COUNTRY Datebooks – InterPrep

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• 1968: JOHNNY CASH and JUNE CARTER were married in Franklin, Kentucky. Best man was MERLE KILGORE, who co-wrote Johnny’s hit Ring Of Fire with June.

• 1969: BARBARA MANDRELL signed her first major recording contract with Columbia.

• 1972: MERLE HAGGARD was pardoned by California governor Ronald Reagan. Merle had served time in San Quentin prison in the 1950s for attempted burglary.

• 2010: CARRIE UNDERWOOD appeared as a pharmaceutical rep named Tiffany on CBS’ How I Met Your Mother.

• 2010: BRAD PAISLEY was among the first guests on NBC’s The Tonight Show after Jay Leno returned as host.

• 2014: BRAD PAISLEY received the Distinguished West Virginian Award when he played the Charleston Civic Center.

• 2017: A morning storm in the Nashville area knocked the chimney off the roof of CARRIE UNDERWOOD’s home.

• 2020: JIMMIE ALLEN and his fiancee, Alexis Gale, welcomed a daughter, Naomi Betty Allen.

• 1987: K.T. OSLIN won a Grammy for ’80s Ladies

• 1996: MARTINA MCBRIDE scored her first number one with Wild Angels.

• 2006: Former American Idol winner CARRIE UNDERWOOD returned to the show to perform Jesus Take The Wheel.

• 2007: JOE NICHOLS performed I’ll Wait For You and Wings Of A Dove at the funeral of television star Anna Nicole Smith in Nassau, Florida. He was invited by her lawyer who said she was a fan. The two had met in 2005 during one of Joe’s shows at the Grand Ole Opry.

• 2012: On NBC’s genealogy-themed series Who Do You Think You Are, REBA MCENTIRE discovered one of her ancestors was a North Carolina slave trader who bought and sold children.

• 2019: THOMAS RHETT performed Look What God Gave Her as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live.

• 2019: DAN + SHAY surprised a couple during a wedding reception at Walt Disney World in Orlando, performing Speechless.

• 2021: DOLLY PARTON received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine she gave $1 million to help develop.

RESTLESS HEART frontman Larry Stewart is 64.

LUKE COMBS is 33.

• 1973: CHARLEY PRIDE earned a Grammy for Best Country Single for Kiss An Angel Good Morning.

• 1984: EXILE scored their first number one hit with Woke Up In Love.

• 2002: GEORGE STRAIT plays the final Houston Livestock & Rodeo Show concert held at Houston’s Astrodome, with more than 68,000 in attendance. He dedicates “Love Without End, Amen” to George and Barbara Bush, who are part of the crowd

• 2005: With six weeks at the top of the country chart, RASCAL FLATTS’ Bless The Broken Road scored the second longest consecutive stint at the top by a country group, following LONESTAR’s Amazed, which had spent eight weeks at the top.

• 2013: TRACE ADKINS raised more than $670,000 for the American Red Cross as the winning project manager during the season’s first episode of The Celebrity Apprentice.

• 2017: The Shack debuted in theaters with TIM MCGRAW in the cast.

• 2020: CARRIE UNDERWOOD’s fitness book was published: Find Your Path: Honor Your Body, Fuel Your Soul, and Get Strong with the Fit52 Life.

Brett Warren of THE WARREN BROTHERS is 52.

• 1978: The WAYLON JENNINGS-WILLIE NELSON hit Mama’s Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys topped the country chart. It stayed there for four weeks, the longest run at number one for any single in that year.

• 1980: The movie Coal Miner’s Daughter, based on the life of LORETTA LYNN, premiered in Nashville.

• 1996: Comedian and Opry star Minnie Pearl died in Nashville at the age of 83.

• 1998: GARTH BROOKS’ fifth TV special, Garth Brooks: Ireland & Back, aired on NBC. The show featured highlights from his concerts in Croke Park, as well as a set he performed in Los Angeles. TRISHA YEARWOOD and STEVE WARINER made guest appearances.

• 2013: MINDY McCREADY made the cover of People magazine following her suicide

• 2015: The Associated Press reported two of GLEN CAMPBELL’s children had filed suit against their father’s wife, Kim Campbell, in an attempt to gain control over the singer’s health and finances

• 2018: THE BAND PERRY’s Kimberly Perry revealed she is getting a divorce from husband J.P. Arencibia.

• 2020: A day after a tornado hit Middle Tennessee, DIERKS BENTLEY helped clear debris at the Mt. Juliet home of his drummer, Steve Misamore, whose property was nearly destroyed.

• 2021: Richie McDonald announced his departure from LONESTAR.

JASON SELLERS is 52.

• 1963: PATSY CLINE, HAWK SHAW HAWKINS and COWBOY COPUS were killed in a plane crash in Tennessee on their way home to Nashville from a benefit concert in Kansas City, Kansas.

• 1973: ALABAMA appeared for the first time, at the Bowery Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

• 1983: BROOKS & DUNN’s Ronnie Dunn debuted on the country chart as a solo artist with It’s Written All Over Your Face. Eight years later, he would return to the charts as half of BROOKS & DUNN.

• 2003: Natalie Maines of the DIXIE CHICKS provoked controversy in the U.S. by stating that the band was “ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.”

• 2007: MIRANDA LAMBERT became the first former Nashville Star contestant to achieve a platinum album, thanks to her debut set, Kerosene.

• 2010: LITTLE BIG TOWN’s Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook welcomed a son, Elijah Dylan Westbrook.

• 2017: JASON ALDEAN and wife Brittany introduced fans to a new family member: Boss, a French bulldog.

• 2019: KELSEA BALLERINI was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

• 2020: Craig’s World, a 10-episode TV series featuring CRAIG MORGAN, premiered on the Grand Ole Opry’s Circle Network.

• 1983: Country Music Television debuted.

• 1999: GEORGE JONES was critically injured after crashing his sport utility vehicle into a bridge near his home in Brentwood, Tennessee. It took fire and rescue crews nearly two hours to free him from the vehicle.

• 2001: STEVE WARINER announced he was stepping away from performing and recording full time to focus on his family life.

• 2002: The DIXIE CHICKS were named one of the Most Powerful Celebrities of the Year by Forbes magazine.

• 2017: Realtor.com reported that BLAKE SHELTON’s mother, Dorothy Shelton, had placed the home where he grew up on the market. The asking price for the three-bedroom structure was $250,000.

• 2018: DIERKS BENTLEY was announced as a marketing partner for 5-Hour Energy.

• 2020: OLD DOMINION canceled five European concerts, citing uncertainties surrounding the pandemic.

Singer-songwriter SKIP EWING is 59.

TRENT WILMON is 50.

Shane Farmer of RICOCHET is 49.

• 1953: PATSY CLINE married her first husband, Gerald Cline. They divorced four years later.

