Today in country music history:
2008 – Kellie Pickler served as a correspondent for ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, and Taylor Swift was featured as a performer.
2005 – Buck Owens performed his final year-end concert at the Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, California with special guests Dwight Yoakam and Vince Vaughn.
2000 – Eddie Shaver, son of country singer-songwriter Billy Joe Shaver, died in his sleep at age 38.
1999 – Trisha Yearwood and Kenny Rogers took part in the CBS special, America’s Millennium: A Celebration in Washington, D.C.
1999 – Tim McGraw and Faith Hill welcomed the new millennium with a kiss onstage at Nashville’s Gaylord Entertainment Center.
1999 – The Judds played their first concert in eight years at the America West Arena in Phoenix. Ashley Judd served as host.
1997 – Pianist Floyd Cramer died after a six-month battle with cancer. He was 64. Cramer’s biggest hit was “Last Date,” which hit number two on the Billboard pop charts.
1990 – Lisa Hartman first met Clint Black backstage at his New Year’s Eve concert in Houston. They ended up marrying the following October.
1975 – Elvis Presley performed for 60,000 fans at the Silverdome, in Pontiac, Michigan. He set a world record for earning $800,000 for a single concert by a single artist.
1952 – Hank Williams embarked on his final ride in the back seat of his Cadillac on the way to Charleston, West Virginia.
1947 – Roy Rogers and Dale Evans married.