Mar 30, 1917
Record executive Randy Wood is born in Morrison, Tennessee. He founds Dot Records, which plays a key role in the careers of Donna Fargo, Joe Stampley, Mac Wiseman and Roy Clark
Mar 30, 1942
Johnny Wright and Kitty Wells have a son, Bobby Wright, delivered in Charleston, West Virginia. He has a minor hit in 1971 with “Here I Go Again” and takes a role in the TV show “McHale’s Navy”
Mar 30, 1945
Rock singer, songwriter and guitarist Eric Clapton is born in Ripley, England. A member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, his “Lay Down Sally” becomes a minor country hit in 1978
Mar 30, 1955
Randy Vanwarmer is born in Denver, Colorado. Following his pop hit “Just When I Needed You Most,” he writes the country hits “I Guess It Never Hurts To Hurt Sometimes,” “I Will Whisper Your Name” and “I’m In A Hurry (And Don’t Know Why)”
Mar 30, 1973
The Earl Scruggs Revue performs Jimmie Rodgers’ “Blue Yodel No. 1 (T For Texas)” as Ray Charles hosts “The Midnight Special” with guests Carol Burnett and Aretha Franklin on NBC-TV. Charles sings “Georgia On My Mind”
Mar 30, 1974
Tanya Tucker hits #1 in Billboard with “Would Lay With Me (In A Field Of Stone),” written by David Allan Coe
Mar 30, 1976
The collaborative album “Wanted: The Outlaws”–featuring Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Tompall Glaser and Jessi Colter–is certified gold
Mar 30, 1978
Waylon Jennings begins recording “I’ve Always Been Crazy” in an overnight session at the Jack Clement Studios in Nashville
Mar 30, 1980
George Jones & Tammy Wynette perform in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, kicking off their first concert tour since divorcing five years prior
Mar 30, 1981
RCA releases Ronnie Milsap’s album of Jim Reeves covers, “Out Where The Bright Lights Are Glowing”
Mar 30, 1981
RCA releases Sylvia’s debut album, “Drifter”
Mar 30, 1983
The FCC approves a $245-million sale of Los Angeles’ KTLA-TV by Gene Autry’s Golden West Broadcasters and the Signal companies. Autry gets $20 million from the deal and becomes the sole owner of the California Angels and several other properties
Mar 30, 1986
The video for Dwight Yoakam’s “Honky Tonk Man” airs on MTV
Mar 30, 1988
“Hee Haw” tapes its 20th anniversary show at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma, with former co-host Buck Owens joining such regulars as Roy Clark and Grandpa Jones, plus special guests Dolly Parton, George Jones and Conway Twitty
Mar 30, 1989
Gilley’s nightclub, the subject of a $17-million lawsuit filed against former manager Sherwood Cryer by namesake Mickey Gilley, closes its doors in Pasadena, Texas
Mar 30, 1992
Time magazine puts Garth Brooks on the cover, calling him a “jumping-jack-flash performer who can bring 40-year-olds to tears with existential hymns about accepting life’s compromises” on the pages inside. Presumably a good thing
Mar 30, 2006
Brad Paisley shoots part of the video for “The World” during a concert at Knoxville’s Thompson-Boling Arena
Mar 30, 2011
Singer/songwriter Harley Allen dies of lung cancer at home in Brentwood, Tennessee. Among his credits: Alan Jackson’s “Everything I Love,” Joe Nichols’ “I’ll Wait For You” and Darryl Worley’s “Awful, Beautiful Life”
