Alan Jackson’s brilliant tribute to the tragedy of September 11 met a subdued audience when the CMA show was held just two months after the attack. That night, Jackson was nominated for three awards, but this performance superseded that achievement. It was a moment in which Americans, still in mourning following the worst terrorist attack ever on U.S. soil, were united by Jackson’s anthem of grief and loss.

The song described a humble man who subscribed to the basic values of faith, hope and love and put a proper perspective on the tragedy by examining what really matters in his life. He proposes watching I Love Lucy reruns, reaching for the Bible and holding tight to loved ones in the time of uncertainty. The writing and performing of “Where Were You” made Jackson an unexpected, but worthy ambassador for those who could not quite capture their own feelings about the subject. It also sparked a resurgence in Jackson’s career, one marked by the honest, humble words of a hillbilly poet with a pure, country voice. He’s third on the list of most honored CMA artists, owning 16 awards, including two awards for Male Vocalist of the Year and three wins as Entertainer of the Year.

What makes Jackson’s performance the most notable in the history of the CMA Awards is the song’s close connection with the themes have driven the format since its humble beginnings. The cliche’ often invoked about country music is that it portrays real life in just a matter of minutes. With the music business now built on increasing calculation, rather than inspiration, fewer moments of true spontaneity are captured and even fewer are presented to the public. On this night, the self-prescribed “singer of simple songs” proved that the legendary leaders of the genre, with their timeless melodies and rhymes, are still capable of transcendant art.

Alan Jackson, “Where Were You” (2001)

At the 1999 ceremony, George Jones, just months removed from a near-fatal car accident, was nominated for Single of the Year for his autobiographical ballad “Choices.” When CMA executives asked for Jones to sing a shortened version of the nominated song, he opted to stay home as a sign of his irritation at their request. Jackson, prompted by his admiration for Jones and his frustration with the CMA, quietly but rebelliously shifted into “Choices” halfway through his scheduled performance of his current single, “Pop A Top.”

After finishing the song, he silently walked off stage while and industry executives and artists alike rose to their feet with a standing ovation. Jackson would exit the Opry house and not return for the rest of the evening. When asked later about Jackson’s decision, Jones said, “What he did [at the CMAs] meant more to me than I could ever say. I was watching the show, and when he began singing ‘Choices,’ it moved my wife Nancy and me both to tears. He made a huge statement on my behalf, and on behalf of traditional country music, and didn’t worry about what the consequences might be.” In the war of art and commerce, Jackson chose to honor the humble beginnings of the genre when those values were compromised, and was justly rewarded with positive press as a result of his indignant, yet popular, actions that evening.

Jackson’s CMA career includes 16 awards, and he’s nominated in four categories at the 2008 ceremony.

Alan Jackson, video, “Pop a Top” (1999)

Presenter Charlie Rich fanned the flames of an ongoing battle between country music’s traditional artists and the pop singers making waves in Nashville when he presented the Entertainer of the Year trophy in 1975.

Rich opened the envelope, read it, and then lit a cigarette lighter and burned the envelope. He announced the winner, “My friend, Mister John Denver.” Though he claimed he had overmedicated, Rich’s presentation appeared to be a strong statement against the pop sensibilities of Denver and his counterparts. Denver, accepting via satellite, was unaware of Rich’s actions, and spoke briefly and humbly about his triumph. Furious, industry insiders never again showed outward support to Rich (he had won five CMA awards in the past). His career cooled considerably after the incident. Even though he continued to produce albums frequently until his semi-retirement in 1981, he never added to his list of five #1 albums.

Neither Denver nor Rich ever received another CMA award. Rich failed to earn another nomination (and was not invited back to the ceremony the next year), and he died at the age of 63 in 1995. Denver was recognized in the Vocal Event of the Year category in 1989, and passed away in an airplane crash in 1997.

