December 6th: On this day

1941
Born on this day in Monroe City, Missouri, was Helen Cornelius, country singer-songwriter and actress, best remembered for a series of hit duets with Jim Ed Brown, many of which reached the US country singles top ten during the late 1970s and early '80s, including the 1976 #1 hit "I Don't Want to Have to Marry You". Cornelius died on July 18, 2025, at the age of 83.

1960
"Wings of a Dove" by Ferlin Husky was at #1 on the Country charts, his third and final chart topper. Written by Bob Ferguson, in 1987, Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) awarded Ferguson with the "million air" plays for the "Wings of a Dove."

1976
Willie Nelson was at #1 with The Troublemaker. The gospel album was recorded in 1973, but Nelson's label Atlantic Records refused to release the record at the time. After Nelson signed a contract with Columbia Records, that gave him total creative control, the album was released in Sept 1976.

1984
The Supergroup of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson recorded the Jimmy Webb song "Highwayman" at Nashville's Moman Studios.

1985
Born on this day was Cameron Duddy, American music video director and musician. As a director, he is known for his work with Bruno Mars most notably, Cameron directed the video for "Uptown Funk", winning an EMA, VMA, and topping charts as the 3rd most viewed video on YouTube. He is the bass guitarist in the American country band Midland who scored the #1 Country album with their second album Let It Roll

1986
George Strait was at #1 on the Billboard country chart with "It Ain't Cool To Be Crazy About You." Kenny Chesney later recorded a version of the song as a B-side for his "Never Wanted Nothing More" in 2007.

1988
Recording sessions began for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Volume 2 with Johnny Cash, John Denver, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Earl Scruggs, Steve Wariner, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Chris Hillman and others.

2002
"These Days" by Rascal Flatts was at #1 on the US Country charts. The track which was lifted from their album Melt became the group's first #1 hit.

2013
Chris Ferrell, the Nashville bar owner who shot and killed country singer Wayne Mills on Nov 23, turned himself in to police after learning that a grand jury had indicted him on second-degree murder charges. The shooting happened after two men, who who were reported to be friends, began arguing, reportedly because Mills was smoking a cigarette in a non-smoking area of the Pit and Barrel bar. No one witnessed the shooting itself, but several people outside heard the arguing and the gunshot. An autopsy revealed Mills was shot in the back of the head.

2013
It was announced that Darius Rucker's version of "Wagon Wheel" had earned him a nomination for Best Country Solo Performance for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. At the awards ceremony on January 26, 2014, Rucker won, becoming only the third African American recording act (the first being Charley Pride, the second being The Pointer Sisters) to win a vocal performance Grammy Award in a country music category.

2015
Songwriter Don Chapel died. During his career he wrote hits for George Jones, Conway Twitty, his ex-wife Tammy Wynette, and others.

2023
Taylor Swift is named Time magazine's Person of the Year, becoming the first such subject honored specifically for achievement in the arts. The magazine cited her 2023–2024 Eras Tour, which was set to become the highest-grossing concert tour of all time, and its significant cultural and economic impact.