March 21st: On this day
1948
Born on this day, was Paul Lavon Davis, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1977 hit “I Go Crazy”, (which once held the record for the longest chart run on theBillboard Hot 100 after spending 40 weeks on the charts). His highest-charting pop hit was the #6 “’65 Love Affair.” In the mid 1980s, he also had two country #1 hits as a guest vocalist on songs by Marie Osmond and Tanya Tucker.
1977
Glen Campbell was at #1 on the US Country chart with “Southern Nights”, a song written by Allen Toussaint and the first single released from Campbell’s 1977 album,Southern Nights. The lyrics were inspired by childhood memories of Allen Toussaint, who had of visiting relatives in the Louisiana backwoods which often entailed storytelling under star-filled nighttime skies.
1981
“Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” gave Willie Nelson his seventh #1 on the country chart. The song is commonly believed to have been written about a friend of Nelson’s who was a Hells Angel, who died in a motorcycle crash.
1988
Winners at the 23rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards hosted by Reba McEntire and Hank Williams Jr. included: Pioneer Award – Roger Miller, Top Female Vocalist of the Year – Reba McEntire, Top Male Vocalist of the Year – Randy Travis, Top Vocal Group – Highway 101, Top New Female Vocalist of the Year – K.T. Oslin, Top New Male Vocalist of the Year – Ricky Van Shelton and Song of the Year went to Randy Travis for “On The Other Hand.”
1993
Billy Ray Cyrus was at #1 on the US Country album charts with his debut albumSome Gave All. It produced four hit singles on the Billboard country charts, the first of these was Cyrus’s breakthrough song “Achy Breaky Heart.” The album is the longest time spent by a debut artist at #1 with 17 consecutive weeks on the chart.
2007
Dixie Chicks were at #1 on the US country chart with their seventh studio albumTaking the Long Way. With over 2 million copies sold in the US, it won 5 GrammyAwards, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year.