February 26th: On this day

1932
Born on this day in Kingsland, Arkansas, was Johnny Cash, US country singer, songwriter who was considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Although he is remembered as a country icon, his songs spanned other genres including rock and roll and rockabilly and blues, folk, and gospel. This crossover appeal won Cash the rare honor of induction in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. During the last stage of his career, Cash covered songs by several late 20th-century rock artists, most notably "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails. Cash died of respiratory failure on September 12th 2003, aged 71.

1932

1938
Born on this day was American country music singer and songwriter Jan Crutchfield. He is best known for writing "Statue of a Fool", which was first recorded in 1969 by Jack Greene and was a #1 hit on the Hot Country Songs charts for him. Versions of the song by Brian Collins and Ricky Van Shelton also charted in the top 10. He died on October 30, 2012.

1955
The Louvin Brothers were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. The American musical duo helped popularize the vocal technique of close harmony in country and country-rock. Rolling Stone ranked the Louvin Brothers #4 on its list of the 20 Greatest Duos of All Time.

1959
Born on this day in Ringgold, Louisiana was songwriter Kenny Beard. He wrote songs for Trace Adkins, Tracy Lawrence, and Aaron Tippin. His first hit as a songwriter was "Doghouse" by John Conlee. Beard died of natural causes on October 1, 2017 age 58.

1973
Winners at the 8th Academy of Country Music Awards hosted by Dick Clark included: Top Female Vocalist of the Year - Donna Fargo, Top Male Vocalist of the Year - Merle Haggard, Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year - Tanya Tucker, Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year - Johnny Rodriguez and Song of the Year Donna Fargo "Happiest Girl/USA".

1973
Loretta Lynn released her twenty-second solo studio album Entertainer of the Year which went on to peak at #1 on the Country music chart. This album was titled Entertainer of the Year after Lynn received the Entertainer of the Year award from the Country Music Association the previous year, becoming the first woman to win that award.

1975
Linda Ronstadt was at #1 on the US Country music album chart with Heart Like a Wheel, which featured her version of "You're No good". The album spent 51 weeks on the Billboard Album chart.

1983
Special guests on this week's syndicated US music television series The Glen Campbell Music Show included Ronnie Milsap, who performed songs with Glen Campbell including "The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)" and "In the Pines."

1985
Country music winners at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards included; Best Country FemaleVocal Performance went to Emmylou Harris for "In My Dreams", Best Male Country Vocal Performance was won by Merle Haggard for "That's the Way Love Goes", Best Country Performance by a Group went to The Judds for "Mama He's Crazy" and Best Country Song was Steve Goodman (songwriter) for "City of New Orleans" performed by Willie Nelson.

1988
Born on this day in Duluth, Minnesota was American mixing engineer, record producer, and songwriter Jordan Schmidt. He penned the 2016 Country rock song "Lights Come On", recorded by Jason Aldean, which reached #1 on the Billboard charts. In May 2023, Schmidt teamed-up for his seventh #1 song with the release of Lainey Wilson's "Watermelon Moonshine."

1991
Mike Reid was at #1 on the Country charts with "Walk on Faith", the former American football player's only chart topper. Released as the first single from his album Turning for Home, the song became his only #1 country hit. In the 1980s and 1990s, Reid went on to write #1 hits with Marie Osmond, Tanya Tucker, Collin Raye, Alabama and Conway Twitty.

1997
Country music winners at the 39th Annual Grammy Awards held at Madison Square Garden, New York City included; LeAnn Rimes who won Best New Artist and Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Blue', Vince Gill won Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "Worlds Apart", Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group went to Brooks & Dunn for "My Maria" and Best Country Album was Billy Williams (producer) & Lyle Lovett (producer & artist) for The Road to Ensenada.

2014
American stand-up comedian and country music artist Tim Wilson died of a heart attack. He released more than a dozen comedy albums, and co-wrote comedian Jeff Foxworthy's 1996 single "Redneck 12 Days of Christmas", as well as several parodies for the 1980s comedy duo Pinkard & Bowden.