Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On November 7, 2001, Vince Gill hosted the 35th CMA Awards at the Grand Ole Opry House. In 2007, the 41st CMA Awards came to the Sommet Center in Nashville. Mickey Raphael and Robin Lee share this birthday.
Vince Gill hosted the 35th CMA Awards at the Grand Ole Opry House. Tim McGraw took Entertainer of the Year, with Toby Keith and Lee Ann Womack winning the top vocalist awards. The O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack won Album of the Year, and Lonestar and Brooks & Dunn also took home trophies.
Mickey Raphael was born in Dallas, Texas. Fans know him best as Willie Nelson's harmonica player, and he has also played on albums by Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Kenny Chesney and many more.
Robin Lee was born Robin Lee Irwin in Nashville, Tennessee. Recording as Robin Lee, she took her country cover of "Black Velvet" to No. 12 in 1990. She has also written album cuts for LeAnn Rimes and Jo Dee Messina.
Merle Haggard's live album The Fightin' Side of Me sat at No. 1 on Billboard's country albums chart. It held the top spot for seven straight weeks that fall, and its title song had already been a No. 1 single.
Garth Brooks had the No. 1 country album in America with Ropin' the Wind, his third studio album. It knocked his own No Fences out of the top spot and stayed there for 29 weeks in a row.
The 41st CMA Awards came to the Sommet Center in Nashville. Kenny Chesney won Entertainer of the Year, his third win in four years. Carrie Underwood won Female Vocalist and Single for "Before He Cheats," Brad Paisley took Male Vocalist, George Strait won Album and Taylor Swift won the Horizon Award.
Hank Williams recorded "My Sweet Love Ain't Around" at Castle Studio in Nashville, with Fred Rose producing. MGM Records put it out in January 1948 as his third single for the label.
Dolly Parton put out "Dumb Blonde" on Monument Records. Written by Curly Putman, it became her first single on the Billboard country chart and climbed to No. 24. Dolly cut it again with Miranda Lambert in 2018 for the Dumplin' soundtrack.
Alabama released "Song of the South" as a single. It climbed to No. 1 on the country chart in February 1989. Bobby Bare had cut the song first, on his 1980 album Drunk & Crazy.
Alan Jackson put out When Somebody Loves You, his ninth studio album. It became his fifth No. 1 country album and gave fans "www.memory," the title song, "Where I Come From" and "It's Alright to Be a Redneck."
Patsy Cline appeared on the TV show Ozark Jubilee. During the broadcast she and Slim Wilson sang "Let's Go to Church" as a duet. She was on the program 16 times in all.
Source: patsyclinediscography.comTaylor Swift pulled double duty on NBC's Saturday Night Live, serving as both host and musical guest. She sang "You Belong with Me" and "Untouchable" on the show.
Clint Black filed a lawsuit in Nashville against his manager and accountant, Charles Sussman. Black said he gave up more than $500,000 in royalties to Equity Records, a label the two men partly owned, and got nothing back.
Source: countrystandardtime.comJeff Cook, a founding member of Alabama, died at 73 in Destin, Florida. He played lead guitar and fiddle and sang with the band. He had told fans about his Parkinson's diagnosis in 2017.
Mickey Raphael (1951) and Robin Lee (1963) were all born on this date.
It depends on the year. In 1970, Merle Haggard's live album The Fightin' Side of Me sat at No. 1 on Billboard's country albums chart. In 1991, Garth Brooks had the No. 1 country album in America with Ropin' the Wind, his third studio album.
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