• 1981: The cast of The Dukes of Hazzard appeared on the cover of TV Guide.

• 1983: The Nashville Network was launched. On September 25, 2000, the network was renamed The National Network, eventually becoming Spike TV in 2003.

• 2009: LEANN RIMES had dinner with “Northern Lights” co-star Eddie Cibrian at Club M in Laguna Beach, California. The romantic meeting, coupled with another rendezvous, landed her on the cover of Us Weekly for cheating on her husband.

• 2012: GARTH BROOKS and CONNIE SMITH were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

• 2015: ZAC BROWN BAND performed on Saturday Night Live.

• 2017: REBA McENTIRE met her wax figure during a soundcheck at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The likeness was headed for Madame Tussauds’ Nashville location.

• 2020: BLAKE SHELTON’s concert at The Forum in Los Angeles included surprise guest Gwen Stefani, who joined him on Nobody But You.

• 1974: JOHN DENVER recorded the hits Annie’s Song and Thank God I’m A Country Boy.

• 1980: WILLIE NELSON topped the country charts with My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys

• 1996: GARTH BROOKS’ self-titled debut album was certified multi-platinum for sales of 7 million copies.

• 2003: The first season of Nashville Star debuted on the USA Network. The reality series was a contest between aspiring country singers for a record deal. BUDDY JEWELL won the first season’s competition. His debut album, produced by CLINT BLACK, sold over 500,000 copies and debuted at number one on the country albums chart. It also produced two Top Five hits.

• 2007: Texan James Martinez filed a copyright suit in Corpus Christi against TIM MCGRAW, producers Byron Gallimore and James Stroud, and songwriters Craig Wiseman and Mike Reid, claiming Everywhere poached his song Anytime, Anywhere Amanda.

• 2014: CARRIE UNDERWOOD was in attendance at the Fur Ball, a Tulsa benefit for the Oklahoma Alliance For Animals

• 2016: JASON ALDEAN performed in Australia for the first time in Melbourne.

• 2021: After quarantine, TRISHA YEARWOOD revealed she had tested negative for COVID-19.

• 1964: At a show in Canton, Ohio, JOHNNY CASH invited THE STATLER BROTHERS to be his opening act. He was so impressed with their performance, he asked them to become a standing member of his tour, which they remained for the next eight years.

• 1974: The Grand Ole Opry held its final regular performance at the Ryman Auditorium. The venue was closed for renovations and the Opry moved to what was then known as Opryland.

• 1999: TRACY BYRD’s young son, Logan, was scalded by hot water in a bathtub at the family home in Texas. The boy sustained burns on his arms and legs after turning off the cold water.

• 2010: TAYLOR SWIFT ranked sixth on Glamour Magazine’s list of 50 Most Beautiful Women in the World.

• 2012: GARTH BROOKS sold 142 acres of land in Edmond, Oklahoma, for $2.7 million.

• 2018: KANE BROWN began writing Homesick on his tour bus outside Coyote Joe’s in Charlotte, North Carolina.

MICKEY GILLEY would have been 87. He died May 7, 2022.

NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND member Jimmie Fadden is 75.

• 1963: 25,000 people lined the four-mile route to Shenandoah Memorial Park where PATSY CLINE was buried in Winchester, Virginia.

• 2000: VINCE GILL married Amy Grant in Nashville.

• 2003: The DIXIE CHICKS’ Natalie Maines told a London concert audience, “We’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.” The audience cheered, but many U.S. radio stations stopped playing Chicks music as the nation prepared for war in Iraq.

• 2003: JOHNNY CASH entered Nashville’s Baptist Hospital with pneumonia.

• 2011: DOUG SUPERNAW was arrested for disorderly conduct and incarcerated at the Bandera County Jail in Texas.

• 2017: JEANNIE SEELY was recognized by the Tennessee legislature with a resolution honoring her 50th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member.

• 2020: CMT closed its Nashville offices for the day to undergo thorough cleaning after discovering that some employees may have been exposed to COVID-19 during a March 5 telethon for tornado relief.

• 2021: LADY A’s Hillary Scott and husband Chris Tyrrell closed on the sale of their six-bedroom home in Brentwood, Tennessee. The property sold for $2.4 million.

CARRIE UNDERWOOD is 40. Born in Checotah, Oklahoma, she was the winner of the third season of American Idol.

Keyboardist Jared Hampton of LANCO is 32.

• 1970: TAMMY WYNETTE won a Grammy for Stand By Your Man and JOHNNY CASH won a Grammy for A Boy Named Sue.

• 1994: NEAL MCCOY scored his first chart-topping hit with No Doubt About It.

• 2005: TIM MCGRAW hit movie theaters in Black Cloud. Tim played Sheriff Powers in the Rick Schroeder flick.

• 2009: CARRIE UNDERWOOD’s version of Motley Crue’s Home Sweet Home debuted as the send-off music for departing contestants on American Idol.

• 2012: KEITH URBAN accompanied his wife, Nicole Kidman, to a Washington D.C. dinner as she received a United Nations humanitarian award.

• 2018: TIM McGRAW collapsed on stage in Dublin, Ireland, after his performance of Humble And Kind. FAITH HILL announced her husband was suffering from dehydration and cut the concert short.

• 2019: The third nightclub in the Ole Red chain, named after the BLAKE SHELTON hit, opened in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. A fourth location in Orlando, Florida opened in May 2020.

• 2021: ERIC CHURCH received a COVID-19 vaccine. A photo of the jab is used for the cover of the April 3 edition of Billboard.

Jimmy Fortune of THE STATLER BROTHERS is 68.

• 1991: ALAN JACKSON’s debut album, Here In The Real World, was certified platinum.

• 2002: GARTH BROOKS received the Golden Note Award in Washington, D.C. honoring him for his songwriting and performing career.

• 2010: DOLLY PARTON cut the ribbon for the official grand opening of her first retail store, Trinkets & Treasures, in Nashville.

• 2013: THE BAND PERRY began appearing on boxes of Wheaties as part of the Outnumber Hunger charity program.

• 2013: The final show of GEORGE STRAIT’s The Cowboy Rides Away Tour 2013 sold out in just 6 minutes. The concert took place June 1 in San Antonio, Texas, with 72,000 fans in attendance.

• 2017: FRANKIE BALLARD married Christina Murphy, owner of a Nashville shoe store, Old Smokey Boots.

• 2020: With the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic expanding, KENNY CHESNEY postponed the first 11 dates of his Chillaxification Tour, which was to begin April 18 in Arlington, Texas.

HOLLY WILLIAMS is 42.

• 1965: THE STATLER BROTHERS recorded their first hit, Flowers On The Wall.

• 1975: After six years of marriage GEORGE JONES and TAMMY WYNETTE got a D-I-V-O-R-C-E.

