APRIL 24
1937: Bass player Dick Kniss was born in Portland, OR. He became a member of John Denver’s band, appearing on such hits as “Back Home Again,” “Annie’s Song,” “I’m Sorry” and “Thank God I’m A Country Boy.”
1943: Richard Sterban, of The Oak Ridge Boys, was born in Camden, NJ. He provides the distinctive bass vocal presence on such hits as “Elvira,” “Bobbie Sue” and “Love Song” after joining the group in 1972. The Oaks joined the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015.
1947: Songwriter Rich Fagan was born in Philadelphia, PA. He authored John Michael Montgomery’s “Be My Baby Tonight” and “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)” as well as Moe Bandy’s “Americana” and Clay Walker’s “Only On Days That End In ‘Y’.”
1960: Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs recorded “Polka On A Banjo.”
1961: Bill Anderson recorded “Po’ Folks.”
1970: Conway Twitty recorded the Merle Haggard-penned “I Wonder What She’ll Think About Me Leaving” at Bradley’s Barn in Mt. Juliet, TN.
1976: The National Life & Accident Insurance Company announced plans to build a new 615-room hotel adjacent to the Grand Ole Opry House on Briley Parkway in Nashville: The Opryland Hotel.
1976: Emmylou Harris’ remake of Buck Owens’ “Together Again” became her first #1 country single in Billboard.
1991: Garth Brooks won a record six times during the 26th annual Academy Of Country Music awards on NBC. His haul included Entertainer of the Year and Top Male Vocalist; Album (“No Fences“); Single Record (“Friends In Low Places“); and Song and Video (“The Dance“).
1993: Sammy Kershaw picked up a #1 country single in Billboard magazine with “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful.”
1996: Brooks & Dunn won a pair of honors at the 31st annual Academy Of Country Music awards, shown by NBC from Los Angeles’ Universal Amphitheatre. Co-hosting with Faith Hill, they claimed Entertainer of the Year and Top Vocal Duet.
2006: Bonnie Owens died at a Bakersfield, CA, hospice following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease. The former wife of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, she was also the mother of Buddy Alan and sang on many of Haggard’s hits.
2008: Toby Keith performed at a base in Kandahar, Afghanistan for 2,500 troops in his sixth USO tour. It was interrupted by mortar fire.
2015: The George Jones Museum opened on Second Avenue North in Nashville.
