Today is International Women's Day. To help you celebrate with our listeners, here are some milestones achieved by the women of country music.
Kitty Wells became the first woman in country music history to top the U.S. country charts with "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels." (1952)
Anne Murray was the first Canadian to reach number-one on the U.S. Billboard country charts with "I Just Fall in Love Again." (1979)
Patsy Cline was the first female country artist to headline a Las Vegas residency (1962) and perform at Carnegie Hall. She's also the first woman to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame (posthumously in 1973).Â
Carrie Underwood made history when she released her album Cry Pretty, making her the first woman to have four country albums reach the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart.
Carrie Underwood tied for the ACM's Entertainer of the Year title, making her the first woman in ACM history to win the award three times. (2008, 2009, 2019)
Dolly Parton is the only country artist who has had a Top 20 hit on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart for six decades in a row. Â
Jeannie Seely is the first woman to regularly host 30-minute segments of the Grand Ole Opry.Â
Crystal Gayle became the first female country artist to have an album, We Must Believe in Magic, sell a million copies. The album featured her smash hit "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue."
Kelsea Ballerini is the only female country artist whose debut album produced three chart-toppers. She is also the youngest member of the Grand Ole Opry (2019).
In 1972, Loretta Lynn became the first woman to win the CMA's Entertainer of the Year Award. Three years later, she became the first woman to win the ACM's Entertainer of the Year award. In 1975, she became the first woman to host the show. Roger Miller was her co-host. Dolly Parton was the first woman to host the show solo in 2000.
In 1967, Bobbie Gentry is the first woman to host the CMA Awards. She co-hosted with Sonny James. In 1968, Dolly Parton was the first female to host the show solo.
Jenee Fleenor was the first woman to be nominated for the CMA's Musician of the Year and the first woman to take home the award. (2019)
In 2020, Mickey Guyton became the first Black woman to sing an original song at the ACM Awards.
Miranda Lambert has won 38 ACM Awards -- the most in ACM history to date. She's also the most-awarded woman in CMA Awards history with 14 total wins and the most-nominated woman with 61 nominations. Miranda won the CMA's Female Vocalist of the Year for seven times.
#iHeartWomensDay
At age 19, Taylor Swift became the youngest person to with the CMA's Entertainer of the Year award. (2009)
Seven women have won the CMA's Entertainer of the Year. They are Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell (twice), Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, The Chicks and Taylor Swift (twice).
Eight women have won the ACM's Entertainer of the Year. They are Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, The Chicks, Carrie Underwood,Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert.