1939
Born on this day in Greensboro, North Carolina, was Billy “Crash” Craddock. He first gained popularity in Australia in the 1950s with a string of rockabilly hits, including the Australian #1 hit “Boom Boom Baby”. Switching to country music, he gained popularity in US in the 1970s with a string of top ten country hits, several of which were #1 hits, including “Broken Down in Tiny Pieces”, “Rub It In”, and “Ruby Baby”. Craddock is known to fans as “Mr. Country Rock” for his uptempo rock-influenced style of country music.
1977
Kenny Rogers was at #1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Lucille’. It was the American Country music singer’s first of two UK #1’s.
1987Hillbilly Deluxe by Dwight Yoakam was at #1 on the Country chart. It was Yoakam’s second consecutive #1 album on the Billboard Country Albums chart and four tracks were released as singles with each becoming Top 10 hits in 1987 and 1988.
1999
Clint Black was at #1 on the US Country music album chart with his debut album, Killin’ Time which featured the hits “A Better Man”, “Nothing’s News”, “Walking Away”, “Nobody’s Home”, and the title track.
2001
Tim McGraw was at #1 on the Billboard country singles chart with “Grown Men Don’t Cry”, the first single from McGraw’s Set This Circus Down album.
