Country music has, for a long time, been one of America’s most listened-to genres. These famous male country singers have captured listeners everywhere with their songs! So, without further ado, here are some of the most famous male country singers.
1. Garth Brooks
Any ranking of famous male country singers is going to have Garth Brooks somewhere near the top of the list. Why? Because when it comes to filling the country’s largest and most iconic stadiums, no one has done it better than this Oklahoman.
Listing his awards would require a whole article in itself, but one fact that demonstrates Brooks’ popularity is that in 2016, he became the only artist ever to be awarded seven Diamond albums by the RIAA, which is one more than the Beatles!
2. Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson is a famous male country singer who came out of Georgia. Many fans know him for a fun song called “Chattahoochee,” which is about growing up near the Chattahoochee River in Georgia. However, his national fame is largely because of the song he wrote after the 9/11 attacks titled “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).”
Jackson has won many awards since his debut album in 1989.
3. Johnny Cash
“The Man in Black,” as he was known to fans, was not just a legendary country singer in the US; he had a global fame many country singers can only hope to achieve. Cash had what many people call “crossover appeal,” which means that he was able to be popular with music lovers of all genres, not just country fans.
Songs like “I Walk the Line,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “A Boy Named Sue,” and the iconic “Ring of Fire” can still be heard on radios everywhere around the world. One of his most famous crossover hits was a dark and sad song called “Hurt,” which Cash did with Nine Inch Nails.
4. Blake Shelton
Shelton is one of the more recent famous male country singers on this list. In fact, you may know him from the TV show “The Voice” on NBC, where he has been a celebrity judge for many seasons.
Shelton is from Oklahoma and, like many famous male country singers, he has won many awards, including a 2020 Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance for “God’s Country.” He has also starred in plenty of films and TV shows.
5. Luke Bryan
Another Georgia native on this list of famous male country singers is Luke Bryan. He is considered one of the newer legends in the genre.
Bryan’s recent 2023 Farm Tour was a real indicator of his widespread fame, where 20,000 fans saw him perform in tiny Brooklyn, WI. The tour also went through other small pitstops up and down the Midwest.
6. Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson has been performing country music for many decades now. As a matter of fact, even at the grand old age of 90, Nelson is still performing in front of crowds!
The native Texan has had chart success since 1956, and while famous for his music, Nelson is also known for being a thoughtful activist. He is passionate about many issues, especially the legalization of marijuana. One of his more famous songs is “On The Road Again,” which he recorded in 1979.
7. John Denver
Born Henry Deutschendorf Jr, John Denver is famous for several country radio hits, including “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” This song has enjoyed a rebirth in popularity over the last few years, especially amongst fans at college football games, but especially at the University of West Virginia. Two of his other biggest hits include “Rocky Mountain High” and “Thank God I’m A Country Boy.”
Outside of music, he was a trained pilot, which tragically cost him his life in 1997.
8. Tim McGraw
McGraw is a Louisiana-born Country music star who has had many hits on the country charts. He has also enjoyed several acting roles, including in The Blind Side.
“Live Like You Were Dying” and “Like We Never Loved At All” (alongside partner Faith Hill) are two of his biggest hits, with the former being at the top of the Billboard Country charts in 2004.
9. George Strait
Another Texan to make this list of famous male country singers is the legendary George Strait. At the age of 71, he still fills concert halls and headlines festivals, making him very deserving of the title of “King of Country Music.”
One of his most famous songs is “All My Ex’s Live in Texas.” It is an amusing tale of a country playboy, constantly on the run from his past girlfriends.
10. Kenny Rogers
Rogers’ contributions to music (not just the country genre) earned him a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. He was a multi-Grammy Award winner, too, for his songs “Lucille” and “The Gambler.”
Kenny Rogers is another famous male country singer who made his mark in the acting world too. He had roles in numerous films and TV shows, including a series of TV films based on his song The Gambler.
11. Randy Travis
Born Randy Traywick, Travis has the rare distinction of being both a country and gospel music singer. Travis won seven Grammy Awards and even received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2016, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
12. Kenny Chesney
Chesney has had numerous smash hits on the Billboard Top 100 charts and has sold over 30 million copies of his albums worldwide. Born in Knoxville, TN, Chesney is a prolific touring musician whose fans enjoy his laidback music with songs like “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” and “When the Sun Goes Down.”
13. Hank Williams
Hank Williams had numerous monikers during his brief career, and his mark on Country music is immense. He died at the early age of 29, but his music has been covered and re-covered many times.
Born in rural Alabama, Williams’ lyrics were simple and sometimes humorous. Songs like “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” demonstrate his wit and talent and have remained iconic in the Deep South to this day.
14. George Jones
Jones is another famous male country singer from Texas who enjoyed extensive chart success for many years. His voice was smooth and melodic and earned him the nickname “The Rolls-Royce of Country Music.”
In 20123, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him as the 24th Greatest Singer of All Time.
15. Waylon Jennings
Jennings, another Texan on this list, is seen as a pioneer of the outlaw country genre that gained popularity in the 1960s. Jennings’ lyrics were seen as a more raw and gritty depiction of life as a Country singer and were likely key to his popularity with fans.
Known for his long hair, beard, and rock and roll lifestyle, Jennings is famous for songs like “Highwayman,” Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” (with Willie Nelson), and “Good-Hearted Woman” (also with Nelson) for which he was awarded Single of the Year for by the CMA in 1976.
16. Jimmie Rodgers
Rodgers had a career spanning many years. While he spent most of his time as a country singer, he also dabbled in R&B and pop music. Rodgers was a veteran and was born in Washington State, which is far from the traditional country music hotbed of the South.
His first hit (also a Gold Record) was “Honeycomb” in 1957, and it reached number 1 on the Billboard charts that year.
17. Buck Owens
Another Texan on this list of famous male Country singers is Alvin Edgar Owens, Jr., or “Buck” for short. He was a talented musician and is largely known for his role as the band leader of Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, a group who went to the top of the Billboard Country Charts an incredible 21 times in the 60s and 70s.
18. Marty Robbins
Marty Robbins is the first singer on this list who was famous not only for his music but also for his driving skills; he had a semi-successful career on the NASCAR circuit.
He recorded 52 studio albums and is known for such singles as “El Paso,” “A White Sport Coat,” and “Don’t Worry.”
19. Bill Monroe
Considered to be “The Father of Bluegrass,” Monroe was born in Kentucky and was a talented player of the mandolin. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970. In 1997, he wals also inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Monroe is known for his song “The Blue Moon of Kentucky,” which Elvis Presley and Paul McCartney re-recorded.
20. Roy Acuff
Roy Acuff, the “King of Country Music,” started the transition of the genre from the old “hoedown” format to what we have today. Acuff’s contribution to country music was so significant that he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and had museums named after him in his hometown of Maynardville, TN.
21. Merle Haggard
Guitarist, fiddler, singer-songwriter, ex-con – you name it, Merle Haggard did it in country music. Haggard is the first (and only) Californian on this list of famous male country singers.
Songs like “Okie from Muskogee” and “The Fightin’ Side of Me” got heavy rotation on the country music charts, and his time with The Strangers produced many country anthems loved by fans to this day.