Billy Ray Cyrus celebrates his 61st birthday today (8/25), and we thought about the impact he had in country music in the early 1990s when he was a superstar with a  smash hit. “Achy Breaky Heart” was one of the reasons the line dance craze began.

To celebrate Billy Ray’s big day, we wanted to look at some other superstars that came out of the 1990s.

• Garth Brooks

  Share

  Now the only artist in music history to have nine albums reach Diamond status, it all began for Garth in the 1990s when his 'No Fences' album, which came out in August 1990, took off and sold a whopping 17 million copies to date. He was fueled by his career-defining song "Friends In Low Places, " which won Single of the Year in 1990 at the ACM and the CMA.

• Reba

  Share

  Reba's career was still in high gear in the 1990s after the 1980s when she was on fire in country music with number one songs and awards piling up. It was her 'Rumor Has It' album released in 1990 that garnered her biggest and best-loved hit, "Fancy." It is a song she, to this day, closes all of her concerts with.

• Alan Jackson

  Share

  Alan was in the class of 1989, which included Garth Brooks and Clint Black, but it was in the 1990s when he became a genuine country superstar. With tons of country music awards already starting to come his way in 1993, it was his vast hit "Chattahoochee" that gave him the final push he needed. The song received CMA awards for Single of the Year and Song of the Year in 1993.
• Billy Ray Cyrus

  Share

  Billy Ray's debut album 'Some Gave All,' which had "Achy Breaky Heart" on it, sold nine million copies becoming the top-selling album in all genres for 1992.

• Shania Twain

  Share

  The story of her unbelievable success was recently told in a Netflix documentary. It was the late 1990s when she became a superstar, and Billboard named her the leader of the '90s country-pop crossover stars. To date, she has sold over 100 million albums.

• The Chicks

  Share

  These three Texas girls were on fire in 1999 as their debut album 'Wide Open Spaces' achieved Diamond status selling over 10 million copies.
• Brooks & Dunn

  Share

  Winning the ACM's Entertainer of the Year award in 1995 and 1996 and winning the CMA's Entertainer honor in 1996, this duo enjoyed multiple hits in the decade and also had some of the most extensive tours of the era. Just a few superstars that started their careers opening for Brooks and Dunn are Keith Urban and Jason Aldean.

• LeAnn Rimes

  Share

  She was just a pre-teen when she started out in the 1990s, but LeAnn Rimes was quite a sensation. Her 1996 album called 'Blue' sold six million copies.

• Martina McBride

  Share

  She started her career in the early 1990s, opening for Garth Brooks and being seen by millions of fans. She signed to RCA Records in 1991, had a string of hits through 2001, and was one of the country ladies with a crossover sound like Faith Hill and Shania Twain.
• Tim McGraw & Faith Hill

  Share

  This husband and wife team both had big hits as solo artists and as a duo in the 1990s. They were award darlings, with three of their 1990s duets nominated for Grammys. In 2000, the couple finally won a Grammy for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for "Like We Never Loved At All."

• Clint Black

  Share

  This guy was primed to be the biggest superstar to come out of the 1990s as he scored more hit songs then Garth Brooks did with his self-titled debut album, released in 1989. Garth would later surpass Clint, but Black did have four number one songs off his debut 'Killin' Time' album. Clint won his first and only Grammy in the Best Country Collaboration with Vocals category for "Hold On Partner" in 1991 with Roy Rogers.

Have The KML Corner Newsletter Delivered Directly To Your Inbox

Music and entertainment stories, Fayetteville happenings, exclusive contests, games, and more inside every newsletter.

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.