Gold Country NEWS

1945
Born on this day in Dallas, Texas was singer. R. C. Bannon. His highest-charting single was his 1979 cover of the Peaches & Herb hit "Reunited," with his wife Louise Mandrell. Bannon co-wrote songs for Ronnie Milsap, Bobby G. Rice, Barbara Mandrell and Steve Azar.

1948
Born on this day in Seminole, Texas, was Larry Gatlin, singer, songwriter best known for teaming up with his brothers Steve and Rudy in the late 1970s, becoming one of country music's most successful acts of the 1970s and 1980s. Gatlin scored a total of 33 Top 40 singles. Their biggest hits together include, "Broken Lady", "All the Gold in California", "Houston (Means I'm One Day Closer to You)."

1969
Glen Campbell was at #1 on the Country singles chart with the Jimmy Webb song "Galveston", which also made #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is now considered as the official anthem of Galveston Island and the City of Galveston, Texas.

1976
Merle Haggard was at #1 on the Country charts with "It's All in the Movies." The title track became Merle Haggard's twenty-second #1 single on the Country chart.

1979
Winners at the 14th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards hosted by Roy Clark, Barbara Mandrell and Dennis Weaver at The Palladium, Hollywood included: Top Male Vocalist of the Year - Kenny Rogers, Top Female Vocalist of the Year - Barbara Mandrell, Top Vocal Group - Oak Ridge Boys and Waylon Jennings, Top New Female Vocalist of the Year - Christy Lane, Top New Male Vocalist of the Year - John Conlee and Single Record of the Year went to Don Williams for "Tulsa Time."

1988
Clint Black signed with RCA Records who released his first album, Killin' Time, in 1989, which produced four straight #1 singles on the US Country charts; "A Better Man", "Walking Away", "Nobody's Home", and the title track.

1996
Jason Petty stars as Hank Williams when the theatrical biography "Lost Highway" debuts at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. Music in the performance included many of Hank's hits including "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Moanin' The Blues" and "Lovesick Blues".

2003
The Dixie Chicks appeared naked on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, with words such as "boycott," "traitors" and "free speech" superimposed on their bodies. The feature related to the controversy that came from an anti-Bush comment by band member Natalie Maines.

2010
A flood in Nashville damaged the Grand Ole Opry House and Country Music Hall of Fame. John Fogerty, Brad Paisley, Vince Gill and Keith Urban were among those who lost guitars and other equipment that were held in a storage facility. Also destroyed was the bass used on the Hank Williams song "Your Cheatin' Heart," and a Stratocaster owned by Jimi Hendrix.