Feuds will come and go in any music genre. Many of those famous beefs are fabricated or overexaggerated by the media. Others are quite silly in retrospect, and some have even been resolved. Country music is no exception when it comes to famous feuds between artists and other people (or whole companies). Let’s look at five famous country music feuds that are still pretty buzzworthy today!
1. Randy Travis vs. Lib Hatcher
Country star Randy Travis was married to his managed, Lib Hatcher, for 19 years. The pair divorced in 2010. Their marriage itself had a lot of controversy, as Hatcher was 16 years his senior and they first met when Travis was still a teen.
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The controversy didn’t end there, though. When the couple divorced, both parties sued each other over a whole litany of personal and professional disputes. Things died down when Travis had a life-changing stroke in 2013, but it isn’t clear if the two are still duking it out in court today.
2. Johnny Cash vs. Grand Ole Opry
Johnny Cash didn’t mind controversy. In fact, his rebellious attitude and brand were part of what made him so popular in his heyday. However, at one point in his career, the Man in Black made a few movers and shakers at the Grand Ole Opry mad.
In 1965, Cash performed at the Grand Ole Opry. The set ended pretty quickly when Cash smashed out a floor light with his microphone. The stunt earned him a ban from the Opry, but Cash and the Opry ended up resolving the beef before Cash passed away in 2003.
3. Dolly Parton vs. Porter Wagoner
This is one of those country music feuds that even non-country fans know about. Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner were good friends and very successful business partners in the 1960s through the 1970s. However, Parton wanted to kick off her solo career and blaze a new trail for herself. She penned the famous song “I Will Always Love You” for Wagoner and left his band and show in 1974.
Wagoner even produced the song, so it seemed like all was well. Unfortunately, Wagoner decided to file a breach of contract suit against Parton soon after. Years later, Parton attributed the hot and cold attitude to Wagoner’s alleged chauvinism. The two reconciled before Wagoner died in 2007.
4. Garth Brooks vs. Waylon Jennings
Whenever Garth Brooks’ name is dropped in an alleged beef, it’s usually pretty one-sided. Brooks is known for minding his own business. However, he did once have a legitimate beef with the famous outlaw country star Waylon Jennings, and one can’t help but feel bad for him.
Jennings once called Brooks “the most insincere person I’ve ever seen.” Surprisingly, instead of ignoring it, Brooks talked about it years later.
“It was tough for me because he was a country legend, and for some reason, I was the guy that got the brunt of it,” said Brooks. “I never took it that personal. I just think he was addressing the different sound in country music and the changing of the guard. That’s tough for anybody to handle. The guy’s a legend and deserves nothing but respect.”
5. Hank Williams, Jr. vs. ESPN
When it comes to famous country music feuds, few involve an entire company. Hank Williams, Jr. once famously feuded with the sports network ESPN.
In 2011, the country musician compared former president Barack Obama to Hitler in an interview with Fox News. The stunt got him booted from ESPN as their theme song creator for Monday Night Football. The incident made him so mad that he wrote a song about it, though he later poked fun at the whole thing years later at the CMA Awards.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives
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