Gold Country NEWS

1931
Born on the day was Maxine Brown. She performed with siblings Jim Ed and Bonnie Brown as The Browns. The siblings' first chart single "Here Today and Gone Tomorrow" peaked at #7 in 1955, and in 1956, their recording of "I Take the Chance" was a #2 hit on the country charts. She died on January 21st 2019 age 87.

1944
Born on this day, was Herb Pedersen, musician, guitarist, banjo player, and singer-songwriter who has worked with numerous musicians including Earl Scruggs, The Dillards, Smokey Grass Boys, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Dan Fogelberg, Stephen Stills, Linda Ronstadt, Kris Kristofferson, John Prine, Jackson Browne, and John Denver. He was also a member of The Desert Rose Band who had the 1988 US Country #1 hit "He's Back and I'm Blue."

1950
Born on this day was American singer-songwriter Kacey Jones. She co-wrote the Mickey Gilley hit "I'm the One Mama Warned You About" (credited as Gayle Zeiler), and found success as a performer through the band Ethel & The Shameless Hussies. Jones died on September 1, 2016 after a long battle with cancer.

1959
Born on this day in Bellshill, Scotland was Sheena Easton, singer and actress. Sheena Easton is the only artist in the history of the US Billboard charts to have a top 5 hit on each of the Billboards key charts consecutively: "Morning Train (9-5)" (Pop, Adult Contemporary), "We Got Tonight" w/Kenny Rogers (Country), "Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)" (Dance), and "Sugar Walls" (R&B).

1964
Johnny Cash was at #1 on the US country chart with Ring of Fire: The Best of. This album collects tracks from singles and an EP released between 1959 and 1963, Cash's first years on the Columbia label. Ring of Fire was the first #1 album when Billboard debuted their Country Album Chart on January 11, 1964.

1969
Glen Campbell was at #1 on the US Country chart with his twelfth studio album Galveston. The album was a major hit for Campbell and generated the #1 hit single. The album also replaced his previous release Wichita Lineman at the top of the charts giving Campbell a run of 26 weeks at the top of the charts in this year.

1970
Tammy Wynette released her seventh studio album Tammy's Touch which peaked at #1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, Wynette's second album to top the chart. The album's first single, "I'll See Him Through", peaked at #2 on the Country Singles chart, and the second single, "He Loves Me All the Way", peaked at #1, Wynette's eighth song to top the chart.

1976
Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt performed together for the first time during a recording of the syndicated Dolly! TV show. The show's opening theme was "Love Is Like A Butterfly" and the show's closing song was "I Will Always Love You", both #1 hits for Dolly in 1974, and both sung by Dolly on the show.

1980
Kenny Rogers was at #1 on the Country chart with his eighth studio album Kenny. It includes the singles "Coward of the County" and "You Decorated My Life." The album reached the top five of the US Billboard album chart and #1 in the Country charts (where it stayed for a record total of 25 weeks).

1982
Born on this day in Annapolis, Deale, Maryland, was guitarist John Osborne. With younger sibling T.J., he formed Brothers Osborne, earning a Grammy nomination with the duo's 2015 top 5 single "Stay A Little Longer." They also won Vocal Duo of the Year honors from both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.

1992
Liberty Records released "The River" by Garth Brooks, the fifth and final single from his third album, 1991's Ropin' the Wind, which became his ninth #1 hit on the Billboard country charts.

1998
"If You See Him/If You See Her" by Reba McEntire, along with the duo Brooks & Dunn was released. The song reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks giving McEntire her twenty-ninth #1 single, and Brooks & Dunn their twelfth.

2001
Monticello, Georgia, renamed Highway 83 the Trisha Yearwood Parkway, honoring its most famous former resident.

2014
Willie Nelson was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame held at their first induction ceremony at the original home of ACL, KLRU-TV's Studio 6A. Nelson was the first artist to ever appear on the show and had been a frequent guest ever since.

2021
Recording engineer Al Schmitt died in Los Angeles aged 91. A contributor to Ray Charles' Modern Sounds In Country & Western Music, Volume 2 Schmitt also worked on albums by Willie Nelson, The Mavericks, Trisha Yearwood, Jackson Browne and LeAnn Rimes, among others.

2025
Steve Earle was invited to become the next member of the Grand Ole Opry by Vince Gill. He was inducted on September 17 by Emmylou Harris.

Country Music