Today In Country Music History

2003 The Electricity Was Busted

When a power outage zaps the electricity for 50 million residents in the Northeast, Jo Dee Messina improvises with a 30-minute acoustic set at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York. Her performance includes the apropos "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia"

The blackout, which covered much of the northeast United States and parts of Canada, forced Brooks & Dunn to cancel a performance the next day on NBC’s The Today Show. Their gear, situated in three different locations, had to be gathered amidst the chaos and transported to Louisiana for a weekend show.

Some power was restored by 11 p.m. and many others got it back two days later. At the time, it was the world's second most widespread blackout in history, after the 1999 Southern Brazil blackout.The outage, which was much more widespread than the Northeast Blackout of 1965, affected an estimated 10 million people in Ontario and 45 million people in eight U.S. states.

The blackout's primary cause was a software bug in the alarm system at a control room of the FirstEnergy Corporation, located in Ohio. A lack of alarm left operators unaware of the need to re-distribute power after overloaded transmission lines hit unpruned foliage, which triggered a race condition in the control software. What would have been a manageable local blackout cascaded into widespread distress on the electric grid.

Check Out JoDee Messina's latest Album 'Me'

photo by Jason Davis/Getty Images
photo by Jason Davis/Getty Images
2012
Ricky Skaggs was inductucted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Hendersonville, TN, along with Aretha Franklin and four other acts.
Skaggs later said that joining the Hall of Fame was a special honor, in part because he "never saw it coming."
Skaggs may have been surprised by the initial news of his induction, but the weight of the evening wasn't lost on him as he took the stage for an emotional acceptance speech. "I've won lots of awards…but nothing greater than this," he told the audience.
2006
Johnny Duncan died of a heart attack in a Fort Worth hospital. Duncan charted three number one hits during his career (including "She Can Put Her Shoes Under my Bed (Anytime)"), but he is most remembered for a series of duets with Janie Fricke, which included "Stranger," "Thinking of a Rendezvous," "It Couldn't Have Been Any Better" and "Come A Little Bit Closer."
2004
Remnants of Hurricane Charlie forced Kenny Chesney to postpone his Guitars, Tiki Bars & A Whole Lotta Love tour stop in Virginia Beach, VA by 24 hours. The show would go on without a hitch the following night.
2003
Toby Keith and Scotty Emerick perform for 25,000 troops and president George W. Bush at Miramar Marine Air Corps Station near San Diego. Among the selections: "Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue" and "The Fightin' Side Of Me."
1995
Garth Brooks' The Hits becomes the first best-of album by a country-based artist certified for shipments of 7 million units. The compilation featured hits from his first 6 albums and has now sold over 10 million copies.
Shania Twain is certified double-platinum for the first time in her career, with The Woman In Me. The album contained the hits "Home Ain't Where The Heart Is (Anymore)," "Any Man Of Mine," "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?," "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!," "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You), "You Win My Love" and "No One Needs to Know." The album has sold over 20 million copies to date.
1969
Johnny Cash’s "A Boy Named Sue" became a million seller. At the time, that meant it had achieved gold status.
photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images
photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images
1964
Roy Rogers has a nine-hour surgery to repair vertebrae in his back damaged by years of riding his horse, Trigger
Birthdays
Country Music Hall of Fame Member Connie Smith is 73
Producer Brent Maher is 72

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Categories: Country Music News, History

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