MAY 23
1925: Mac Wiseman was born in Crimora, VA. He worked as a sideman for Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs. He eventually released his own solo bluegrass records for the Dot label. Wiseman also served as a founding member of the Country Music Association and joined the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2014.
1951: Judy Rodman was born in Riverside, CA. After singing background on hits by George Strait, T.G. Sheppard and George Jones, Rodman developed her own solo career, earning the Academy of Country Music‘s Top New Female award in 1986.
1953: Jim Reeves made his Grand Ole Opry debut, singing “Mexican Joe.”
1958: Shelly West was born in Cleveland, OH. The daughter of Dottie West, she claimed the Country Music Association‘s Vocal Duo of the Year honor along with David Frizzell in 1981 and 1982, and adds three solo hits in ’83, led by “Jose Cuervo.”
1964: Six months after releasing “Saginaw, Michigan,” Lefty Frizzell played Saginaw, where the mayor surprised him on stage with a silver hammer. Fearful of a stranger with a potential weapon, Frizzell got him in a headlock and wrestled him to the ground.
1981: Rosanne Cash netted her first #1 country single in Billboard with “Seven Year Ache.”
1995: Giant released Daryle Singletary’s self-titled debut album.
2010: Ferlin Husky and songwriter/producer Billy Sherrill are inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame in the official medallion ceremony.
2001: An upstate New York jury panel of four women and two men acquitted Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney on all counts stemming from a brouhaha over a police horse named Chico. Tim and wife Faith Hill – who rushed back from a performance in Hawaii to be by her husband’s side – waited out the verdict at a restaurant near the quaint, red brick courthouse. Outside, about 50 adoring fans stood in small groups clutching CDs that the singers promised to sign at the trial’s conclusion. As the verdict was read, Faith was seen wiping tears from her eyes. While the charges were minor, Tim and his road manager faced a year in prison, with Kenny looking at fifteen days in lockup. From day one, the men refused plea offers “on principle,” saying they did nothing wrong in the June 3rd altercation with police.
2006: Brad Paisley claimed three trophies at the 41st annual Academy of Country Music awards: the Dolly Parton duet, “When I Get Where I’m Going,” took Vocal Event and Video of the Year; his “Time Well Wasted” record took Album of the Year.
2012: Reba McEntire sang “Turn On The Radio” with American Idol contestant Skylar Laine on the season finale of the show. Carrie Underwood and Scotty McCreery also attended as competitor Jessica Sanchez covers Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”
2017: Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus failed to appear for a hearing over their most recent divorce filing. The motion was dismissed.
2017: Chris Stapleton welcomed a surprise guest during his show at Red Rocks Amphitheater near Denver: Retired NFL quarterback Peyton Manning jumped on stage to duet on “Tennessee Whiskey.”
