MAY 7
1931: Songwriter Jerry Chesnut was born in Loyall, KY. Among his credits: Travis Tritt’s “T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” Del Reeves’ “Looking At The World Through A Windshield,” Faron Young’s “It’s Four In The Morning” and George Jones’ “A Good Year For The Roses.”
1946: Bill Danoff was born in Springfield, MA. He co-founded The Starland Vocal Band, which earned a pop hit with “Afternoon Delight,” and wrote John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and “Please, Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas).”
1949: Hank Williams made his first appearance at #1 on the Billboard country singles chart with “Lovesick Blues.”
1953: Songwriter John Jarrard was born in Gainesville, GA. He authored such hits as George Strait’s “Blue Clear Sky,” John Anderson’s “Money In The Bank,” Diamond Rio’s “Mirror Mirror” and Collin Raye’s “My Kind Of Girl.”
1958: Conway Twitty recorded “It’s Only Make Believe” at the Bradley Film & Recording Studio in Nashville.
1970: Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed recorded the Grammy-nominated album “Me And Jerry” in a single day at Nashville’s RCA Studio B. Among the songs: “MacArthur Park,” “Tennessee Stud,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “Something.”
1972: Marty Robbins refused to accept an award or financial earnings at the Winston 500 in Talladega, AL, when he admitted to driving the last 100 miles in a car with an illegal carburetor. Robbins reached speeds of 189 mph.
1978: Rosanne Cash made her national TV debut in the special “Johnny Cash: Spring Fever.” Also appearing: June Carter Cash, Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter and Ray Charles, who performed “Half As Much” and “Let It Be Me.” Charles and Cash also duet on “Busted.”
1991: Warner Bros. released Travis Tritt’s “Here’s A Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares).”
1992: Filming began on George Strait’s first movie, “Pure Country.” The picture also featured an appearance by John Doe, a co-founder of the Los Angeles punk group X.
1994: Clint Black jogged to #1 on the Billboard country chart with “Good Run Of Bad Luck.”
1996: When Nashville’s election ballot included a referendum on bringing the NFL’s Houston Oilers to Tennessee, Chet Atkins voted “no.” “It seems like somebody gets hurt every play,” he told The Tennessean. “I don’t like that.”
1996: Mercury released Sammy Kershaw’s “Politics, Religion And Her” album.
1996: Warner Bros. releases the “Twister” soundtrack, featuring Shania Twain’s “No One Needs To Know,” plus music from Alison Krauss + Union Station, Mark Knopfler, k.d. lang, Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham and Goo Goo Dolls, among others.
1998: Eddie Rabbitt died from lung cancer at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, leaving behind a string of pop crossover successes, including “I Love A Rainy Night,” “Drivin’ My Life Away,” “Someone Could Lose A Heart Tonight” and “Suspicions.”
2007: Brad Paisley and wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley were featured among “People” magazine’s ‘100 Most Beautiful People,’ as were Barbara Mandrell, Carrie Underwood, LeAnn Rimes, Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, Nicole Kidman and Miley Cyrus.
2011: Miranda Lambert, Kix Brooks and Travis Tritt attended the Kentucky Derby at Louisville’s Churchill Downs, where Animal Kingdom won. Also present: Laura Bell Bundy, Randy Owen, Eddie Montgomery and Linda Davis.
