TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY
(Tuesday, March 25)
Johnny Burnette born in Memphis, 1934.
Hoyt Axton born in Comanche, Okla., 1938.
Billboard publishes its first "Hillbilly Records" chart, 1939.
Hank Williams' No. 1 single, "Long Gone Lonesome Blues," is charted, 1950.
Johnny Cash records his No. 1 single, "Ring Of Fire," 1963.
Lynn Anderson's "Rose Garden" album goes gold, 1971.
Donna Fargo's first No. 1 single, "The Happiest Girl In The Whole U.S.A.," is charted, 1972.
Alan Jackson's "(Who Says) You Can't Have It All" hits No. 1, 1994.
MUSIC AND MORE
ROSANNE CASH'S ALBUM OUT -- FINALLY
Rosanne Cash's "Rules of Travel" album is hitting stores this week, five years after a throat condition forced her to stop singing.
Doctors found a pregnancy-related polyp on Cash's vocal cords in 1998 soon after she started work on the album, she tells CMT.com.
"My doctor wanted to wait until my hormones were back to normal to see what was happening before she operated, because surgery is scary," says Cash, 46.
Surgery was not necessary, but it took nearly three years for her voice to come back.
Cash co-wrote the album's centerpiece track, "September Never Comes," with her producer-husband John Leventhal. Her father, Johnny Cash, sings on the track.
'BOCEPHUS' GRACES SIDE OF U.S. WAR TANK
Hank Williams Jr. learned last weekend a U.S. soldier painted his nickname on the side of a tank as a tribute to the country star, countrynation.com reports.
The soldier, part of a mechanized tank unit in Kuwait, said in a television interview "Bocephus" was printed on the M-1 A1 Abrams he's assigned to.
After hearing about the tribute, Hank Jr. said: "Turn out Saddam's lights in Baghdad, son, and get back home quick. You're a man whose hand I want to personally shake!"
TIM RAISES MORE DOUGH FOR RED CROSS
Tim McGraw last weekend brought in badly needed cash for the local chapter of the Red Cross -- while performing two sold-out shows in Detroit.
After putting on a show with the Dancehall Doctors before 17,000 fans Friday night, McGraw moved to a club in suburban Detroit for a two-hour Bread & Water show to benefit the Red Cross.
About 400 fans paid $20 admission, bought T-shirts and made other donations to the cause.
Detroit-area native Kid Rock and his band joined McGraw and the Doctors for a couple of numbers at the club show.
