August 30th: On this day

1919
Born on this day in Nashville, Tennessee was Ellen Muriel Deason who became known as Kitty Wells. Her 1952 hit "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", made her the first female country singer to top the US country charts, and turned her into the first female country star. In 1976, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame; as of 2011 - at the age of 92 - is its oldest living member. Wells' accomplishments earned her the moniker, 'The Queen of Country Music.'

1945
Born on this day songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Fred Tackett best known as a member of the band Little Feat. Tackett has recorded with various Country stars including: Kenny Rogers, Bonnie Raitt, Vince Gill and Dolly Parton.

1949
Hank Williams went into Herzog Studio in Cincinnati to record "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". Williams wrote the song originally intending that the words be spoken, rather than sung. The song about loneliness was largely inspired by his troubled relationship with wife Audrey Sheppard and was released as the B side to "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" which was a #2 hit in 1949.

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.

1956
Born on this day in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was Dan Truman, piano and keyboards with Diamond Rio. Their 1991 single "Meet in the Middle", made them the first band ever to send a debut single to #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The band charted 32 more singles between then and 2006, including four more that reached #1: "How Your Love Makes Me Feel" (1997), "One More Day" (2001), "Beautiful Mess" (2002), and "I Believe" (2003).

1969
Roger Miller was the special guest on this week's Johnny Cash ABC television music variety show. Roger performed "Me And Bobby Magee" and a short comedy version of "I Walk The Line".

1971
Lynn Anderson was at #1 on the country music album chart with You're My Man, Anderson's fourth studio album. The record was a #1 hit on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart for seven weeks, Anderson's third (and to date, last) #1 on the chart. Produced by Anderson's husband Glenn Sutton, the title song was Anderson's second #1 record.

1989
Born on this day in Brooklyn, New York was American singer and songwriter Bebe Rexha. She had the 2017 country crossover single "Meant to Be" with Florida Georgia Line which set the record for the longest running #1 hit on the Country chart with 50 weeks.

1989
Born on this day, American singer and songwriter Bleta Rexha. The 2017 single 'Meant to Be' (featuring Florida Georgia Line), had wide success as a country crossover single, peaking at No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and spent a record-breaking 50 weeks at the top of the US country chart.

1991
Dottie West was en route to the Grand Ole Opry in a car that Kenny Rogers had given her during her financial hardships. When the car stalled, an Opry member called her neighbor, George Thackton, who came to her aid. However, as he was speeding to get West to the venue on time, Thackton lost control of his vehicle, crashing into the central divider of the road as he was exiting the freeway. Although West originally did not seem injured, she suffered both a ruptured spleen and a lacerated liver, and she died several days later, during her third operation, after receiving 30 units of blood in an attempt to save her life.

1993
Alabama released "Reckless" the first single from their album Cheap Seats. which went to #1 on the Country chart. It became the groups thirty-second #1 Country hit.

2004
Kris Kristofferson and former record executive Jim Foglesong were named the 2004 inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

2005
Brooks & Dunn released their the ninth studio album Hillbilly Deluxe which went to #1 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums, their fifth chart topper. The first single from the album "Play Something Country" became a #1 Country hit.

2007
Reba McEntire received two CMA nominations: Female Vocalist of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year. With those two nominations plus another in 2008 and two more in 2009, McEntire became the female artist with the most nominations (forty-eight) in the forty-three year history of the CMA Awards, surpassing Dolly Parton, who has forty-three

2009
Shania Twain was a special guest judge on this week's American Idol TV show, filmed in Chicago. Twain returned to American Idol the following year as a guest mentor for a week where the top 6 contestants showcased her songs.

2011
Jake Owen released his third album Barefoot Blue Jean Night. The album's title track and first single, became his first #1 Country hit and the album also hit #1.

2011
Ghost on the Canvas the sixty-first album by Glen Campbell was released. It was intended to be Campbell's farewell studio recording following him being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The album peaked at #6 on the US Country chart.

2016
Fiddle player, multi-instrumentalist, and country music and bluegrass artist Hoot Hester died age 65. Hester had played backup for a number of country music artists, among them Alabama, Hank Williams Jr., Conway Twitty, Randy Travis, Bill Monroe, Vern Gosdin, and Ricky Van Shelton as well as a longtime member of the Grand Ole Opry's staff band.

2022
Jason Aldean's wife, Brittany, makes an Instagram post which leads to singers such as Maren Morris and Cassadee Pope accusing her of transphobia. In response, Aldean's public relations firm The GreenRoom dropped him as a client on September 1.

2022
American songwriter Don Schlitz was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. He is best known for his song "The Gambler" (Kenny Rogers), and as the co-writer of "Forever and Ever, Amen" (Randy Travis), and "When You Say Nothing at All" (Keith Whitley and Alison Krauss & Union Station). For his songwriting efforts, Schlitz has earned two Grammy Awards, and four ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year awards.