Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On March 7, 1964, Ernest Ashworth joined the Grand Ole Opry. In 1973, Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell earned gold records for "Dueling Banjos" from the movie Deliverance. It’s also Townes Van Zandt’s birthday.
Ernest Ashworth joined the Grand Ole Opry. The Huntsville, Alabama, native had a No. 1 country hit with "Talk Back Trembling Lips" and later went into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1992.
Townes Van Zandt was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He wrote "Pancho and Lefty," a hit for Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, and "If I Needed You," sung by Emmylou Harris and Don Williams. He died in 1997.
Guitarist and singer Chris Rodriguez was born in the Bronx, New York. After moving to Nashville, he played and sang for Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Wynonna Judd and Dolly Parton.
Jimmie Allen's "Make Me Want To" reached No. 1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart in its 58th week. At the time, that was the slowest climb to the top and the longest run in the chart's history.
Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell earned gold records for "Dueling Banjos" from the movie Deliverance. The tune went to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the country singles chart.
Dolly Parton released Eagle When She Flies, her 31st solo studio album. It went to No. 1 on the country albums chart, and her duet with Ricky Van Shelton, "Rockin' Years," also hit No. 1.
Coal Miner's Daughter, the movie about Loretta Lynn's life, hit theaters. Sissy Spacek played Loretta and won the Oscar for Best Actress. Tommy Lee Jones played Doolittle Lynn, and Beverly D'Angelo played Patsy Cline.
The Nashville Network, known as TNN, went on the air from the Opryland USA theme park near Nashville. Country Music Television had signed on two days earlier, making CMT the first country cable channel.
Pee Wee King died at 86 in Louisville, Kentucky. The Opry star wrote "Tennessee Waltz" with Redd Stewart, and Patti Page's version made it a standard.
Claude King died at 90 at his home in Shreveport, Louisiana. His 1962 hit "Wolverton Mountain," written with Merle Kilgore, sold over a million copies and held No. 1 on the country chart for nine weeks.
Songwriter Jim Owen died at 78. He wrote "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man" for Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, plus songs cut by Mel Tillis, Porter Wagoner, Jim Ed Brown and Jerry Reed.
Townes Van Zandt (1944) was born on this date.
It depends on the year. In 2020, Jimmie Allen's "Make Me Want To" reached No. 1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart in its 58th week.
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.