September 4th: On this day

1915
Born on this day, was Dick Thomas, American singing cowboy and actor. He was best known for his 1945 single "Sioux City Sue," a #1 country hit and #16 pop hit that year which later became a country music standard and was included in a Gene Autry movie. Thomas died on November 22, 2003.

1920
Born on this day was Harold Bradley "Shot" Jackson best known for playing Dobro and pedal steel guitar. He joined the Bailes Brothers on KWKH's Louisiana Hayride program, playing Dobro. After the Bailes Brothers Jackson stayed behind, playing with artists like Webb Pierce, Jimmie Osborne, George Jones and Red Sovine. Jackson was also responsible for introducing Willie Nelson to his favorite lifelong guitar, Trigger. He died on January 24, 1991.

1943
Curley Williams was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. The American country and western musician is best-known for the song "Half As Much" which was also a big hit for Hank Williams.

1954
After a two-week courtship, George Jones married his second wife eighteen-year-old Shirley Ann Corley.

1963
Born on this day in Bakersfield, California, was Noel Haggard the son of country music legend Merle Haggard who released his debut album, One Lifetime, in 1997.

1972
The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A. the debut studio album by Donna Fargo was at #1 on the Country chart. The album was produced by Fargo's husband and manager Stan Silver and the album's title track became Fargo's first major hit and a crossover Country pop hit.

1981
"(There's) No Gettin' Over Me" by Ronnie Milsap was at #1 on the Country charts, (the song's official title appears nowhere in the lyrics). It became one of Milsap's biggest country and pop hits during his recording career.

1991
Dottie West, country music singer and songwriter died in hospital on the operating table aged 58. West had been involved in a car crash a few days earlier when she was on her way to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Along with Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, West is considered one of the genre's most influential and groundbreaking female artists. Her career started in the early 1960s, with her Top 10 hit, "Here Comes My Baby Back Again," which won her a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1965.

1999
Lonestar's hit, "Amazed," spent its eighth week at #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, becoming the first song to do so since Jack Greene's 1966 hit, "There Goes My Everything." In several other charts, including Radio & Records, "Amazed" reigns for nine weeks, which made it the longest-lasting #1 single since 1966's "Almost Persuaded" by David Houston.

2015
Canadian country singer Hal Willis died aged 82. His famous country single was "The Lumberjack," an international hit that sold over 1.5 million copies. In 1965, it peaked at #5 on the Billboard country charts in the USA. This success was such a phenomenon that he was nicknamed "Mr. Lumberjack."

2019
American singer-songwriter Kylie Rae Harris was killed age 30 when her car collided with another near Taos, New Mexico. Investigations revealed she had been driving at 95 mph when the crash occurred, confirmed by her vehicle's computer, and had a blood alcohol level at three times the legal limit. Harris clipped the rear end of a vehicle in the right lane, and swerved into oncoming traffic as a result.

2025
American pedal steel guitarist Robby Turner died at the age of 62. He was best known for his work with Waylon Jennings and also toured with a number of artists, including George Jones, Chet Atkins, the Dixie Chicks and Loretta Lynn.