Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On June 11, 2022, Vince Gill asked two Country Music Hall of Fame members, Charlie McCoy and Don Schlitz, to join the Grand Ole Opry on the same show. In 1949, Hank Williams made his Grand Ole Opry debut at age 25. Bruce Robison and Johnny Neel share this birthday.
Vince Gill asked two Country Music Hall of Fame members, Charlie McCoy and Don Schlitz, to join the Grand Ole Opry on the same show. McCoy was inducted on July 13, and Schlitz followed on August 30.
Johnny Neel was born in Wilmington, Delaware. The Nashville keyboard player and writer spent time in the Allman Brothers Band. Keith Whitley, Travis Tritt, Montgomery Gentry and The Oak Ridge Boys all recorded his songs.
Bruce Robison was born on this day. The Texas songwriter wrote "Angry All the Time," a No. 1 for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and "Wrapped," which George Strait took to No. 2.
Buck Owens held the No. 1 spot on the country albums chart with I've Got a Tiger by the Tail. The record spent 13 weeks on top that year.
Willie Nelson topped the Billboard country singles chart with his take on Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia on My Mind." It held No. 1 for one week.
Reba McEntire's album Reba hit No. 1 on the country albums chart and stayed six weeks. It traded fiddle and steel for a fuller, polished sound and gave her two No. 1 singles, "I Know How He Feels" and "New Fool at an Old Game."
Hank Williams made his Grand Ole Opry debut at age 25. The crowd called him back for six encores, and he soon became one of the show's biggest stars.
Patty Loveless joined the Grand Ole Opry. The Kentucky singer went on to chart 44 country singles, with five No. 1s including "Chains" and "Blame It on Your Heart."
Luke Combs got the call every country singer dreams of when he was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. His official induction came a few weeks later, on July 16, 2019.
Word came that Country Music magazine would close, with the August-September 2003 issue as its last. Its publisher, American Media, folded it into sister title Country Weekly.
Grand Ole Opry star Jim Ed Brown died at 81 in Franklin, Tennessee, after a fight with cancer. He rose to fame singing with his sisters in The Browns and later scored a No. 1 duet with Helen Cornelius, "I Don't Want to Have to Marry You."
Johnny Neel (1954) and Bruce Robison (1966) were all born on this date.
It depends on the year. In 1965, Buck Owens held the No. 1 spot on the country albums chart with I've Got a Tiger by the Tail. In 1978, Willie Nelson topped the Billboard country singles chart with his take on Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia on My Mind."
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.