Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On May 7, 2005, Dwight Yoakam gave the commencement speech at Ohio Valley College in Vienna, West Virginia, and received an honorary doctorate. In 1970, Merle Haggard's live album Okie from Muskogee was back at No. 1 on Billboard's country albums chart in May 1970.
Dwight Yoakam gave the commencement speech at Ohio Valley College in Vienna, West Virginia, and received an honorary doctorate. The school's chancellor had baptized him as a boy in Columbus, Ohio.
Songwriter Jerry Chesnut was born in Harlan County, Kentucky. He wrote "A Good Year for the Roses" for George Jones and "T-R-O-U-B-L-E," a hit for both Elvis Presley and Travis Tritt. He died in Nashville in 2018 at 87.
Songwriter John Jarrard was born in Gainesville, Georgia. His songs were cut by Alabama, George Strait, Don Williams and many more. He died in 2001.
Merle Haggard's live album Okie from Muskogee was back at No. 1 on Billboard's country albums chart in May 1970. It won Album of the Year from the Academy of Country Music.
Charlie Rich held No. 1 on the country chart with "Behind Closed Doors," his first time at the top. The song swept Single and Song of the Year at both the CMA and ACM awards, and it won Rich a Grammy.
Clint Black reached No. 1 on the Billboard country chart with "A Good Run of Bad Luck." It was the fourth single from his album No Time to Kill.
Luke Combs was back at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart with his second studio album, What You See Is What You Get. The record kept coming back to the top all through 2020.
Johnny Cash played the Empire in Liverpool, England, one of the first concerts of his spring 1966 tour of Britain.
Source: johnny-cash-infocenter.comMickey Gilley died in Branson, Missouri, at 86. The Natchez, Mississippi, native and cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis scored 17 country No. 1s, including "Room Full of Roses" and "Stand by Me."
It depends on the year. In 1970, Merle Haggard's live album Okie from Muskogee was back at No. 1 on Billboard's country albums chart in May 1970. In 1994, Clint Black reached No. 1 on the Billboard country chart with "A Good Run of Bad Luck."
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