2012:Top new album releases
The following albums placed within the Top 50 on the Top Country Albums charts in 2012:| US | Album | Artist | Record label | Release date | Reference | - |
| 3 | 3 Pears | Dwight Yoakam | Warner Bros. Nashville | September 18 | - | |
| 2 | 100 Proof | Kellie Pickler | BNA/19 | January 24 | - | |
| 8 | Act of Valor: The Album | Various Artists | Relativity Music Group | February 21 | - | |
| 2 | All Over the Road | Easton Corbin | Mercury Nashville | September 18 | - | |
| 6 | Back in the Saddle | Chris Cagle | Bigger Picture | June 26 | - | |
| 1 | Blown Away | Carrie Underwood | Arista Nashville/19 | May 1 | - | |
| 4 | Carry Me Back | Old Crow Medicine Show | ATO | July 17 | - | |
| 2 | Casey James | Casey James | BNA/19 | March 20 | - | |
| 1 | Changed | Rascal Flatts | Big Machine | April 3 | - | |
| 2 | Cheers, It's Christmas | Blake Shelton | Warner Bros. Nashville | October 2 | - | |
| 2 | Christmas with Scotty McCreery | Scotty McCreery | 19/Interscope/Mercury Nashville | October 16 | - | |
| 4 | The Classic Christmas Album | Elvis Presley | RCA | October 2 | ||
| 1 | Declaration of Independence | Colt Ford | Average Joe's | August 7 | - | |
| 1 | Dustin Lynch | Dustin Lynch | Broken Bow | August 21 | - | |
| 9 | Edens Edge | Edens Edge | Big Machine | June 12 | - | |
| 1 | Emotional Traffic | Tim McGraw | Curb | January 24 | - | |
| 2 | Endless Summer | Jake Owen | RCA Nashville | September 25 | - | |
| 10 | Family Man | Shooter Jennings | eOne Entertainment | March 13 | - | |
| 9 | For the Good Times | The Little Willies | Milking Bull | January 10 | - | |
| 9 | Free the Music | Jerrod Niemann | Sea Gayle/Arista Nashville | October 2 | - | |
| 9 | The Given | Wade Bowen | BNA | May 29 | - | |
| 2 | Hard 2 Love | Lee Brice | Curb | April 24 | - | |
| 1 | Here's to the Good Times | Florida Georgia Line | Republic Nashville | December 4 | - | |
| 4 | Heroes | Willie Nelson | Legacy | May 15 | - | |
| 4 | Hillbilly Jedi | Big & Rich | Warner Bros. Nashville | September 18 | - | |
| 1 | Home | Dierks Bentley | Capitol Nashville | February 7 | - | |
| 3 | Hope on the Rocks | Toby Keith | Show Dog-Universal Music | October 30 | - | |
| 5 | Jana Kramer | Jana Kramer | Elektra Nashville | June 5 | - | |
| 7 | Live Across America | Josh Turner | MCA Nashville/Cracker Barrel | August 27 | - | |
| 3 | Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran | Jamey Johnson | Mercury Nashville | October 16 | - | |
| 4 | Love and Theft | Love and Theft | RCA Nashville | July 24 | - | |
| 3 | The Music of Nashville: Season 1 Volume 1 | Various Artists | Big Machine | December 11 | - | |
| 10 | New to This Town | Kix Brooks | Arista Nashville | September 11 | - | |
| 1 | Night Train | Jason Aldean | Broken Bow | October 16 | - | |
| 4 | Now That's What I Call Country Volume 5 | Various Artists | Universal Music | June 12 | - | |
| 4 | Old School New Rules | Hank Williams, Jr. | Blaster | July 10 | - | |
| 2 | On This Winter's Night | Lady Antebellum | Capitol Nashville | October 22 | - | |
| 6 | Opus Collection | Johnny Cash | Starbucks | May 29 | - | |
| 1 | Punching Bag | Josh Turner | MCA Nashville | June 12 | - | |
| 9 | Real Good Time | Aaron Watson | Big Label | October 9 | - | |
| 1 | Red | Taylor Swift | Big Machine | October 22 | - | |
| 9 | Release Me | Lyle Lovett | Curb | February 28 | - | |
| 7 | The Road | Aaron Lewis | Blaster | November 13 | - | |
| 5 | Small Town Family Dream | Josh Abbott Band | Pretty Damn Tough | April 24 | - | |
