Iconic Television Debut - Today In Country Music History

January 2nd, 1975

Austin City Limits premieres on PBS with Willie Nelson as the first featured guest. The set list includes "Good Hearted Woman", "Whiskey River", "Okie From Muskogee" and "Will The Circle Be Unbroken".

Initially created to celebrate the music of Texas, featuring western swing, Texas blues, Tejano music, progressive country, and rock n' roll, the series has gone on to feature regional, national and international artists performing a wide range of musical styles, including jazz, alternative country, alternative rock, folk music, and jam band.

The show inspired the creation of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, an annual live music festival at Zilker Park in Austin. Austin City Limits is the longest-running music series in American television history.

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1997
Faith Hill goes double-platinum for the second time, with the album It Matters To Me. The album featured produced five Top Ten hits: "Let's Go to Vegas" (#5), the title track (#1), "Someone Else's Dream" (#3), "You Can't Lose Me" (#6) and "I Can't Do That Anymore" (#8).
It has since been certified 4x platinum by the RIAA.
#1 On This Date
SINGLES
2010 – Reba McEntire – “Color Me Gone”
1999 – Terri Clark – “You’re Easy On The Eyes”
1992 – Vince Gill – “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away”
1988 – Highway 101 – “Somewhere Tonight”
1981 – Alabama – "Love In The First Degree"
1971 – Lynn Anderson– “Rose Garden”
1965 – Connie Smith – “Once A Day”
1954 – Webb Pierce– “There Stands The Glass”
1944 – Tex Ritter – “I’m Wastin’ My Tears On You”

ALBUMS
2010 – Taylor Swift – Fearless
1999 – Garth Brooks – Double Live
1993 – Garth Brooks – The Chase
1988 – Randy Travis – Always & Forever
1982 – Alabama – Feels So Right
1971 – Ray Price – For The Good Times
1965 – Buck Owens – Together Again
Birthdays
Guitarist and Country Music Hall of Fame member Harold Bradley is 89.
Keyboard player/songwriter John Jarvis ("I Still Believe In You") is 61
Keyboard player Chris Hartman (Emerson Drive) is 37
Singer and Country Music Hall of Fame member Roger Miller is born on this date in 1936 in Fort Worth, Texas. Raised in Erick, Oklahoma, Miller's quirky songwriting and sense of humor lead to such hits as "King Of The Road", "Dang Me" and "Chug-A-Lug".
A lifelong cigarette smoker, Miller died of lung and throat cancer in 1992, at age 56.

Iconic Television Debut – Today In Country Music History [VIDEO]