Your daily look at this day in country history, from classic Opry nights to the newest No. 1 hits.
On September 22, 1999, Vince Gill hosted the 33rd CMA Awards at the Grand Ole Opry House. In 2012, Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" logged a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s also Debby Boone’s birthday.
Vince Gill hosted the 33rd CMA Awards at the Grand Ole Opry House. Shania Twain was named Entertainer of the Year. Tim McGraw took Male Vocalist and Album of the Year for A Place in the Sun, and Martina McBride won Female Vocalist.
Debby Boone was born in Hackensack, New Jersey. Her 1977 hit "You Light Up My Life" held No. 1 on the Hot 100 for ten weeks and earned her the Grammy for Best New Artist. In 1980 she topped the country chart with "Are You on the Road to Lovin' Me Again."
June Forester of The Forester Sisters was born. She and sisters Kathy, Kim and Christy grew up on Lookout Mountain, Georgia, and landed 15 Top 10 country hits in the 1980s, including the No. 1s "I Fell in Love Again Last Night" and "Mama's Never Seen Those Eyes."
Jo Dee Messina held the No. 1 spot on the country singles chart with "That's the Way." The upbeat tune was the first single from her album Burn.
Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" logged a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the first country song to stay on top that long since Kenny Rogers' "Lady" in 1980. A few weeks later it topped the country chart too.
The Complete Hank Williams, a 10-disc box set, came out. It gathers 225 tracks, 53 of them never released before, and went on to win two Grammy Awards in 1999.
Farm Aid held its very first concert at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois, with about 80,000 fans on hand. Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp put it together to help family farmers after Bob Dylan spoke up for them at Live Aid that summer.
Bob Moore, the Nashville-born bass player and Nashville A-Team member, died at 88. He played on thousands of sessions behind Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and Patsy Cline. That's his bass you hear opening Roger Miller's "King of the Road."
Debby Boone (1956) was born on this date.
It depends on the year. In 2000, Jo Dee Messina held the No. 1 spot on the country singles chart with "That's the Way." In 2012, Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" logged a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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.