Was Beyonce’s Grammy Win the First Time a Country Album Won Album of the Year?

The Bey Hive was buzzing last night at the Grammys, as Beyoncé won Album of the Year for the first time, and became the first Black female artist to win Best Country Album with her first attempt in the genre for Cowboy Carter. The hubbub left many viewers wondering: Was this the first time a country album won Album of the Year? Is it the first time an album has won both Best Country Album and Album of the Year?
The answer — and the history of country music at the Grammys, period — is surprising.
When did the Grammy start honoring country music?

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The Grammys first came about in 1959, but Best Country Album wasn’t a category until the 1965 awards, when it was called Best Country & Western Album. Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, Chet Atkins, Hank Williams Jr. and Jim Reeves were all up for the award for their 1964 albums, but the win went to none other than Roger Miller for Dang Me/Chug-a-Lug.
Miller swept the country awards that year, while also winning Best New Country & Western Artist, Best Male Performance, Best Country & Western Single and Best New Country & Western Song. He swept them again the following year with his giant hit single “King of the Road” on the album The Return of Roger Miller.
Shockingly, the next year, in 1967, the category of Best Country & Western Album was gone — it lasted only two years from 1965 to 1966. It wasn’t revived until 1995, when it came back as Best Country Album. The ’90s were a hot time for country music with hitmakers like Shania Twain, Trisha Yearwood, Dwight Yoakam, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, George Strait and more topping the charts, so it made sense to bring the category back.
Mary Chapin Carpenter was the first to win the new Best Country Album award, but it was the Chicks (then known as the Dixie Chicks) that really excelled, with four Best Country Album awards under their belt. The only other country artist to approach that level is current country star Chris Stapleton, who currently clocks in behind them with three wins.
Though many country heavyweights have won the award, it was often only at the end of their careers. Johnny Cash won in 1996 with the Rick Rubin-produced album of covers Unchained, Loretta Lynn won in 2005 with Jack White-produced Van Lear Rose and in 2022 Willie Nelson won with A Beautiful Time.
What albums have won both Album of the Year and Best Country Album?
While there are not many other artists who have won both honors for the same album, Beyoncé isn’t on her own here. Eddy Arnold was the first to be nominated for both in 1966 with My World,
And many country albums were nominated for Album of the Year in the years when there was no Best Country Album category, including Johnny Cash in 1970 for Johnny Cash At San Quentin, Charlie Rich in 1974 for Behind Closed Doors, Kenny Rogers in 1980 for The Gambler, and Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris in 1988 for Trio.

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But in the time since the award was revived, there have been only three times a Best Country Album has also taken home Album of the Year. In addition to Beyoncé, the Dixie Chicks won both honors in 2007 for their album Taking the Long Way, while Kacey Musgraves took home Best Album of the Year and Best Country Album for Golden Hour.
How do you feel about Beyoncé taking the Best Country Album honor? Let us know in the comments!

Queens of Country
November 2019
Get your toes-tapping as we give a nod to the queens of classic country music.
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