Country music's most shocking moments of 2017
From l-r: Glen Campbell, Jason Aldean and Troy Gentry (Reuters)
2017 was a tough year for the country music community.
The genre lost several of its legends -- including Glenn Campbell and Gregg Allman -- and Kenny Rogers hung up his hat for good.
The entire country stood behind the country music community when a gunman murdered 58 festival-goers in Las Vegas. Here are some of the hardest moments for country music fans this year, in no particular order.
Glen Campbell says 'Adios'
Glenn Campbell died in August at age 81. (Reuters)
Country music lost an icon when Glen Campbell died in August following a battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 81.
Over the course of his career, Campbell won five Grammys, sold more than 45 million records, had 12 gold albums and 75 chart hits, including No. 1 songs with "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Southern Nights."
He wasn't the only country music legend who died in 2017: The genre also lost singers Don Williams, Mel Tillis and Gregg Allman.
Troy Gentry tragically dies in helicopter crash
Troy Gentry was killed in a helicopter crash on Sept. 8. (AP)
Troy Gentry, best known as part of the country music duo Montgomery Gentry, was killed in a helicopter crash on Sept. 8. He was 50.
"Our world was turned upside down in an instant, and nothing could have prepared us for this," Gentry's longtime duet partner Eddie Montgomery said at the time.
Kenny Rogers retires
Kenny Rogers decided to retire because he felt he could no longer put on shows "properly." (Reuters)
Kenny Rogers bid farewell to his fans earlier this year at a star-studded final concert at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. It also marked the last time Rogers sang with his longtime duet partner Dolly Parton.
Parton and Rogers' onstage chemistry spawned hit duets like "Islands in the Stream" and "Real Love."
Rogers told Fox News he decided to retire because he felt he could no longer put on shows "properly."
"Every day is not a holiday. You get out there [and] it's hard, hard work. I can't do it like I used to do it," Rogers told us. "And I swore that I'd do this until I started embarrassing myself."
Country music fans murdered in mass shooting
Jason Aldean performs onstage at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. (Getty)
Jason Aldean was performing onstage during the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas when a crazed gunman opened fire on the crowd of 22,000 people, killing 58 and injuring nearly 500 in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Aldean paid tribute to the victims days after the shooting during a performance on "Saturday Night Live."
"This week we witnessed one of the worst tragedies in American history," Aldean said before playing Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down." "So many people are hurting. You can be sure that we are going to walk through these tough times together every step of the way."
PR powerhouse accused of sexual assault, harassment
(Getty)
The celebrated former publicist of Dolly Parton, Charlie Daniels and Kenny Rogers was accused of sexual assault and harassment by a former client and several former employees.
When former country singer Austin Cody Rick accused Webster of sexually assaulting him and drugging him, the country music community was shocked to learn of the alleged behavior from one of the top publicist in Nashville. Webster stepped away from the company, which began operating under a new name shortly after the allegations surfaced.
You can find Sasha Savitsky on Twitter @SashaFB.