2009 - Taylor Swift sweeps the 43rd annual CMA Awards, hastening the end of western civilization - but not before days of tiresome discussion about how we've surely reached the end of western civilization. 2004 - Sugarland performs "Baby Girl" during its Grand Ole Opry debut. Backstage after the performance, Kristian Bush comments on what a huge honor this must be for the Opry. 2003 - Travis Tritt undergoes surgery for a torn rotator cuff after overextending his arm while tossing a … [Read more...]

2008 - Carrie Underwood is unveiled at Madame Tussauds in New York while a wax figure in her likeness approaches the end of its 2008 concert tour. Or was it the other way around? 2007 - Rounder releases Raising Sand under the given names of Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, having finally decided against the somewhat awkward duo name of Led Kraussplant (rhymes with dead houseplant). 2006 - Big Machine releases Taylor Swift's self-titled debut album. It does pretty well. 2002 - Ralph … [Read more...]

2002 - Montgomery Gentry receives keys to the city of Louisville, Kentucky. After the ceremony, Gentry quietly inquires as to whether his key gives him free dominion over the city's thriving bear population. 2002 - Doug Supernaw is arrested outside a bar in Brenham, Texas, after fighting with five police officers. It's the capper on a strange year that also saw him, by his own reports, "held hostage in Paris" in a "mentally retarded home for terrorists" for two weeks. (I don't even have to … [Read more...]

2007 - Sammy Kershaw officially becomes a candidate for lieutenant governor of Louisiana. While Kershaw's promise of a National Working Woman's Holiday is met with wide approval, his campaign becomes embroiled in controversy after a night of drinking tequila and talking dirty in Spanish with an unidentified woman. 2006 - Taylor Swift performs "Tim McGraw" in her first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. I wonder what Carrie Underwood was doing that night... 2005 - John Rich's … [Read more...]

2009 - Country California publishes another gripping edition of This Week in Country Music History. 2006 - Former Alabama lead singer Randy Owen attends his first concert as a ticket-holder: Kenny Chesney at BJCC Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. Owen is ejected after screaming for "Free Bird" one too many times. 1992 - Warner Bros. releases Travis Tritt's third album, T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Two-year-old Taylor Swift has her first boy t-r-o-u-b-l-e when a daycare friend accuses her of having a big … [Read more...]

2008 - Mercury releases Jamey Johnson's That Lonesome Song, hallowed be thy name. 2007 - Kenny Chesney hits the top of the Billboard country singles chart with "Never Wanted Nothing More," which is followed shortly by "Well, Maybe Just A Grammar Book." 2000 - Neal McCoy's self-titled 1996 album is certified gold. The baby Jesus cries. 1999 - Patsy Cline receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Cline arrives late to the ceremony, apologizing profusely and explaining that she has, … [Read more...]

It was just a matter of time. With our Fake News series, we've boldly gone where no man has gone before, rewriting the present and future of country music in accordance with our own whims. Now, we take a look back at country music past... in our own slightly deranged, frequently fictitious way. Since this is a new feature, your input is appreciated. Want to see it stick around? Let us know. Without further ado, this week in country music history... 2005 - Marty Stuart invites Dierks … [Read more...]