• 1976: THE BELLAMY BROTHERS made their country and pop chart debut with Let Your Love Flow.

• 1987: After two decades, William Lee Golden was ousted as a member of THE OAK RIDGE BOYS. He was replaced by Steve Sanders who left the group in 1994 and was replaced by Golden.

• 1999: TRISHA YEARWOOD became the 71st member of the Grand Ole Opry.

• 2006: CARRIE UNDERWOOD debuted her single Don’t Forget To Remember Me on the Late Show With David Letterman. It would go on to reach No. 2 on the country charts.

• 2018: FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE earned a quadruple-platinum single from the Recording Industry Association of America for H.O.L.Y.

• 1972: California governor Ronald Reagan pardoned convicted burglar Merle Haggard as “fully rehabilitated.” Haggard had served two-and-a-half years at San Quentin.

• 1992: JOHN ANDERSON’s Straight Tequila Night became his first number one hit in eight years.

• 2000: SHANIA TWAIN’s album Come On Over was certified multi-platinum for sales of 17 million copies.

• 2006: The fourth season of Nashville Star launched on the USA Network with hosts WYNONNA and COWBOY TROY. Celebrity judges included BIG & RICH, PHIL VASSAR and record exec Anastasia Brown. CHRIS YOUNG would win the competition.

• 2009: KENNY CHESNEY played a club date at Sloppy Joe’s in Key West. In the crowd was Peyton Manning and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

• 2015: MADDIE & TAE made their Australian concert debut.

• 2020: The Grand Ole Opry played to an empty house as the radio show performed without a live audience due to the pandemic.

MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHEY is 78. A multiple Grammy nominee, Michael has six gold albums. He recorded the hit singles Wildfire, Carolina in the Pines, What’s Forever For, A Long Line of Love, What She Wants, and Don’t Count the Rainy Days.

JANN BROWNE is 69. Her highest single was the 1990s tune Tell Me Why at No. 18.

Kristian Bush of SUGARLAND is 53.

• 1966: ROGER MILLER took home six Grammys, topping the record he set one year earlier.

• 1997: DEANA CARTER scored her second number one hit with We Danced Anyway.

• 1997: LEE ANN WOMACK made her chart debut with Never Again, Again.

• 2006: Two of HANK WILLIAMS JR.’s daughters were seriously injured in a car accident near Memphis. Both Holly and Hillary Williams were treated at a nearby hospital.

• 2009: CLINT BLACK pulled in two $5,000 checks — including one from TIM McGRAW — as competing teams sold wedding dresses for charity on NBC’s The Celebrity Apprentice.

• 2010: A Nashville judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing Craig Schelske from making negative public statements about his former marriage to SARA EVANS.

• 2014: The Grand Ole Opry House observed the 40th anniversary of its opening.

• 2020: In the midst of the global pandemic, Nashville mayor John Cooper orders the bars closed on Lower Broadway, including historic Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge.

• 2020: Due to the pandemic the Academy of Country Music postponed its April 5 awards until September.

Singer-guitarist Matt Thomas of PARMALEE is 49.

BRAD PAISLEY and wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.

• 1922: WSB radio in Atlanta became the first station to feature country music.

• 1951: HANK WILLIAMS recorded Hey Good Lookin’ and I Can’t Help It If I’m Still In Love With You.

• 1974: The first Grand Ole Opry performance took place at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. President Richard Nixon was in attendance.

• 1991: Seven members of REBA MCENTIRE’s band, along with a road manager and two pilots, were killed in a plane crash along the Mexico border. Reba and her husband had chosen to stay behind and wait for a later flight.

• 2015: MAREN MORRIS and producer busbee wrote ’80s Mercedes in Nashville and Maren recorded the final vocal the same day.

• 2020: DIERKS BENTLEY’s side project, Hot Country Knights, postponed its inaugural tour as the U.S. battled the spread of COVID-19.

• 2021: Clint Black Cowboy Coffee launched.

Ray Benson of ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL is 72.

• 1984: EDDY RAVEN scored his first chart topping hit with I Got Mexico.

• 1998: JO DEE MESSINA’s album I’m Alright was released. It spawned three number ones and two additional Top 10s and has sold over 2 million copies.

• 2000: SHANIA TWAIN’s album The Woman In Me was certified multi-platinum for sales of 17 million copies, making it the best selling album by a female artist in any music genre.

• 2010: BLAKE SHELTON scored his sixth number one single with Hillbilly Bone, performed with TRACE ADKINS.

• 2014: In Nashville, MADDIE & TAE sat down and co-wrote their first hit, Girl In A Country Song (with songwriter/producer Aaron Scherz).

• 2017: GARTH BROOKS surprised South By Southwest attendees with an unannounced show at Austin’s Broken Spoke.

• 2018: BRAD PAISLEY had lunch with former president George Bush.

• 2020: KANE BROWN was handed a platinum single from the Recording Industry Association of America for Homesick, plus a platinum album for Experiment and a double-platinum album for Kane Brown.

PAUL OVERSTREET is 68.

Keifer Thompson of THOMPSON SQUARE is 48.

• 1983: JOHN ANDERSON’s Swingin’ entered the country charts.

• 2000: The U.S. Postal Service unveiled a 20-cent stamp of the Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry.

• 2008: GARTH BROOKS’ collection The Ultimate Hits was certified multi-platinum for sales of 5 million copies.

• 2008: RICKY SKAGGS received an honorary doctorate of music from the Burklee College of Music of Boston, during his performance at the Grand Ole Opry.

• 2018: LUKE BRYAN sang a piece of Easy with fellow coach Lionel Richie during American Idol.

• 2020: Inspired by fellow bar owner DIERKS BENTLEY, FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE announced they would pay each of their 117 employees at FGL House $1,000 to help them endure the closure of the bar during the pandemic.

• 2020: REBA McENTIRE announced her Las Vegas shows with BROOKS & DUNN would be been postponed due to the pandemic.

• 2020: Inspired by fellow bar owner DIERKS BENTLEY, FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE announces it will pay each of their 117 employees at FGL House $1,000 to help them endure the closure of the bar during the national COVID-19 emergency.

CHARLEY PRIDE would have been 89. He died December 12, 2020 of complications related to COVID-19.

SONS OF THE DESERT keyboardist Scott Saunders is 59.

Jaron Lowenstein — also known as JARON AND THE LONG ROAD TO LOVE — is 49. His tune Pray for You reached the Top 20 in 2010. Jaron has a twin brother named Evan.

Philip Sweet of LITTLE BIG TOWN is 49.

• 1960: Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge opened in Nashville. Mom’s was the original name; Tootsie Bess bought Mom’s in 1960.

• 1994: NEAL MCCOY scored his first number one with No Doubt About It.

• 2007: BILLY RAY CYRUS was told by a judge on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars he looked “like a crazy bear lost in a swamp.”

