1941
Born on this day in Portsmouth, Ohio, was Earl Thomas Conley, country music singer-songwriter. In the 1980s and into the 1990s, Conley charted more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, of which eighteen reached#1. Conley's eighteen #1 country singles during the 1980s marked the most #1 hits by any artist in any genre during that decade. Conley's music has been referred to as "thinking man's country" because the narrator looks into the heart and soul of his characters in each song. He died on April 10th 2019.

1953
Carl Butler was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. Carl Butler and Pearl were an American country music husband-and-wife duo. Between 1962 and 1969, the duo released several singles and charted thirteen times on the U.S. country charts, #1 in 1962 with their first single, "Don't Let Me Cross Over". The Butlers were also among the earliest supporters of Dolly Parton, with whom they had worked in Knoxville in the 1950s, and they helped to get her established in Nashville in the early 1960s.

1958
Born on this day in Newnan, Georgia, was Alan Jackson, country music singer, who has recorded over a dozen studio albums. More than 50 of his singles have appeared on Billboard's list of the "Top 30 Country Songs", for which of Jackson's entries, 35 were #1 hits. He is the recipient of 2 Grammys, 16 CMA Awards, 17 ACM Awards and is also a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

1990
The Judds say goodbye. With daughter Wynonna by her side, Naomi Judd announces her retirement from music due to her illness with Hepatitis C. After the duo's farewell tour, Wynonna releases her first solo album in 1992.

1991
Tennessee Ernie Ford died exactly 36 years after his hit "Sixteen Tons" was released, and one day shy of the first anniversary of his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

1998
The Wilkinsons make their first official appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. They had made an informal appearance on the Opry once before, when they joined Vince Gill onstage before they had a record deal.

1999
American steel guitarist and songwriter Tommy Durden died aged 79. He is most notable for co-writing Elvis Presley's breakthrough hit, "Heartbreak Hotel" and later performed as steel guitarist for Tex Ritter, Johnny Cash and Johnny Tillotson.

2000
American III: Solitary Man was released, the third album in the American series by Johnny Cash, (and his 85th overall album). The album was notable for being Cash's highest charting (#11 Country) solo studio LP since his 1976, One Piece at a Time. Solitary Man featured versions of "I Won't Back Down", (Tom Petty), "One", (U2), and "Solitary Man", (Neil Diamond).

2002
The International Bluegrass Music Awards honors Down from the Mountain as Album of the Year. The collection is comprised of artists featured on the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack to the Coen Brothers movie O Brother Where Art Thou?, including Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch, Emmylou Harris, John Hartford, and Ralph Stanley (of The Stanley Brothers). Dan Tyminski, who sang lead on the Soggy Bottom Boys' "Man Of Constant Sorrow" for the movie, also won Male Vocalist of the Year.

2002
Country musician Bashful Brother Oswald (real name Beecher Ray Kirby) died in Madison, Tennessee, at age 90. He was known for his use of the resonator guitar.

2003
A longtime golf enthusiast, singer Anne Murray made history at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, by becoming the first woman to score a hole-in-one on the 108 - yard, par 3, 17th hole at the Kaluhyat Golf Club.

2014
American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama Little Big Town were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry by Vince Gill. Their albums accounted for 24 singles on Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay, including the No. 1 singles "Pontoon", and "Better Man".

2017
American country music singer, songwriter Chris Young was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. In 2006, he rose to fame after winning season four of the reality singing competition program Nashville Star.

2019
Bob Kingsley, the longtime on-air personality and the host of syndicated radio show Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40, died at his home in Weatherford, Texas. He was 80 years old.

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