Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On January 2, 1954, John Barlow Jarvis was born in Pasadena, California. In 1981, Kenny Rogers held No. 1 on the country albums chart with Greatest Hits. John Barlow Jarvis and Harold Bradley share this birthday.
John Barlow Jarvis was born in Pasadena, California. The piano man played sessions for Garth Brooks, George Strait and Reba McEntire and co-wrote The Judds' No. 1 hit "Love Can Build a Bridge."
Harold Bradley was born in Nashville, Tennessee. The guitarist played on records by Patsy Cline, Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson and entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006. He died in 2019 at 93.
Roger Miller was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He gave country fans "King of the Road," "Dang Me" and "England Swings." Miller died of cancer in 1992 at 56.
Songwriter Don Von Tress was born in Indiana. He wrote "Achy Breaky Heart," first cut by The Marcy Brothers as "Don't Tell My Heart" before Billy Ray Cyrus made it a smash in 1992.
Source: americansongwriter.comKenny Rogers held No. 1 on the country albums chart with Greatest Hits. The set featured "Lady," a song Lionel Richie wrote and produced just for him.
Garth Brooks was No. 1 on the country albums chart with The Chase. It spent 16 weeks in the top spot in all.
Shania Twain was No. 1 on the country albums chart with Up! The album opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 too, selling 874,000 copies its first week.
Hot Country Knights, a joke 1990s-style band led by Dierks Bentley as Doug Douglason, landed a record deal with UMG Nashville. Members of Bentley's road band fill out the group.
Source: countrystandardtime.comTex Ritter, the singing cowboy of radio and the movies, died at 68 in Nashville. His No. 1 country hits included "I'm Wastin' My Tears on You," and he was voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1964.
Little Jimmy Dickens died at 94 in Nashville. The pint-sized funnyman brought rhinestone suits to the country stage and was the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry.
Rick Hall, the man behind FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, died at 85. Known first for soul records, his studio later cut country hits like Tim McGraw's "I Like It, I Love It."
Harold Bradley (1926), Roger Miller (1936) and John Barlow Jarvis (1954) were all born on this date.
It depends on the year. In 1981, Kenny Rogers held No. 1 on the country albums chart with Greatest Hits. In 1993, Garth Brooks was No. 1 on the country albums chart with The Chase.
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.