• 2010: THE ZAC BROWN BAND and Jimmy Buffett collaborated on Margaritaville, Chicken Fried and Toes as a new episode of CMT Crossroads premiered.

• 2012: JOSH TURNER filled in for Kathie Lee Gifford as a guest co-host on NBC’s Today.

• 2014: The Academy of Country Music announced plans to air the ACM Awards in Australia for the first time. Additionally, the ACM revealed that Australian voters would have a say in the Entertainer of the Year category along with fans in the U.S.

• 2018: GARTH BROOKS uses his weekly Facebook Live chat to voice support for the March For Our Lives demonstration and for Emma Gonzalez, who became a leader in the anti-NRA movement.

• 2019: TANYA TUCKER announced she was developed her own liquor, Cosa Salvaje tequila.

• 2021: LAUREN ALAINA tested positive for COVID-19, forcing her to cancel a limited-capacity concert the next day in Lexington, Kentucky.

• 1961: The FARON YOUNG tune Hello Walls charted. It would go on to hit number one.

• 1984: THE JUDDS gave their first live concert performance in Omaha, Nebraska, as the opening act for THE STATLER BROTHERS.

• 1996: SHANIA TWAIN’s album The Woman In Me was certified multi-platinum for sales of 6 million copies.

• 2008: Donald Trump fired Carol Alt and Lennox Lewis, leaving TRACE ADKINS to square off against Piers Morgan in the finale of the NBC show The Celebrity Apprentice.

• 2010: One of CARRIE UNDERWOOD’s truck drivers died in an accident in Stonington, Connecticut. She dedicated Temporary Home to him during a show later that evening in Mashantucket.

• 2012: A 55-year-old man in Savannah, Georgia, attacked several people with a hammer in an argument over which artist is better: REBA MCENTIRE or LORETTA LYNN.

• 2019: RANDY OWEN received the Heart Of An Eagle Award from the Boy Scouts of America.

• 2020: KENNY ROGERS died of natural causes at his home in Sandy Springs, Georgia.

Jimmy Seales of SHENANDOAH is 69.

• 1988: HANK WILLIAMS JR. was named Entertainer of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards.

• 1993: BILLY RAY CYRUS was one of the winners at the Juno Awards, Canada’s version of the Grammys.

• 1999: GARTH BROOKS got his first hit of spring training during a San Diego Padres loss to the Chicago White Sox in Peoria, Arizona.

• 2004: RASCAL FLATTS singer Gary LeVox and his wife, Tara, had a second daughter, Brooklyn Leigh Vernon.

• 2012: GEORGE STRAIT scored his 59th number one hit with Love’s Gonna Make It Alright.

• 2015: JASON ALDEAN married Brittany Kerr in Mexico. Duck Dynasty star Willie Robertson conducted the ceremony and TYLER FARR was one of the groomsmen.

• 2019: CARRIE UNDERWOOD’s husband, Canadian-born hockey player Mike Fisher, became a U.S. citizen.

• 1958: At the age of 8, HANK WILLIAMS JR. made his stage debut in Swainsboro, Georgia.

• 1995: A Waco, Texas judge dropped marijuana possession charges against WILLIE NELSON, ruling that a police search of his car was illegal.

• 1999: SHANIA TWAIN’s album Come On Over was certified multi platinum for sales of 9 million copies. To date, the album has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.

• 2006: CRAIG MORGAN received the USO Award of Merritt in Washington, D.C.

• 2007: WYNONNA JUDD’s then-husband, Daniel Roach, was arrested at Shades Of Hope Rehabilitation Center in Buffalo Gap, Texas, and charged with three counts of sexually abusing a minor. Wynonna filed for a divorce within a week

• 2009: CLINT BLACK was physically threatened by Dennis Rodman on NBC’s The Celebrity Apprentice as Rodman referred to the singer as “the dictator from hell.”

• 2011: ROSANNE CASH performed at Folsom Prison, the same facility where her father, JOHNNY CASH, recorded one of his best-known albums.

• 2014: TAYLOR SWIFT stopped in at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City for a 4½ hour visit with pediatric patients.

• 2018: MIRANDA LAMBERT closed her show at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, by bringing out THE OAK RIDGE BOYS for Elvira.

• 2021: Citing the uncertainties due to the pandemic, KENNY CHESNEY postponed his 2021 concerts.

JAMES HOUSE, best known for the 1995 tune This Is Me Missing You, is 68.

• 1998: TRISHA YEARWOOD performed How Do I Live at the 70th Annual Academy Awards.

• 1999: DIAMOND RIO celebrated its 10th anniversary as a group. Their original name when they formed in 1989 was The Tennessee River Boys.

• 2009: Cracker Barrel introduced a limited-edition pink DOLLY PARTON rocking chair. Only 1,350 chairs were for sale at $199 each.

• 2011: TAYLOR SWIFT performed Mine, Fifteen, and Love Story during an intimate concert at London’s Abbey Road Studio for an audience that includes Amy Winehouse.

• 2016: CARRIE UNDERWOOD recorded her vocals for the KEITH URBAN duet The Fighter at SmithLee Productions in St. Louis. Note: This song is currently #13 on the Billboard country chart.

• 2020: MAREN MORRIS and RYAN HURD welcomed a son, Hayes Andrew Hurd.

BRETT YOUNG is 42.

BRETT ELDREDGE is 37.

• 1998: GARTH BROOKS and rapper Warren G. settled a lawsuit over the use of the letter G as their symbol.

• 2001: TOBY KEITH’s father, Hubert Covel Jr., died in an auto accident on Interstate 35 near Norman, Oklahoma. Police characterized it as a one-car crash, but the following year a woman was found guilty of leaving the scene of the accident.

• 2006: The Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana sitcom debuts with BILLY RAY CYRUS and his 13-year-old daughter, Miley Cyrus, who made her singing and acting debut.

• 2006: After a chicken-fried steak dinner, BUCK OWENS performed for the last time at his Crystal Palace theater in Bakersfield. He died in his sleep the following morning.

• 2013: BRAD PAISLEY was on the cover of the Parade newspaper supplement, where he recalled casting Kimberly Williams-Paisley in one of his early videos: “I used the video as a way to say hi, and it worked well. I did not think she would end up as my wife.”

• 2018: MAREN MORRIS and RYAN HURD married in Nashville.

• 2021: Ram Trucks launched a new series of ads featuring CHRIS STAPLETON covering an Al Green song, I Am A Ram.

TOBY KEITH and wife Tricia celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary.

MAREN MORRIS and RYAN HURD celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary.

• 1939: Billboard introduced the Hillbilly Chart, which was later re-named the country chart.

• 1985: KENNY ROGERS performed for the first time in months, after having nodules removed from his vocal cords.

• 1991: ALAN JACKSON became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

• 2002: SHANIA TWAIN’s album Come On Over was certified multi-platinum for sales of 19 million copies.

