1928
Born on this day in Audubon, Iowa, was C. W. McCall (William Dale Fries, Jr.), singer, activist and politician known for his truck-themed outlaw country songs who had the 1975 US Country #1 and cross-over hit “Convoy.”
1962
All Aboard the Blue Train by Johnny Cash was released in the US, the singer, songwriters fourteenth album, which featured, “Folsom Prison Blues”, and “Rock Island Line”.
1969
Earl Scruggs played his Grammy winning “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” on an open-air stage in Washington, D.C., at the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, becoming one of the very few bluegrass or country-western artists to give support to the anti-war movement. The march attracted over 500,000 demonstrators against the war, including many performers and activists.
1994
Alan Jackson released “Gone Country” which became his tenth #1 single on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. The track was the third single from his fourth studio album, Who I Am.
2005
Garth Brooks performed at the 39th Annual CMA Awards live from Times Square in New York City. As a tribute to his friend, country singer songwriter Chris LeDoux who had died earlier in the year, Brooks perfomed his song “Good Ride Cowboy”.
2005
Carrie Underwood released her debut studio album Some Hearts. The album contains the #1 country singles “Jesus, Take the Wheel”, “Don’t Forget to Remember Me”, “Wasted”, and “Before He Cheats”. In December 2009, Billboard announced that the album was the biggest-selling country album of the decade.
2018Roy Clark the musician and performer died age 85. He was best known for hosting Hee Haw, a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969-1992. Clark who scored the 1973 country #1 hit “Come Live with Me”, also appeared in episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies as “Cousin Roy.” Clark was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
