Hillary Scott & The Scott Family's debut set Love Remains bows at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart this week. The set moves 28,000 copies in its first week (ending Aug. 4), according to Nielsen Music. Hillary Scott is the lead singer of country music group Lady Antebellum. With such a lofty debut from a country music act, who are some other country artists who also have had a #1 Christian debut album?
Earlier in the year, Joey & Rory Feek released their final hymns album. Hymns that Are Important to Us, not only debutted at #1 on the Christian albums chart, it dominated the #1 position for 17 weeks beginning March 5.
Preceding the Feeks was country superstar who scored #1 Christian albums not once, but twice. Alan Jackson's Precious Memories was #1 for 22 weeks (2006-07) and Precious Memories: Volume ll was eight weeks at #1 in 2013.
Jackson wasn't the only country artist to have two #1 Christian albums. Alabama's Songs of Inspiration was #1 for two weeks in 2006 and Songs of Inspiration II sat on the pole position for one week in 2007.
It was not just the veterans. Barely out of her teens, LeAnn Rimes not only conquered the country charts but in 1997 and 1998 You Light Up My Life-Inspirational Songs was #1 for a whopping 35 weeks!
Pre-dating all the pevious acts, Kenny Rogers was the first country artist to land a #1 Christian album with his holiday set The Gift in 1996. The holiday set spent 4 weeks at #1.
