Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY (Thursday, Jan. 2) Advertisement Roger Miller born in Fort Worth, Texas, 1936. Red Smiley dies at 46, 1972. Tex Ritter dies at 68 in Nashville, 1974. Marty Robbins records "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife," 1970. MUSIC AND MORE CHICKS' 'HOME' TOPS CMT'S BEST OF 2002 The Dixie Chicks' "Home" took the No. 1 spot on CMT's list of Best Country Albums Of 2002, while Tim McGraw's "Red Ragtop" was named top single. Pinmonkey's self-titled debut album was second on the CMT list, followed by Randy Travis' "Rise and Shine," bluegrasser Ronnie Bowman's "Starting Over" and "Drive" by five-time CMA award winner Alan Jackson. The Chicks' "Long Time Gone" was the No. 2 single, No. 3 was "Forgive" by Rebecca Lynn Howard, then came Montgomery Gentry's "My Town" and "Somebody Like You" by Keith Urban. "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" by Kenny Chesney was the No. 6 album, ahead of Darryl Worley's "I Miss My Friend," "Halos & Horns" by Dolly Parton, "Freedom's Child" by Billy Joe Shaver and Patty Griffin's "1000 Kisses." Advertisement COUNTRY ALBUM SALES GOOD IN 2002 Country albums sold well in 2002, with sales up 11 percent over the previous year, while overall album sales dropped 9 percent, according to Nielsen Soundscan. "Home" by the Dixie Chicks was the fourth-largest in sales with 3.4 million copies, while Alan Jackson's "Drive" was No. 8 at 3 million in sales. The "O Brother Where Art Thou?" soundtrack was ninth and Shania Twain's "Up!" took the tenth spot on 2.6 million units sold in just four weeks. JOHNNY CASH HOSPITALIZED FOR CHECKUP Country legend Johnny Cash checked into Nashville's Baptist Hospital over the holidays for a year-end checkup, the Nashville Tennessean reports. The newspaper says a hospital spokeswoman reported Cash was in "satisfactory" condition. Seventy-year-old Cash has been diagnosed with a disorder known as autonomic neuropathy brought about by diabetes, according to an Country Music Journal interview last April.
