Waylon Jennings not only wrote and sang the theme song "Good Ol' Boys" but also provided narration for the show and even played himself in one episode.

During a flight to Hollywood, the producers of the movie Honeysuckle Rose approached Willie about writing a song for the movie, in which he played a country singer juggling his music career with his reponsibilities to his wife and son. About 45 minutes later, Nelson had finished the lyrics ... on one of the airline's barf bags.

"The Thunder Rolls" was originally recorded by Tanya Tucker, but she didn't release the song until it appeared on her self-titled 1995 box set. Her version included a fourth verse which Brooks himself intended to use on his version but cut at the suggestion of producer Allen Reynolds.

As a duo, Lynn and Twitty had five consecutive No. 1 hits between 1971 and 1975, including "After the Fire Is Gone" (1971), "Lead Me On" (1971), "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man" (1973), "As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone" (1974), and "Feelins'" (1974).

The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Monroe characterized the genre as: "Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin'. It's Methodist and Holiness and Baptist. It's blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound."

Eager to kick-start his career, Kristofferson borrowed a helicopter from one of his odd jobs, landed on Johnny Cash's lawn and hand-delivered his demo to the Man in Black himself. One of the songs on that demo, "Sunday Morning Coming Down," became a massive hit for Cash and won Kristofferson Songwriter of the Year honors at the CMAs.

Jimmy Dean rose to fame for his 1961 country music crossover hit "Big Bad John", but today he is perhaps better known for the Jimmy Dean Sausage Company that he founded with his brother Don in 1969. The company did well in part because of Dean's own extemporized, humorous commercials.

Little Jimmy Dickens was known for his diminutive stature and his rhinestone-studded outfits, which he is given credit for introducing into live country music performances. He first performed at the Grand Old Opry in 1948 and remained a fixture on the Opry stage for the next 70 years, making his last performance just days before his death at the age of 95.

Inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, with the major difference being that Hee Haw was centered on rural rather than pop culture, the show was equally well known for its corn pone humor as for its voluptuous, scantily clad women (called the Hee Haw Honeys) in stereotypical farmer's daughter outfits.

Originally, "The Dance" had a very different set of lyrics. Writer Tony Arata says those were lost in a move and never recovered. The version fans know today was inspired by the movie Peggy Sue Got Married.