• 2009: After a battle with cancer, DAN SEALS died at the age of 61.

• 2014: Rhonda Adkins filed for divorce from TRACE ADKINS.

• 2020: KELSEA BALLERINI was paired with pop singer Halsey in a new episode of CMT Crossroads.

• 2021: The North Carolina Department of Transportation launched two anti-litter public service announcements featuring native son LUKE COMBS.

• 2002: THE NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND’s landmark album Will The Circle Be Unbroken was re-issued with bonus tracks and additional artwork.

• 2004: In his final spring-training at-bat, GARTH BROOKS fouled out to first base as a pinch-hitter for the Kansas City Royals. Garth went 1-for-7 in eight games.

• 2009: KENNY CHESNEY, CARRIE UNDERWOOD, DARIUS RUCKER and SUGARLAND shot an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago.

• 2010: DWIGHT YOAKAM was in attendance as Dennis Hopper received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

• 2012: Celebrity coach BLAKE SHELTON brought MIRANDA LAMBERT onto NBC’s The Voice to coach one of his team members on singing Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours.

• 2015: It was first reported that WILLIE NELSON would launch his own brand of weed.

• 2020: BRAD PAISLEY and Kimberly Williams-Paisley were announced among the celebrities contributing to a Tennessee public service announcement campaign, “Do Your Part, Stay Apart,” to encourage citizens to maintain safe social distances.

RONNIE MCDOWELL is 73. He’s best known for the hits Older Women (Are Beautiful Lovers) and Watching Girls Go By.

DEAN DILLON is 68. Between 1982 and 1993, Dean recorded six studio albums. Beyond 1993 he continued to write hit songs for other artists, most notably GEORGE STRAIT. In 2002 he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

CHARLIE McCLAIN is 67. Her hits include Paradise Tonight, Dancing Your Memory Away and the original version of Who’s Cheatin’ Who, re-recorded by ALAN JACKSON.

KENNY CHESNEY is 55.

• 1965: ROGER MILLER topped the country charts with King Of The Road.

• 1976: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw reached #17 on the country charts with I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.

• 2002: SHANIA TWAIN’s Come On Over became the best selling album by a female artist in all styles of music when it surpassed the 19 million mark in sales. It has (as of 2019) sold 29 million.

• 2008: TRACE ADKINS lost out to America’s Got Talent’s Piers Morgan in the season finale of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice.

• 2011: SHANIA TWAIN was formally inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in Toronto.

• 2014: TAYLOR SWIFT obtained a three year restraining order against Timothy Sweet, a man who had threatened her family and claimed to be married to the singer.

• 2017: Guest mentor LUKE BRYAN gave advice to two contestants who were assigned In The Midnight Hour by BLAKE SHELTON during The Voice.

• 2018: The late DARYLE SINGLETARY was remembered by CHRIS YOUNG, DARRYL WORLEY and JOSH TURNER during a tribute show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

• 2020: JOE DIFFIE announced he has tested positive for COVID-19. He died two days later due to complications related to COVID.

• 1980: TOM T. HALL joined the Grand Ole Opry.

• 1993: WILLIE NELSON performed a concert in Hillsboro, Texas, to raise money for the Hill County courthouse, which had been destroyed by fire.

• 2005: REBA McENTIRE was toasted with a surprise 50th birthday party at a club inside Nashville’s Gaylord Entertainment Center. She was serenaded by RONNIE DUNN, STEVE WARINER, VINCE GILL and TERRI CLARK.

• 2006: KENNY ROGERS sang Islands In The Stream on the USA Network’s Nashville Star, which also featured hosts WYNONNA, Cowboy Troy and judges PHIL VASSAR and Anastasia Brown. Eventual winner CHRIS YOUNG covered KEITH WHITLEY’s Don’t Close Your Eyes

• 2012: Banjo player Earl Scruggs died in Nashville.

• 2017: CHRIS STAPLETON stopped his concert in Vancouver, British Columbia, to allow a couple on stage to get married in the middle of the show.

REBA MCENTIRE is 68.

RODNEY ATKINS is 54.

• 1950: Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge opened in Nashville.

• 1975: DOLLY PARTON topped the country charts with The Bargain Store. The tune was banned by some radio stations for suggestive lyrics.

• 1998: SHANIA TWAIN launched her first headlining tour, in Sudbury, Ontario.

• 2006: BLAKE SHELTON announced he was filing for divorce from his wife of 27 months, Kaynette.

• 2011: CHARLEY PRIDE received a Mississippi Country Music Trail marker on Highway 3 in Sledge.

• 2011: THOMPSON SQUARE topped the charts for the first time with Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not?

• 2017: LUKE COMBS was arrested at the Nashville Airport when he left a gun in his baggage.

• 2020: JOE DIFFIE died after contracting COVID-19.

• 2021: TRACY LAWRENCE received his second COVID-19 vaccination dose.

• 2022: Eric Church announced to fans that his show in San Antonio, Texas, was being canceled so that he and his family could attend the Duke-North Carolina Final 4 basketball game.

Former LITTLE TEXAS member BRADY SEALS is 54.

• 1974: JOHN DENVER topped the pop and country charts with Sunshine On My Shoulder.

• 1974: RONNIE MILSAP’s first number one hit, Pure Love, charted.

• 1987: OAK RIDGE BOYS member Duane Allen said William Lee Golden had been kicked out of the group after saying he hated the other members. Golden later re-joined the group.

• 2006: GEORGE JONES checked into Nashville’s Baptist Hospital with pneumonia, forcing the postponement of three concerts.

• 2015: JASON ALDEAN joined Jay Z, Beyonce, Madonna, Jack White, Kanye West, Usher and others at a New York press event announcing the launch of Tidal, an artist-owned streaming service.

• 2018: DIERKS BENTLEY skated with the Nashville Predators hockey team during practice.

• 2021: CONFEDERATE RAILROAD announced its lead singer broke his back in a freak accident.

• 2021: LUKE BRYAN revealed a fishing accident on social media, posting a photo with a fish hook embedded in his thumb.

JUSTIN MOORE is 39.

THOMAS RHETT is 33.

• 1995: REBA MCENTIRE and BROOKS & DUNN teamed up to film the music video for their song If You See Him/If You See Her.

• 2004: KENNY CHESNEY’s album When The Sun Goes Down spent its eighth straight week at the top of the Country Albums chart.

• 2007: MARTINA McBRIDE took a swipe in The Los Angeles Times at pop singers who don’t know when to stop embellishing. She said, “There’s just no need to make one word have 25 notes; there really isn’t.”

• 2011: MEL McDANIEL died of lung cancer.

• 2011: LEE BRICE appeared on The Price Is Right in conjunction with the Academy of Country Music awards.

