Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On May 20, 2018, Chris Stapleton was the big country winner at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas. In 1958, Don Gibson became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. It’s also Jon Pardi’s birthday.
Chris Stapleton was the big country winner at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas. He took Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist and Top Country Album for From A Room: Volume 1. Luke Bryan won Top Country Tour.
Arranger and trumpet player Bill McElhiney was born in New Orleans. He played the famous trumpet part on Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" and arranged Brenda Lee's hit "I'm Sorry."
Jon Pardi was born in Dixon, California. His first single, "Missin' You Crazy," came out in 2012, and "Up All Night" gave him his first top 10 hit.
Charley Pride had the No. 1 country album with "The Country Way." He would go on to become RCA's biggest seller since Elvis Presley.
Freddy Fender reached No. 1 on the country albums chart with "Before the Next Teardrop Falls." The record carried two No. 1 hits, the title song and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights."
Clint Black had the No. 1 country album with his debut, "Killin' Time." Four singles from it went to No. 1, including "A Better Man" and the title song, and made him one of the brightest new stars in country music.
Faith Hill reached No. 1 on the Billboard country singles chart with "The Way You Love Me." The love song held the top spot for four straight weeks.
Sara Evans held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard country chart with "A Little Bit Stronger." The song about picking yourself back up spent two weeks on top.
Don Gibson became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Known as "the Sad Poet," he wrote country standards like "Sweet Dreams," "Oh Lonesome Me" and "I Can't Stop Loving You."
CBS aired Glen Campbell's special "Down Home, Down Under," filmed in Australia. He sang "Happy Together" with guest Olivia Newton-John and did "Let Me Be There" with Daryl Braithwaite of the band Sherbet.
Source: onlyolivia.comJohn Driskell Hopkins of the Zac Brown Band shared that he had been diagnosed with ALS, also called Lou Gehrig's disease. He told fans in a video made with his bandmates.
Jimmy Dean gave $1 million to Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas, his hometown. It was the biggest gift the school had ever received from one person.
Jon Pardi (1985) was born on this date.
It depends on the year. In 1968, Charley Pride had the No. 1 country album with "The Country Way." In 1990, Clint Black had the No. 1 country album with his debut, "Killin' Time."
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.