FEBRUARY 21

1887: Smith Hammett was born in Gaffney, SC. The banjo player was a mentor to Earl Scruggs, teaching him the revolutionary three-finger style.

1927: Don Reno, of the bluegrass act Reno & Smiley, was born in Spartanburg, SC. The duo, which also featured Red Smiley, collected a minor country hit in 1961 with “Don’t Let Your Sweet Love Die.”

1948: Little Jimmy Dickens made his first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry, performing “John Henry” and “I Dreamed Of An Old Love Affair.”

1953: The late Hank Williams registered a #1 country single in Billboard with “Kaw-Liga.”

1957: Buck Owens signed a recording contract with Capitol Records, in the middle of a session with The Farmer Boys, a Capitol act for whom he is playing guitar.

1958: Mary Chapin Carpenter was born in Princeton, NJ. Her folk-tinged brand of country makes her one of the most thoughtful artists of the 1990s while she garners hits with “Down At The Twist & Shout,” “I Feel Lucky” and “Shut Up And Kiss Me.”

1976: Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson shared the top spot on the Billboard country chart with “Good Hearted Woman.”

1981: Boxcar Willie joined the Grand Ole Opry.

1984: Waylon Jennings recorded “Never Could Toe The Mark” at the Cartee 3 Studios in Nashville.

1990: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band won Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, for “Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Volume 2“; and shared Best Bluegrass Recording with Bruce Hornsby, for “The Valley Road“; during the 32nd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

1994: William Morrow published “Pride: The Charley Pride Story.”

1994: Trace Adkins’ second wife, Julie, shot him with a .38-caliber revolver. The bullet penetrated both lungs and both chambers of his heart.

1996: Bill Monroe provided vocals on Billy and Terry Smith’s version of “Walk Softly On This Heart Of Mine” and “Blue Moon Of Kentucky” in a Nashville studio. It represents Monroe’s final recording session. 

2001: At the GRAMMYs, Faith Hill’s “Breathe” album won Best Country Album, her title “Breathe” won Best Female Country Vocal Performance, and her collaboration with Tim McGraw, “Let’s Make Love,” won Best Country Collaboration.

2004: Toby Keith hit the top of the Billboard chart with “American Soldier.”

2020:  Garth Brooks and Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia held a mentoring session with 100 student-athletes a day ahead of Brooks’ concert at Ford Field, encouraging them to pay attention to their mental health as they move into adulthood.

2020: Tyler Childers earned his first gold single from the RIAA for “Feathered Indians.”