1936
Born on this day, was Billy Sherrill, record producer and arranger who is most famous for his association with a number of country artists, most notably Tammy Wynette. Sherrill and business partner Glenn Sutton are regarded as the defining influences of the countrypolitan sound, a smooth amalgamation of pop and country music that was hugely popular during the late 1960s and throughout the ’70s. Sherrill died on 4 Aug 2015 after a short illness at the age of 78.
1960
Johnny Horton was killed in a car crash near Milano, Texas involving a truck. He had several major successes, most notably during 1959 with the song “The Battle of New Orleans” (written by Jimmy Driftwood) which was awarded the 1960 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording.
2002
American IV: The Man Comes Around was released in the US, the fourth album in the American series by Johnny Cash, (and his 87th overall). The album won Album of the Year at the 2003 CMA Awards and the video for “Hurt”, (a song written by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails), was nominated in seven categories at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards and won the award for Best Cinematography. In February 2003, mere days before his 71st birthday, Cash won another Grammy Award for Best Country Male Vocal Performance for “Give My Love To Rose,” a song Cash had originally recorded in the late 1950s. The music video for “Hurt” also won a Grammy for Best Short Form Video at the 2004 Awards.
2003
“It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” by Alan Jackson with Jimmy Buffett, and written by Jim “Moose” Brown and Don Rollins won the Country Music Association (CMA) Award for Vocal Event of the Year. The song became the #3 country song of the decade on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart.
2014At the 48th annual CMA Awards Vince Gill received the Irving Waugh award for excellence in country music. This was only the fourth time the award had been granted since its inception in 1983. The previous country music artist to receive the award was Johnny Cash.
