On This Day in Country Music: October 4

Leroy Van Dyke

Leroy Van Dyke was born in Mora, Missouri. Fans know him for "The Auctioneer" and "Walk On By," a country No. 1 for 19 weeks. Billboard later ranked "Walk On By" as the top country single ever.

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Lloyd Green

Steel guitar great Lloyd Green was born in Leaf, Mississippi. As a top Nashville session player, he played on more than 100 No. 1 country hits. He joined the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1988.

Larry Collins

Larry Collins was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He and his sister Lorrie made up the Collins Kids, and he later co-wrote "Delta Dawn" and "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma." He died in 2024 at 79.

Heidi Newfield

Heidi Newfield was born in Healdsburg, California. She sang lead for Trick Pony from 1996 to 2006. Her first solo single, "Johnny & June," reached No. 11 on the country chart in 2008.

Tim McGraw released "My Best Friend," the third single from A Place in the Sun. The tender love song went on to hit No. 1 on Billboard's country singles chart.

Darius Rucker reached No. 1 on the country chart with "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," his debut country single. No Black solo artist had topped that chart since Charley Pride's "Night Games" in 1983.

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Morgan Wallen's Dangerous: The Double Album was still No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, more than a year and a half after its release. It also spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Roger Miller, the man behind "King of the Road," was voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The honor was announced at the CMA Awards, three years after his passing.

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The Dixie Chicks won four CMA Awards, including Entertainer of the Year and Album of the Year for Fly. Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance" won Single and Song of the Year. Faith Hill and Tim McGraw took the top vocalist awards.

George Jones released "Just One More" on Starday Records. He wrote the song himself, and it climbed to No. 3 on the country chart. It was an early taste of the heartbroken drinking songs he would become known for.

Dolly Parton released her album Coat of Many Colors on RCA Victor. Of every song she ever wrote, Dolly has called the title track the one she loves most. The album was up for CMA Album of the Year.

Loretta Lynn released her album Somebody Somewhere. It went to No. 1 on the country albums chart, and its title song, "Somebody Somewhere (Don't Know What He's Missin' Tonight)," became a No. 1 single too.

Willie Nelson's Farm Aid benefit came to Tinley Park, Illinois, to raise money for America's family farmers. Willie, Neil Young, John Fogerty, Billy Ray Cyrus and Steve Earle were among the performers.

Farm Aid 2009 was held near St. Louis in Maryland Heights, Missouri, to help family farmers. Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp led the show, with Jamey Johnson among the performers.

The second episode of Dolly Parton's TV variety show, Dolly, aired on ABC. Her guests were Burt Reynolds, Alabama and Whoopi Goldberg.

Tammy Wynette reported that a masked man took her from a Nashville shopping center and hurt her. No one was ever arrested, and it remains one of Music City's great unsolved mysteries.

Blake Shelton struck a deal with Influence Media Partners for his master recordings from 2001 to 2019. Under the joint venture, Shelton keeps a share of the profits from those songs.

Loretta Lynn, the Coal Miner's Daughter, died at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, at 90. Her hits included "You Ain't Woman Enough" and "Fist City," and her life story became the 1980 movie Coal Miner's Daughter.