MARCH 7

1944: Singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt was born in Fort Worth, TX. A vivid songwriter and wild personality, he authored a pair of 1980s hits: Merle Haggard & Willie Nelson cover “Pancho And Lefty“; Emmylou Harris & Don Williams do “If I Needed You.”

1951: Webb Pierce conducted his first recording session for Decca Records, at the Castle Studio in Nashville. The session included “Drifting Texas Sand,” which he re-recorded nine years later.

1963: Jack Anglin died in an auto accident on the way to Patsy Cline’s memorial service in Nashville. A former member of The Anglin Brothers trio, he joined Johnnie Wright to create Johnnie & Jack, earning hits from 1951-1958.

1964: Jim & Jesse and Ernie Ashworth joined the Grand Ole Opry.

1971: Gilley’s nightclub opened in Pasadena, TX. Named for part-owner Mickey Gilley, the home of the mechanical bull provides the inspiration for the 1980 movie “Urban Cowboy,” which resulted in a short-term country trend.

1972: Buck Owens recorded “Made In Japan” at his own studio in Bakersfield.

1973: Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandell received gold awards with both the “Dueling Banjos” album and its title track.

1978: Dolly Parton recorded “Heartbreaker” and “I Really Got The Feeling” at Sound Labs in Hollywood.

1978: The Oak Ridge Boys recorded “Come On In” at Woodland Sound in Nashville. The session also yielded “Callin’ Baton Rouge,” destined to become a hit for Garth Brooks.

1979: Webb Pierce’s controversial guitar-shaped swimming pool on Music Row was sold at auction. Top bid: $150,000 from Pierce’s former business partner, William Donoho.

1980: Kenny Rogers’ “Coward Of The County” single was certified gold.

1983: “Living Proof: The Hank Williams Jr. Story” aired on NBC-TV with Richard Thomas in the lead role. A still-unknown Naomi Judd had a small part, as did Bocephus’ manager, Merle Kilgore.

1983: The Nashville Network debuted on cable TV. Vince Gill and Rosanne Cash performed on TNN’s very first show.

1985: The soundtrack to “Honeymoon in Vegas,” featuring remakes of Elvis Presley, and songs by Trisha Yearwood, Willie Nelson, Billy Joel, Travis Tritt, Ricky Van Shelton, Bono, Dwight Yoakam, Amy Grant, and Vince Gill went platinum.

1986: Randy Travis made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry. After an introduction from Little Jimmy Dickens, he performed “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.”

1988: Johnny Cash, Roy Acuff, Jessi Colter, Emmylou Harris and Waylon Jennings recorded Acuff’s “As Long As I Live” at Nashville’s JMI Recording Studio. Cash also enlisted Rosanne Cash and The Everly Brothers on “Ballad Of A Teenage Queen.”

1998: Sara Evans made her Grand Ole Opry debut – she sang, “Your Cheatin’ Heart.”

2000: George Jones’ “Cold Hard Truth” album was certified gold.

2000: The “Latest Greatest Straitest Hits” album by George Strait was released.

2001: The Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts cite 365 Songs of the Century, including more than 50 country titles. Among them: Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance,” featuring The Sons Of The Desert.

2001: Toby Keith’s single, “You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This,” topped the “Radio & Records” country chart for the third time in six, non-consecutive weeks. The accomplishment remains unprecedented in the 28-year history of the “Radio & Records” country chart.

2001: Montgomery Gentry were named “Top Country Duo” for the second year in a row in the annual “Radio & Records’” Readers’ Poll.

2005: Merle Haggard launched a tour with Bob Dylan in Seattle. Dylan, whose band includes former BR549 steel guitarist Don Herron, sang Haggard’s “Sing Me Back Home” during his set.

2013: Claude King died of a heart attack in Shreveport, LA. He earned a half-dozen country hits during the 1960s, topped by the #1 single “Wolverton Mountain.”

2017: Reba McEntire met her wax figure during soundcheck at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The likeness resides at Madame Tussauds’ Nashville.