• 2015: Steven Tyler made a surprise appearance on the Grand Ole Opry.

• 2020: The Country Music Association canceled the 2020 CMA Music Festival, scheduled for June.

• 1967: The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum opened in Nashville.

• 1981: SAWYER BROWN officially became a group.

• 1993: After a 25 year run, the producers of Hee Haw announced the show would leave the air.

• 2008: TAYLOR SWIFT joined CARRIE UNDERWOOD and GRETCHEN WILSON as the only female country artists to have four Top Ten singles from a debut album. Taylor accomplished the feat with Picture To Burn, following Our Song, Teardrops On My Guitar and Tim McGraw.

• 2009: DARIUS RUCKER became the first male country artist to have his first two singles top the charts in 15 years.

• 2010: ANNE MURRAY announced her intentions to retire after 41 years of recording and touring.

• 2017: HILLARY SCOTT launched a fashion line called LaBellum.

• 2020: DOLLY PARTON announced she was donating $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for coronavirus research.

KIP MOORE is 43. Kip has released four studio albums and charted 12 songs.

LADY A member Hillary Scott is 37.

• 1992: GARTH BROOKS’ album No Fences was certified triple platinum. Hits included Friends In Low Places, Unanswered Prayers and Two Of A Kind (Workin’ On A Full House).

• 1994: TIM MCGRAW’s first top ten, Indian Outlaw, peaked at No. 15 on the pop charts.

• 1994: LITTLE TEXAS scored its first number one with My Love.

• 2002: MARTY STUART was arrested for DUI in Hendersonville, Tennessee, while on his way to Walmart

• 2010: Astronaut Tracy Dyson sang GARTH BROOKS’ song The River to her husband before heading to the launching pad for her trip on Space Shuttle Discovery.

• 2013: THE BAND PERRY’s album Pioneer was released. Hits included Better Dig Two, Done and Chainsaw.

• 2016: LEE BRICE surprised a military widow with the 1992 Chevy Silverado pickup her late husband formerly owned.

• 2021: DOLLY PARTON received her second COVID-19 vaccination dose.

EMMYLOU HARRIS is 76.

BUDDY JEWELL is 62. He was the first winner on the USA Network talent show Nashville Star.

BILLY DEAN is 61. He first gained national attention after appearing on the television talent competition Star Search. His studio albums have accounted for more than 20 hit singles.

CHRIS JANSON is 37.

• 1964: THE STATLER BROTHERS made their recording debut with The Wreck Of The Old ’97.

• 1987: President Ronald Reagan presented MINNIE PEARL the American Cancer Society’s Courage Award for her personal fight against the disease.

• 1992: DOLLY PARTON’s movie Straight Talk hit theaters. It co-starred James Woods.

• 2009: REBA McENTIRE and HEIDI NEWFIELD were featured in a country edition of The Price Is Right.

• 2011: MIRANDA LAMBERT won four trophies during the 46th annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

• 2011: JOHN RICH racked up the largest single donation to date on NBC’s The Celebrity Apprentice — $470,000 for a guitar autographed by contestants.

• 2017: RONNIE DUNN purchased a six-acre piece of land in Nashville for $2.25 million.

• 2020: Because of the pandemic the CMT Music Awards were pushed back from their original June 3 air date to October 14.

• 2021: KELSEA BALLERINI received a COVID-19 vaccination.

• 1959: BILL ANDERSON made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry.

• 2000: The DIXIE CHICKS’ album Wide Open Spaces was certified multi-platinum for sales of 9 million copies.

• 2006: RASCAL FLATTS’ CD Me & My Gang was released. It would go on to sell over 720,000 copies its first week out and be the best-selling album of the year across all genres.

• 2006: Quintine Cornelius Harper was arrested and charged with kidnapping and weapons offenses in connection with forcing GARTH BROOKS’ ex-wife, Sandy, to drive several miles before she was able to flee into a convenience store.

• 2008: CHARLIE DANIELS posted a note on his website telling fans he did not approve of the use of The Devil Went Down To Georgia in the video game Guitar Hero. He noted that Satan can actually win in the game, adding he was “disgusted with the result”

• 2013: CARRIE UNDERWOOD performed See You Again on American Idol.

• 2016: Retired NFL quarterback Peyton Manning showed up at Winners Bar & Grill in Nashville and sang Rocky Top with LEE BRICE and Shay Mooney of DAN + SHAY.

• 2018: FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE performed in downtown Nashville as the city’s NFL team, the Tennessee Titans, unveiled new uniforms.

• 2021: CARRIE UNDERWOOD livestreamed an Easter Day concert from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, raising more than $112,000 for a children’s charity.

Steve Gatlin of THE GATLIN BROTHERS is 72.

CLAY DAVIDSON is 52. His song Unconditional reached the top five in 2000.

Guitarist Josh McSwain of PARMALEE is 48.

• 1997: TRACE ADKINS scored his first number one hit with (This Ain’t No) Thinkin’ Thing.

• 2001: BRENDA LEE received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rockabilly Music Foundation at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

• 2009: During the 44th Academy of Country Music Awards Corona debuted a new commercial, featuring KENNY CHESNEY singing an acoustic version of Beer In Mexico.

• 2011: KEITH URBAN was named Country’s Hottest Guy by People magazine.

• 2014: CRAIG CAMPBELL performed at the Las Vegas reception for a couple two days after sitting next to the groom, Tony Ramos, on a flight.

• 2017: JANA KRAMER received a Voice of Empowerment Award from Safe Horizon in New York for speaking out publicly about domestic violence.

• 2019: Columbia Records released a remixed version of Old Town Road by Lil Nas X featuring BILLY RAY CYRUS.

MONTGOMERY GENTRY’s Troy Gentry would have been 56. He died in a a helicopter crash in Medford, New Jersey, in September, 2017.

PAT GREEN is 51. He has recorded a total of seven studio albums. Wave on Wave was a top five song.

Mike Eli of THE ELI YOUNG BAND is 42.

• 1937: MERLE HAGGARD was born.

• 1968: In the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, the Grand Ole Opry canceled its show because of a citywide curfew.

• 1987: HANK WILLIAMS JR. was named Entertainer of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards.

• 1987: Singing cowboy Gene Autry became the first person honored with five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

• 1998: TAMMY WYNETTE, the First Lady of Country Music, died at her home in Nashville of a blood clot to her lungs.

• 2009: GEORGE STRAIT received the Academy of Country Music’s Artist of the Decade Award during a CBS television special that included performances by BROOKS & DUNN, MIRANDA LAMBERT, GARTH BROOKS and others.

• 2011: TAMMY WYNETTE’s Stand By Your Man and The Sons Of The Pioneers’ Tumbling Tumbleweeds were added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.

• 2016: MERLE HAGGARD died at the age of 79. He passed away on his birthday.

