Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On December 22, 1968, Songwriter Lori McKenna was born in Stoughton, Massachusetts. In 1948, Hank Williams recorded "Lovesick Blues" at Herzog Studio in Cincinnati, Ohio. Hawkshaw Hawkins and Red Steagall share this birthday.
Songwriter Lori McKenna was born in Stoughton, Massachusetts. She co-wrote Little Big Town's "Girl Crush," which won the Grammy for Best Country Song in 2016. Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Reba McEntire have all recorded her songs.
Hawkshaw Hawkins was born in Huntington, West Virginia. The Grand Ole Opry star died in the 1963 plane crash that also took Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas. His song "Lonesome 7-7203" went to No. 1 after his passing.
Ray Pennington was born in Clay County, Kentucky. He wrote "I'm a Ramblin' Man," which Waylon Jennings took to No. 1, and he helped start the Step One Records label in 1984. He died in 2020 at 86.
Red Steagall was born in Gainesville, Texas. In 1974 he heard a young Reba McEntire sing the national anthem at the National Finals Rodeo, and he helped get her signed to Mercury Records the next year. He also co-wrote "Here We Go Again."
Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees was born in Douglas, Isle of Man. With brothers Barry and Maurice, he wrote "Islands in the Stream," which Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton took to No. 1 on both the pop and country charts in 1983.
Record producer and songwriter Mark Bright was born. Raised in Longview, Texas, he went on to produce music for Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Reba McEntire, Sara Evans and Scotty McCreery.
Brett Young's second album, Ticket to L.A., opened at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. The record came out on December 7.
Source: musicrow.comHank Williams recorded "Lovesick Blues" at Herzog Studio in Cincinnati, Ohio. He cut it in the last half hour of the session, and it became one of the biggest hits of his career.
George Strait put out "Ocean Front Property" as the first single and title song of his new album. The song went on to No. 1 on the country chart.
Songwriter Dennis Linde died in Nashville at 63. He wrote Elvis Presley's "Burning Love" and a string of country hits, including Joe Diffie's "John Deere Green" and Garth Brooks' "Callin' Baton Rouge."
Jimmy Work died in Dukedom, Tennessee, at 94. The Akron, Ohio, native wrote and recorded "Making Believe," which became a country standard after Kitty Wells cut her own version in 1955.
Hawkshaw Hawkins (1921), Ray Pennington (1933) and Red Steagall (1938) were all born on this date.
It depends on the year. In 2018, Brett Young's second album, Ticket to L.A., opened at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart.
Every entry is checked by the Country Thang Daily editors. Spot something we got wrong? Let us know and we’ll fix it and note the change.