List of Hot Country Singles number ones of 1982

A man with long grey hair and a grey beard, wearing a black cowboy hat and black t-shirt
Willie Nelson (pictured in 2009) topped the chart both in his own right and in a duet with Waylon Jennings.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1982, 48 different singles topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.[1]

The band Alabama achieved the most number ones by a single act, topping the chart four times. Ronnie Milsap, T. G. Sheppard, Ricky Skaggs and Conway Twitty each had three number ones. Alabama, Twitty and Willie Nelson tied for the most weeks in the top spot with four each. Nelson's four weeks consisted of two weeks with "Always on My Mind" followed immediately by a further two with "Just to Satisfy You", a collaboration with Waylon Jennings. In October, Dolly Parton topped the chart with the double A-sided single "I Will Always Love You" / "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind". Both tracks were re-recordings of songs she had previously released in the 1970s, and the original recording of "I Will Always Love You" had reached number one in 1974, making Parton the first artist to top the chart with two different recordings of the same song.[2]

Ed Bruce, best known for writing "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys", a highly successful chart-topper for Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson four years earlier, achieved his only number one as a performer in 1982 with "You're the Best Break This Old Heart Ever Had".[3] Several other artists reached the top spot for the first time in 1982, including Juice Newton with "The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)",[4] Ricky Skaggs with "Crying My Heart Out Over You",[5] Michael Murphey (later known as Michael Martin Murphy) with "What's Forever For",[6][7] and John Anderson with "Wild and Blue".[8] In August George Strait topped the chart for the first time with "Fool Hearted Memory";[9] Strait would go on to top the chart regularly for more than 25 years, achieving a record-breaking 44 Hot Country number ones.[10]

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005. Record Research. p. ix. ISBN 9780898201659.
  2. ^ Ellison, Curtis W. (1995). Country Music Culture: From Hard Times to Heaven. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 195. ISBN 9781604739343.
  3. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Ed Bruce Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  4. ^ Stromblad, Cory (September 5, 2012). "No, 89: Juice Newton, "The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)" – Top 100 Country Love Songs". Taste of Country. Townsquare Media. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  5. ^ Freeman, Jon (September 11, 2017). "How Ricky Skaggs Redefined Bluegrass and Brought It to the Mainstream". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  6. ^ "Michael Murphey Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 20, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  7. ^ "Michael Martin Murphey Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  8. ^ Huey, Steve. "John Anderson Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  9. ^ Thompson, Gayle (August 28, 2017). "35 Years Ago: George Strait Earns First No. 1 Hit with "Fool Hearted Memory"". The Boot. Townsquare Media. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  10. ^ Gage, Jeff (August 7, 2017). "Watch Miranda Lambert, Wade Bowen Cover George Strait Classic". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.