December 12th: On this day

1936
Born on this day in Caruthersville, Missouri, was Reggie Young, lead guitarist in the American Sound Studios Band (aka The Memphis Boys), and is a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with artists such as Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Merle Haggard, and George Strait. He died on January 18 2019 age 82.

1951
Born on this day was American country music artist LaCosta Tucker. The sister of country singer Tanya Tucker, LaCosta charted several singles of her own in the 1970s on the Billboard country singles charts, including the #3 "Get on My Love Train."

1953
Born on this day in Atlanta GA and raised in NC, was country music songwriter Byron Hill. Inducted in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018, Hill wrote hits including “Fool Hearted Memory” for George Strait, “Pickin’ Up Strangers” for Johnny Lee, “Born Country” for Alabama, “Politics, Religion, And Her” for Sammy Kershaw, “Nothing On But The Radio” for Gary Allan, “High-Tech Redneck” for George Jones, “Alright Already” for Larry Stewart, “If I Was A Drinkin’ Man” for Neal McCoy, “Lifestyles Of The Not So Rich And Famous” for Tracy Byrd, and many others.

1955
Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley all appeared at the National Guard Armory, Armory, Mississippi.

1966
Merle Haggard released the single "The Fugitive" (later titled "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive" on the album), which became Haggard's first #1 hit on the country chart. Although not written by Haggard, the song became one of the most closely associated with the early part of his career, as it drew upon his then still-relatively recent prison term for burglary.

1972
Born on this day in Nashville, Tennessee, was Hank Williams III, musician, singer and multi-instrumentalist who scored the 2008 #2 album Damn Right, Rebel Proud.

1983
Born on this day in Bray, Oklahoma, was Katrina Elam, country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Universal South Records in 2004, she released her self-titled debut album that year. Carrie Underwood has recorded her "Flat on the Floor", and she co-wrote the track "Change" on Underwood's 2009 album Play On. Reba McEntire covered "I Want a Cowboy" on her 2009 album Keep On Loving You, and Elam also co-wrote "Easy", Rascal Flatts' collaboration with Natasha Bedingfield.

1988
Waylon Jennings underwent triple bypass surgery at Nashville's Baptist Hospital. The singer later said he had quit smoking five or six packs a day after being a smoker for 40 years.

1996
Clint Black received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At the time of Black's induction onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he had released five platinum-selling albums, including 1990's Put Yourself in My Shoes, which sold more than 3 million copies. He had also released 23 Top 10 singles, 10 of which landed at the top of the charts.

1998
Faith Hill was at #1 on the Billboard Country charts with "Let Me Let Go". The third single from Faith Hill's album Faith, features background vocals by country artist Vince Gill.

2000
Husband and wife, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill closed their Soul2Soul 2000 Tour at the D Waterhouse Centre, Orlando. The tour grossed nearly $50 million and was witnessed by close to 950,000 people.

2002
Singer-songwriter Carlene Carter was freed on $5,000 bond after being arrested near Nashville on two charges of identity theft. Carter, was accused of using the identity of a former boyfriend to fill two prescriptions for Zoloft, an anti-depressant. He former boyfriend Francis Reidy had been killed in an automobile accident a few weeks before Carter allegedly attempted to fill the prescription.

2020
American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player Charley Pride died age 86. In the early to mid-1970s, he was the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis Presley. During the peak years of his recording career (1966–1987), he had 52 top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, 30 of which made it to number one. He won the Entertainer of the Year award at the Country Music Association Awards in 1971.