Charlie Rich, live performance, “Behind Closed Doors”

Cindy Walker was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997, an honor that is still rare for women (only nine female artists currently hold membership). This achievement was made all the more remarkable considering that Walker was a songwriter. But her talent was undeniable, as she penned songs such as “Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream),” “I Don’t Care,” “Take Me in Your Arms” and “You Don’t Know Me.”

Although Walker was likely unknown to most of the audience, she stole the show with her wonderfully eloquent, heart-tugging speech. Walker’s mother Oree, which whom she had lived for much of her adult life, had passed away several years earlier. When Walker took the stage to accept honor, she read a poem that she had written to pay tribute to her mother‘s love:

In the 1980’s my mother bought me a dress for a BMI affair
And she said, ‘When they put you in the Hall of Fame, that’s the dress I want you to wear’
I said, ‘Oh mama, the Hall of Fame. Why, that will never be’
And the years went by, but my mother’s words remained in my memory
And I know tonight she’d be happy, though she’s gone now to her rest
But I think of all that she did for me, and tonight I’m wearing that dress!

Walker burst into tears and the audience gave the legendary songwriter a standing ovation. She passed away in 2006, and Willie Nelson honored her that same year with a covers album of a number of her classic compositions, timeless songs that will forever shape the genre.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0BG8uKglNg

For her 1993 CMA duet “Does He Love You” with Linda Davis, Reba McEntire asked stylist Sandy Spika to design a dress worthy of the moment. Mission accomplished. McEntire, known for her keen fashion sense and an even better flair for the dramatic, raised eyebrows when she appeared on the CMA stage in a low-cut red dress. The dress earned howls from the crowd who were surprised at the plunging neckline of the plucky redhead. Since then, the event evokes only laughter (and maybe just the slightest bit of embarrassment) from the famous singer when she recalls her cleavage-revealing performance.

The audience surely was impressed by the song as well. It reached #1 on the country singles chart later in 1993. The following year, the twosome (Reba & Linda, that is) earned the CMA award for Vocal Event of the Year, and the song also captured a Grammy for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.

Reba McEntire & Linda Davis, “Does He Love You” (1993)

Reba McEntire, Interview with Ralph Emery (1994)

In a rare coup for a new artist, Mary Chapin Carpenter earned a coveted performance slot on the 1990 show, and she used it to establish her identity as one of country music’s left-of-center talents. She decided to perform the biting “You Don’t Know Me (I’m the Opening Act),” a cutting dismissal of country star power gone awry. It was a risky move, with the less-than-famous artist taking a stab at the music industry who would determine the fate of her career.

In delivering such clever lines as, “This is my career and I’m paying my dues/And if I ever get rich and famous I guess I’ll be a jackass, too/Till then, you don’t know me/I’m the opening act,” she managed to gain acceptance from the crowd. The witty ode to those whose egos have trumped their talent, inspired by Carpenter’s headlining act/touring partner in 1990, was a major hit with the audience. She received a standing ovation at the end of the semi-scandalous story of a rising musician’s struggle. But Carpenter didn’t struggle for long. Two years later, she won the first of back-to-back Female Vocalist of the Year trophies in a CMA career that included 12 nominations, among them, a nomination for Album of the Year and Single of the Year (for the similarly sharp “I Feel Lucky”) in 1992.

Mary Chapin Carpenter, “You Don’t Know Me (I’m the Opening Act)” (1990)

She’d long been an afterthought with the Country Music Association, failing to secure an award in her six-year career, but the organization righted past wrongs by honoring Shania Twain with its most significant trophy in 1999.

Twain had taken losses twice for the Horizon Award, and had been defeated in both her Female Vocalist of the Year nominations, including earlier in the evening. But Reba McEntire beamed with joy as she read Twain’s name to make her only the fifth female artist in history to take the CMA’s top award.

Twain acknowledged the Hall of Fame inductions of Conway Twitty and Dolly Parton that same evening, and gave credit to McEntire for her influence on Twain’s entertaining. She also spoke humbly of the commitment of her road band and crew, and earned an enthusiastic response from Vince Gill, who noted after the speech that the critics would be silenced after the win.