• 2020: THOMAS RHETT shaved off his beard for the first time in five years.

• 1959: MARTY ROBBINS recorded the song El Paso.

• 1990: WILLIE NELSON joined John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Elton John as performers for Farm Aid IV at the Hoosier Dome. More than 45,000 fans attended the event which raised $1 million.

• 1999: SHANIA TWAIN’s album Come On Over was certified Diamond for sales of 10 million copies.

• 2009: JASON ALDEAN’s album Wide Open was released. It included the hits The Truth and Big Green Tractor.

• 2016: On the final edition of the show CARRIE UNDERWOOD performed Something In The Water at the close of American Idol..

• 2017: The Patsy Cline Museum opened in downtown Nashville.

• 2020: Singer/songwriter John Prine died of complications from COVID-19 at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville.

BOBBY BARE is 88. In addition to a string of hits that include Detroit City and Marie Levoux, he recorded with The Old Dogs, comprised of JERRY REED, JOHNNY CASH and WAYLON JENNINGS.

• 1988: RANDY TRAVIS’ album Storms Of Life was certified platinum.

• 2001: BLACKHAWK member Van Stephenson died at age 47 of skin cancer.

• 2008: TRISHA YEARWOOD’s cookbook Georgia Cooking In An Oklahoma Kitchen was released. She wrote the book with her mom and sister and shared many family recipes.

• 2009: Pop singer Jessica Simpson was dropped from the Sony Nashville record label. But the singer’s rep said that Jessica had only been “on loan to Sony Nashville for her country album.”

• 2011: CARRIE UNDERWOOD made her movie acting debut, playing a church counselor for a youth group in Soul Surfer.

• 2016: EMMYLOU HARRIS, CHELY WRIGHT, TY HERNDON, Miley Cyrus and CMT came out in Nashville against a Tennessee “bathroom” bill that would make the lives of transgender teens more difficult.

• 2019: Perryville, Missouri, unveiled a new sign at the city limits: “Welcome to Perryville: home of Grand Ole Opry member Chris Janson”.

• 2020: LADY A covered Islands In The Stream (link) to kick off CMT Giants Kenny Rogers: A Benefit For MusiCares.

JOHN SCHNEIDER is 63. His hits include What’s A Memory Like You Doing In A Love Like This, Country Girls and At The Sound Of The Tone.

• 1961: PATSY CLINE’s I Fall To Pieces began its climb up the charts.

• 1984: Actor Robert Duvall won an Academy Award for his portrayal of a country singer in the movie Tender Mercies.

• 1997: Songwriter MAE AXTON, who wrote Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel and helped launch the career of BLAKE SHELTON, died at age 82.

• 2001: A guitar autographed by VINCE GILL, partially crafted from the pews of the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, brought in $4,000 for the Grand Ole Opry Trust fund in an eBay auction.

• 2009: KEITH URBAN scored his first number one album on the Top 200 all formats chart with Defying Gravity after it sold 171,000 copies its first week of release.

• 2012: The KEITH URBAN song For You, from the motion picture Act Of Valor, was released.

• 2017: MERLE HAGGARD’s widow, Theresa Haggard, was on hand as his childhood home, built from a converted boxcar, opened for public viewing in Bakersfield, California.

• 2020: THE BELLAMY BROTHERS announced they had partnered with the Trulieve cannabis company for Old Hippie Stash, including two strains named after Bellamy songs: Reggae Cowboy and Big Love.

MARGO SMITH is 81. In the 1970s Margo had two No. 1 hits, Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You and It Only Hurts for a Little While.

• 1956: BRENDA LEE made her debut on the Ozark Jubilee.

• 1982: The WAYLON JENNINGS-WILLIE NELSON album Waylon & Willie was certified platinum. Hits included The Worlitzer Prize and Mama’s Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.

• 2001: REBA McENTIRE left the Broadway cast of Annie, Get Your Gun for one week to shoot a TV pilot for the WB.

• 2009: GEORGE STRAIT’s older brother, Buddy, was found dead at a hotel in San Antonio.

• 2010: SHENANDOAH reunited for its first concert in more than 12 years during a benefit in Boaz, Alabama, for a domestic violence center.

• 2013: LEE BRICE’s I Drive Your Truck topped the Country Singles (downloads + streaming) chart. The song was awarded Song of the Year honors at the 47th annual Country Music Association Awards, as well as Song of the Year at the 49th annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

• 2016: Three members of LUKE BRYAN’s lighting crew were injured in a car accident in upstate New York.

• 2018: LITTLE BIG TOWN performed Rocket Man during the CBS special Elton John: I’m Still Standing – A Grammy Salute.

• 2021: GABBY BARRETT earned a No. 1 country single (Billboard) with The Good Ones.

LAURA BELL BUNDY is 42. In 2010 she signed to Mercury Records Nashville and released her first two country music singles, Giddy On Up and Drop on By.

MAREN MORRIS is 33.

• 1983: Recording began on KENNY ROGERS and DOLLY PARTON’s number one hit Islands In The Stream.

• 1992: WYNONNA scored her first number one hit as a solo artist with She Is His Only Need.

• 2001: A public funeral was held for BLACKHAWK member Van Stephenson, who’d lost his battle with skin cancer.

• 2006: WYNONNA JUDD opened USA Network’s Nashville Star with No One Else On Earth. Co-hosting with Cowboy Troy, she welcomed judges PHIL VASSAR and Anastasia Brown plus guest judge David Foster. Among the competitors: future winner CHRIS YOUNG.

• 2007: Craig Schelske filed a $20 million suit against the divorce attorney for his wife, SARA EVANS, in Nashville. He said the lawyer made false and defamatory statements when telling the media he had evidence that Schelske had an affair with their nanny.

• 2016: BILLY RAY CYRUS and actor Chris Carmack (Nashville) publicly opposed a Tennessee bill that would negatively impact transgendered students.

• 2020: WILLIE NELSON, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews raised $500,000 with an online version of Farm Aid called At Home With Farm Aid.

• 2020: SHANIA TWAIN announced that her Las Vegas residency shows were cancelled for May and June in the midst of the pandemic

STEVE AZAR is 59. Steve has charted nine times, most successfully with his late 2001-early 2002 hit I Don’t Have to Be Me (’til Monday).

• 1961: MARTY ROBBINS won a Grammy for his tune El Paso.

• 1972: The first Fan Fair was held in Nashville. LORETTA LYNN, PORTER WAGONER, MINNIE PEARL, ROY ACUFF, ERNEST TUBB and BILL MONROE were among those at the event. In 2004 the CMA renamed the event to the CMA Music Festival.

• 1989: GARTH BROOKS’ self-titled debut album was released. It would go on to be one of the best selling debuts in country music history and included the hits If Tomorrow Never Comes, Not Counting You and The Dance.

