1957
Born on this day, was Tony Arata, singer-songwriter, his songs have been recorded by Garth Brooks, (“The Dance”), Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood, Jim Glaser, Reba McEntir, Hal Ketchum, Oak Ridge Boys, Randy Travis and Emmylou Harris.
1958Born on this day in Seminole, Texas, was Tanya Tucker, female country music artist who had her first hit, “Delta Dawn”, in 1972 at the age of 13 and hit songs such as 1973’s “What’s Your Mama’s Name?”, “Blood Red and Goin’ Down,” 1975’s “Lizzie and the Rainman,” and 1988’s “Strong Enough to Bend”. Tucker starred in her own reality show, Tuckerville, on The Learning Channel in 2005. It ran for two seasons for a total of 18 episodes.
1970
Merle Haggard was at #1 on the country music album chart with The Fightin’ Side of Me. The title track (like the song “Okie from Muskogee”) became a success and gave Haggard a #1 hit single.
2013
Cal Smith died aged 81. Best known for his 1974 hit “Country Bumpkin”, which received Song of the Year Awards from both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association.
2020
Carrie Underwood was at #1 on the US Country chart with her seventh studio album and first Christmas album My Gift. This made Underwood the first artist to place eight consecutive #1 albums on the Top Country Albums chart.
