FEBRUARY 17

1920: Guitarist Billy Byrd was born in Nashville. After working with Little Jimmy Dickens and George Morgan, he backed Ernest Tubb from 1949-1959, then returned for two more short stints with The Texas Troubadours.

1935: Johnny Bush was born in Houston, TX. A longtime cohort of Ray Price and Willie Nelson, his biggest hit came with his 1969 version of Marty Robbins’ “You Gave Me A Mountain.” He also wrote Nelson’s “Whiskey River.”

1936: The Monroe Brothers, Bill and Charlie, held their first recording session in Charlotte, NC. Among the day’s 10 songs: “What Would You Give In Exchange?“

1938: Banjo player Buck Trent was born in Spartanburg, SC. He played with Bill Carlisle, Porter Wagoner and Roy Clark from the 1950s until 1980, when he went solo. During his tenure with Wagoner, he invented the electric banjo.

1940: Gene Pitney was born in Hartford, CT. The pop singer, known for his 1960 hit “Only Love Can Break A Heart,” recorded with George Jones and Melba Montgomery, and wrote Rick Nelson’s “Hello Mary Lou,” covered by The Statler Brothers in 1985.

1947: Porter Wagoner began a three-year stint at the International Shoe Company manufacturing plant in West Plains, MO, for 57.5 cents per hour.

1960: The Everly Brothers signed a record-setting $1,000,000 contract with Warner Bros., the recording arm of the motion picture company.

1963: Dan Whitney–a.k.a. Larry The Cable Guy–was born in Pawnee City, NE. Teamed with Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engvall in the Blue Collar Comedy Tours, the “get ‘er done” comic is a background vocalist on Brad Paisley’s “Camouflage.”

1965: “Tennessee Waltz” was declared Tennessee’s official state song in a resolution signed by governor Frank Clement.

1969: Jon Randall was born in Dallas, TX. After playing with Emmylou Harris’ Nash Ramblers, he joined Lorrie Morgan on the 1996 hit “By My Side.” He also wrote Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss’ “Whiskey Lullaby,” Dierks Bentley’s “Am I The Only One” and Blake Shelton’s “Drink On It.”

1971: James Taylor made his national TV debut on ABC-TV’s “The Johnny Cash Show,” which also features Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young, Earl Scruggs and Tony Joe White.

1974: Bryan White was born in Lawton, OK. The smooth-voiced singer won the Country Music Association’s Horizon Award in 1996, honoring such hits as “Someone Else’s Star,” “Look At Me Now” and “I’m Not Supposed To Love You Anymore.”

1976: Asylum released The Eagles’ “Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975.” It contained one certified country hit, “Lyin’ Eyes.”

1977: Mickey Gilley won five ACM honors at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium: Entertainer of the Year, Top Male Vocalist, Album (“Gilley’s Smokin’“), Single Record (“Bring It On Home To Me“) and Song (“Don’t The Girls All Get Prettier At Closing Time“).

1993: Billy Ray Cyrus appeared in his first network TV special, “Billy Ray Cyrus: Dreams Come True,” on ABC. He sang “Achy Breaky Heart” and Mary Chapin Carpenter, Kathy Mattea, Tanya Tucker and Dolly Parton joined him on the video for “Romeo.”

1993: Lyle Lovett sang “Stand By Your Man” with Tammy Wynette on “The Tonight Show.”

1995: Wade Hayes scored his first #1 hit, “Old Enough to Know Better.”

1995: John Michael Montgomery’s “I Can Love You Like That” was released.

2001: Jamie O’Neal’s “There Is No Arizona” hit the top of the charts.

2001: Brad Paisley was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. He wore the yellow jacket that Buck Owens wore the night he recorded his “Live At Carnegie Hall” album. Paisley sang “Two People Fell In Love,” from his upcoming album.

2013: Mindy McCready died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

2017: Capitol released the Alison Krauss album “Windy City.”

2019: Blake Shelton performed “Suspicious Minds” as host of NBC’s “Elvis All-Star Tribute Special,” celebrating 50 years since the King’s 1968 comeback special. Also featured: Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Mac Davis, Little Big Town, Pistol Annies, Darius Rucker, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban.

2019: Dolly Parton took a curtain call as “9 To 5: The Musical” opened in London.