Can you believe it was 31 years ago that Kenny Rogers was in the TV Special, The Gambler?  Keith Whitley sang about the rain in 1989, and Rascal Flatts began a four week run at number one in 2006.

That and more in today's Today In Country Music History for April 8th, 2011.

  • Rascal Flatts began a four-week stay at Number One in Billboard with "What Hurts The Most" in 2006.
  • Van Stephenson of BlackHawk died at home in Nashville at age 47 after a long battle with skin cancer in 2001.
  • Shooting Straight In The Dark became the first Mary Chapin Carpenter album certified gold in 1992.
  • Keith Whitley earned a Number One single in Billboard with "I'm No Stranger To The Rain" in 1989.
  • Rodney Crowell's Diamonds & Dirt album was released in 1988.
  • Randy Travis went double-platinum for the second time with his Storms Of Life album in 1988.
  • Kenny Rogers portrayed "The Gambler" in a CBS-TV special in 1980.
  • Johnny Cash recorded the Number One single, "Guess Things Happen That Way," in 1958.

Dave D.

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