Country music artist Lee Ann Womack, who graduated from Jacksonville High School in 1984, speaks during a Jacksonville ISD "Evening With Our Stars" event.  

The Academy of Country Music Awards on this date 1998 was a big night for Lee Ann Womack.

 The Jacksonville native was named Top New Female Vocalist and her first hit, “The Fool,” was a finalist for Song of the Year. 

The awards followed the release of her self-titled debut album.

On this date in 2011, Womack performed on the TV special “John Denver Rocky Mountain High: An Earth Day Concert” and on this date in 2015 she was featured on the TV special “Country: Portraits of an American Sound.”

In the Spotlight

— 2017: Lindale native Miranda Lambert’s “Tin Man” peaks at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

— 2017: “Close Ties” by Rodney Crowell, who attended Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, peaks at No. 28 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.

— 2017: MercyMe, a vocal group once based in Greenville, has the No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart with “Even If” and the No. 1 album on the Top Christian Album charts with “Lifer.”

— 2003: Marshall native George Foreman appears on “ESPN SportsCentury.”

— 2001: Marshall native George Foreman is a ringside commentator on “HBO Boxing.”

— 1999: Journalist Bill Moyers, who grew up in Marshall, begins hosting his “Bill Moyers’ Journal” TV specials on PBS.

— 1998: Paris native Beverly Leech has a guest role on “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza.”

— 1995: Marshall native George Foreman defeats Axel Schulz to retain the world heavyweight boxing title.

— 1988: Richard Bradford, who was born in Tyler, is seen in “Permanent Record.”

— 1977: “Looks Like We Made It,” a song with lyrics by Will Jennings, who grew up in Tyler, is released and becomes a No. 1 hit for Barry Manilow.”

— 1974: Tyler native Sandy Duncan is a celebrity panelist on “Hollywood Squares.”

— 1969: At the Tony Awards, Tyler native Sandy Duncan is a nominee for Featured Actress in a Musical for her role in “Canterbury Tales.” 

— 1968: Mount Vernon native Don Meredith begins a week’s stint on “The Match Game.”

— 1944: “So Long Pal” by Jacksonville native Al Dexter hits No. 1 on the Most Played Juke Box Folk Records chart.

— 1940: Panola County native Tex Ritter stars in “Pals of the Silver Stage.”

— 1930: Corsicana native Mary Brian appears in the film “Paramount on Parade.”