Today is Good Friday, but 15 years ago, today – April 18 – was a great day for Lady A. The country trio celebrated a triple win at the 45th Academy of Country Music Awards, taking trophies for Top Vocal Group of the Year and Single and Song of the Year for their career-making hit “Need You Now.”
And that’s not the only country music news tied to April 18. Reaching back six decades, here’s a look at news-making country music headlines on this day in history.
Spoiler alert: April 18 was a pretty good day for Johnny Cash.
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April 18, 1964
Johnny Cash took his hit “Understand Your Man” to No. 1 on the US Country Singles chart. It camped out there for a mind-blowing six weeks, and Bob Dylan even helped get it there. Parts of the melody were from Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.”
April 18, 1966
Eddy Arnold earned a No. 1 song with his “I Want to Go with You,” which fellow country singer-songwriter Hank Cochran wrote.
April 18, 1970
Johnny Cash was back in the No. 1 position, this time with his 33rd album, Hello, I’m Johnny Cash. The album is home to his popular June Carter Cash duet “If I Were a Carpenter,” which won a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1971.
April 18, 1975
Did you know Olivia Newton-John was also a country singer? On this date, her country album, Have You Never Been Mellow, was at No. 1, and the album’s title track went to No. 1, too. She was nominated for a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal on the song.
April 18, 1998
“Meet In the Middle” singers met their Opry dreams in real life on this day in 1998 – it’s when they were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. Diamond Rio debuted in 1991 with “Meet in the Middle,” becoming the first band to debut a single go to No. 1 on the country charts. The band’s other chart-toppers include “How Your Love Makes Me Feel,” “One More Day,” “Beautiful Mess,” and “I Believe.”
April 18, 2009
Taylor Swift dropped her song “You Belong with Me,” the third single from her second album, Fearless. “You Belong with Me” went to No. 1 on the US Hot Country Songs charts. At the time, “You Belong with Me” was her highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100. Swift’s song also won the largest crossover radio audience since Faith Hill’s “Breathe” in 2000.
April 18, 2010
Carrie Underwood became the first woman to win Entertainer of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards twice. Underwood previously won the award at the 2009 ceremony.
April 18, 2014
Glen Campbell’s family shared his “Glen Campbell… I’ll Be Me” documentary on this day in 2014. The film captures Campbell’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease and its impact on him and his family. It debuted during the Nashville Film Festival and unveiled his heartbreaking song “I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” which confronts how the disease ravages the mind.
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