There is something about country music that just seems to work well when husband-and-wife teams get together to sing. Perhaps it is the tales of love and loss that they can share with each other, or maybe it is the down-home feeling that their music exudes.
Either way, some of the greatest collabs have been married couples, and in this post, we’re going to look at the lives of 10 of the most famous husband and wife country singers. Let’s get started.
1. June Carter and Johnny Cash
Probably the most well-known couple on this list, June Carter and Johnny Cash are almost as celebrated for their romance as they are for their music. The pair, who had children from previous relationships, married in 1968 and had one son together. Carter was a successful musician when she met Cash at the Grand Ole Opry in 1956.
They toured together in the 1960s before they got together. After marrying, they created acclaimed music together, with hits as varied as “Jackson,” “It Ain’t Me Babe,” “If I Were a Carpenter,” “Help Me Make It through the Night,” and “No Need to Worry.” In addition, they starred in the short-lived variety series The Johnny Cash Show.
The 2005 film Walk the Line detailed their shared life, including an unflinching look at Cash’s struggles with substance abuse and Carter’s unwavering support.
As artists, Cash and Carter won multiple awards, both independently and together.
2. Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood
Next we have Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, who are country music royalty. They met in 1987 while both were still married to other people. Fate intervened, and the duo married in 2005.
Not surprisingly, the two celebrated country stars have recorded several duets together, including “What Gave Me Away,” “Squeeze Me In,” “Where Your Road Leads,” and “In Another’s Eyes.”
The couple went on a world tour in 2014, lasting until 2017. In 2016, they recorded the festive-themed duet album Christmas Together, which peaked on the Top Country Albums.
3. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
Our next country power couple, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, were both in relationships when they met in 1994. Their relationship didn’t begin until they toured together two years later.
In 1996, the pair married and formed an impressive musical partnership touring and recording together extensively.
Hill and McGraw have performed too many duets to list, but among the most notable are “Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me,” “Speak to a Girl,” “The Rest of Our Life,” and “I Need You.”
Away from music, the couple helmed the Nashville Rising Benefit concert in 2010 to raise funds for flood relief in Tennessee.
4. Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter
Next up we have Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, who married in 1969 and had one son together, Shooter.
Jennings was a pioneer of the outlaw genre and had three prior marriages, while Colter had one.
After their marriage, Jennings helped Colter get her first record contract, though she had released two singles beforehand.
Despite the expected ups and downs, the 33-year marriage created a significant quantity of music and they often performed duets together. Their most notable collaborations included “Storms Never Last,” “I Belong To Him,” and “Deep in the West.”
The album Wanted! The Outlaws, which featured Colter, won Album of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards. That record was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007.
5. Clint Black and Lisa Hartman
The Nashville-based couple Clint Black and Lisa Hartman met in 1990 on New Year’s Eve. They married ten months after meeting and have a daughter together.
Before meeting Black, Hartman recorded four albums that never quite found an audience. After they married, Black pulled his wife back into music, convincing her to record their 1999 hit, “When I Said I Do.” Among their most prominent duets are “Til the End of Time,” “You Still Get to Me,” and “When I Said I Do.”
Hartman and Black have also acted together, co-starring in Flicka: Country Pride and Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack. Unexpectedly, they appeared as snow owls in the reality show The Masked Singer.
6. Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires
Next up, we have Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires. These two met in Georgia in 2004. At the time, Shires was in the Thriftstore Cowboys and Isbell was playing with the Drive-by Truckers.
Ever since, Isbell and Shires have toured and collaborated. Shires often plays fiddle for Isbell, and the two share genuinely electric stage chemistry.
The pair married in 2013 and live in Nashville. While Shires sings backup on many of Isbell’s songs, the two don’t have abundant duets. However, they notably performed “The Problem” and “Clocks and Spoons” together.
7. Chris Stapleton and Morgane Hayes
Our next couple, Chris Stapleton and Morgane Hayes, met in 2003 in Nashville, where the duo worked together to write a song. They started dating, married in 2007, and have five children. Stapleton’s wedding band says “You are my sunshine” in homage to the song they often perform together.
Hayes is best known as a songwriter. She’s written songs for LeAnn Rimes and Carrie Underwood. All of Stapleton’s work is a collaboration with his wife. Hayes works closely with him to curate his album lists, and she often contributes harmony, background, and vocals.
Besides “You Are My Sunshine,” the couple’s duets have included “More of You” and “Starting Over.”
8. Tanya Blount-Trotter and Michael Trotter
Tanya Blount-Trotter and Michael Trotter perform together as the country folk duo War and Treaty. The pair met in Maryland in 2010 at the Spirit of Love Festival. They have four children and live in Nashville.
Before their marriage, Trotter served with the US Army in Iraq, where he learned to play the piano, while Blount-Trotter had a star-making role in Sister Act 2.
Much of the duos’ music reflects their shared experiences as a couple. All their songs are duets, but notable tracks include “Healing Tide,” “Are You Ready to Love Me,” “We Are One,” and “Five More Minutes.”
Their performances have earned them Emerging Artist of the Year from the Americana Music Honors Awards and Artist of the Year from Folk Alliance International.
Besides their music, Blount-Trotter and Trotter are altruistic and community-minded, working together for their foundations: Heal Our World and I Am Beautiful.
9. Tyler Childers and Senora May
Tyler Childers has been making music for most of his life. Senora May, meanwhile, has inspired some of his tenderest and most beautiful songwriting. The Kentucky natives married in 2015
Both lived in relative poverty before their respective breakthroughs. They lived in a trailer while Childers worked at a sawmill and gigged when they could.
Since making it big, Childers and May have duetted for the singles “The Old Country Church,” “Sad Songs and Waltzes,” and “Snipe Hunt.” While Childers plays an outlaw country-bluegrass hybrid, a wide array of influences shape May’s music, from Beyoncé to Emmylou Harris.
Away from their careers, they are outspoken advocates for civil rights. Indeed, to provide vital aid to underserved Appalachian citizens, they created the Hickman Holler Appalachian Relief Fund.
10. Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd
In 2013, Maren Morris met Ryan Hurd while writing a song for Tim McGraw called “Last Turn Home” in Nashville. They dated for two years before Hurd proposed. Just a week later, they got married. Their first son was born in 2020.
Hurd is best known as a songwriter, while Morris has had immense success as a songwriter and performer. As a couple, Morris and Hurd have recorded the duets “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” “Pass It On,” and “Chasing After You.” The latter peaked at #2 on the US Country Airplay and #3 on the Hot Country Songs charts.
Summing Up Our List Of Great Husband And Wife Country Artists
These ten couples are partners in life and business. They’ve recorded songs, toured, and accumulated awards while making beautiful music together.
A quick listen to their duets proves these country music couples have achieved the perfect balance between the personal and the professional.
Have we missed a country couple? If we have, let us know and we’ll add them!
