Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On September 21, 1996, Hank Williams III, 23, first stepped onto the Grand Ole Opry stage, following his granddad and his dad. In 2002, Farm Aid came to the Post-Gazette Pavilion in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, to support family farmers. Faith Hill and Kenny Starr share this birthday.
Hank Williams III, 23, first stepped onto the Grand Ole Opry stage, following his granddad and his dad. He sang "Lovesick Blues," the song Hank Sr. made famous at his own Opry debut.
Dickey Lee was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He scored 1960s pop hits with "Patches" and "Laurie (Strange Things Happen)," then reached No. 1 on the country chart in 1975 with "Rocky."
Kenny Starr was born in Topeka, Kansas. He spent much of the 1970s with Loretta Lynn's band, the Coal Miners. His biggest hit was "The Blind Man in the Bleachers."
Mark Wright, the Nashville songwriter and producer, was born. He worked on records for Brooks and Dunn, Gary Allan and Mark Chesnutt, and he co-produced Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance."
Ronna Reeves was born in Big Spring, Texas. She released five studio albums in the 1990s and had five singles on the country chart.
Faith Hill was born in Ridgeland, Mississippi, and grew up in Star. She gave us "Wild One" and "This Kiss." Her 2006 Soul2Soul II Tour with husband Tim McGraw set a record for country tours.
Ingrid Andress was born in Southfield, Michigan. Her 2019 single "More Hearts Than Mine" made her name, and her first album, Lady Like, came out in 2020.
Farm Aid came to the Post-Gazette Pavilion in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, to support family farmers. Willie Nelson was joined by Keith Urban, Lee Ann Womack, Neil Young and many others.
Montgomery, Alabama, held a Hank Williams Memorial Day to honor what would have been his 31st birthday, and a monument to him was unveiled.
Source: southernmusicresearch.orgSongwriter John D. Loudermilk died at 82 at his home in Christiana, Tennessee. He wrote "Abilene" for George Hamilton IV, plus "Indian Reservation" and "Tobacco Road."
Roy Head died at 79 in Porter, Texas, after a heart attack. He is best known for the 1965 hit "Treat Her Right," and he later placed songs on the country chart too.
Ray Edenton, one of Nashville's busiest studio guitar players, died at 95. A longtime member of the Nashville A-Team, he worked over 12,000 sessions, including Webb Pierce's "There Stands the Glass," Marty Robbins' "Singing the Blues" and Roger Miller's "King of the Road."
Dickey Lee (1936), Kenny Starr (1952), Ronna Reeves (1966), Faith Hill (1967) and Ingrid Andress (1991) were all born on this date.
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.