June 17th: On this day

1910
Born on this day, was Clyde Julian Foley, better known as Red Foley, the American singer, radio and TV personality became one of the biggest country music stars after World War II, selling over 25 million records. Foley also hosted the first popular country music series on network television, The Ozark Jubilee, from 1955 to 1960. Foley died on September 19, 1968. Hank Williams, Jr. who had been with him the day he died, later wrote and record (as Luke the Drifter, Jr.) "I Was With Red Foley (The Night He Passed Away)".

1949
Born on this day in Nashville, Tennessee, was Russell Smith, country music singer-songwriter. Formerly the lead singer of the Amazing Rhythm Aces, Smith penned #1 songs for Randy Travis ("Look Heart, No Hands"), T. Graham Brown ("Don't Go to Strangers"), Don Williams ("Heartbeat in the Darkness"), and Ricky Van Shelton ("Keep It Between the Lines"). He died age 70 on July 12th 2019.

1952
MGM canceled its movie contract with Hank Williams. The contract cancellation was a significant blow, particularly as it coincided with other problems in his career, including his dismissal from the Grand Ole Opry.

1965
The Beatles record the Buck Owens country #1 hit “Act Naturally,” for their next album Help!, with Ringo Starr singing lead, at Abbey Road Studios in London, UK. It was the same session in which they finished recording the new Paul McCartney song “Yesterday” and was released as the B-side of "Yesterday" in the United States.

1967
Born on this day in Germantown, Tennessee was Rivers Rutherford, country music songwriter. He has written several #1 country hits, including "Ain't Nothing 'bout You" by Brooks & Dunn, "If You Ever Stop Loving Me" by Montgomery Gentry, and "When I Get Where I'm Going" by Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton. Other acts Rutherford has co written for include: Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith.

1978
Emmylou Harris was at #1 on the Billboard country charts with her version of Delbert McClinton's "Two More Bottles Of Wine."

1983
Born on this day was American country music artist Mickey Guyton. In 2020, in the wake of the George Floyd protests and the Black Lives Matter movement, Guyton released the single "Black Like Me", the song resulted in her first ever nomination at the Grammy Awards, becoming the first Black woman to ever be nominated in the Best Country Solo Performance category.

1988
Garth Brooks signed with Capital Records. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at #2 in the US country album chart and Brooks went on to brake records for both sales and concert attendance throughout the 1990s.

1992
Billy Ray Cyrus was at #1 on the US Country music chart with his breakthrough hit "Achy Breaky Heart". Written by Don Von Tress it was originally titled "Don't Tell My Heart" and recorded by The Marcy Brothers in 1991, its name was later changed to "Achy Breaky Heart" In the US it became a crossover hit on pop and country radio, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, becoming the first Country single to be certified Platinum since Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's "Islands in the Stream" in 1983.

1995
Dixie Chick Martie Erwin married pharmaceutical representative Ted Seidel. The couple divorced in November 1999.

2002
Sony agreed to significantly boost the Dixie Chicks royalty rate to about 20% after a long running legal battle. Court papers showed the country-pop singers had claimed Sony cheated them out of more than $4 million by underreporting sales figures and overcharging for company services. Sony’s “fraudulent accounting gimmicks” were uncovered during an audit, financed by the singers, of the company’s financial records.

2016
Blake Shelton was at #1 on the Country chart with his tenth studio album If I'm Honest. The album features collaborations with Gwen Stefani and The Oak Ridge Boys.

2020
"The Bones" by American country music singer Maren Morris was at #1 on the Country chart. Taken from her second studio album, Girl (2019). The song ended up being the second-biggest country song of 2020 in the US and ultimately spent 19 weeks at the top of the charts.