THIS DAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY

This day in Country Music History

  • Today in 1973, he‘s been this far several times: Conway Twitty reached #1 in Billboard with “You’ve Never Been This Far Before.”
  • Today in 1979, Conway Twitty hit the top of the charts with “I May Never Get To Heaven.”
  • Today in 1986, George Strait’s “Merry Christmas Strait To You” album was released.
  • Today in 1987, the “Greatest Hits Volume II” collection by George Strait was released.
  • Today in 1995, “I Like It, I Love It” by Tim McGraw topped the country singles charts.
  • Today in 1997, Kenny Rogers’ “Greatest Hits” album was certified gold.
  • Today in 1997, LeAnn Rimes’ version of “How Do I Live” is certified platinum.
  • Today in 1998, Vince Gill’s “Breath Of Heaven” album was released.
  • Today in 1998, Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell proclaimed the week of September 8-13th as “Garth Brooks Week” in Philly. During a formal ceremony at the First Union Center the Mayor presented Garth with a personalized replica of the Liberty Bell.
  • Today in 1999, the Dixie Chicks’ album, “Fly,” debuted at #1 on both “Billboard’s” Top Country Album and the all-genre Billboard 200 charts. It marked the first time a country duo/group ever did so. The ladies repeated their feat with their current album, “Home.” In fact, the first-week sales (nearly 780,000) of their that project dwarfed those of “Fly,” which moved 341,000 copies in its first week.
  • Today in 2000, Alan Jackson’s single, “It Must Be Love,” topped on “Radio & Records” country chart.
  • Today in 2007, Rodney Atkins climbed to #1 on the Billboard chart with “These Are My People.”
  • Today in 2013, Carrie Underwood debuted as the voice of NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” theme, “Waiting All Day For Sunday Night.” The game had George Strait serving as honorary captain of the Dallas Cowboys, who hosted the New York Giants.
  • Today in 2015, it was confirmed that Glen Campbell’s family had moved him back into their Nashville home as he lived with the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Today in 2015, a plaque was placed in front of a building in Frederick, Maryland, designating it as the former home of Patsy Cline.
  • Today in 2016, Taylor Swift donated $5,000 to a GoFundMe account set up to help cover the funeral and medical expenses for a fan who died in a car accident. The same day, she made a half-hour phone call to an 18-year-old Cincinnati fan who was dying of a congenital heart defect.
  • Today in 2017, Kip Moore’s “Slowheart” album was released. On the same day, Toby Keith album, “The Bus Songs,” was also released.
  • Today in 2017, Troy Gentry was killed following a helicopter crash in Medford, New Jersey. He was half of a Grand Ole Opry-member Montgomery Gentry that successfully knit country and Southern rock together, winning the Country Music Association’s Vocal Duo trophy in 2000. Their hits included “My Town,” “Lucky Man” and “Roll With Me.” In the hours after his death, one of the first public commemorations happened at an Old Dominion show in Sandwich, Illinois. The group was performing at the Sandwich Fair remember Troy by covering Montgomery Gentry’s “My Town.”
  • Today in 2017, Don Williams died in Mobile, Alabama. A 2010 inductee in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the “Gentle Giant” left a string of 44 Top 10 singles, including landmark hits “Tulsa Time,” “I Believe In You” and “Good Ole Boys Like Me.” Hours after his passing, Brothers Osborne paid homage by covering “Tulsa Time” during a show in Athens, Ohio.
  • Today in 2017, Kelsea Ballerini, Hunter Hayes and Maren Morris are part of a multi-network TV special, “Entertainment Industry Foundation Presents: XQ Super School Live.”
  • Today in 2017, Rory Feek performed publicly for the first time since the death of his wife, Joey Feek, at his home in Pottsville, Tennessee.
  • Today in 2018, Dierks Bentley headlined Madison Square Garden in New York for the first time. He brought out Brothers Osborne for “Burning Man” and team’s with LANCO’s Brandon Lancaster on “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident).”
  • Today in 2019, Carrie Underwood premiered her new version of NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” theme, “Waiting All Day For Sunday Night,” featuring Joan Jett. The New England Patriots thump the Pittsburgh Steelers in the game, 33-3.

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