Mar 31, 1922
Fiddler Howdy Forrester is born in Vernon, Tennessee. He joins Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys for two years in the 1940s and plays with Roy Acuff during the ’50s
Mar 31, 1926
Fiddler Tommy Jackson is born in Birmingham, Alabama. He becomes noted for his double-stop technique–bowing two strings at once–while playing on hits by Hank Williams, Webb Pierce, Ernest Tubb and Ray Price
Mar 31, 1928
Lefty Frizzell is born in Corsicana, Texas. He influences Merle Haggard, Keith Whitley and Randy Travis through such hits as “If You’ve Got The Money I’ve Got The Time” and “Always Late (With Your Kisses)” on his way to the Country Music Hall of Fame
Lefty FrMar 31, 1933
Anita Carter, of The Carter Sisters, is born in Maces Spring, Virginia. She breaks away from the family group to net three Top 10 singles from 1951-1968, as a solo act, and in efforts with Hank Snow and Waylon Jennings
Mar 31, 1934
Hall Of Fame songwriter John D. Loudermilk is born in Durham, North Carolina. His hits include “Indian Reservation,” by Paul Revere & The Raiders; “Abilene,” by George Hamilton IV; and “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye,” by Eddy Arnold
Mar 31, 1934
During a 30-mile drive to appear on the Grand Ole Opry, dulcimer player Kitty Cora Cline witnesses a horrible auto accident. She vows to never again travel by car, ending the six-year Opry span of the show’s first female soloist
Mar 31, 1935
Herb Alpert is born in Los Angeles, California. The trumpet-playing pop star forms A&M Records in 1962, then signs Waylon Jennings to his first recording contract a year later. A&M yields country hits by The Carpenters, Hoyt Axton and Toby Keith
Mar 31, 1957
Sun labelmates Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis begin a tour together in Little Rock, Arkansas
Mar 31, 1962
Patsy Cline claims a #1 country single in Billboard with “She’s Got You”
Mar 31, 1971
ABC-TV airs the last edition of “The Johnny Cash Show” with Homer & Jethro, Merle Travis, The Statler Brothers, Mother Maybelle Carter, and her daughters, Helen, Anita and June. Cash and June Carter sing “Jackson” and “If I Were A Carpenter”
Mar 31, 1977
Columbia releases Janie Fricke’s debut album, “Singer Of Songs”
Mar 31, 1978
Willie Nelson begins a one-week engagement at Harrah’s Tahoe, where he records the album “Willie & Family Live”
Mar 31, 1981
Annette O’Toole portrays Tammy Wynette in the CBS-TV adaptation of “Stand By Your Man.” Actor Tim McIntire plays the role of George Jones
Mar 31, 1985
Epic releases Dan Fogelberg’s country album, “High Country Snows,” featuring musicians Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen, who form The Desert Rose Band with several players from the subsequent tour
Mar 31, 1992
MCA Records releases Wynonna Judd’s first solo album, “Wynonna”
Mar 31, 1995
Carl Story dies in Greenville, South Carolina, from complications following triple bypass heart surgery. Considered the Father of Bluegrass Gospel, he played fiddle with Bill Monroe and wrote Mickey Gilley’s “I Overlooked An Orchid”
Mar 31, 2007
Billy Joe Shaver shoots a barroom patron in the face outside Papa Joe’s Texas Saloon in Lorene. Shaver claims the man was drunk and pulled a knife on him; the victim disputes the story
Mar 31, 2011
Mel McDaniel dies of lung cancer at his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee. A Grand Ole Opry member, he earned 1980s hits with “Louisiana Saturday Night,” “Right In The Palm Of Your Hand” and “Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On”
