THIS DAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY

This day in Country Music History

  • Today in 1969, “Hee Haw” with Roy Clark & Buck Owens premiered on CBS TV. Despite its popularity, the show was soon canceled, but thrived in syndication for over 20 more years.
  • Today in 1974, “Annie’s Song” by John Denver entered the Top 40 chart.
  • Today in 1982, the albums, “Always On My Mind” and “Greatest Hits (& Some That Will Be),” by Willie Nelson were certified platinum.
  • Today in 1983, Loretta Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter” album was certified gold.
  • Today in 1984, the “Deliver” album by the Oak Ridge Boys was certified gold.
  • Today in 1986, Exiles’ “Greatest Hits” album was released.
  • Today in 1990, the “Full Access” video by Hank Williams Jr. was certified gold.
  • Today in 1991, Minnie Pearl performed in Joliet, Illinois, in what turned out to be her final show. She suffered a stroke two days later.
  • Today in 1993, Jeff Foxworthy’s “You Might Be A Redneck If …” album was released.
  • Today in 1998, Billy Ray Cyrus crushed the competition in balloting for the 32nd Annual TNN/Music City News Awards. He took home five awards including male artist of the year, album of the year (“Cover to Cover”), single of the year and song of the year (“It’s All the Same to Me”) and video of the year (“Three Little Words”). Neal McCoy was named Entertainer of the Year.
  • Today in 2001, Jamie O’Neal made her first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry.
  • Today in 2004, Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying” video debuted on CMT.com
  • Today in 2010, Kellie Pickler got engaged to Kyle Jacobs – they married New Year’s Day, 2011.
  • Today in 2012, Blake Shelton’s video for “Over” first aired on CMT.
  • Today in 2013, Dwight Yoakam performed “Streets Of Bakersfield,” “Fast As You” and “Act Naturally,” adding a country thread to the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.
  • Today in 2016, Drew Baldridge made his Grand Ole Opry debut…and along the way, was surprised by Josh Turner, who joined Baldridge mid-song to perform “Your Man.”
  • Today in 2018, Riley Green’s “There Was This Girl” hit the airwaves.
  • Today in 2019, Thomas Rhett was at #1 on the Billboard country albums chart with “Center Point Road.”
  • Today in 2019, Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris and John Prine represented country at the all-genre Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.
  • Today in 2020, Ricky Skaggs underwent successful quadruple-bypass heart surgery at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville.

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