April 1st: On this day

1921
Born on this day in Clinton, South Carolina was Country guitarist Arthur Smith, best known for the theme tune from the 1972 film Deliverance, He was one of the most influential guitar-players in country and early rock 'n' roll. He found fame with his 1948 single "Guitar Boogie" and enjoyed other hits including "Feudin' Banjos" in 1955. When the Warner Bros film studio used a cover version and renamed it "Dueling Banjos" for Deliverance, he sued them and won substantial royalties. He died at his home from natural causes at the age of 93 just 2 days after his 93rd birthday.

1934
Born on this day in Sparkman, Arkansas, was Jim Ed Brown, singer who achieved fame in the 1950s with his two sisters as a member of The Browns. He later had a successful solo career from 1965 to 1974, followed by a string of major duet hits with Helen Cornelius who had the 1976 US Country #1 hit "I Don't Want to Have to Marry You". Brown is currently the host of the Country Music Greats Radio Show, a syndicated country music program from Nashville, Tennessee. He died from lung cancer at the age of 81 on June 11 2015.

1945
Born on this day was an American drummer and arranger Kenny Buttrey. According to CMT, he was "one of the most influential session musicians in Nashville history". He died on 12 September 2004 age 59.

1967
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum opened on Music Row (Sixteenth Avenue and Division Street) in Nashville. The Museum opened in a $37 million landmark, new building in May 2001 located on the west bank of the Cumberland River, just a few steps from the historic Ryman Auditorium.

1970
American country music producer Paul Cohen died age 61. He was chiefly responsible for Nashville's emergence as the country music recording capital and the Nashville Sound and was a long-time Decca Records executive. As President of the Country Music Association (CMA), Cohen was on hand when the Country Music Hall of Fame opened in 1967. Kitty Wells, Webb Pierce, Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, and Bobby Helms were among the new acts signed and produce by Cohen. In an unprecedented gesture, Nashville's Music Row offices closed for a memorial service a week later (April 7), but the lasting testimony to his memory and importance came with his posthumous election to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1976.

1980
Born on this day in Tifton, Georgia, was Kip Moore, singer-songwriter, who scored the 2012 #1 Country single "Somethin' 'Bout a Truck", which was taken from his debut album Up All Night.

1984
Johnny Cash and George Jones appeared at the opening of Jones Country Music Park, Colmesneil, Texas. During the show the pair performed their new duet "I Got Stripes".

1986
Born on this day in Nashville, Tennessee, was Hillary Scott, country music singer-songwriter with Lady Antebellum, who scored the 2009 US #1 Country hit "I Run To You." The group won five awards at the 2011 Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year for "Need You Now".

1990
During a North American tour, Willie Nelson's tour bus crashed into a car in Riverdale, Canada, killing the car driver.

2008
Alan Jackson was at #1 on the Country singles chart with "Small Town Southern Man", the lead single from his album Good Time and becoming Jackson's twenty-third #1 hit.

2012
Winners at the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards hosted by Reba and Blake Shelton included: Entertainer of the Year - Taylor Swift, Male Vocalist of the Year - Blake Shelton, Vocal Duo of the Year - Thompson Square, Vocal Group of the Year - Lady Antebellum, Album of the Year went to Miranda Lambert for Four the Record Song of the Year - Eli Young Band with "Crazy Girl" and Video of the Year went to Toby Keith for "Red Solo Cup."

2019
Loretta Lynn celebrated her 87th birthday (which is actually April 14) with an all-star concert held at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. Performers include: Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Alison Krauss, Lee Ann Womack, Little Big Town, Kacey Musgraves, Brandy Clark, Brandi Carlile, Miranda Lambert, Pistol Annies, Keith Urban, Darius Rucker, Tanya Tucker, Crystal Gayle, Alan Jackson and George Strait. Lynn herself sand live for the first time since 2017, performing her signature song "Coal Miner's Daughter."