Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On January 6, 2010, Shelly Kurland, a Nashville session violinist and arranger, died at 81. In 1998, Grammy nominations named both Trisha Yearwood and LeAnn Rimes for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, each for her own take on "How Do I Live." Earl Scruggs and Bobby Lord share this birthday.
Shelly Kurland, a Nashville session violinist and arranger, died at 81. His strings and arrangements graced records by Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Reba McEntire and many more.
Earl Scruggs was born in Flint Hill, North Carolina, near Shelby. His three-finger picking changed the banjo forever. He played with Bill Monroe, then teamed with Lester Flatt for "The Ballad of Jed Clampett," the theme from The Beverly Hillbillies.
Bobby Lord was born in Sanford, Florida. The singer moved to Nashville in 1960 and joined the Grand Ole Opry that same year. He died in 2008.
Jerry Lee Lewis hit No. 1 on Billboard's country best sellers chart with "Great Balls of Fire." The rocking Sun Records hit took over the top spot from Bobby Helms' "My Special Angel."
C.W. McCall held No. 1 on the country albums chart with Black Bear Road. The record carried his trucker smash "Convoy," the song that got folks all over America talking on CB radios.
Taylor Swift sat at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart with Red (Taylor's Version). It was her new recording of her 2012 album Red.
Grammy nominations named both Trisha Yearwood and LeAnn Rimes for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, each for her own take on "How Do I Live." It was a first for the Grammys. Trisha took the award home in February.
Source: npr.orgMarty Stuart invited comedians Henry Cho and Gary Mule Deer to join the Grand Ole Opry. Both men were later inducted that spring.
Johnny Cash put out "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" on Sun Records. The short and sweet song went all the way to No. 1 on the country chart and landed on his album Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous.
Alabama released "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)," the first single and title song from their album Roll On. The trucker's family tale climbed to No. 1, the band's 12th chart-topper in a row.
Earl Scruggs (1924) and Bobby Lord (1934) were all born on this date.
It depends on the year. In 1958, Jerry Lee Lewis hit No. 1 on Billboard's country best sellers chart with "Great Balls of Fire." In 1976, C.W. McCall held No. 1 on the country albums chart with Black Bear Road.
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