Although she has presented and performed multiple times at the CMAs in the last decade, Twain has yet to take another trip to the podium and has only received one other nomination, 2005‘s Vocal Event of the Year for her duet with Billy Currington, “Party for Two.”

Shania Twain, Entertainer of the Year (1999)

#8: Faith Hill & Carrie Underwood
Female Vocalist of the Year
2006

The CMAs experienced an unwanted (and many would argue, unwarranted) amount of attention in 2006, when an intended joke by Faith Hill cast a pall on the honoring of Carrie Underwood with the Female Vocalist of the Year trophy.

Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter Miley announced the five nominees for the award, and when Underwood was announced as the winner, the ABC cameras were aimed at all five nominees. Hill’s expression of supposed disbelief was displayed worldwide as she suddenly threw her arms wide open, mouthed what appeared to be a very angry “What?!” and stormed away.

In a statement released by Hill, she stated: “The idea that I would act disrespectful towards a fellow musician is unimaginable to me, for this to become a focus of attention given the talent gathered is utterly ridiculous. Carrie is a talented and deserving Female Vocalist of The Year.” Hill graciously called Underwood that evening, and the young singer later publicly stated that she understood how Hill’s joke was taken out of context.

While she had won three CMA awards (including 2000’s CMA Female Vocalist honor) previous to the ceremony, Hill has yet to receive another nomination. Underwood repeated as Female Vocalist of the Year in 2007, and also won Single of the Year for “Before He Cheats.”

Carrie Underwood, Female Vocalist of the Year (2006)

Dolly Parton had a little fun with her presentation of the Male Vocalist of the Year award in 1988. First, she flirted with nominee George Strait and asked if he’d went out and rented the prettiest girl in town, referring to Strait’s wife, Norma. Parton, comfortable as any entertainer in front of an audience, then sat down in Travis’ lap and proclaimed that if she were a younger (and single) woman, she would be interested in the singer. The crowd erupted with laughter as she playfully teased the star with her “big hair and big ideas.”

Parton was not the only person in the Grand Ole Opry House who had been smitten by the traditional vocalist, as he was soon announced as the Male Vocalist of the Year for the second consecutive time. Travis jokingly exclaimed, “After all that I find myself wondering what I just won!” The following year, Parton came back to the stage as Travis introduced the Female Vocalist of the Year award, but no funny business this time.

Both Parton and Travis were favorites of the CMA crowd. Parton’s nine CMA victories are the most of any female solo artist, and among those honors are two Female Vocalist of the Year awards and the 1978 Entertainer of the Year prize. Travis never won another CMA award after 1988, but owns five trophies and 22 nominations across a career that has spanned more than two decades.

Dolly Parton & Randy Travis, Male Vocalist of the Year presentation (1988):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7xDF0hfgAA

In a courageous move, Kathy Mattea drew attention to the AIDS epidemic at the 1992 ceremony. The entertainment industry was making special note of the disease by wearing red ribbons to promote awareness; however, the Country Music Association wished to steer clear of controversy. They promoted green ribbons to the artist, meant to signify environmental awareness, but Mattea refused to follow suit. She had asked the CMA to help her script a short speech on the issue, but their ignorance of her request demonstrated their disapproval.

As Mattea presented that night, she wore three red ribbons along with the green one. She also announced the names of her three friends who had died from the disease. The Country Music Association failed to share her activism and commitment to the cause, but her determination created discussion about the issue and elevated its importance in the Nashville community. Two years later, Mattea led the creation of Red Hot + Country, an album to raise funds for AIDS education. The 1992 ceremony was the starting point in this quest, and though Mattea has earned four CMA awards, including Female Vocalist of the Year in 1989-1990, this was her defining moment on country music’s biggest stage.

Kathy Mattea, “455 Rocket” video (1997-CMA Video of the Year):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYWoQb4oxbQ