♫Concerts to Picnics & Beyond♫

4th of July celebration continues...musically! While in the midst of celebrating America's independence, take a few moments to look at some of the 4th of July special performances through the years.

This Day in Country Music History: July 4

 1970 The Statler Brothers host the first "Happy Birthday U.S.A." concert in Staunton, Virginia, beginning a 25-year tradition.

1973 Willie Nelson holds his first Fourth of July Picnic in Dripping Springs, Texas.The lineup included Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, John Prine, Doug Sahm and Tom T. Hall.

1976 Johnny Cash celebrates the Bicentennial by ringing a replica of the Liberty Bell 200 times in Washington, D.C. Also participating in the event are Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. 

1985 Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic in Austin featured the first live assembly of the Highwaymen: Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. Also appearing was, Neil Young, Hank Snow and June Carter Cash.

 1986 Lee Greenwood performs "God Bless The U.S.A." in the New York Harbor as the Queen Elizabeth II arrives from England to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty.

 2006 Johnny Cash released American V - A Hundred Highways his 93rd overall album and a posthumous album by Johnny Cash. As the title implies, it is the fifth entry in Cash's American series. Like its predecessors, American V: A Hundred Highways was produced by Rick Rubin and released on Rubin's American Recordings record.

 

2010 Toby Keith performs "God Love Her," "How Do You Like Me Now?!" and "American Soldier" from the Charles River Esplanade in Boston on the CBS special "Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular."  

2012 Brad Paisley performs a USO show for the military, and for president Barack Obama, on the south lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., closing his set with "Welcome To The Future."

And the music goes on beating to the rhythm of country time...