Originally published in the October 28, 1997 issue of Country Weekly magazine.
Country radio once was notable for its loyalty to artists: Not many became stars, but those who did could expect long careers. Today, radio tends to favor newer artists. The point becomes clear if you compare the acts who created country radio’s top songs in 1996, 1986 and 1976. Twenty years ago, the biggest songs came from longtime artists — on average, they had enjoyed a career of more than 11 years before they hit the top of Billboard‘s country chart for the first time. Today’s top stars have been around less than half that time.
1996 Top 10 Average career length: 4.6 years
| Artist | Song | Length of career on radio* |
|---|---|---|
| Brooks & Dunn | My Maria | 4 years, 11 months |
| George Strait | Blue Clear Sky | 15 years, 1 month |
| Tracy Lawrence | Time Marches on | 4 years, 7 months |
| Ricochet | Daddy’s Money | 7 months |
| Tim McGraw | She Never Lets It Go to Her Heart | 3 years, 11 months |
| Ty Herndon | Living in a Moment | 7 months |
| Shania Twain | No One Needs To Know | 3 years, 3 months |
| Patty Loveless | You Can Feel Bad | 10 years, 4 months |
| Clay Walker | Hypnotize the Moon | 2 years, 9 months |
| Lonestar | No News | 8 months |
1986 Top 10 Average career length: 8 years
| Artist | Song | Length of career on radio |
|---|---|---|
| Rosanne Cash | Never Be You | 6 years, 4 months |
| The Statler Brothers | Too Much on My Heart | 19 years, 2 months |
| Lee Greenwood | I Don’t Mind the Thorns (If You’re the Rose) | 4 years, 3 months |
| The Judds | Have Mercy | 2 years, 1 month |
| Gary Morris | I’ll Never Stop Loving You | 5 years, 1 month |
| Kenny Rogers | Morning Desire | 16 years, 6 months |
| Steve Wariner | You Can Dream of Me | 7 years, 10 months |
| Reba McEntire | Whoever’s in New England | 10 years |
| Judy Rodman | Until I Met You | 1 year, 4 months |
| Randy Travis | On the Other Hand | 7 years, 7 months |
Top 10, 1976 Average career length: 11.2 years
| Artist | Song | Length of career on radio |
|---|---|---|
| C.W. McCall | Convoy | 1 year, 5 months |
| Waylon & Willie | Good Hearted Woman | 12 years (avg. of the two) |
| Dave & Sugar | The Door Is Always Open | 8 months |
| Crystal Gayle | I’ll Get Over You | 5 years, 8 months |
| Red Sovine | Teddy Bear | 21 year, 3 months |
| Marty Robbins | El Paso City | 23 years, 6 months |
| Ronnie Milsap | (I’m a) Stand by My Woman Man | 3 years, 2 months |
| Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius | I Don’t Want To Have To Marry You | 6 years (avg. of the two) |
| Johnny Cash | One Piece at a Time | 20 years, 6 months |
| Johnny Duncan | Thinkin’ of a Rendezvous | 9 years, 4 months |
*Radio career length measured from the debut date of the artist’s first hit song to the day the Top 10 song hit No. 1, as reported in Billboard magazine
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