Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On April 7, 2019, Reba McEntire hosted the 54th ACM Awards in Las Vegas. In 1990, Farm Aid IV filled the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis to raise money for America's family farmers. Bobby Bare and Cal Smith share this birthday.
Reba McEntire hosted the 54th ACM Awards in Las Vegas. Keith Urban won Entertainer of the Year, and Kacey Musgraves took Female Artist and Album of the Year for Golden Hour. Jason Aldean was honored as Artist of the Decade.
Cal Smith was born in Gans, Oklahoma. He topped the country chart in 1973 with "The Lord Knows I'm Drinking." His 1974 hit "Country Bumpkin" won Song of the Year from both the CMA and the ACM.
Bobby Bare was born in Ironton, Ohio. His only No. 1 country hit was "Marie Laveau" in 1974, co-written by Shel Silverstein. In 1998 he joined Jerry Reed, Mel Tillis and Waylon Jennings in the Old Dogs.
Husband-and-wife duo Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan sat at No. 1 on the country chart with the novelty tune "Tennessee Bird Walk." It was their only chart-topper.
Randy Travis spent a fourth week at No. 1 with "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart." No country single had stayed on top that long since Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson's "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" in 1978.
The 48th ACM Awards were held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Miranda Lambert won Female Vocalist, and her song "Over You" took both Single and Song of the Year. Eric Church's Chief was named Album of the Year.
Bobby Bare was welcomed back as a member of the Grand Ole Opry, with Garth Brooks doing the honors. Bare had first joined the Opry back in the 1960s.
Rascal Flatts released Unstoppable, their sixth studio album. It opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making it the group's fourth album in a row to debut on top.
Farm Aid IV filled the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis to raise money for America's family farmers. Willie Nelson led a lineup that included Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Bill Monroe, John Denver and Carl Perkins.
Jake Owen asked Lacey Buchanan to marry him on stage at his yearly charity show in his hometown of Vero Beach, Florida. The two wed a month later, on May 7, 2012.
John Prine died in Nashville at 73 from complications of COVID-19. The folk and country songwriter released his first album in 1971 and was admired by fellow writers for decades.
Cal Smith (1932) and Bobby Bare (1935) were all born on this date.
It depends on the year. In 1970, Husband-and-wife duo Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan sat at No. 1 on the country chart with the novelty tune "Tennessee Bird Walk." In 1990, Randy Travis spent a fourth week at No. 1 with "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart."
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