Bill Monroe Injured In Auto Accident - Today In Country Music History

January 16th, 1953

Bill Monroe suffers 19 broken bones, including his spine, and avulsed one of his eyes out of its socket in a head-on collision in Tennessee. He still manages to get out of the car and pull another passenger, his girlfriend and "Bluegrass Boys" bass player Bessie Lee Mauldin, out of the other side.

Monroe and Mauldin were returning home from a fox hunt north of Nashville. On highway 31-W, near White

House, their car was struck by a drunken driver. Monroe, who had suffered injuries to his back, left arm and nose, was rushed to General Hospital in Nashville. It took him almost four months to recover and resume touring. In the meantime Charlie Cline and Jimmy Martin kept the band together.

After he was taken to the hospital, Monroe was in a body cast for three months. He is unable to tour until May.

2013
Keith Urban began his stint as a judge on the FOX series American Idol.
2007
Taylor Swift’s self-titled debut CD was certified gold by the RIAA. The album featured five single releases: "Tim McGraw" (#6), "Teardrops on My Guitar" (#2), "Our Song" (#1 – Swift’s first and making her the youngest person to single-handedly write and perform a number one song on the Country chart), "Picture to Burn" (#3) and "Should've Said No" (#1).
The album has since been certified 5x platinum.
2004
Unleashed becomes the first Toby Keith album certified quadruple-platinum, while his Shock'n Y'all album reaches triple-platinum status.
Shock’n Y’all released three singles: "I Love This Bar", "American Soldier" and "Whiskey Girl"; all three singles reached #1. The album has since been certified 4x platinum by the RIAA.
Unleashed released four singles to radio: "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" (#1), "Who's Your Daddy?" (#1), "Rock You Baby" (#13) and "Beer for My Horses" (featuring Willie Nelson - #1).
1997
Garth Brooks’ album In Pieces was certified multi-platinum for sales of 6 million copies. Hits included “Ain’t Goin’ Down Till The Sun Comes Up” (#3), “Callin’ Baton Rouge” (#2), “One Night A Day” (#7) and “American Honky Tonk Bar Association” (#1).
The album has since been certified 8x platinum by the RIAA.
photo by Rusty Russell/Getty Images Entertainment
photo by Rusty Russell/Getty Images Entertainment
1993
Patty Loveless performs on the Grand Ole Opry. It's her first Opry appearance since undergoing vocal surgery.
1949
Little Jimmy Dickens held his first recording session for Columbia Records.
#1 On This Date
SINGLES
2010 – Reba McEntire – “Consider Me Gone”
1999 – Alan Jackson – “Right On The Money”
1993 – Garth Brooks – “Somewhere Other Than The Night”
1988 – Dan Seals – “One Friend”
1982 – Ronnie Milsap – “I Wouldn’t Have Missed It For The World”
1971 – Lynn Anderson– “Rose Garden”
1965 – Connie Smith – “Once A Day”
1961 – Johnny Horton – “North To Alaska”
1954 – Webb Pierce– “There Stands The Glass”

ALBUMS
2010 – Taylor Swift – Fearless
1999 – Garth Brooks – Double Live
1993 – Garth Brooks – The Chase
1988 – Randy Travis – Always & Forever
1982 – Willie Nelson – Greatest Hits (And Some That Will Be)
1971 – Ray Price – For The Good Times
1965 – Buck Owens – I Don’t Care
Birthdays
Singer Ronnie Milsap is 72.
Singer Jim Stafford is 71.
Guitarist James Young (Eli Young Band) is 35
Anniversaries
Luke Bryan and his wife Caroline celebrate their 9th anniversary.