List of Hot Country Singles number ones of 1986

Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire was one of a large number of acts with two number one singles in 1986. She also performed on the year-end number one by Hank Williams Jr. but was not credited on the chart

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1986, 52 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.[1] No song managed more than a single week at number one during the year.

The first number one of the year was "Have Mercy" by mother-daughter duo the Judds.[2] In the fall, Conway Twitty achieved his 40th and final Hot Country number one with "Desperado Love",[3] 18 years after he first topped the chart with "Next in Line".[4] Twitty's total of 40 number ones would remain a record for the highest number of country chart-toppers by an artist until 2006, when the record was broken by George Strait.[3][5] Two female acts tied for the most number ones of the year, each reaching the top spot three times: the Forester Sisters (including one in collaboration with the Bellamy Brothers) and the Judds. More than a dozen acts each achieved two number ones, including Crystal Gayle and Gary Morris, who each achieved one solo number one as well as performing together on the hit "Makin' Up for Lost Time (The Dallas Lovers' Song)". One of Juice Newton's two number ones, "Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)", a duet with Eddie Rabbitt, had originally been performed by Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson on the soap opera Days of Our Lives the previous year.[6] The song was not initially released commercially, but after Newton and Rabbitt's version became a hit, Loring and Anderson's recording was released and topped the Hot Adult Contemporary chart,[7] meaning that versions of the same song by two different acts were number ones in their respective genres within a month of each other.

Acts to top the country chart for the first time in 1986 included Randy Travis with "On the Other Hand". Upon its initial release, the song had failed to even break into the top 40, but after Travis reached the top 10 with the song "1982", "On the Other Hand" was re-released and this time went all the way to number one, giving Travis his first chart-topper.[8] Later in the year, T. Graham Brown achieved his first number one with "Hell and High Water",[9] and the band Restless Heart reached the top of the chart for the first time with "That Rock Won't Roll", one of four chart-topping singles to be taken from the album Wheels.[10][11] Hank Williams Jr. ended the year in the top spot with his version of "Mind Your Own Business", a song originally recorded by his father Hank Williams in 1949. The new recording featured vocal contributions from country singers Reba McEntire and Willie Nelson, rocker Tom Petty and Reverend Ike, a televangelist.[12]

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005. Record Research. p. ix. ISBN 9780898201659.
  2. ^ Huey, Steve. "The Judds Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 18, 2019. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Trust, Gary (April 8, 2009). "Chart Beat: Pink, George Strait, Jamie Foxx". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  4. ^ Thompson, Gayle (November 2, 2017). "49 Years Ago: Conway Twitty Earns First No. 1 Country Hit With 'Next In Line'". The Boot. Townsquare Media. Archived from the original on November 2, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  5. ^ Spong, John (June 2014). "All George Strait's No. 1's". Texas Monthly. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  6. ^ Summers, Kim. "Gloria Loring Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  7. ^ Leszczak, Bob (2016). Dynamic Duets: The Best Pop Collaborations from 1955 to 1999. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 81. ISBN 9781442271500.
  8. ^ Thompson, Gayle (July 26, 2017). "31 Years Ago: Randy Travis Hits No. 1 With "On the Other Hand"". The Boot. Townsquare Media. Archived from the original on May 4, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  9. ^ Huey, Steve. "T. Graham Brown Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  10. ^ Huey, Steve. "Restless Heart Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  11. ^ Morris, Edward (November 19, 2004). "Restless Heart Reunite for Still Restless". CMT. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  12. ^ Hodge, Will (December 27, 2016). "Flashback: Hear Hank Williams Jr.'s 'Own Business' With Tom Petty". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2019.