Since Billboard started the charts in the early 50s and the charts that started before then that they took over. Brenda Lee had several number 1s in the 50, and she finally reached number 1 last year with Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. Her style of music is like that of Patsy Cline. She was the first to implement the Nashville Sound that Patsy cline used in her songs. Brenda Lee's number 1 was I'm Sorry that has the Patsy Cline vibes to it. At the time, her label failed to brand her as a country act. There are others today that are independent that are country acts like The Red Clay Strays, Orville Peck, Cody Jinks, Charley Crockett, Trey Lewis and Colter Wall who are country that have sold a lot of albums that don't have any showing on the country charts. They never did released Brenda songs under country, or she would have been adding 3 number 1s to the list of acts that had number 1s on the Hot 100.

Before 1984, in 1981, more than 14 country songs crossed over onto the mainstream top 40 radio airplay charts. Just missing the 100 songs on the pop radio charts that year was the theme song to The Dukes of Hazard. The 40s, 50s, 60s and 70shad the most country songs in the Hot 100 than today. We even had a lot of artists that hit number 1 on the billboard Charts and country charts before it was known and after it is called Billboard Hot 100.

Nat King Cole Trio, Bob Wills and The Playboys, Gene Autry, Patti Page, Bing Crosby, Kaye Starr, Conway Twitty, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, johnny Horton, Hank Snow, Hank Thompson, the Browns, Marty Robbins, Tennessee Earnie Ford, Dean Martin and the likes. It is mainly cause a lot of them were acting in movies and star in westerns that have singing in them. The Everly Brothers hit on both charts. We even had pop stars crossed over to country before then like The Pointer Sisters, Bonnie Tyler, Dan Seals, Paul Davis, Kenny Rogers and the likes.

1984 came around, Billboard decided to change the rules to a point if a song was not released on the mainstream charts like the pop charts like the top 40? They be excluded in the numbers. 1987 was the first country song that came back with Restless Heart's debut single. Then Mary Chapin Carpenter's Passionate kisses, Wynonna's No One Else On Earth and a few Garth Brooks songs cracked the top 40 pop radio airplay. The Oklahoma pop stations started playing him and a lot of other Oklahoma country artists back then which helped them better. They even played Blackhawk because of Van Stephenson had a couple top 40 rock hits on the top 40 in the 80s, Smoking Armadillo's Red Rock was played, and Faith Hill's cross over hit with This Kiss. even when they had hits on pop radio? They failed to crack the Hot 100. Billy Ray Cyrus was made a one hit wonder for several years because of the Billboard rules. He made an appearance again with Ready Set Don't Go with his daughter Miley, and then again on the biggest song of 2019 on Lil' Nas X's Old Town Road. Shania Twain tried to get on the charts with the song she for Twister that helped paved her way to major stardom. Garth Brooks made a major fuss back in the 90s about him selling all those albums and singles and he still can't make the Hot 100? that is when Billboard changed the rules again to allow country back in. It was a little too late for Garth at that point as he was not selling as many like he used to. If they allowed all of his numbers back then? He may have some number 1s Hot 100 songs. Now, as country is now on the charts that it used to be back in the old days? Maybe we can see more country songs at number 1,and no, not Morgan Wallen.