Sep 3, 1918
Harmonica player Jimmie Riddle is born in Dyersburg, Tennessee. He joins Roy Acuff’s Smoky Mountain Boys in September 1943, remaining with the group for all but four years of his career
Sep 3, 1925
Hank Thompson is born in Waco, Texas. His mix of honky-tonk and Western swing makes him one of country’s top acts in the 1950s and early-’60s. His signature song, “The Wild Side Of Life,” aids his 1989 induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame
Sep 3, 1933
Tompall Glaser is born in Spalding, Nebraska. He joins Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter on the 1976 album “Wanted: The Outlaws” and has several hits as a member of Tompall & The Glaser Brothers. The Glasers also provide background vocals on Marty Robbins’ “El Paso”
Sep 3, 1955
Jim Reeves moves to the Grand Ole Opry after first starring on “The Louisiana Hayride”
Sep 3, 1956
Ray Price records “I’ve Got A New Heartache” in an evening session at the Bradley Recording Studio in Nashville
Sep 3, 1961
Loretta Lynn signs with Decca Records
Sep 3, 1965
The first weekend bluegrass festival, organized by Carlton Haney, opens in Fincastle, Virginia. The three-day event features Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, Clyde Moody, Jimmy Martin, Don Reno, Mac Wiseman, The Country Gentlemen and others
Sep 3, 1968
Capitol releases Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried” album
Sep 3, 1972
Lester Flatt invites 13-year-old Marty Stuart to become a member of his band, the Nashville Grass, in Glasgow, Delaware. Stuart accepts
Sep 3, 1974
MCA releases the Loretta Lynn album “They Don’t Make ‘Em Like My Daddy”
Sep 3, 1975
Dave & Sugar record “Queen Of The Silver Dollar” in Nashville as the group conducts its first session
Sep 3, 1975
Mickey Gilley records “Don’t The Girls All Get Prettier At Closing Time,” which references Robert Redford, and “Overnight Sensation” during a pair of sessions at Nashville’s RCA Studio B
Sep 3, 1979
Conway Twitty tells People magazine that rock ‘n’ roll has contributed to the nation’s moral decay and says he’s disappointed in the way women have changed: “The way they talk, the way they more and more take the man’s role… just turns me plum off”
Sep 3, 1983
George Strait nets a #1 single in Billboard with “A Fire I Can’t Put Out”
Sep 3, 1985
MCA releases George Strait’s “Something Special” album
Sep 3, 1988
Rodney Crowell scores a #1 single in Billboard with “I Couldn’t Leave You If I Tried”
Sep 3, 1996
Capitol releases Deana Carter’s album “Did I Shave My Legs For This?”
Sep 3, 2006
Tim McGraw & Faith Hill’s Soul2Soul II Tour wraps at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The couple brought in almost $89 million during the concert run, setting a record as the highest-grossing country tour in history
