1931
Born on this day was Bobbie Lee Nelson American pianist and singer, the elder sister of Willie Nelson, and a member of his band, Willie Nelson and Family. When she was five, her grandmother taught her to play keyboards with a pump organ. Nelson died in Austin, Texas, on March 10, 2022, at the age of 91.

1950
Born on this in in Boise, Idaho was Steve Ripley from the country rock band The Tractors who were nominated for two Grammy Awards and won the Country Weekly 1995 Golden Pick Award for Favorite New Group. Ripley died from cancer on January 3rd, 2019 two days after his 69th birthday.

1953
American singer-songwriter and musician Hank Williams died aged 29. Williams is regarded as one of the most important country music artists of all time. 35 of his singles (five released posthumously) were placed in the Top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart, including 11 that ranked #1, including "Cold, Cold Heart," "Hey, Good Lookin'," "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive," and "Your Cheatin' Heart." During his last years Williams's consumption of alcohol, morphine and painkillers severely compromised his professional life.

1955
Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. The American bluegrass duo of singer and guitarist Lester Flatt and banjo player Earl Scruggs had been members of Bill Monroe's band, the Bluegrass Boys.

1956
George Jones won the Billboard Award for Most Promising New Country Vocalist.

1959
Johnny Cash played a free concert for the inmates of San Quentin Prison, California. One of the audience members was 19 year-old Merle Haggard, who was in the midst of a 15 year sentence (he served three years) for grand theft auto and armed robbery.

1960
Billy Walker was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. The singer and guitarist best known for his 1962 hit, "Charlie's Shoes" was nicknamed The Tall Texan. Walker had more than 30 charting records during a nearly 60-year career.

1963
Loretta Lynn released her debut studio album Loretta Lynn Sings on Decca Records. The album featured Lynn's first top 10 Country hit, "Success" which was released the previous year.

1970
Johnny Cash released his 33rd album Hello, I'm Johnny Cash on Columbia Records which peaked at #1 on the Country charts. "If I Were a Carpenter", a famous duet with Cash's wife, June Carter Cash taken from the album earned the couple a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1971, the song also reached #2 on the Country charts.

1972
Charley Pride's album Charley Pride Sings Heart Songs went to #1. Pride's album remained in the top spot for a total of 16 consecutive weeks. When it was eventually displaced from the top spot it was by the compilation album The Best of Charley Pride, Volume 2, which also spent 16 weeks at #1. Pride therefore topped the chart without interruption for 32 consecutive weeks. After five weeks out of the top spot, Pride returned to #1 with A Sunshiny Day with Charley Pride, which spent 10 weeks atop the chart, giving him a total of 42 weeks at #1 in 1972.

1975
John Denver was at #1 on the US Country chart with his eighth studio album Back Home Again. The multi-platinum album contained the hit singles "Annie's Song" and "Back Home Again". In addition, the studio versions of "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" and "Sweet Surrender" appear on this album. On the cover, John is shown with his then-wife Ann Martell.

1983
Special guests on this week's syndicated US music television series The Glen Campbell Music Show included Lacy J. Dalton, who performed her hit "16th Avenue". Then with Glen Campbell she played three Beatles songs, "Eight Days a Week", "With a Little Help from My Friends" and "Yesterday."

1996
Alan Jackson released "I'll Try" which became his thirteenth #1 single on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. The track was the second single lifted from his 1995 compilation album The Greatest Hits Collection.

2007
Del Reeves, singer, best known for his "girl-watching" novelty songs of the 1960s died. His hits included "Girl on the Billboard" and "The Belles of the Southern Bell". He was also known for his 1968 trucker's anthem, "Looking At The World Through A Windshield".

2009
American steel guitarist and music producer Walter Haynes died age 80. He worked with such artists as Patsy Cline Jimmy Dickens, Del Reeves, The Everly Brothers and Jeanne Pruett. He also co-wrote a number of songs including "Girl on the Billboard" a song that became a #1 hit for Del Reeves in 1965. Haynes was a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. At the time of his death at the age of 80 in Tyler, Texas, he had been teaching music lessons in Bullard, Texas.

2010
Shania Twain carried the Olympic Torch through her hometown in Windsor, Ontario, as part of the 2010 Winter Olympics torch relay.

2011
Shania Twain married Frederic Thiebaud in Puerto Rico (who was the ex-husband of her former best friend). Shania had been married to producer Mutt Lange who she first met at Nashville's Fan Fair in June 1993. Twain and Lange became very close within just weeks, culminating in their wedding on December 28, 1993.

2013
Patti Page died aged 85. Page's signature song, "Tennessee Waltz", recorded in 1950, was one of the biggest-selling singles of the 20th century, and is also one of the nine official state songs of Tennessee. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s and sold over 100 million records.

2019
American singer, songwriter, environmentalist, educator and philanthropist Pegi Young died of cancer age 66. After marrying Canadian folk rock musician Neil Young in 1978, her debut as a singer came in 1983 when she was a member of The Pinkettes, the backing vocalists on her husband's rockabilly Shocking Pinks tour.

2021
American country singer Misty Morgan died of cancer age 75. As one half of the duo Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan she released fourteen singles, including "Tennessee Bird Walk", a #1 country hit in 1970.