Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On October 24, 2023, Jon Pardi was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry by his hero Garth Brooks, becoming the first California native to join. In 2010, Don Williams and Jimmy Dean were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. It’s also Mark Gray’s birthday.
Jon Pardi was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry by his hero Garth Brooks, becoming the first California native to join. His invite came that spring at Stagecoach, where Guy Fieri brought out a video message from Alan Jackson.
J.P. Richardson, known as The Big Bopper, was born in Sabine Pass, Texas. Besides "Chantilly Lace," he wrote "White Lightning," which gave George Jones his first No. 1 in 1959. He died in an Iowa plane crash with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens that same year.
Songwriter Sanger D. "Whitey" Shafer was born in Whitney, Texas. He penned songs for George Jones, Lefty Frizzell and George Strait, including Strait's No. 1 hits "Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind" and "All My Ex's Live in Texas." He died in 2019 at 84.
Mark Gray was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He sang with Exile and co-wrote "Take Me Down" and "The Closer You Get," both No. 1 hits for Alabama. His duet with Tammy Wynette, "Sometimes When We Touch," reached No. 6. He died in 2016.
Jim Reeves held the No. 1 spot on the country albums chart with Up Through the Years. The singer had died in a plane crash near Nashville the summer before, but fans kept his music at the top.
Tammy Wynette hit No. 1 on the country chart with "Run, Woman, Run." The song, written by Ann Booth, Duke Goff and Dan Hoffman, stayed on top for two weeks.
Willie Nelson was No. 1 on the country albums chart with City of New Orleans. The album held the top spot for 12 weeks. Its title song, written by Steve Goodman, tells of a train ride from Chicago down to New Orleans.
Don Williams and Jimmy Dean were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Dean had died that June, so his daughter accepted for him. Williams was ill, and his manager stood in.
Source: countrystandardtime.comTim McGraw sent "Not a Moment Too Soon" to radio as the fourth single from his album of the same name. Written by Wayne Perry and Joe Barnhill, the song went all the way to No. 1.
Taylor Swift released her first album, simply titled Taylor Swift, on Big Machine Records. It spent 24 weeks at No. 1 on the country albums chart and has sold millions of copies.
Session guitarist J.T. Corenflos died at 56 in Nashville. He got his start backing Jean Shepard and Joe Stampley, then played on records for George Strait, Reba McEntire, Kenny Chesney and many more. He was a top ACM guitar award winner.
Source: musicrow.comBluegrass great Sonny Osborne died at 83 in Hendersonville, Tennessee. He and his brother Bobby recorded "Rocky Top" in 1967, now one of Tennessee's state songs. In 1973 they became the first bluegrass act ever to perform at the White House.
Mark Gray (1952) was born on this date.
It depends on the year. In 1965, Jim Reeves held the No. 1 spot on the country albums chart with Up Through the Years. In 1970, Tammy Wynette hit No. 1 on the country chart with "Run, Woman, Run."
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.