This Day in Country Music History, December 29
2013
Nashville’s morning newspaper, The Tennessean, names Taylor Swift the Tennessean of the Year
2010
Alan Jackson surprises Zac Brown at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena with a 1966 Cadillac El Dorado convertible. The automobile is a gift of thanks for including Jackson on “As She’s Walking Away”
2001
Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)” spends the first of five weeks at #1 in Billboard
2000
John Michael Montgomery suffers a compound fracture above the ankle when he slips on ice while hunting near his Kentucky home. He has a cast applied during surgery at Lexington’s Central Baptist Hospital and uses it for the next eight months
1998
Lorrie Morgan, Steve Winwood and Michael English perform at halftime during the first Music City Bowl at Dudley Field in Nashville, while guitarist Larry Carlton is booed for a jazz version of the national anthem. Virginia Tech defeats Alabama, 38-7
1983
George Jones receives the first platinum album of his career, for “I Am What I Am”
1983
Jessica Andrews is born in Huntingdon, Tennessee. Befriended early in her career by Faith Hill, she gains attention as a teenager for a contribution to the 1999 album “The Prince Of Egypt,” then breaks out at age 17 with “Who I Am”
1972
Jeanne Pruett records “Satin Sheets”
1969
Capitol releases Merle Haggard’s live album “Okie From Muskogee”
1939
Ed Bruce is born in Keiser, Arkansas. The rich-voiced performer works as a vocalist, actor, commercial spokesman and songwriter. His writing credits include “Texas (When I Die)” and “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys”
