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April 22, 1978 Bob Marley headlines the historic One Love Peace Concert in Jamaica, the singer's first appearance in his home country since an assassination attempt two years before. At the concert, Marley manages to unite Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley with rival Edward Seaga, who had both been using local warlords to battle for power.

April 7, 1978 The Police release "Roxanne" in the UK. BBC Radio 1 refuses to play it, which tanks the song, but when the band tours America a year later it catches on in that country, becoming their first hit.

February 17, 1978 Kate Bush, a 19-year-old singer-songwriter from Britain, releases her debut album, The Kick Inside. The collection of art pop features the #1 UK hit single "Wuthering Heights."More

November 8, 1977 Country singer Bucky Covington is born William Joel Covington III, along with identical twin brother Robert, in Rockingham, North Carolina. Bucky will go on to compete on Season 5 of American Idol, taking eighth place.

October 20, 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd members Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines die in a plane crash in Mississippi. Gaines' sister Cassie, a backup singer with the group, is also killed along with two pilots and the band's manager. Other members of the group are badly injured.More

August 24, 1977 Country legend Waylon Jennings is arrested for cocaine possession in New York City by federal agents, an event which will inspire his song "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got out of Hand?" The charges are later dropped.

August 17, 1977 It's the day after Elvis Presley is found dead, and throngs of fans come to Graceland to mourn. President Jimmy Carter releases a statement saying, in part, "Elvis Presley's death deprives our country of a part of itself. He was unique and irreplaceable."

May 7, 1977 Running 6:08 and loaded with metaphor and guitars, the Eagles' "Hotel California" tops the Hot 100.More

May 3, 1977 Country singer Eric Church is born in Granite Falls, North Carolina. After forming a band called the Mountain Boys as a student at Appalachian State University, he moves to Nashville and releases his debut album, Sinners Like Me, in 2006. His star turn comes in 2011 with his album Chief, which includes two of his most enduring songs, "Drink In My Hand" and "Springsteen."

April 9, 1977 ABBA goes to #1 on the US singles chart with "Dancing Queen," the group's seventh US Top 40 hit and first #1. The song is also a #1 in the UK and 12 other countries.More

March 22, 1977 The John Denver TV special Thank God, I'm A Country Boy airs on ABC.

March 6, 1977 Country-rap originator Bubba Sparxxx is born Warren Anderson Mathis in Troup County, Georgia.

February 28, 1977 Country singer Jason Aldean is born Jason Aldine Williams in Macon, Georgia.

February 2, 1977 Shakira is born Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll in Barranquilla, Colombia. At 13, she gets a record deal with Sony Music – the first step on her path to becoming a worldwide superstar. More

January 20, 1977 Jimmy Buffett releases his seventh studio album, Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes, which features his signature song "Margaritaville." Peaking at #8, the tropical-themed track remains his highest entry on the Billboard Hot 100.More

December 5, 1976 Two days after he is shot in an assassination attempt, Bob Marley performs at the Smile Jamaica concert, which he organized in an effort to promote peace in the country. The concert becomes more of a political event after the shooting, which was carried out by a political party who saw Marley as a threat. About 80,000 Jamaicans attend the concert, where Marley takes the stage for 90 minutes.

November 24, 1976 The Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter and Tompall Glaser collaboration Wanted! The Outlaws becomes the first country album certified Platinum.More

October 22, 1976 Bob Seger releases Night Moves, his first studio album to make an impact outside of Michigan.More

August 29, 1976 The British music magazine Sounds publishes letters responding to Eric Clapton's racist rant at his Birmingham concert earlier in the month. "Own up, half your music is black," one of them states. "You are rock music's biggest colonist." This particular missive includes a call to action with an address to join Rock Against Racism, "A rank and file movement against the racist poison in rock music." Rock Against Racism soon becomes a viable movement, holding a series of concerts and festivals in support of tolerance.More

June 4, 1976 Country singer Kasey Chambers is born in Mount Gambier, South Australia, Australia.

November 30, 1975 Country singer Mindy McCready is born in Fort Myers, Florida.

November 16, 1975 The variety show Donny & Marie, starring Donny and Marie Osmond, debuts on ABC. Their theme song is "May Tomorrow Be A Perfect Day," but the show becomes synonymous with a different tune: "A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock N' Roll." More

September 27, 1975 John Denver's "I'm Sorry" hits #1, giving him his second chart-topper of the year, following "Thank God I'm A Country Boy."

July 19, 1975 Country singer Lefty Frizzell dies at age 47 after years of alcohol abuse.

June 7, 1975 John Denver scores his third US #1 hit with "Thank God I'm A Country Boy."

May 21, 1975 After a show in Knoxville, Tennessee, Alice Cooper leaves one of his stage props, a 13-foot boa constrictor, in the hotel bathroom, where it escapes down the toilet. The snake shows up two weeks later in a room occupied by country singer Charley Pride; Cooper learns to put the lid down.

May 13, 1975 Country singer-songwriter Bob Wills, known for the hit "Faded Love" (popularly covered by Patsy Cline in 1963), dies of pneumonia in Fort Worth, Texas, at age 70.

April 29, 1975 Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" marks the end of the Vietnam War as the American Radio Service plays the tune during the Fall of Saigon - a signal for American personnel to evacuate. Many songs were written in reaction to the war, which ramped up in the late '60s. A few songs, notably "Still in Saigon" by The Charlie Daniels Band and "Born In The U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen, explore the plight of veterans on their return home.More

March 12, 1975 George Jones and Tammy Wynette's divorce is finalized, ending a six-year marriage between the couple known as "Mr. and Mrs. Country Music." They keep working together, and a year later release "Golden Ring," #1 Country hit about a wedding ring that follows a couple through love, marriage, and divorce.

January 2, 1975 Suzi Quatro lands the cover of Rolling Stone magazine with the headline, "Suzi Quatro flexes her leather." With a string of UK hits under her cowhide, she's ready to conquer her home country (born and raised in Michigan), but fails to break through. The magazine does get the attention of Happy Days producers, who cast her on the show as Leather Tuscadero.