1969
The Johnny Cash Show premiered on ABC TV; from the Grand Ole Opry with special guest Bob Dylan and the regular cast, Tennessee Three, June Carter and Carter Family, Statler Brothers, and Carl Perkins, stepping in for Luther Perkins, (who has just died accidentally in house fire). Bob Wootton became a permanent replacement in Cash’s band, and a mainstay for the next three decades.
2005
Toby Keith was at #1 on the country charts with Honkytonk University. “As Good as I Once Was” was the album’s biggest hit, topping the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts for six weeks. Due to the closure of DreamWorks shortly afterwards, however, “Big Blue Note” was released on Keith’s Show Dog Nashville label, going on to peak at #5.
2014
George Strait ended his touring career in style with his final performance at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The show shattered a Billboard Boxscore mark for largest single-show attendance at a US stadium when 104,793 fans packed the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys to see the singer on the final date of his farewell tour Cowboy Rides Away.
