June 30th: On this day

1936
Born on this day, was Doyle Holly, American musician best known as the bass guitar player of the country music band Buck Owens and the Buckaroos and for his solo hit songs "Queen Of The Silver Dollar" and "Lila". The Buckaroos had more than 30 Top 40 singles on the country music charts in the 1960s and early 1970s, with 21 #1 hits such as "I've Got a Tiger By the Tail," "Love's Gonna Live Here, "and "Act Naturally." Their sound influenced later artists such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jackson Browne, The Eagles, The Derailers and the Desert Rose Band. Holly died on January 13, 2007.

1937
Born on this day was American singer and songwriter Larry Henley. He was best known for co-writing (with Jeff Silbar) the 1989 hit record "Wind Beneath My Wings." He co-wrote with Red Lane "'Til I Get It Right" for Tammy Wynette, later covered by Barbra Streisand and Kenny Rogers. Other #1 country hits were his songs "Is It Still Over?" (Randy Travis), "Lizzie and the Rainman" (Tanya Tucker), and "He's a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)" (Janie Fricke). Other songs included "Shotgun rider" for Delbert McClinton; "You're Welcome to Tonight" by Lynn Anderson and Gary Morris; and "The World Needs a Melody" by The Carter Family with Johnny Cash. He died in Nashville, Tennessee on 18 Dec 2014 age 77.

1972
Opryland USA Theme Park and Opryland Hotel opened to the public well ahead of the Grand Ole Opry House, which debuted nearly two years later, on March 16, 1974. The opening night, was attended by US President Richard Nixon, who played a few songs on the piano.

1983
Born on this day was Cole Swindell, American country music songwriter known for his 2013 breakout hit "Chillin' It" and co-wrote Florida Georgia Line's "This Is How We Roll."

1992
Born on this day was American country-folk singer-songwriter Christopher Anthony Lunsford known professionally as Oliver Anthony Music (or simply Oliver Anthony). In August 2023, he released the single "Rich Men North of Richmond" independently, which debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 and made Lunsford the first artist to achieve this without any prior charting history in any form.

1995
Garth Brooks received a star in front of Capitol Records on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The singer also buried the master tapes to his The Hits underneath the star.

2001
Chet Atkins died after a long battle with cancer. An influential guitarist & producer who helped create "The Nashville Sound," he entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973 and earned a Lifetime Achievement award from the Grammys. A stretch of Interstate 185 in southwest Georgia (between LaGrange and Columbus) is named "Chet Atkins Parkway." Clint Black's album Nothin' but the Taillights includes the song "Ode to Chet".

2009
Brad Paisley released his seventh studio album American Saturday Night which peaked at #1 on the Country chart. The first single "Then," taken from the album became his fourteenth #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

2016
Maren Morris was at #1 on the Country chart with Hero. The album debuted and peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 chart and was nominated for Best Country Album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.

2022
Morgan Wallen was at #1 on the Country chart with Dangerous: The Double Album his second studio album. In March 2022, the album established the all-time record for longest duration in the number one spot (97 weeks) on Billboard's Country Albums chart.

2024
Shania Twain performed in the traditional Legend's slot at the 2024 Glastonbury Festival in the UK, the first country artist to perform in the slot since Dolly Parton in 2014.