Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On July 9, 2001, the Country Music Association named 12 new members of the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 1968, Tammy Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" was the No. 1 country song in America. Emily West and David Ball share this birthday.
The Country Music Association named 12 new members of the Country Music Hall of Fame. The class included Bill Anderson, Waylon Jennings, Sam Phillips, Webb Pierce, Don Gibson, The Everly Brothers, The Louvin Brothers and The Jordanaires.
Singing cowboy Eddie Dean was born in Posey, Texas. Gene Autry thought he was the best cowboy singer of them all. Dean co-wrote "I Dreamed of a Hill-Billy Heaven," a Top 10 country hit in 1955. He died in 1999 at 91.
Singer, songwriter and producer Lee Hazlewood was born in Mannford, Oklahoma. His work with Nancy Sinatra helped shape a sound fans call "cowboy psychedelia." He died in 2007.
Bluegrass mandolin great Jesse McReynolds of Jim & Jesse was born in Carfax, Virginia. The brothers joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1964 and charted with "Diesel on My Tail" in 1967. Jesse died in 2023.
David Ball was born in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Two of his songs climbed to No. 2 on the country chart, "Thinkin' Problem" in 1994 and "Riding with Private Malone" in 2001.
Bluegrass singer Ronnie Bowman was born in Mount Airy, North Carolina. He sang with the Lonesome River Band and co-wrote hits like Kenny Chesney's "Never Wanted Nothing More" and Brooks & Dunn's "It's Getting Better All the Time."
Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb was born in Savannah, Georgia. He has made records with Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, John Prine and The Highwomen.
Emily West was born in Waterloo, Iowa. Her first country single, "Rocks in Your Shoes," charted in 2008, and she teamed with Keith Urban on "Blue Sky" in 2010.
Tammy Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" was the No. 1 country song in America. Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman wrote the tearjerker, where a mother spells out words so her little boy won't understand.
Morgan Wallen's One Thing at a Time held the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. It went on to be Billboard's top album of 2023, and Wallen became the first country artist to finish a year with both the No. 1 album and No. 1 song.
LeAnn Rimes put out her debut studio album, Blue, on Curb Records. It went to No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart and reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
Carrie Underwood sent out "Blown Away," the title song from her fourth studio album, as a single. It climbed to No. 1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart, her 13th time at the top there.
June Carter married country singer Carl Smith. Their daughter, Carlene Carter, grew up to be a country star in her own right.
Joe Bonsall of The Oak Ridge Boys died at 76 in Hendersonville, Tennessee, after a battle with ALS. The Philadelphia native helped give the group its famous sound.
David Ball (1953) and Emily West (1981) were all born on this date.
It depends on the year. In 1968, Tammy Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" was the No. 1 country song in America. In 2023, Morgan Wallen's One Thing at a Time held the No. 1 spot 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.