| 2 | Spring Break 4...Suntan City | Luke Bryan | Capitol Nashville | March 6 | - | |
| 1 | Thirty Miles West | Alan Jackson | ACR/EMI Nashville | June 5 | - | |
| 5 | This Ole Boy | Craig Morgan | Black River | February 28 | - | |
| 2 | A Thousand Miles Left Behind | Gloriana | Emblem/Reprise/Warner Bros. | July 31 | - | |
| 7 | Tomorrowland | Ryan Bingham | Axster Bingham | September 18 | - | |
| 1 | Tornado | Little Big Town | Capitol Nashville | September 11 | - | |
| 1 | Tuskegee | Lionel Richie | Mercury Nashville | March 27 | - | |
| 1 | Uncaged | Zac Brown Band | Atlantic/Southern Ground | July 10 | - | |
| 3 | Up All Night | Kip Moore | MCA Nashville | April 24 | - | |
| 1 | Welcome to the Fishbowl | Kenny Chesney | Blue Chair/Columbia | June 19 | - | |
| 8 | The Whippoorwill | Blackberry Smoke | Southern Ground | August 14 | - |
Deaths
- January 20 – Larry Butler, 69, producer for Kenny Rogers and other artists
- March 28 – Earl Scruggs, 88, Bluegrass musician.
- April 25 – Mark McCoy, bassist for Micky & the Motorcars.
- April 29 – Kenny Roberts, 84, American country singer and yodeler "I Never See Maggie Alone"
- May 6 – George Lindsey, 83, comedian-actor, co-star of Hee Haw
- May 29 – Doc Watson, 89, folk-styled singer and guitarist whose music spanned into country and bluegrass, among many other genres.
- June 13 – Frances W. Preston, 83, music executive. President and CEO of Broadcast Music, Inc. from 1986 to 2004.
- July 3 – Andy Griffith, 86, comedian-actor and country-gospel singer. Best known for the TV series The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock.
- July 16 – Kitty Wells, 92, pioneering female country music superstar, best known for hits such as "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels".
- September 7 – Rollin "Oscar" Sullivan, 93, American country music entertainer that was the "Oscar" half of Lonzo and Oscar.
- September 30 – Raylene Rankin, 52, member of Canadian country group The Rankin Family.
- October 21 – Tim Johnson, 52, songwriter best known for his number one hit "Do You Believe Me Now" for Jimmy Wayne and for his work with Rory Lee Feek of Joey + Rory.
- October 30 – Jan Crutchfield, 74, songwriter best known for "Statue of a Fool"
- November 21 – Phil Stone, 57, disc jockey at KMOD-FM in Tulsa, Oklahoma, co-creator of the Roy D. Mercer character
- November 23 – Frank Dycus, 72, songwriter of over 500 songs including the hits "Unwound" and "Gonna Get a Life".
Hall of Fame Inductees
Bluegrass Hall of Fame Inductees
Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees
Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees
- Johnny Burke
- Ralph Murphy
Major awards
American Country Awards
'Academy of Country Music
'Americana Music Honors & Awards
- Album of the Year – This One's For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark
- Artist of the Year – Gillian Welch
- Duo/Group of the Year – The Civil Wars
- Song of the Year – "Alabama Pines"
- Emerging Artist of the Year – Alabama Shakes
- Instrumentalist of the Year – David Rawlings
- Lifetime Achievement: Songwriting – Richard Thompson
- Lifetime Achievement: Performance – Bonnie Raitt
- Lifetime Achievement: Instrumentalist – Booker T. Jones
- Lifetime Achievement: Executive – Dennis Lord
American Music Awards
'ARIA Awards
'Canadian Country Music Association
'Country Music Association
'CMT Music Awards
''
Grammy Awards
'Juno Awards
'Hollywood Walk of Fame
Stars who were honored in 2012Rascal Flatts and Vince Gill