Tim McGraw Overtakes Merle Haggard For Country No.1 Albums

Tim McGraw’s new release Here On Earth debuts at No.1 on Billboard‘s Top Country Albums to become his 17th chart-topper on that tally. Only one of those failed to enter at the summit.

Billboard reports that the album, on McGraw/Big Machine, had 24,000 equivalent album units for the week ending August 27, of which 17,000 were album sales. Here On Earth starts on the Billboard 200 at No. 14.

That achievement on the country chart means that McGraw overtakes another of the all-time greats, Merle Haggard, in total No.1s. He’s now level on 17 with Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney and Willie Nelson in joint second place on that list. George Strait leads it with a mighty 27 bestselling albums. McGraw’s new arrival means he has had No.1 titles in four consecutive decades since the 1990s, matching the sequences of Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire, who each had leaders in the 80s, 90s, 00s and 10s.

“I Called Mama,” the lead single from Here On Earth, rises 12-11 in its 17th week on Country Airplay and 19-13 on Hot Country Songs. It’s new at No.25 on Country Streaming Songs. The star is due to perform the song at Nashville’s famous Bluebird Café on the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards show, airing on CBS on September 16.

McGraw and the Museum

On October 28, McGraw will be part of what the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is calling “the most ambitious digital fundraiser in the museum’s history.” BIG NIGHT (At The Museum), in partnership with YouTube and the country music community, will pair artists and instruments “according to emotional and artistic connections.”

The event will be hosted by Marty Stuart, with audio supervision by Dave Cobb. Others contributing include Alison Brown, Kane Brown, Carlene Carter, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Reba McEntire, Keb’ Mo’, Ricky Skaggs and The War and Treaty.

Here On Earth is out now and can be bought here.

Listen to the best of Tim McGraw on Apple Music and Spotify.