MARCH 20

1937: Jerry Reed was born in Atlanta, GA. With a rhythmic, fingerstyle guitar sound, he earned a Grammy award for “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” and a million-seller with “Amos Moses,” branching into movie roles, most notably “Smokey & The Bandit.”

1937: Tommy Hunter was born in London, Ontario. The TV personality hosted a Canadian program that provides large exposure to country music north of the U.S. border, “The Tommy Hunter Show.”

1941: Singer/songwriter Mike Settle was born in Tulsa, OK. A member of Kenny Rogers & The First Edition, he wrote “But You Know I Love You,” which became a hit for the band, for Bill Anderson and for Dolly Parton.

1949: Hank Williams recorded “Wedding Bells” at Nashville’s Castle Studios.

1963: George Hamilton IV recorded “Abilene” at RCA Studio B in Nashville.

1976: Kris Kristofferson shot his live performance of “Watch Closely Now” for the movie “A Star Is Born” during a Barbra Streisand concert for 50,000 people at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, AZ.

1984: The Judds made their first large-venue appearance, opening for The Statler Brothers at an arena in Omaha.

1989: Mercury released Kathy Mattea’s “Willow In The Wind” album.

1990: Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs and Emmylou Harris testifed on Capitol Hill in Nashville against a bill that would label records for their thematic content.

1990: Conway Twitty sold his Twitty Bird publishing catalog to Tree for more than $1 million. It includes the copyrights to such titles as “It’s Only Make Believe,” “Linda On My Mind” and “You’ve Never Been This Far Before.”

1990: Capitol released Dan Seals’ album “On Arrival.”

1993: George Strait’s “Heartland” rose to #1 in Billboard.

1998:  Steve Wariner gave his first public performance during the Grand Ole Opry of “Holes In The Floor Of Heaven.”

2007: Lost Highway released the Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard/Ray Price album “Last Of The Breed.”

2011: Steel guitarist Ralph Mooney died of cancer in Texas. An innovative musician, he wrote “Crazy Arms” and played on a host of hits by the likes of Waylon Jennings, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard.

2016: Trisha Yearwood portrayed Mary, the mother of Jesus, as FOX aired a live two-hour TV special, “The Passion.”

2018: Sturgill Simpson was honored by the state legislature in Frankfort, Kentucky.

2019: Lefty Frizzell’s “The Long Black Veil” was entered into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. The 2019 class also included music by Cyndi Lauper, Sam & Dave, Neil Diamond and Ritchie Valens.

2019: Randy Owen received the Heart Of An Eagle Award from the Boy Scouts of America during a luncheon in Anniston, AL.