Jan 12, 1979

Barry Sadler's truck slides off a slick freeway ramp that connects I-75 with I-285 outside Atlanta. The wreckage includes dozens of empty ammunition boxes. Sadler is not significantly hurt

Mar 16, 1979

Gregg Allman is arrested in Daytona Beach, Florida, and charged with reckless driving after slamming his car into another auto, sending the two women in that car to the hospital. In 1980, Willie Nelson earns a country hit with Allman's song "Midnight Rider"

Mar 25, 1979

Jerry Lee Lewis wrecks a white Corvette in DeSoto County, Mississippi, although he gets out of the car and leaves the scene before police arrive

Jun 1, 1979

Sgt. Barry Sadler is charged in Nashville with the December 1 shooting death of songwriter Lee Emerson. Sadler says he shot Emerson, also known as Lee Bellamy, in self-defense while trying to protect 25-year-old Darlene Sharp

Jun 6, 1979

Charlie Louvin's van is stolen from a downtown Nashville parking lot during Fan Fair

Jun 8, 1979

A small quantity of marijuana is found by authorities in Johnny Rodriguez' room at the Granada Royale Hometel in Phoenix. He is required to return the next month and perform for patients at the Veterans Administration Hospital

Jun 11, 1979

Chuck Berry pleads guilty in St. Louis, Missouri, to income tax evasion, for which he does jail time later in the year. The charges cover the tax year 1973, in which both Elvis Presley and Freddy Weller cut country hits written by Berry

Jun 21, 1979

Eight-year-old Sara Evans is hit by a car in front of her family's home in Missouri, breaking both of her legs

Jul 10, 1979

Rock guitarist Chuck Berry receives a four-month jail term for income tax evasion. Several of his songs had become country hits, including "Brown Eyed Handsome Man," "You Never Can Tell (C'est La Vie)," "Johnny B. Goode" and "Maybellene"

Aug 10, 1979

Chuck Berry begins serving a 100-day jail sentence for tax evasion at Lompoc Prison in California. Exactly three years prior, Emmylou Harris re-recorded the Berry-penned "(You Never Can Tell) C'est La Vie"