October 16th: On this day

1918
Born on this day, was Stoney Cooper, an American country star and member of the Grand Ole Opry. He was a master of the fiddle and the guitar. Cooper died on March 22 1977 aged 58.

1948
Born on this day was American musician, record producer and label-head Jim Ed Norman. As an arranger and producer, he was one of the principal architects of the distinctive sound of West Coast 1970s pop and country rock. He was President of Warner Bros Records Nashville from 1984 to 2004 working with the likes of Randy Travis, Faith Hill, Blake Shelton, Travis Tritt, Dwight Yoakam and Hank Williams Jr.

1950
Hank Snow was at #1 on the Country music singles charts with "I'm Moving On". The song, stayed at the top of the charts for 21 weeks and was the first of seven #1 Billboard country hits Snow scored throughout his career.

1961
Decca records released "Crazy" by Patsy Cline. The ballad, composed by Willie Nelson gave Cline a #2 country hit in 1962. Nelson originally wrote the song for country singer Billy Walker, but Walker turned it down. The song's eventual success helped launch Nelson as a performer as well as a songwriter. It spent 21 weeks on the chart for Cline, and eventually became one of her signature tunes.

1963
Lefty Frizzell recorded "Saginaw, Michigan". When released in November of this year the single was Frizzell's sixth and final #1 on the country chart. "Saginaw, Michigan" spent a total of 23 weeks on the country chart and earned Frizzell a Grammy Award nomination.

1972
Glen Campbell opened the sixth annual CMA Awards show in a telecast from the stage of the Ryman Auditorium. Winners at the Awards included: Freddie Hart, won the Song of the Year with "Easy Loving", Loretta Lynn, and Conway Twitty won the Vocal Duo of the Year Award, Charley Pride was named the Male Vocalist of the Year, Loretta Lynn won the Female Vocalist of the Year, Merle Haggard's "Let Me Tell You About A Song" won the Album of the Year and Charlie McCoy won the Instrumentalist of the Year.

1976
Tammy Wynette was at #1 on the Country music charts with "You and Me" the singers sixteenth and final #1 country hit as a solo artist. The single stayed at #1 for two weeks and spent a total of twelve weeks on the country chart.

1981
Eddie Rabbitt was at #1 on the US country album chart with Step by Step, his seventh studio album. The album continued the crossover success established in the singer's two previous albums. Three singles were produced including the title track, which went to #1 on country charts and reached the top 5 on both the Adult Contemporary and Billboard 100 charts.

1992
Taking part at Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration at Madison Square Garden, New York Ciry, Johnny Cash and June Carter performed "It Ain't Me, Babe," which was subsequently included on a 2 CD live recording.

2012
Darius Rucker was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. In 2009, he became the first Black American to win the New Artist Award from the Country Music Association, and the second Black person to win any award from the association.

2015
Record producer and guitarist John Jennings died of kidney cancer aged 62. He was best known for his work with Mary Chapin Carpenter as well as working with Indigo Girls, the Rankin Family, Cheryl Wheeler, Iris DeMent, and George Jones.

2016
Randy Travis attended his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame where he performed a rendition of "Amazing Grace." Travis had recovered his voice after about three years of rehabilitation and therapy.

2020
Country music singer, songwriter, and drummer Johnny Bush died at a hospital in San Antonio age 85. Bush, nicknamed the "Country Caruso," is best known for his distinctive voice and as the writer of "Whiskey River," a top-ten hit for himself and Willie Nelson's signature song.