Country Music Awards Information

The Country Music Awards is an annual event held each year since 1967 in Nashville. Sonny James and Bobbie Gentry hosted the event, which was not televised. Annual awards are given in the following twelve categories: Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Female Vocalist, Horizon Award, Vocal Group, Vocal Duo, Single, Album, Song, Music Event, Music Video, and Musician. The Country Music Awards were created by the Country Music Association (CMA), which was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enhance the development of Country Music throughout the world; to demonstrate it as a viable medium to advertisers, consumers and media; and to provide a unity of purpose for the Country Music industry. Initially, CMA's Board of Directors included nine directors and five officers. Wesley Rose, president of Acuff-Rose Publishing, Inc., served as CMA's first chairman of the board. Broadcasting entrepreneur and executive Connie B. Gay was the founding president. Originally there were nine individual membership categories.

The current 15 categories represent all facets of the music industry. Organizational memberships are also available. CMA membership is composed of those persons or organizations that are involved in Country Music, directly and substantially. The winner of the first "Entertainer of the Year" award was singer Eddy Arnold. "Male Vocalist of the Year" went to Jack Green and "Female Vocalist of the Year" to Loretta Lynn. In 1968, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans hosted the awards, which was televised from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The show was taped by NBC-TV for re-broadcast on the Kraft Music Hall, beginning a 19-year sponsor relationship by Kraft. The first live telecast of the show was in 1969.Awards that year went to Bobby Russell for "Honey" and Jeannie C. Riley for "Harper Valley PTA," Glen Campbell was named Entertainer of the Year and Bob Wills was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The first live telecast of the show was in 1969. In that year, Johnny Cash set a record by winning five Awards in a single night, including: Entertainer; Male Vocalist; Single for "Boy Named Sue;" Album; and Vocal Group of the Year for his work with June Carter. The record remains unsurpassed to this day, but has been matched twice. Gene Autry and Bill Monroe were named to the Country Music Hall of Fame. CMA award winners are chosen in voting by industry professional members of the Country Music Association.

Thus, award winners are honored by their peers in the music industry. The staff of the CMA does not participate in the voting process. The Country Music Awards is often recognized around the world as "Country Music's Biggest Night." The Award show represents the pinnacle of achievement for Country Music artists, musicians, producers, publishers, songwriters, video directors and industry executives who work in America's most popular music genre. The 2004 CMA are "The 35th Annual CMA Awards" and were held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee. They were televised live from the Grand Opry on November 7th 2004 and hosted by Vince Gill, an 18-time CMA Award winner, who was hosting the show for his tenth time. Other hosts Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn picked up their 12th Vocal Duo of the Year Award. The pair sang their upcoming single "It's Getting Better All the Time" from their second Greatest Hits CD. Kenny Chesney picked up his first two CMA Awards with the coveted Entertainer of the Year and Album of the Year for When the Sun Goes Down, which was produced by Chesney and Buddy Cannon.

We accept all major credit cards.

Our tickets are shipped via FedEx.