Dec 18, 2000

NPR honors the score to "The Wizard Of Oz" among the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century. Jerry Lee Lewis nabbed a 1980 country hit with a remake of the movie's most famous song, "Over The Rainbow"

Dec 23, 2000

NPR ranks Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line" among the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century

Dec 25, 2000

NPR honors Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" among the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century. The Irving Berlin-penned song also became a country hit for Ernest Tubb

Dec 31, 2000

Kitty Wells and Johnnie Wright give the last performance of their careers on "The Midnite Jamboree" from Ernest Tubb's Record Store. Artists on hand include Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Connie Smith and The Whites

Mar 1, 2001

Billy Gilman sings the national anthem to help kick off the Country Radio Seminar at the Nashville Convention Center

Mar 15, 2001

MCA's Tony Brown and Mercury's Luke Lewis say, during a panel at Austin's South By Southwest conference, they don't listen to country radio because it's "boring." As a producer, Brown says he's partially to blame for the genre's lackluster sound

Mar 16, 2001

A day after two record executives called country radio "boring," Marty Stuart tells The Tennessean he agrees with the assessment: "I can take it in 15-minute doses, and then I get heartbroken"

Mar 17, 2001

Two days after two record executives said country radio is "boring," The Tennessean quotes Capitol Records chief Mike Dungan: "A big chunk of what they call country radio right now is nothing but bad adult contemporary records"

Mar 29, 2001

Bill Mack ends his broadcasting career with WBAP in Dallas. A country disc jockey for 50 years, he became famous for his overnight broadcasts on WBAP beginning in 1969 and wrote LeAnn Rimes' debut single, "Blue"

May 2, 2001

Cyndi Thomson breaks down crying in the Blockbuster parking lot on Nashville's West End Avenue when she hears her single "What I Really Meant To Say" on the radio for the first time