Apr 28, 1928: Victor releases The Carter Family’s debut single, “Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow”
Apr 28, 1937: Bill Walker is born in Sydney, Australia. He becomes a major arranger, contributing to such hits as Eddy Arnold’s “Make The World Go Away,” Johnny Cash’s “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” and Roy Clark’s “Come Live With Me”
Apr 28, 1948: Audrey Williams files for divorce from Hank Williams
Apr 28, 1953: Fred Knobloch is born in Jackson, Mississippi. He earns hits as a solo artist and as a member of Schuyler, Knobloch & Overstreet during the 1980s. He also writes George Strait’s “Meanwhile” and Lorrie Morgan’s “Back In Your Arms Again”
Apr 28, 1963: David “Dad” Carter dies in Oklahoma City. He founded the Southern gospel group The Chuck Wagon Gang.
Apr 28, 1969: Glen Campbell wins three times in the fourth Academy of Country & Western Music awards at the Palladium in Hollywood. He takes Top Male Vocalist and Television Personality; and shares Album of the Year, for “Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell”
Apr 28, 1971: George Jones & Tammy Wynette begin two days of recording that yield their first duet album, “We Go Together”
Apr 28, 1971: Sonny James records Jimmy Reed’s “Bright Lights, Big City” in an evening session at the Jack Clement Recording Studios in Nashville
Apr 28, 1973: Charlie Rich ascends to #1 on the Billboard country chart with “Behind Closed Doors”
Apr 28, 1976: Bruce Springsteen tours lower Broadway in Nashville during the afternoon, then plays the Grand Ole Opry House that evening. Ten years later, Mel McDaniel records Springsteen’s “Stand On It”
Apr 28, 1978: Dolly Parton collects her first platinum album, for “Here You Come Again”
Apr 28, 1980: Twenty years after his first hit record, Bill Anderson finally makes his debut on NBC’s “The Tonight Show”
Apr 28, 1984: George Strait’s version of the western-swing classic “Right Or Wrong” hits #1 on the Billboard country singles chart
Apr 28, 1986: “Crook & Chase” debuts on TNN
Apr 28, 1986: ABC airs “Texas 150: A Celebration Special” with Willie Nelson, George Strait, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Lee, Delbert McClinton, Gary Morris, Johnny Rodriguez, Charley Pride, B.J. Thomas and others
Apr 28, 1991: The day after a concert in Wheeling, West Virginia, Larry Gatlin decides to stop touring. In June, Gatlin tells “Good Morning, America”: “I’m tired of having to operate on guts and faith and cortisone shots”
Apr 28, 1991: Actor Ken Curtis dies in Fresno, California. A member of The Sons Of The Pioneers from 1949-1953, he was best known as Festus on TV’s “Gunsmoke” and Monk on “Have Gun, Will Travel”
Apr 28, 1992: Atlantic releases Confederate Railroad’s self-titled debut album
Apr 28, 1992: George Strait records “Heartland” at Nashville’s Sound Stage
Apr 28, 1992: Arista Records releases Lee Roy Parnell’s second album, “Love Without Mercy”
Apr 28, 2009: Vern Gosdin dies in a Nashville hospital weeks after suffering a stroke. Known as “The Voice,” he was a staunch traditional country singer and won the Country Music Association’s Song of the Year honor for co-writing “Chiseled In Stone”
