Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On May 1, 1980, the 15th Academy of Country Music Awards were held at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, with Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride and Claude Akins as hosts. In 1993, Charley Pride became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Tim McGraw and Rita Coolidge share this birthday.
The 15th Academy of Country Music Awards were held at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, with Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride and Claude Akins as hosts. Larry Gatlin won Top Male Vocalist, Crystal Gayle won Top Female Vocalist, and "All the Gold in California" took Single Record of the Year.
Sonny James, the singer fans called the Southern Gentleman, was born James Hugh Loden in Hackleburg, Alabama. His 1957 hit "Young Love" topped both the country and pop charts, and he later put together 16 straight No. 1 country hits. He died in 2016 at 87.
Rita Coolidge was born in Lafayette, Tennessee. She married Kris Kristofferson in 1973, and the two won a pair of Grammy Awards singing together, for "From the Bottle to the Bottom" and "Lover Please."
Tim McGraw was born in Delhi, Louisiana. The son of baseball pitcher Tug McGraw, he has sent 25 singles to No. 1 on the country charts. He has been married to Faith Hill since 1996.
Charley Pride became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Back in 1967 he was the first Black performer on the Opry stage since DeFord Bailey, and over his career he sold more than 70 million records.
Johnny Cash released "I Walk the Line" on Sun Records. The song gave him his first No. 1 on the Billboard country chart and also reached No. 19 on the pop side.
Source: americansongwriter.comAlabama released "Feels So Right," the title song from their album. It became the group's fourth No. 1 in a row on the country chart and their first to stay on top for more than one week.
Reba McEntire released her album Sweet Sixteen on MCA Records. Her take on the Everly Brothers' "Cathy's Clown" went to No. 1, and the album held the top spot on the country albums chart for 13 straight weeks.
Miranda Lambert released Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on Columbia Nashville. It climbed to No. 1 on the country albums chart and later won Album of the Year at the 2008 Academy of Country Music Awards.
Carrie Underwood released Blown Away, and it opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 267,000 copies sold in its first week. That made her the third woman with three country albums at the top, alongside Linda Ronstadt and Faith Hill.
Bob Dylan taped a guest spot for the very first episode of The Johnny Cash Show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Cash joined him on "Girl From the North Country," and the show aired June 7, 1969.
Source: bestclassicbands.comEmily Erwin of the Dixie Chicks married country singer Charlie Robison at Cibolo Creek Ranch. The couple went on to have three children.
Rita Coolidge (1945) and Tim McGraw (1967) were all born on this date.
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.