Pail Leim 

From the mid-1980s through the 2010s, Troup native Paul Leim was an in-demand drummer in the music business.

 He played on albums and toured with Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, Amy Grant and Whitney Houston.

 On this date in 2003, he was a finalist for Percussionist of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards.  

 Joe Nichols, who would later move to Tyler, won Top New Male Vocalist and Jacksonville native Lee Ann Womack was a nominee for Top Female Vocalist at the same CMA Awards.   

 In the Spotlight

— At the 2017 Billboard Music Awards:

• Grand Saline native Chris Tomlin is a nominee for Top Christian Artist
• Hillary Scott & The Family,  which include Panola County native Linda Davis, is a nominee for Top Christian Song (“Thy Will”) and Top Christian Album (“Love Remains”).

— 2008: ZZ Top, with Frankston native Frank Beard on drums, performs on “American Idol.” 

— 2004: Anna Nicole Smith, who grew up in Mexia, is a guest on “The Sharon Osbourne Show.”

— 1999: Ellen DeGeneres, who spent her high school years in Atlanta, stars in “The Love Letter” with Kate Capshaw and Blythe Danner.

— 1998: Longview native Forest Whitaker is a guest on “Charlie Rose.”

— 1997: At the Daytime Emmy Awards, Brad Maule, a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, is a nominee for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (“General Hospital”).

— 1996: Whitewright native Julie Johnson voices Baby Bop in the video “Barney’s Fun & Games.”

— 1990: K.T. Oslin, who attended Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, appears on the TV special “Night of 100 Stars III.”

— 1987: Paris native Beverly Leech begins a recurring role on “The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd.”

— 1966: Panola County native Jim Reeves’s “Distant Drums” is the No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. 

— 1957: Honey Grove native Bill Erwin appears in an episode of “Panic!”

— 1953: Corsicana native Mary Brian has a guest role on TV’s “Your Favorite Story.”

— 1953: Honey Grove native Bill Erwin appears in an episode of “Stars Over Hollywood.”

— 1941: Wills Point native Lee “Lasses” White appears in “Scattergood Pulls the Strings.”

— 1921: Greenville native Ben Hill appears in the silent film “On the High Card.”