The ACM nominations were announced, and Chris Stapleton is out front with eight.  Thomas Rhett is next with six, and Keith Urban has five.  The show airs April 15th on CBS.  Reba McEntire will return to host for the 15th time.

It Happened This Weekend In Country Music History

1959 Restless Heart’s Larry Stewart is born on this day in Paducah, Kentucky. He sings lead on the band’s singles in the 1980s before going solo in 1992. He scores one hit on his own with “Alright Already,” then returns to the band when it re-forms in 1998.

1963 Patsy Cline gives what proves to be her final show, a benefit for the widow of deejay “Cactus Jack”.  Patsy Cline passed away March 5, 1963 in a plane crash at the age of 30.

1971 Brett Warren is born on this day in Tampa, Florida. He and sibling Brad Warren form The Warren Brothers, nominated for an ACM award in 2001. They co-write Jason Aldean’s “Lights Come On,” Jerrod Niemann’s “Drink To That All Night,” Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup” and Tim McGraw & Taylor Swift’s “Highway Don’t Care”.

1978 Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson are at #1 in Billboard, where they stay for four weeks, “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys”

1984 Exile gains its first #1 country hit with “Woke Up In Love”

1990 Singer/songwriter Luke Combs is born on this day in Asheville, North Carolina. He earns a Country Music Association nomination for New Artist of the Year in 2017 on top of hits with “Hurricane” and “When It Rains It Pours”

1996 Martina McBride is at #1 on the Billboard country singles chart for the first time in her career with “Wild Angels”

2008 Alan Jackson’s album “Good Time” is released to country radio.  The album produced five singles on the country singles charts. The first three of these — “Small Town Southern Man”,the title track, and “Country Boy” — have all become Number One hits.  The album was certified platinum on February 16th’ 2010.

More information on these and other stories available at CMT