Top Country Music Songs Of 1972

SHOW BOAT:

The wonderful word of Entertainment in the Leap Year 1972 saw the Musical Romantic Dramatic motion picture known as Show Boat, that had been filmed as a Part-Talkie in 1929, with it’s third adaptation, a Sound Musical shot in Technicolor by MGM Studios in 1936, originally presented on NBC-TV for the first time in its complete version.

STONE MOUNTAIN:

Sculpted figures of Confederate States of America Leaders Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis, and Robert E. Lee were completed on the northern face of Stone Mountain in the Peach Tree State on what would become the largest bas relief sculpture in the world. A grist mill, a covered bridge, a bell from the 1964 New York’s World Fair, the Antebellum Plantation and Farmyard Open Air Museum, and the Confederate Hall Museum can also be found at the Stone Mountain Park.

LEONARD BERSTEIN:

Leonard Berstein’s last Young People’s Concert at the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the longest running family concert series in the world, known as Gustav Holst’s The Planets, was originally telecasted by CBS-TV.

THE GODFATHER:

The Frank Ford Cappala-directed Crime motion picture known as The Godfather, that starred Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, and is highly acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest movies of all time, was originally released in the United States. The Godfather also won Academy Awards for Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture.

BOSTON MARATHON:

The Boston Marathon first allowed women competitors to run in the race.

HAIR:

Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, a Hippie and Sexual Revolution Counterculture production, that ran on Broadway for 1,750 appearances, and won the 1969 Grammy Award for Best Score From An Original Cast Show Album, as well as the 2009 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, was celebrated by a free concert in Central Park in New York City honoring its fourth anniversary on Broadway.

ACADEMY AWARDS:

Held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion in Los Angeles, one of the three largest Performing Arts Centers in the United States, the 44th Annual Academy Awards Show was held and The French Connection won the Oscar for Best Picture, Gene Hackman won the Oscar for Best Actor, Jane Fonda won the Oscar for Best Actress, Fiddler On The Roof won the Oscar for Best Original Song Score or Adaptation Score, the Oscar for the Best Original Song was won by “Theme From Shaft” by Isaac Hayes, Charlie Chaplin won an Honorary Academy Award for his film career, and Betty Grable, making one of her last public appearances at this ceremony, along with Dick Haymes, one of her Leading Men, presented the Musical Scoring awards.

ATARI:

The consumer electronics and video games company known as Atari was founded by Nolan Bushnell, who also founded the Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza-Time Theatres, and is a member of the Video Game Hall of Fame as well as the Consumer Electronics Association Hall of Fame, and by Ted Dabney, who along with Nolan Bushnell, created the Syzygy Engineering Company that produced the Computer Space video arcade game, the world’s first commercially sold coin-operated video game. Atari featured the tennis sports video game known as Pong, one of the first popular mainstream video games, that Allan Alcorn designed, as well as the Kee Games Manufacturing Company that became famous for its Tank game. Combat would become another popular Atari fixture on the video game scene.

SUMMER OLYMPICS:

The 1972 Summer Olympic Games were held in Munich, West Germany. Mark Spitz won seven Gold Medals in Swimming at these Olympics and set new world records in all seven events he competed in, Dave Wottle won the Men’s 800 Meter Gold Meter, Dan Gable won the Gold Medal in Wrestling without being scored against by any opponent he faced, Frank Shorter won the Men’s Marathon Gold Medal, and 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were kidnapped and murdered, a West German Police Officer was killed, and 5 Black September Palestinian Terrorists were killed.

GAME SHOWS:

Based on the card game Blackjack, and dubuting on CBS-TV, Gambit was first shown on American television. Other popular Game Shows that first aired on national television in 1972 were The Joker’s Wild and The Price Is Right, that was revamped from its original 1956 version, and was hosted by Bob Barker, that TV Guide listed as its Number 5 ranked Greatest Game Show ever.

THE JOY OF SEX:

The pamphlet known as The Joy of Sex, that was written by the British Doctor and Scientist Alexander Comfort, was first published.

