Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On October 20, 1967, the very first CMA Awards were handed out at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium, with no TV cameras. In 1962, Leroy Van Dyke became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Grandpa Jones and Stuart Hamblen share this birthday.
The very first CMA Awards were handed out at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium, with no TV cameras. Eddy Arnold was named Entertainer of the Year, Loretta Lynn won Female Vocalist, and Dallas Frazier's "There Goes My Everything" took Song of the Year.
Stuart Hamblen was born in Kellyville, Texas. He was one of radio's first singing cowboys and wrote "This Ole House," a No. 1 hit for Rosemary Clooney. He died in 1989.
Grandpa Jones was born in Niagara, Kentucky, in Henderson County. The banjo-picking old-time and gospel singer joined the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1978 and was an original Hee Haw cast member. He died at 84 in 1998.
Wanda Jackson, the Queen of Rockabilly, was born in Maud, Oklahoma. She later found country success with songs like "Tears Will Be the Chaser for Your Wine" and "Fancy Satin Pillows."
Walker Hayes was riding high at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart with "Fancy Like." The song name-drops an Applebee's Oreo shake, and the chain brought the shake back and used the tune in its TV ads.
Leroy Van Dyke became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He first made his name with "The Auctioneer," a 1956 song about his cousin Ray Sims, which went on to sell more than 2.5 million copies.
Tim McGraw put out his album Southern Voice on Curb Records. The first single was "It's a Business Doing Pleasure with You," which went to radio that summer.
Carrie Underwood's "Temporary Home" became available as a download ahead of her album Play On. The tender song later went to radio and became her ninth No. 1 country hit in 2010. It also earned a Grammy nomination.
Little Big Town released "Better Man," the lead single from The Breaker. The group kept the writer a secret at first, then shared that Taylor Swift wrote it. The song went to No. 1 and won CMA Song of the Year.
The family movie Flicka opened in U.S. theaters. Tim McGraw played Rob McLaughlin, a Wyoming rancher and father, in the film based on the 1941 book My Friend Flicka.
Merle Travis died at 65 at his home in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The guitar great wrote "Sixteen Tons," a song about coal miners that Tennessee Ernie Ford took to No. 1. Travis joined the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1977.
Stuart Hamblen (1908) and Grandpa Jones (1913) were all born on this date.
It depends on the year. In 2021, Walker Hayes was riding high at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart with "Fancy Like."
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.