1941Born on this day in Monroe City, Missouri, was Helen Cornelius, country singer-songwriter and actress, best remembered for a series of hit duets with Jim Ed Brown, many of which reached the US country singles top ten during the late 1970s and early ’80s, including the 1976 #1 hit “I Don’t Want to Have to Marry You”.
1960“Wings of a Dove” by Ferlin Husky was at #1 on the Country charts, his third and final chart topper. Written by Bob Ferguson, in 1987, Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) awarded Ferguson with the “million air” plays for the “Wings of a Dove.”
1976Willie Nelson was at #1 with The Troublemaker. The gospel album was recorded in 1973, but Nelson’s label Atlantic Records refused to release the record at the time. After Nelson signed a contract with Columbia Records, that gave him total creative control, the album was released in Sept 1976.
1984The Supergroup of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson recorded the Jimmy Webb song “Highwayman” at Nashville’s Moman Studios.
1986George Strait was at #1 on the Billboard country chart with “It Ain’t Cool To Be Crazy About You.” Kenny Chesney later recorded a version of the song as a B-side for his “Never Wanted Nothing More” in 2007.
1988Recording sessions began for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Volume 2 with Johnny Cash, John Denver, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Earl Scruggs, Steve Wariner, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Chris Hillman and others.
2002“These Days” by Rascal Flatts was at #1 on the US Country charts. The track which was lifted from their album Melt became the group’s first #1 hit.