This Day in Country History: March 6

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1989: Garth Brooks released his first single from his debut self-titled album, Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old). The album also featured Brooks' first No. 1 hit song, "If Tomorrow Never Comes."
• 1999: Sara Evans scored her first Top 40 No. 1 hit with her song "No Place That Far." She later had more No. 1 hits, including "A Real Fine Place to Start" and, most recently, "A Little Bit Stronger."
• 2015: During Miranda Lambert's performance at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, her then-husband, Blake Shelton, came on stage with her. They sang an acoustic version of Shelton's "God Gave Me You."
• 2016: The Reba McEntire Scholarship was given to none other than Reba herself. Only one other performer received the scholarship in their name, George Strait. The honor included an $18,000 scholarship given through the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Cultural Milestones

• 1977: Known for his unique style that blends country and hip-hop, Bubba Sparxxx was born Warren Anderson Mathis in LaGrange, Georgia. His 2013 album, Pain Management, made its way onto the Top 40 Country Albums chart.
• 1996: World-renowned Grand Ole Opry country comedian Minnie Pearl died unexpectedly. More than 1,500 people attended her funeral, including Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, and Amy Grant.
• 2017: The Opry Entertainment Group announced that Sally Williams will be the new general manager of the Grand Ole Opry as well as Senior Vice President of Programming and Artist Relations for Opry Entertainment.
• 2020: Country/pop singer Sheryl Crow gave a free concert and sold some of her personal items to raise money for victims of the tornado that came through Middle Tennessee and Nashville. The show and sale was held at the 21st Century Bookstore in the 12 South Neighborhood outside of downtown Nashville.

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1972: Dolly Parton's ninth studio album, Touch Your Woman, was released. The album's title song earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female, at the 15th Annual GRAMMY Awards.
• 2009: At the Knoxville Civic Coliseum, Jason Aldean performed "Big Green Tractor" for the first time. This is one of the artist's most popular songs from his Wide Open album.
• 2019: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) gave Luke Bryan's album What Makes You Country a Gold certification. In addition, Dan + Shay's album Dan + Shay received a Gold certification on this same date.
• 2020: Scotty McCreery's album Seasons Change received a Gold certification from the RIAA. Top singles from this album included "Five More Minutes" and "This Is It."
• 2020: Warner Bros. Records released Brandy Clark's album Your Life Is a Record. The top songs from this album included "I'll Be the Sad Song" and "Love is a Fire."

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 1999: George Jones suffered critical injuries when he hit a bridge while driving under the influence of alcohol. The accident occurred near his home in Franklin, Tennessee, while he was on his cell phone with his stepdaughter.
• 2012: After a performance at a St. Jude Benefit in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Jarrod Niemann's tour bus caught on fire. Luckily, the fire was brought to the band's attention, and everyone was safely off the bus when it exploded.
• 2020: Old Dominion announced they were cancelling their European tours due to uncertainty about restrictions from the coronavirus pandemic.
• 2020: The popular South by Southwest Festival held in Austin, Texas, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the first time in the festival's history that it was called off.
• 2025: Nashville songwriter Troy Seals died at the age of 65. Seals had numerous chart-topping songs, such as Willie Nelson and Ray Charles' “Seven Spanish Angels" and Ronnie Milsap's “Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In the Still of the Night).”