May 22, 1892
Ralph Sylvester Peer is born in Kansas City, Missouri. A 1984 inductee in the Country Music Hall of Fame, he discovers, produces and manages a number of country’s first major stars, particularly Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family
May 22, 1937
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys perform on the Grand Ole Opry for the first time
May 22, 1958
Jerry Lee Lewis arrives in London, where he admits he’s married his teenage cousin, Myra. He’s booed offstage and forced to cancel 34 of his 37 scheduled concerts
May 22, 1961
Bass player Dana Williams is born in Dayton, Ohio. He joins Diamond Rio, a band that wins the Country Music Association’s Vocal Group award three times. Members of the Grand Ole Opry, the band thrives on tight instrumentation and strong harmonies
May 22, 1972
Conway Twitty records Don Gibson’s “I Can’t Stop Loving You” at Bradley’s Barn in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee
May 22, 1986
George Jones and Merle Haggard post $50,000 bond money to get Johnny Paycheck out of jail in Hillsboro, Ohio, where he was being held for the December shooting of Larry Wise in a barroom argument
May 22, 1993
Kenny Rogers handles a guest role on the weekly series “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” portraying a Civil War photographer
May 22, 1993
Reba McEntire hits #1 on the Billboard country albums chart with “It’s Your Call”
May 22, 1998
Royce Kendall dies in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, following a stroke. With daughter Jeannie Kendall, he formed The Kendalls, a duo whose gospel-laden harmonies were often applied to cheatin’ hits, including their biggest, “Heaven’s Just A Sin Away”
May 22, 2001
Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney take the stand in their Orchard Park, New York, trial over a June horse incident. McGraw contradicts police testimony, saying the police assaulted him. McGraw says he was hit twice with a nightstick
May 22, 2011
Reba McEntire, Jean Shepard and songwriter Bobby Braddock are inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame
