Today In Country Music History
Every week in the first hour of the show, Ben brings you the feature ‘This Week in Country Music’. On this page you can discover important events from country music history for each day of the year. Be sure to check back regularly to update your country trivia!
Monday 17th February 2020
Choose a date:
Hunter Hayes performs "I Want Crazy" on ABC's "The Bachelor"
Dolly Parton takes a curtain call as "9 To 5: The Musical" opens in London
Jon Pardi, Lauren Alaina and radio host Bobby Bones tape an episode of "Family Feud" in Los Angeles
Jake Owen performs "Down To The Honkytonk" on camera before the Daytona 500 at the Daytona Motor Speedway in Florida. Off camera, he adds "Beachin'," "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" and "American Country Love Song." Denny Hamlin is the first drive to cross the finish line
Lady Antebellum donates three dozen instruments to the Fitch Street Elementary School music program in Welland, Ontario
Kip Moore, Dustin Lynch, The Brothers Osborne, Native Run and Jamie Lynn Spears play a benefit for City of Hope at the Listening Room in Nashville
Radio host Bob Kingsley is the subject of a surprise party at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry House marking 40 years of counting down the Top 40 country hits. Performers include Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Chris Young and The Eli Young Band
Joey+Rory welcome a daughter, Indiana Boone Feek
Guy Clark is a surprise guest when Vince Gill performs an artist-in-residence show at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville
John Anderson and John Rich are surprise performers at several Nashville venues as they troll bars on Lower Broadway. The night includes a rendition of "Seminole Wind" at Legends Corner
Capitol releases Dierks Bentley's "Sideways" to radio
Trisha Yearwood sings the national anthem before the Daytona 500 at the Daytona Motor Speedway in Florida, where the pre-race concert features Brooks & Dunn, Michael McDonald, Chubby Checker and Kool & The Gang. Ryan Newman wins
Joe Diffie's "Bigger Than The Beatles" is big enough to hit the top of the Billboard country singles chart
Suzy Bogguss earns a platinum album from the RIAA for "Aces"
Garth Brooks' "The Hits" is certified gold, platinum and quintuple-platinum by the RIAA, while "The Chase" is certified for shipments of 6 million units, "Ropin' The Wind" hits 11 million, and "No Fences" stretches to 13 million
Tanya Tucker earns a platinum album from the RIAA for "Greatest Hits 1990-1992," plus gold albums for three titles: "Strong Enough To Bend," "Tennessee Woman" and her "Greatest Hits"
Merle Haggard's prisoner-of-war drama "I Wonder If They Ever Think Of Me" captures the #1 position on the Billboard country singles chart
Bobby Goldsboro records "Lizzie And The Rainman" in an evening session at Nashville's Soundshop. The song becomes a hit for Tanya Tucker three years later
Jody Miller records "He's So Fine" in a 2 p.m. session at the Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville
James Taylor makes his national TV debut on ABC-TV's "The Johnny Cash Show," which also features Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young, Earl Scruggs and Tony Joe White
The Wilburn Brothers record "I Wanna Wanna Wanna"
Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper record "Are You Walking And A-Talking For The Lord" at the Castle Studio in Nashville. It ranks among country's 500 greatest singles in the Country Music Foundation book "Heartaches By The Number"
Zeb Turner records "Chew Tobacco Rag" at the King Recording Studio in Cincinnati
Eddy Arnold reaches #1 on the Billboard country singles chart with "There's Been A Change In Me"
This ‘Today in Country Music’ feature is presented with thanks to Roland Note.
