Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY (Friday, Oct. 25) Advertisement Minnie Pearl born Sara Ophelia Colley in Centerville, Tenn., 1912. Mark Miller, lead singer with Sawyer Brown, born in Dayton, Ohio, 1958. Roger Miller dies at age 56, 1992. Alabama's "The Closer You Get" and "Roll On" albums certified double platinum, 1984. Alabama's "Mountain Music" and "Feels So Right" albums certified triple platinum, 1984. (Saturday, Oct. 26) Neal Matthews of the Jordanaires born in Nashville, 1929. Roy Acuff records "The Great Speckled Bird," "The Wabash Cannonball" at his first recording session, 1936. Waylon Jennings suffers chest pains during a show in California and is hospitalized, 1988. Collin Raye makes TV acting debut on the Fox's "Street Justice," 1992. Capitol Records hosts gala for Garth Brooks in Nashville, marking U.S. sales of more than 100 million albums over 10 years, 2000. Advertisement Garth Brooks announces retirement, promises to record one more album, 2000. (Sunday, Oct. 27) Lee Greenwood born in Southgate, Calif., 1942. Willie Nelson marries Jewel Matthews in Cleburne, Texas, 1952. Paula Carlene Nelson born to Willie Nelson and wife, Connie, in Houston, 1969. Lorrie Morgan marries Brad Thompson, 1991. MUSIC AND MORE FAITH'S NEW ALBUM TOPS ALL GENRES "Cry," Faith Hill's new album, has debuted at No. 1 on the multi-genre Billboard 200 and Billboard's country chart. More than 472,000 copies of the album sold in its first week, nearly double the first-week sales of her 1999 album, "Breathe." After three weeks at No. 1, "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits," slipped to No. 3 on the all-genre chart, and "Home" by the Dixie Chicks remains at No. 6. While the "Cry" debut week is impressive, sales fell far short of the nearly 780,000 in first-week sales for "Home," which was released by the Dixie Chicks on Aug. 27. The Elvis collection is No. 2 on the country chart, followed by "Home," Toby Keith's "Unleashed" and Keith Urban's "Golden Road" rounding out the top 5. Advertisement KEITH URBAN SINGLE STILL NO. 1 Keith Urban's "Somebody Like You" held onto the top spot on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart. "Beautiful Mess" by Diamond Rio stayed at No. 2, with Alan Jackson's "Work In Progress" moving into the third position, "Where Would You Be" by Martina McBride at No. 4 and Montgomery Gentry's "My Town" in the fifth spot. TIM MCGRAW TO MAKE OPRY DEBUT Tim McGraw makes his Grand Ole Opry debut Nov. 30 at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The appearance caps a week of events tied to the release of his new album, "Tim McGraw & The Dancehall Doctors" and a book about the making of the record, McGraw's Web site said. NBC is scheduled to air McGraw's first TV special Nov. 27. McGraw, the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, has 19 No. 1 singles and sales of 25 million albums to his credit. KRAUSS ON SOUNDTRACK OF ADAM SANDLER FILM Bluegrass artist Alison Krauss can be heard on two tracks in the soundrack of Adam Sandler's upcoming animated film, "Eight Crazy Nights." Advertisement Krauss is on Track 4, "Long Ago," and Track 7, "Bum Biddy," with Sandler and other cast members, Columbia Records says in a news release. The soundtrack is due in stores Nov. 19 and the film is set for release Nov. 27.
