01/09/2026
ON THIS DAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY
Selected days in history on this Finish Line Friday.
1941: Roy Head was born in Three Rivers, TX. He is best known for his 1965 hit "Treat Her Right", recorded with his group, The Traits. He later segued into country music, charting several hits over a ten-year period. Roy Headed for his heavenly home on September 21, 2020. The 79-year-old singer had suffered a fatal heart attack.
1950: Hank Williams recorded "Long Gone Lonesome Blues", "Why Don't You Love Me" and "My Son Calls Another Man Daddy" during sessions at Castle Studios in Nashville.
1951: Brenda Gail Webb, better known as Crystal Gayle, was born in Paintsville, KY. The younger sister of Loretta Lynn, Gayle would become a major star in her own right, accumulating 18 No. 1 hits.
1960: Patsy Cline joined the Grand Ole Opry.
1968: Loretta Lynn recorded "Fist City", which soon became a smash hit (pardon the pun).
1969: Glen Campbell recorded "Galveston" at Capitol Records' Hollywood studios.
1979: Willie and Family Live, Willie Nelson's double live album, was at the top of the country album chart. Recorded live at Harrah's in Lake Tahoe, Nevada in April of 1978 at the height of Willie madness, the album features Emmylou Harris and Johnny Paycheck on some of the songs.
1982: Following a recommendation from the Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce in Hendersonville, Tennessee, the City Commission dedicated Highway 31, known locally as Gallatin Road, as the Johnny Cash Parkway. A ceremony was later held in the parking lot at the House of Cash.
2000: Shania Twain won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Female Musical Performer.
2012: Miranda Lambert released "Over You", the second single from her album, Four the Record. Written by Lambert and her then-husband Blake Shelton, the song peaked at #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart.
2013: Taylor Swift topped the country album chart with Red, which sold approximately 1.89 million copies.
2017: Rascal Flatts released "Yours If You Want It", the lead-off single from their tenth album, Back to Us. The song would become their 14th No. 1 hit.