This Day in Country History: March 11

Kane Brown performs at the 2019 CMT Music Awards at Bridgestone Arena

Photo by Anna Webber/Getty Images

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.
2003: Nominations for the Country Music Television (CMT) Flameworthy 2003 Video Music Awards included Shania Twain, Faith Hill, and Toby Keith. In addition, Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, and the Dixie Chicks, now known as the Chicks, are also nominated.
2019: Blake Shelton opened another one of his honky-tonk bars and restaurants, Ole Red, in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Shelton claimed that March 11 through March 17, 2019, was "Spring Blake," as an homage to spring break revelries.

Cultural Milestones

Several events demonstrated country music's cultural influence:

2003: Dolly Parton received the 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Tennessee Arts Commission. Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen awarded Parton this honor for her work with the community.
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.
2017: The bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. Marty Stuart surprised the duo with the invitation to join while they were performing at the Opry on December 30, 2016.
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 Pavilion 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.
2019: Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" received an 8x Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). This song, written by Dolly Parton, received a Diamond certification in 2022, and on June 25, 2025, the RIAA gave it an 11x Platinum certification.
2019: Kane Brown's "Heaven" received a 4x Platinum certification from the RIAA. On November 22, 2024, this song received an 11x Platinum certification.
2022: Big Machine Label Group released Jackson Dean's new album, Greenbroke. Popular songs from this album include the title track, "Greenbroke," "Trailer Park," and "Don't Take Much."
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:

2014: The multi-talented Elroy Kahanek died at the age of 72. Not only was Kahanek a successful record producer, but he was also a songwriter, known for writing hits like T.G. Sheppard's “Trying to Beat the Morning Home" and Keith Stegall's “The Fool Who Fooled Around.”
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: The "Believe In Love" singer Charlie Worsham got engaged to his girlfriend, Kristen Anne Korzenowski. The couple married on September 22, 2018.
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 Columbia.