Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On January 20, 1979, Dolly Parton had the No. 1 country song with "I Really Got the Feeling," which was paired with "Baby I'm Burnin'" on a two-sided single. In 2021, Morgan Wallen made country chart history with "Dangerous: The Double Album." John Michael Montgomery and Slim Whitman share this birthday.
Dolly Parton had the No. 1 country song with "I Really Got the Feeling," which was paired with "Baby I'm Burnin'" on a two-sided single.
Slim Whitman was born Ottis Dewey Whitman Jr. in Tampa, Florida. Known for his smooth yodel, his 1955 hit "Rose Marie" spent 11 weeks at No. 1 in the United Kingdom, a record that lasted 36 years.
John Michael Montgomery was born in Danville, Kentucky. He topped Billboard's year-end country list two years running, with "I Swear" in 1994 and "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)" in 1995.
Brantley Gilbert was born in Jefferson, Georgia. He later reached No. 1 with "Country Must Be Country Wide" and again with "You Don't Know Her Like I Do."
Morgan Wallen made country chart history with "Dangerous: The Double Album." He became the first act with six songs in the Hot Country Songs top 10 at once, and the first to debut at No. 1 on both the country songs and country albums charts the same week.
Source: musicrow.comGeorge Jones put out Country Church Time on Mercury Records. The album was filled with gospel songs from early in his career.
Tim McGraw released "Humble and Kind" as a single. Written by Lori McKenna, it went to No. 1 and won Song of the Year at the CMA Awards and Best Country Song at the Grammys.
Billboard began building its Hot Country Singles chart only from real radio plays tracked by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems. The chart also shrank from 100 spots to 75.
On Slim Whitman's 85th birthday, the Nashville Tennessean ran his obituary by mistake, based on a false report. Whitman was still alive and lived until 2013.
Producer and songwriter Larry Butler died at 69 in his hometown of Pensacola, Florida. He produced Kenny Rogers hits like The Gambler and won a Grammy for Producer of the Year in 1980.
Slim Whitman (1923), John Michael Montgomery (1965) and Brantley Gilbert (1985) were all born on this date.
It depends on the year. In 1979, Dolly Parton had the No. 1 country song with "I Really Got the Feeling," which was paired with "Baby I'm Burnin'" on a two-sided single. In 2021, Morgan Wallen made country chart history with "Dangerous: The Double Album."
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.