Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On March 25, 1974, Charlie Rich and Roger Miller hosted the 9th Academy of Country Music Awards. In 1978, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson spent a fourth straight week at No. 1 with "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys." Ronnie McDowell and Bonnie Guitar share this birthday.
Charlie Rich and Roger Miller hosted the 9th Academy of Country Music Awards. Rich won Top Male Vocalist, and his Behind Closed Doors took Album of the Year. Loretta Lynn won Top Female Vocalist. Olivia Newton-John and Dorsey Burnette were named the most promising newcomers.
Bonnie Guitar was born in Seattle, Washington. Her 1957 record "Dark Moon" made the Top 10 on the pop chart and the Top 15 on the country chart, making her one of the early women to cross over.
Singer, songwriter and actor Hoyt Axton was born in Duncan, Oklahoma. He wrote "Joy to the World" for Three Dog Night and had his own country hits with "When the Morning Comes" and "Flash of Fire."
Ronnie McDowell was born in Portland, Tennessee. His 1977 song "The King Is Gone" honored Elvis Presley the year Elvis died. He later topped the country chart with "Older Women" and "You're Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation."
Robbie Fulks was born in York, Pennsylvania. The singer and songwriter made his name in alternative country and bluegrass.
Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson spent a fourth straight week at No. 1 with "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys." No other country song held the top spot longer that year.
Cody Johnson sat at No. 1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart with "'Til You Can't," his first No. 1 single. The song later won Single and Video of the Year at the CMA Awards and a Grammy for Best Country Song.
Source: countrynow.comTennessee Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons" was added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry. Merle Travis wrote the song and first recorded it in Hollywood in 1946.
Johnny Cash cut "Ring of Fire" in Nashville. June Carter and Merle Kilgore wrote it, and June's sister Anita sang it first. Cash said a dream gave him the idea for the Mexican-style horns. The song held No. 1 on the country chart for seven weeks.
"Highway Don't Care" went out to country radio. Tim McGraw sang it with Taylor Swift, with Keith Urban on lead guitar. The song from Two Lanes of Freedom reached No. 1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart.
Out Among the Stars, a lost Johnny Cash album, came out more than ten years after his death. He cut the songs with producer Billy Sherrill in the 1980s. His son John Carter Cash found the tapes in 2012, and the album hit No. 1 on the country albums chart.
Charlie Daniels went into a Nashville hospital with a mild case of pneumonia. Tests there showed his heart needed help, and he got a pacemaker on March 28.
Buck Owens died at 76 at his ranch near Bakersfield, California. He led the Bakersfield sound with his band the Buckaroos and scored 21 No. 1 country hits. The first was "Act Naturally" in 1963.
Dan Seals died at 61 in Nashville. Pop fans first knew him as England Dan of England Dan & John Ford Coley. As a country singer he earned 11 No. 1 hits, including "Bop" and "Meet Me in Montana" with Marie Osmond.
Bonnie Guitar (1923), Ronnie McDowell (1950) and Robbie Fulks (1963) were all born on this date.
It depends on the year. In 1978, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson spent a fourth straight week at No. 1 with "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys." In 2022, Cody Johnson sat at No. 1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart with "'Til You Can't," his first No. 1 single.
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.