This Day in Country Music- May 5th
- 2009, Jason Aldean and Bryan Adams shoot a “CMT Crossroads” installment at The Factory in Franklin, Tennessee. Included on the set list: “Johnny Cash,” “Amarillo Sky,” “Summer Of ’69″ and “Cuts Like A Knife”
- 2001, Blake Shelton sings “Austin” during his debut on the Grand Ole Opry
- 1997, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have their first baby, Gracie Katherine McGraw. At age nine, she becomes part of the children’s chorus at the close of Dad’s hit “Last Dollar (Fly Away)”
- 1977, Loretta Lynn hits the cover of Rolling Stone, noting: “It’s a strange deal. I’m supposed to be a country singer, writing songs about marriage and family and the way normal folks live. But mostly I’m living in motel rooms and traveling on my special bus”
This Day in Country Music- May 4th
- 2009, Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” video premieres on CMT
- 1996, Shania Twain races to #1 on the Billboard country chart with “You Win My Love”
- 1991, Travis Tritt makes his Grand Ole Opry debut
- 1978, Songwriter Luke Laird is born in Greenville, Pennsylvania. He fashions such hits as Little Big Town’s “Pontoon,” Lady Antebellum’s “Downtown,” Miranda Lambert’s “Baggage Claim” and Carrie Underwood’s “Last Name”
This Day in Country Music- May 3rd
- 2010, Water from the Cumberland River floods Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House, peaking more than two feet above the venue’s stage. The Opry moves like a nomad to other Nashville locations for the next four months
- 2006, Ricky Van Shelton writes an open letter to his fans announcing he is retiring from the road. Insisting he and wife Bettye are in good health, he says they simply “need to be close to our families” in Virginia
- 1977, Eric Church is born in Granite Falls, North Carolina. He debuts with an edgy mix of country and rock in 2006, winning the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Solo Vocalist in 2011. His “Chief” album debuts at #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart
- 1957, Drummer Scott “Cactus” Moser is born in Montrose, Colorado. He joins Highway 101, which wins CMA Vocal Group awards in 1988 and 1989 behind such hits as “Somewhere Tonight,” “Cry, Cry, Cry” and “Whiskey, If You Were A Woman”
George Jones’ Friends Pay Tribute at Funeral
George Jones’ friends from all walks of life gathered Thursday (May 2) at the Grand Ole Opry house in Nashville to say goodbye to the man widely acknowledged as the greatest singer in the history of country music.
With Jones’ casket in front of the stage, former first lady Laura Bush and CBS chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer joined Kenny Chesney, Barbara Mandrell and others in offering eulogies to their friend who died Friday at age 81.
As expected, music played a major role during the two and a-half hour service that was attended by Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Dierks Bentley, Jamey Johnson and numerous country stars.
Tanya Tucker and the Imperials began the musical tributes with “Old Rugged Cross,” followed by other traditional gospel songs performed by Randy Travis (“Amazing Grace”), the Oak Ridge Boys (“Farther Along”), Charlie Daniels (“Softly and Tenderly”) and Wynonna (“How Great Thou Art”).
In solo acoustic performances, Travis Tritt sang Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me Lord” and Kid Rock provided an original song, “The Best of Me.” Vince Gill and Patty Loveless reprised “Go Rest High on That Mountain,” while Brad Paisley selected a Tom T. Hall classic, “Me and Jesus” and Ronnie Milsap sang “When the Grass Grows Over Me,” a No. 3 hit for Jones in 1968.
Alan Jackson closed the service with Jones’ most famous song, “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”
via CMT : News : George Jones’ Friends Pay Tribute at Funeral.
This Day in Country Music- May 2nd
- 2009, LeAnn Rimes becomes the first major star to sing the national anthem prior to the Kentucky Derby, won by Mine That Bird at Churchill Downs in Louisville
- 1998, Shania Twain nails down the #1 position in Billboard with “You’re Still The One”
- 1985, Columbia releases the “Highwayman” album, teaming Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson
- 1962, Ty Herndon is born in Butler, Alabama. He wins the Male Star of Tomorrow honor in the TNN/Music City News awards in 1996, while fashioning such hits as “What Mattered Most,” “Living In A Moment” and “Hands Of A Working Man”