• 1999: SHANIA TWAIN became the first female artist in music history to score diamond status with two albums when her CD Come On Over hit the 10 million mark in sales. Her other diamond seller was The Woman In Me.

• 2008: BILLY RAY CYRUS sang Some Gave All on the deck of the U.S.S. Iwo Jima in Norfolk, Virginia, as dozens of soldiers competed for a slot among the contestants on Nashville Star.

• 2008: More than 40 members of RASCAL FLATTS’ road crew were kicked off a flight at Mineta International San Jose Airport for drunken and rowdy behavior.

• 2016: NAOMI JUDD joined local residents opposing a new golf course at a town meeting in Thompson’s Station, Tennessee.

• 2016: After eight years as an online station, KENNY CHESNEY’s No Shoes Radio became part of the SiriusXM satellite lineup.

• 2021: LUKE BRYAN revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19. He was forced to miss that night’s live episode of ABC’s American Idol; Paula Abdul took his place.

VINCE GILL is 66. He has recorded more than 20 studio albums and charted over 40 singles.

EASTON CORBIN is 41. His 2010 self-titled debut album featured the two number-ones A Little More Country Than That and Roll with It.

• 1963: BUCK OWENS’ first number one, Act Naturally, entered the country charts.

• 1974: RAY STEVENS’ comedy classic The Streak charted.

• 1985: The Grand Ole Opry was broadcast on The Nashville Network for the first time.

• 2006: TIM McGRAW and FAITH HILL were forced to cancel an April 23 show at Knoxville’s Thompson-Poling Arena when venue managers discovered the production would suspend too much gear from the arena roof to guarantee patrons’ safety.

• 2008: THE DIXIE CHICKS contributed voices to the FOX animated series The Simpsons. They sang in front of an American flag: “We pledge allegiance to Fox News/Let’s take away our right to choose.”

• 2010: The Alabama legislature passed a resolution renaming a portion of State Highway 35 in DeKalb County as the Randy Owen Highway.

• 2014: TAYLOR SWIFT showed up at a bridal shower for fan Gena Gabrielle in Columbus, Ohio.

• 2017: TRISHA YEARWOOD helped reveal her wax figure as Madame Tussauds at its new Nashville location.

• 2020: MARGO PRICE revealed that her husband, guitarist Jeremy Ivey, was experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. She quarantined with her family while he recovered.

• 2021: MORGAN WALLEN wrote a letter to fans, announcing he was dropping out of the upcoming LUKE BRYAN tour as he continued to work out personal issues.

• 1987: MICKEY GILLEY sued to dissolve the Pasadena, Texas, nightclub bearing his name.

• 1992: BILLY RAY CYRUS’ hit song Achy Breaky Heart was released.

• 1999: The body of TAMMY WYNETTE was exhumed and an autopsy performed in Nashville at the request of her husband, George Richey.

• 2009: RASCAL FLATTS scored their tenth number one with Here Comes Goodbye.

• 2010: LADY ANTEBELLUM’s American Honey was tops on the Country Singles chart while their hit Need You Now was spending its third straight week at the top of the Adult Contemporary chart.

• 2015: Pulaski Furniture announced it agreed to distribute Highway To Home, a line of residential pieces designed by ERIC CHURCH, whose father made his living in furniture.

• 2019: HAL KETCHUM’s wife revealed the singer was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. He died November 23, 2020.

• 2020: LUKE COMBS wrote Six Feet Apart with songwriters Brent Cobb and Rob Snyder over Zoom.

LORETTA LYNN would have been 91. She died October 4, 2022.

• 1989: KEITH WHITLEY topped the charts with I’m No Stranger To The Rain.

• 1998: FAITH HILL became the first artist to premiere an album live on Country Music Television when she performed songs from her album Faith.

• 2005: CRAIG MORGAN’s That’s What I Like About Sunday achieved a fifth straight week at the top of the Radio & Records chart, a best for an independent artist.

• 2008: LADY ANTEBELLUM’s self-titled debut album was released.

• 2017: SAM HUNT married Hannah Lee Fowler.

• 2018: CHRIS STAPLETON and Morgane Stapleton welcomed twins.

• 2021: Chris Janson and his family woke up to discover a fire in his basement studio in Williamson County, Tennessee. First responders were able to extinguish it before the blaze spread.

CHRIS STAPLETON is 45. In 2001, Chris moved to Nashville to pursue an engineering degree from Vanderbilt University but dropped out to pursue his career in music. He has amassed credits for writing and co-writing over 170 songs.

MARGO PRICE is 39.

• 1940: BOB WILLS recorded his classic San Antonio Rose with lyrics for the first time and released it as New San Antonio Rose.

• 1977: WAYLON JENNINGS’ number one hit Luckenback, Texas, charted.

• 1982: THE OAK RIDGE BOYS album The Oak Ridge Boys Greatest Hits was certified platinum.

• 1999: TIM MCGRAW’s album A Place In The Sun was released. Hits included Please Remember Me, Something Like That and My Best Friend.

• 2002: DIAMOND RIO’s Greatest Hits album was certified platinum.

• 2009: RASCAL FLATTS’ Unstoppable debuted at the top of both the Top 200 all formats album chart and Top Country Albums chart with sales of 351,000 copies. It marked the fourth consecutive album by the trio to do so.

• 2013: LADY ANTEBELLUM scored its seventh number one with Downtown.

• 2017: KANE BROWN got engaged to Katelyn Jae.

• 2020: LITTLE BIG TOWN and THOMAS RHETT appeared on the ABC special The Disney Family Singalong.

• 1960: Rockabilly singer EDDIE COCHRAN was killed at the age of 21 after an auto accident while on a ten week tour of England. He originally recorded Summertime Blues, which was a hit for ALAN JACKSON in the ’90s.

• 1970: JOHNNY CASH performed at the White House for President Nixon. He did three songs but declined Nixon’s request to perform MERLE HAGGARD’s Okie From Muskogee.

• 1998: The movie Major League 3: Back To The Minors opened in theaters and included the 1994 ALABAMA hit Cheap Seats.

• 2006: JO DEE MESSINA ran in the Boston Marathon after doing much of her training in the hills of Tennessee.

• 2009: BRAD PAISLEY and Kimberly Williams-Paisley welcomed their second son, Jasper Warren Paisley, at a Nashville hospital.

• 2012: BLAKE SHELTON scored his eleventh No. 1 with Drink On It.

• 2017: Cassidy Bentley ran the Boston Marathon in three hours, 26 minutes, with husband DIERKS BENTLEY and their three kids cheering her on. She raises more than $23,000 in the process.

• 2018: The autobiography Let Your Love Flow: The Life And Times Of The Bellamy Brothers was published.

• 2021: BRANTLEY GILBERT hosted a trail ride in Huntsville, Alabama, with proceeds benefiting the Academy of Country Music’s COVID-19 relief efforts.