FEBRUARY 20

1925: Movie producer Robert Altman was born in Kansas City, MO. He co-wrote John Anderson’s 1983 hit “Black Sheep” and produced the 1975 picture “Nashville,” an unflattering behind-the-scenes piece of fiction about Music Row.

1951: Kathie Baillie, of Baillie & The Boys, was born in Morristown, NJ. She sang on seven Top 10 singles for the trio–which became a duo after its first album–from 1987-1990, including “Oh Heart,” “Long Shot” and “(I Wish I Had A) Heart Of Stone.”

1954: Bluegrass performer Claire Lynch was born in Poughkeepsie, NY. The plaintive singer began her career with The Front Porch String Band, earning Grammy nominations with two solo albums, “Moonlighter” and “Silver And Gold.”

1959: Tennessee Ernie Ford became the first country artist to receive a gold album from the Recording Industry Association of America, for his “Hymns” release.

1974: Reprise released Gram Parsons’ “Love Hurts.”

1981: Mandolin player Chris Thile was born in Oceanside, CA. He came to prominence with bluegrass trio Nickel Creek, then established a five-piece progressive bluegrass band, The Punch Brothers.

1982: T.G. Sheppard’s “Only One You” reached #1 on the Billboard country singles chart.

1988: Randy Travis performed “Forever And Ever, Amen” as the musical guest on a Tom Hanks-hosted episode of  “Saturday Night Live” on NBC.

1988: Merle Haggard ascended to #1 on the Billboard country singles chart with “Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star.”

1990: Alan Jackson set off on the first major concert tour of his career, opening for Clint Black in Belton, TX.

1991: “Where’ve You Been” earned two trophies during the 33rd annual Grammys in New York. Songwriters Don Henry and Jon Vezner win Best Country Song, while Kathy Mattea picks up Best Country Vocal Performance, Female.

2005: Songwriter Larry Kingston died in a Nashville hospital, three days after a heart attack. His credits include The Kendalls’ “Pittsburgh Stealers,” Jerry Lee Lewis’ “He Can’t Fill My Shoes” and Roy Clark’s “Thank God And Greyhound.”