MAY 21

1955: Webb Pierce quit the Grand Ole Opry on the WSM airwaves after a three-year membership. Pierce laments that he never had his own half-hour Opry segment.

1956: Brenda Lee signed her first recording contract, with Decca Records.

1969: “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour” is no longer a replacement show. With its promotion to regular weekly series, Campbell’s salary rises to $15,000-a-week.

1977: Waylon Jennings’ “Luckenbach, Texas (Back To The Basics Of Love),” featuring vocal guest Willie Nelson, began a six-week run at #1 on the Billboard country chart.

1984: People magazine’s lead story goes “Inside Country Music” with cover pics of Willie Nelson, George Strait, Kenny Rogers, Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle.

1988: The Judds, Alabama, George Strait and Randy Travis played to a sold-out show at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

1991: Tracy Lawrence signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records.

1994: John Berry’s “Your Love Amazes Me” goes to #1 in Billboard

1996: Razor & Tie releases satirist Cledus T. Judd’s debut album, “I Stoled This Record.” Among its song spoofs: “(She’s Got A Butt) Bigger Than The Beatles,” “Skoal: The Grundy County Spitting Incident” and “Grandpa Got Runned Over By A John Deere.“

2000: “King Of The Hill” goes to Nashville in an episode titled “Peggy’s Fan Fair.” Guests include: Clint Black, Brooks & Dunn, Charlie Daniels, Vince Gill, Lisa Hartman Black, Terri Clark, Wynonna, Randy Travis and Martina McBride.

2002: Willie Nelson and Sheryl Crow tape an installment of “CMT Crossroads” on the Sony Pictures lot in Los Angeles. In addition to their own material, they offer a duet on the Johnny Cash & June Carter classic “Jackson“

2010: Dolly Parton and Oprah Winfrey sing background vocals as Kenny Rogers performs “The Gambler” on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”