Bluegrass Is Cool Again! This Day In Country Music – December 5th

2010 - Merle Haggard, Oprah Winfrey and Paul McCartney are recognized during the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama is on hand for the ceremony.

2002 - Lee Ann Womack participates in the lighting of the national Christmas tree in Washington, D.C., along with Steve Wariner, Barbara Eden and Mannheim Steamroller, with Roy Clark playing Santa Claus. Clark sings "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer".

2000 - Lost Highway releases the soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Among the artists featured: Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski, The Whites, Gillian Welch, John Hartford, Ralph Stanley, The Cox Family and Norman Blake.

1994 - Patty Loveless' "Only What I Feel" album is certified platinum.

1993 - Jeff Hanna, of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, marries singer-songwriter Matraca Berg nine years after they first met.

1992 - George Strait tops the Billboard chart with "I Cross My Heart," from the "Pure Country" soundtrack.

1987 - Ricky Van Shelton makes his first appearance at #1 on the Billboard country singles chart with "Somebody Lied".

1978 - The Charlie Daniels Band records "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" at Nashville's Woodland Sound Studios.

1967 - Gary Herzberg born in Montebello, California. Under the stage name Gary Allan, the scratchy-voiced singer makes his national debut in 1996, making more than a decade of hits, including "Her Man," "Smoke Rings In The Dark" and "Best I Ever Had".

1963 - Ty England born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. A guitarist with Garth Brooks during the superstar's peak years, England leaves the band in 1994 to pursue a solo career, scoring the following year with "Should've Asked Her Faster".