This Day in Country History: March 11
The 12th Annual Grammy Awards celebrated two major victories for country stars on March 11, with Tammy Wynette and Johnny Cash taking home awards. Other country music artists received prestigious honors and contributed to medical research, and one had to cancel their performance due to a medical issue.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
March 11 was a huge day in country music history, with award-winning artists and successful debuts:
- 1970: At the 12th Annual Grammy Awards, Tammy Wynette won the Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female, for her classic “Stand By Your Man,” and Johnny Cash won Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, for “A Boy Named Sue.”
- 1974: Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” debuted on this day and was written as a farewell to her then-singing partner, the legendary Porter Wagoner. Of course, Whitney Houston made this song a household tune when she sang it for the movie The Bodyguard.
Cultural Milestones
Several events demonstrated country music’s cultural influence:
- 2015: Emmylou Harris was awarded the Polar Music Prize. This Swedish award is similar to the Nobel Prize for music, and it was an outstanding honor for Harris to win this prestigious award.
- 2024: The Country Music Association and the National Association for Music Education hosted Harmony on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., recognizing the importance of music education in shaping young minds and enriching society.
Notable Recordings and Performances
We saw interesting performances on March 11, including:
- 2008: Keith Urban performed at HP Pavillion in San Jose, California. This concert was a part of Urban and Carrie Underwood’s Love, Pain & the Whole crazy Carnival Ride Tour.
- 2017: Country singer Darius Rucker, a former member of the rock group Hootie and the Blowfish, performed at the C2C: Country to Country Festival at the O2 Arena in London, England.
- 2023: Blake Shelton performed a concert at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, as part of his Back to the Honky Tonk Tour.
Industry Changes and Challenges
Notable occasions within the country music industry on March 11 include:
- 2017: Luke Bryan, popular country singer and judge for American Idol, broke from country tradition by playing “Enter Sandman” by heavy metal band Metallica. At the end of his Greenville, South Carolina performance, Bryan smashed his guitar on stage and handed eager fans a few fragments.
- 2018: Country star Tim McGraw collapsed on stage during a performance in Dublin, Ireland. His wife, country singer Faith Hill, stated he was extremely dehydrated and could not come back on stage and canceled the show.
- 2020: Travis Tritt signed with the Los Angeles, California, record label Big Noise Music Group. Tritt was formally signed with Warner Brothers and then with Colombia.
March 11 saw significant events in country music history. We also witnessed another side of artists, highlighting their humanity.
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