It was 45 years ago this week that the country music world was in mourning because of the deaths of four Grand Ole Opry artists.

Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas died in a single-engine plane crash in western Tennessee on March 5, 1963.

Two days later, Opry member Jack Anglin, half of the duo of Johnny & Jack, died in a single-car crash on the way to a memorial service for Cline.

Another Opry performer, Texas Ruby (Ruby Agnes Owens), died March 29 that year in a house trailer fire in a Nashville, Tenn., suburb.

Other March milestones in country music:

MARCH 7-8, 1924: Blind guitarist Riley Puckett and his partner, Gid Tanner, record the first country music album, in New York City for Columbia Records. The duo had been singing for two years on WSB radio in Atlanta.

MARCH 3, 1950: Gene Autry performs two shows at Bell Auditorium, with his horses Champion and Little Champ and a cast of 40 entertainers. He piloted his twin-engine plane to Augusta the day of the show, landing at Daniel Field.

MARCH 20, 1956: Elvis Presley performs at Bell Auditorium with June Carter; her mother, Maybelle; her sisters, Anita and Helen; Hal & Ginger; and Opry comedian Rod Brasfield.

MARCH 24, 1958: Presley is sworn into the Army. He serves two years, driving a tank in Germany.

MARCH 29, 1960: One of the famous country dives in the world, Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, opens in downtown Nashville.

MARCH 1, 1968: Johnny Cash marries June Carter.

MARCH 1, 1972: California Gov. Ronald Reagan issues a pardon for Merle Haggard, who had served time in San Quentin for breaking and entering.

MARCH 16, 1974: Opry legend Roy Acuff gives President Nixon yo-yo lessons on stage during the opening of the new Grand Ole Opry House on Briley Parkway.

MARCH 13, 1975: George Jones and Tammy Wynette divorce.

MARCH 16, 1991: One of Reba McEntire's private jets crashes after takeoff in San Diego, killing eight members of her band and road show. She and her husband, Narvel Blackstock, are spared by taking a separate plane.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS THIS MONTH: Doc Watson, 80, March 2; Mickey Gilley, 72, March 9; Ralph Emery, 75, March 10; Jan Howard, 76, March 13; Carl Smith, 81, March 15; Charley Pride, 70, March 18; Jerry Reed, 71, March 20; and Reba McEntire, 53, March 28.

Don Rhodes has written about country music for 37 years. He can be reached at (706) 823-3214 or at don.rhodes@morris.com.