MERLE HAGGARD:

1972 in the wonderful world of Country Music saw Governor Ronald Reagan of California pardon the Poet of the Common Man Merle Haggard for his 1957 robbery conviction that landed him in San Quentin Prison for 2-1/2 years.

OPRYLAND USA:

The wonderful world of Country Music in 1972 also saw Opryland USA open in Nashville across the street from where the Grand Ole Opry House now stands.

FAN FAIR:

The first Fan Fair was held in Music City’s Municipal Auditorium with more than 5,000 attendees present.

COUNTRY MUSIC MAGAZINE:

Country Music Magazine’s premiere issue was released.

CMA AWARDS SHOW:

The Country Music Association’s Awards Show was first broadcasted on CBS-TV, after being originally shown on NBC-TV. The production would remain on CBS-TV until 2006 when it would move to ABC-TV. The Coal Miner’s Daughter Loretta Lynn would become the first female Country Music Entertainer of the Year for the Country Music Association at this event.

WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN:

The landmark Will The Circle Be Unbroken album by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, that also featured Merle Travis, Doc Watson, Roy Acuff, Earl Scruggs, Mother Maybelle Carter, Jimmy Martin, Vassar Clements, Pete “Oswald” Kirby, who was better known as Bashful Brother Oswald, Norman Blake, a highly regarded leader of the Bluegrass Revival Movement of the 1970s, and several other popular Country Music and Bluegrass Music Performers, was recorded. The Grammy Award, and Country Music Association Award-winning Volume Two of the Will The Circle Be Unbroken album, as well as Volume Three of this same album, would be recorded in subsequent years based on the tremendous success of the Will The Circle Be Unbroken album.

JERRY BRIGHTMAN:

Buck Owens added Pedal Steel Guitar Player Jerry Brightman to his Buckaroos for tour dates and recordings. Jerry Brightman would also play with Buck Owens on Hee-Haw, begin the Jamboree In The Hills Country Music Festival in Wheeling, West Virginia, be the General Manager of the Saturday Night Jamboree on WWVA, West Virginia’s only clear channel 50,000 watt radio station, and operate a management company for new Country Music Performers.

FARON YOUNG:

In the first of several bizarre incidents involving Faron Young the Singer was charged with assaulting a young girl by spanking her at a concert in Clarksburg, West Virginia after he claimed she spit on him.

POPULAR PERFORMERS:

The Billboard Number 1 Country Music songs of 1972 were being performed by Merle Haggard, Freddie Hart, Charley Pride, Conway Twitty, Donna Fargo, Tammy Wynette, Sonny James, Loretta Lynn, Buck Owens, Don Gibson, Mel Tillis, Ray Price, Faron Young, Hank Williams Junior, and Jerry Wallace.

MERLE HAGGARD:

“Carolyn”
“Grandma Harp”
“It’s Not Love (But It’s Not Bad)”

FREDDIE HART:

“My Hang-Up Is You”
“Bless Your Heart”
“Got The All Overs For You (All Over Me)”

CHARLEY PRIDE:

“It’s Gonna Take A Little Bit Longer”
“She’s Too Good To Be True”

CONWAY TWITTY:

“(Lost Her Love) On Our Last Date”
“I Can’t Stop Loving You”

DONNA FARGO:

“The Happiest Girl In The Whole USA”
“Funny Face”

TAMMY WYNETTE:

“Bedtime Story”
“My Man (Understands)”

SONNY JAMES:

“That’s Why I Love You Like I Do”
“When The Snow Is On The Roses”

LORETTA LYNN:

“One’s On The Way”

BUCK OWENS:

“Made In Japan”

DON GIBSON:

“Woman (Sensuous Woman)”

MEL TILLIS:

“I Ain’t Never”

RAY PRICE:

“She’s Got To Be A Saint”

FARON YOUNG:

“It’s Four In The Morning”

HANK WILLIAMS JUNIOR:

“Eleven Roses”

JERRY WALLACE:

“If You Leave Me Tonight I’ll Cry”

CONTACT:

This Feature was written by Staff Writer Patrick McDaniels who can be contacted on Facebook@Classic Country Music Gold Nashville. Patrick McDaniels always welcomes comments from the many fans and readers of our website.