MAY 3

1928: Dave Dudley was born in Spencer, WI. His gruff vocals back several of the biggest truckin’ records of country music in the 1960s, particularly “Six Days On The Road” and “Truck Drivin’ Son-Of-A-Gun.“

1947: Ernest Tubb’s Record Shop opened at 720 Commerce Street in Nashville. The event drew a number of artists, including Eddy Arnold, Clyde Moody, Johnny Bond, Lew Childre and Curly Fox & Texas Ruby.

1952: Kitty Wells recorded “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” at the Castle Studio in Nashville during her first session for Decca Records.

1954: Tennessee Ernie Ford made the first of three guest appearances on “I Love Lucy” as hick relative Uncle Ernie. The plot included a rendition of “Wabash Cannonball.“

1958: Police turned the house lights on before the end of a Jerry Lee Lewis concert at the Boston Arena. When a riot erupted, mayor John Hynes banned rock & roll shows from the city. Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly were also on the Alan Freed-promoted bill.

1968: Singer/songwriter Shane Minor was born in Modesto, CA. Signed to Mercury in the late-1990s, he wrote Craig Morgan’s “International Harvester,” Cole Swindell’s “Chillin’ It,” Clay Walker’s “Fall” and Diamond Rio’s “Beautiful Mess.“

1971: Willie Nelson recorded the original version of “Yesterday’s Wine” at RCA Studio B in Nashville. The song became a hit for Merle Haggard & George Jones 11 years later.

1977: The Oak Ridge Boys recorded “Y’all Come Back Saloon,” referencing Bob Wills’ “Faded Love” in the process, at Woodland Sound Studio in Nashville. The session marked their first in a new contract with ABC/Dot.

1978: Barbara Mandrell recorded “Sleeping Single In A Double Bed” at Woodland Sound in Nashville. One of the musicians signed the time card as “Elmer Fudd.”

1986: Dolly Parton’s Dollywood theme park opened in Pigeon Forge, TN.

1993: Conway Twitty recorded “Rainy Night In Georgia” at The Sound Emporium in Nashville, with Sam Moore, formerly of Sam & Dave. It became Twitty’s final recording.

1994: Garth Brooks won two honors–Entertainer and Video of the Year–at the 29th Academy Of Country Music awards on NBC, though he was not in Los Angeles to receive them. His wife, Sandy, gave birth to August Anna that night in Nashville.

2000: In an incident that no one has ever been able to truly explain, Roseanne Barr crashed the party that Lonestar’s record company hosted following the ACM Awards show. Lonestar and their friends were busy celebrating their ACM Single of the Year award for “Amazed,” so it’s not surprising that it took some time before anyone noticed that someone had walked away with the trophy presented to the record label. A few days later, Roseanne admitted that she hid the award under her jacket as she left the celebration at the ritzy Posto Restaurant in Los Angeles. She followed her confession by sending the trophy to Nashville, where it was placed on display at the record label’s office.

2006: Ricky Van Shelton wrote an open letter to his fans announcing he was retiring from the road. Insisting he and wife Bettye are in good health, he said they simply “need to be close to our families” in Virginia.

2010: Flood waters soaked the SoundCheck storage facility in Nashville, damaging or destroying instruments, amplifiers and stage gear owned by Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Vince Gill and Keith Urban. Also, water from the Cumberland River flooded the Grand Ole Opry House peaking more than two feet above the venue’s stage. The Opry moved to other locations for four months.

2017: Toby Keith covered “MacArthur Park,” while Dwight Yoakam played “Wichita Lineman” at Carnegie Hall in New York during a salute to Jimmy Webb. A fundraiser for Alzheimer’s, the show also featured Ashley Campbell, Judy Collins, Art Garfunkel, Amy Grant, Graham Nash, and Johnny Rivers.