Academy of Country Music Awards a success

Winners were announced for the 41st annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Honorees received their awards during a star-studded ceremony on CBS. Vocalist Kenny Chesney won Entertainer of the Year, Keith Urban won Top Male Vocalist, Sara Evans won Top Female Vocalist, Brad Paisley won three awards, Brooks & Dunn won their 20th and 21st Academy of Country Music Awards, the late country music legend Buck Owens was honored with an all-star musical tribute and Vince Gill won the Academy of Country Music / The Home Depot Humanitarian Award. Chesney’s win makes two in a row, since he won in the same category last year. As an artist who has won Top New Vocalist, Top Male Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year, Chesney holds the Academy of Country Music’s Triple Crown, which salutes artists who have won in all three of those categories. His fellow Triple Crown winners are Brooks & Dunn, Dixie Chicks, Mickey Gilley, Merle Haggard and Barbara Mandrell.  Also honored at the ceremony was the late Buck Owens, best known for his participation on the popular “Hee Haw” television show. Owens, a country music legend who had 21 Number 1 country hits during the course of his remarkable career, passed away in March. He was the Academy of Country Music’s very first Top Male Vocalist winner in 1965; he was also honored with the Academy’s most respected honor, the Pioneer Award, in 1988.  Gill was honored with the 5th annual Academy of Country Music / The Home Depot Humanitarian Award, which salutes an artist or group in the country music industry who is committed to serving others, has a generosity of spirit and a dedication to helping build the dreams of those in need.  In the spirit of giving, Gill gave the award to a young girl named Caitlin, who he met this week through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.