1955
Born on this day in Newton, Mississippi, was Paul Overstreet country music singer and songwriter who has charted two #1 hits. He has also written singles for several other country acts, including #1 hits for Randy Travis, Blake Shelton, and Keith Whitley, as well as hits for The Judds and Kenny Chesney.
1969Glen Campbell was at #1 on the US country album chart with his 12th album Wichita Lineman, which went on to spend a total of 46 weeks on the chart. The Jimmy Webb penned title track came while driving through Washita County in rural southwestern Oklahoma. Heading westward on a straight road into the setting sun, Webb drove past a seemingly endless line of telephone poles, each looking exactly the same as the last. Then, in the distance, he noticed the silhouette of a solitary lineman atop a pole.
2009
Taylor Swift was at #1 on the country chart with Fearless. The album won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and Best Country Album. Swift’s Album of the Year win made her the youngest person ever at the age of 20 to receive that award. Fearless was also the first album in history to win the American Music Award, Academy of Country Music Award, Country Music Association Award, and Grammy Award for Album of The Year in the same year making it the most awarded album in the history of country music.
2011
Ferlin Husky, who reached the Billboard Top 40 twice with “Gone” (#4 in 1957) and “Wings of a Dove” (#12 in 1960), died of heart related problems at the age of 85. He scored two dozen Top 20 hits in the Billboard country charts between 1953 and 1975.
