July 31 — A private aircraft piloted by Jim Reeves crashes during a thunderstorm near Nashville, Tennessee. Both Reeves and business partner Dean Manuel are killed in the crash; their bodies are found two days later following a massive search for the two missing men. Reeves, already a huge country star, would leave behind hundreds of unreleased recordings; many of those songs became huge posthumous hits during the next decade. Reeves' death comes just 16 months after the airplane crash deaths of Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas, leaving a huge void among country music fans.
November 28 — "Once a Day," by Connie Smith, begins an eight-week stay at No. 1 on the BillboardHot Country Singles chart. Until 2012, it is the longest-running No. 1 song by a solo female act, and will make the 23-year-old Smith — a native of Elkhart, Indiana — an overnight sensation.
Best Country and Western Single — "Dang Me", Roger Miller
Best Country and Western Song — "Dang Me", Roger Miller (Performer: Roger Miller)
Best Country and Western Album — Dang Me/Chug-a-Lug, Roger Miller
Best New Country and Western Artist — Roger Miller
Further reading
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.