MARCH 11

1845: Fiddler Henry Gilliland was born in Jasper County, MO. He joined Eck Robertson for the first country recording session in 1922.

1903: Bandleader and accordion player Lawrence Welk was born in Strasburg, ND. Noted for his “champagne music,” he achieved a country hit in 1945 by having Red Foley sing on his recording of “Shame On You.”

1939: Tex-Mex accordion player Flaco Jimenez was born in San Antonio. He played a significant role in the Buck Owens & Dwight Yoakam hit “Streets Of Bakersfield” and joined the all-star band The Texas Tornados, which includes Freddy Fender.

1944: Songwriter Graham Lyle was born in Bellshill, Scotland. Best known for the songs he landed with Tina Turner, he also wrote Don Williams’ “Stay Young,” Ronnie Milsap’s “Button Off My Shirt” and Eddy Raven’s “Joe Knows How To Live.”

1955: Jimmy Fortune was born in Nelson County, VA. He replaced Lew DeWitt in The Statler Brothers in 1982, writing their hits “Elizabeth” and “My Only Love.” The Statlers entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008.

1963: Banjo player David Talbot was born. A founder of the bluegrass band The Grascals, he appears on the Reba McEntire single “I’m Gonna Take That Mountain.”

1969: After 25 years as a bluegrass duo, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs split up.

1970: “A Boy Named Sue” was a double-winner during the 12th annual Grammy Awards, bringing Johnny Cash Best Country Vocal Performance, Male; and bringing songwriter Shel Silverstein Best Country Song.

1974: Ray Stevens recorded “The Streak” in Nashville.

1975: Jerry Lee Lewis attacked a female fan with a fiddle bow when he performed at Bad Bob’s Lounge in Memphis. She filed a $100,000 suit against him, though ultimately a judge fined him $25 for the attack–and fined her $15 for breaking the bow.

1976: Ronnie Milsap recorded “(I’m A) Stand By My Woman Man” in Nashville.

1977: Merle Haggard recorded “If We’re Not Back In Love By Monday.”

1980: Casablanca released the Mac Davis album “It’s Hard To Be Humble.”

1981: A Nashville court dismissed a 10-year-old suit filed against Loretta Lynn by her former managers, The Wilburn Brothers. With the $5-million claim out of the way, Lynn began writing songs for the first time in a decade.

1981: Epic released Ricky Skaggs’ remake of Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs’ “Don’t Get Above Your Raising,” Skaggs’ first single for the label.

1992: Travis Tritt’s “Here’s A Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)” won The Music City News Song of the Year award.

1992: The “No Fences” album by Garth Brooks was certified for sales of seven-million copies.

1994: Martina McBride made her “Tonight Show” debut.

1994: Neal McCoy scored his first number one single with “No Doubt About It.”

1997: Decca released Lee Ann Womack’s debut single, “Never Again, Again.”

1999: Jo Dee Messina made her debut on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

2002: Tim McGraw’s single “The Cowboy In Me” took the top spot on both the “Billboard” and “Radio & Records"” country charts. With “Bring On The Rain,” his vocal collaboration with Jo Dee Messina at number one on “Billboard” the week before, this made Tim the first artist to have back-to-back singles at the top spot on the “Billboard” Hot country Singles Chart since electronic monitoring began.

2003: Dolly Parton was presented with the 2003 Governor’s Awards in the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award.

2004: Naomi, Wynonna, and Ashley Judd received the National Award at the Kentucky Governor’s Awards in the Arts ceremony.

2005: The Oak Ridge Boys performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to help launch the National Anthem Project, an initiative to teach Americans the lyrics to the song.

2006: Don Williams performed his last Nashville concert. Keith Urban opened, and Williams was joined by Josh Turner for “Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good.”

2017: Bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent joined the Grand Ole Opry. They covered “I’ll Go To My Grave Loving You” during the evening.

2018: Tim McGraw collapsed on stage in Dublin, Ireland, after his performance of “Humble And Kind.” Wife Faith Hill later announced her husband was suffering from dehydration and the concert was cut short.