CMA 50th Anniversary: The First 10 Years

NASHVILLE, TN. (Top40 Charts/ Country Music Association) - Like most grand adventures, it began with a small group of visionaries, unafraid of hard work and totally willing to devote their time and resources to a common goal. The year was 1958, and that goal was the advancement of Country Music. Thus the Country Music Association was born.

'Country Music was in trouble,' recalled former CMA Executive Director Jo Walker-Meador. 'Rock 'n' roll was taking over the airwaves, and so the radio stations were dropping Country Music and changing the format.'

To address these developments, a group of professionals met in Miami to launch an organization that would promote Country Music. At this meeting, hosted by the Country Music Disc Jockey Association, attendees included CMDJA President Connie B. Gay, Grand Ole Opry manager Dee Kilpatrick, talent agent and booker Hubert Long, publisher/producer Wesley Rose, the Wilburn Brothers and other key players in the Country Music community.

The late Ken Nelson, a legendary producer who headed Capitol Records' Country division for many years, recounted this meeting in his book, My First 90 Years Plus 3. In discussing the travails suffered by the CMDJA at the time, he wrote, the conference members 'concluded that the problem was the CMDJA was only one segment of the industry and that in order to be successful the organization must encompass all segments of the industry – radio and television, music publishers, record companies, artists, managers, bookers and trade papers. It was decided to form a Country Music Association with headquarters in Nashville.'