APRIL 1

1921: Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith was born in Clinton, SC. His 1948 single “Guitar Boogie” was one of three singles that lands in country music’s Top 10, while his song “Feuding Banjos” became “Dueling Banjos” in the movie “Deliverance.”

1927: RCA Records introduced the first automatic record changer in Germany.

1934: Jim Ed Brown was born in Sparkman, AR. After coming to prominence with his two sisters in The Browns, he launched a solo career that netted a classic in 1967 with “Pop A Top,” then strings together seven Top 10 duets with Helen Cornelius.

1939: Songwriter Royce Porter was born in Sweetwater, TX. He wrote such hits as George Strait’s “It Ain’t Cool To Be Crazy About You” and “Ocean Front Property,” Keith Whitley’s “Homecoming ’63” and Kenny Chesney’s “A Chance.”

1951: Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell kicked off the only concert tour they would work together in Little Rock, AR.

1966: Johnny Paycheck held his first recording session for Aubrey Mayhew’s Little Darlin’ label at RCA Studio B in Nashville.

1967: The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum opened in a barn-like structure on Music Row in Nashville. It remained at that location for 34 years, before moving downtown.

1975: Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn recorded “Feelins’” at Bradley’s Barn in Mt. Juliet, TN.

1975: Jack Clement fired his staff at Jack’s Tracks recording studio in Nashville, annoyed by an equipment failure. Some returned to work for him; engineer Garth Fundis did not. He goes on to produce Don Williams, Keith Whitley and Trisha Yearwood.

1978: Waylon Jennings recorded “Don’t You Think This Outlaw Bit’s Done Got Out Of Hand” during a session at the Jack Clement Studios in Nashville. Also, after first recording it two days prior, he spent part of the session on “I’ve Always Been Crazy.”

1979: Mark Herndon joined Alabama as the band’s drummer.

1982: After working as a backing band for singer/songwriter Don King, Sawyer Brown made its debut as a group–under the name Savannah–at Knight’s Corral in Nashville.

1989: George Strait commanded the #1 position on the Billboard country chart with “Baby’s Gotten Good At Goodbye.”

1996: Interesting pairings: Classic rock band Bad Company re-recorded “Oh, Atlanta” in a Nashville studio, joined by Alison Krauss and Vince Gill.

2008: MCA released George Strait’s album “Troubadour.”

2019: Loretta Lynn was celebrated with a birthday concert at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. The cast included Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson and George Strait with proceeds going to charity.