Dates of Note in Country Music, September 16-30

Category: News
(Hall of Fame members in bold)

September 16:

Ralph Mooney born in Duncan, Oklahoma, 1928 (now 80)
David Bellamy of the Bellamy Brothers born in Darby, Florida, 1950 (now 58)
Sheb Wooley died (leukemia), 2003 (was 82)

September 17:

Hank Williams born in Mount Olive, Alabama, 1923 (died 1953)
John Ritter, son of Tex Ritter, born in Burbank, California, 1948 (died 2003)
Steve Sanders (William Lee Golden's one-time replacement in the Oak Ridge Boys) born in Richland, Georgia, 1952 (died 1998)
Bill Black born in Memphis, Tennessee, 1926 (died 1965)
RCA's 33 1/3 RPM "long-playing" (LP) record born, 1931

September 18:

Priscilla Mitchell born in Marietta, Georgia, 1941 (now 67)
Carl Jackson born in Louisville, Mississippi, 1953 (now 55)
Ervin T. Rouse born in Craven County, North Carolina, 1917 (died 1981)

September 19:

Trisha Yearwood born in Monticello, Georgia, 1964 (now 44)
Clyde Moody born in Cherokee, North Carolina, 1915 (died 1989)
Red Foley died (heart attack), 1968 (was 58)
Gram Parsons died (drug overdose), 1973 (was 26)
Skeeter Davis died (cancer), 2004 (was 72)
Slim Dusty ("Australian king of country music") died (cancer), 2003 (was 76)

September 20:

Pearl Butler born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1927 (died 1988)
Karl Farr died (heart attack), 1961 (was 52)
Steve Goodman died (post-bone marrow transplant kidney failure), 1984 (was 36). The folk singer/songwriter was posthumously awarded a Grammy for "Best Country Song" for Willie Nelson's version of "City of New Orleans."

September 21:

Faith Hill born in Jackson, Mississippi, 1967 (now 41)
Dickey Lee born in Memphis, Tennessee, 1936 (now 72)
Ronna Reeves born in Big Spring, Texas, 1966 (now 42)
Kenny Starr born in Topeka, Kansas, 1952 (now 56)
Don Felder, former guitarist/steel guitarist for the Eagles, born in Gainesville, Florida, 1947 (now 61)
Ted Daffan born in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, 1912 (died 1996)
Walter Brennan died (emphysema), 1974 (was 80). Among the actor's charted hits were "Old Rivers" and a version of Bill Anderson's "Mama Sang a Song."


September 22:

Debby Boone born in Hackensack, New Jersey, 1956 (now 51). The "You Light Up My Life" singer is Red Foley's granddaughter.

September 23:

Roy Drusky died (emphysema), 2004 (was 74)
Bradley Kincaid died (natural causes), 1989 (was 94)
O.B. McClinton died (cancer), 1987 (was 45)
Jimmy Wakely died (emphysema), 1982 (was 68)

September 24:

Rosalie Allen died (congestive heart failure), 2003 (was 79)

September 25:

Larry Sparks born in Lebanon, Ohio, 1947 (now 61)
Royce Kendall born in St. Louis, Missouri, 1934 (died 1998)

September 26:

David Frizzell born in El Dorado, Arkansas, 1941 (now 67)
Lynn Anderson born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, 1947 (now 61)
Carlene Carter born in Madison, Tennessee, 1955 (now 53)
Doug Supernaw born in Bryan, Texas, 1960 (now 48)
Marty Robbins born in Glendale, Arizona, 1925 (died 1982)

September 27:

Uncle Josh Graves born in Tellico Plains, Tennessee, 1928 (died 2006)
Charlie Monroe died (cancer), 1975 (was 72)

September 28:

Johnny Mathis born in Maud, Texas, 1933 (now 65). Because of the rise of a pop singer by the same name, Mathis became known as "Country Johnny Mathis."
Ronnie Reno born in Buffalo, South Carolina, 1947 (now 61)
Laurie Lewis born in Long Beach, California, 1950 (now 58)
Mandy Barnett born in Crossville, Tennessee, 1975 (now 33)
Jerry Clower born in Liberty, Mississippi, 1926 (died 1998)
Tommy Collins born in Bethany, Oklahoma, 1930 (died 2000)
Joseph Falcon born in Rayne, Louisiana, 1900 (died 1965). Falcon is credited with the first Cajun recording, "Allons a Lafayette," in 1928.
Jim Boyd (of Bill Boyd and the Cowboy Ramblers) born in Fannin County, Texas, 1914 (died 1993)
Johnny Horton married Billie Jean Williams (widow of Hank Williams), 1953

September 29:

Jerry Lee Lewis born in Ferriday, Louisiana, 1935 (now 73)
Gene Autry born in Tioga Springs, Texas, 1907 (died 1998)
Bill Boyd born in Fannin County, Texas, 1910 (died 1977)
Tillman Franks born in Stamps, Arkansas, 1920 (died 2006)
Wesley Tuttle died (natural causes), 2003 (was 85)
Mickey Newbury died (lung disease), 2002 (was 62)

September 30:

Richard Bowden born in Linden, Texas, 1945 (now 63)
Deborah Allen born in Memphis, Tennessee, 1953 (now 55)
Marty Stuart born in Philadelphia, Mississippi, 1958 (now 50)
Mary Ford died (diabetes complications), 1977 (was 53)
Billboard magazine changed the name of the "Hillbilly and Western" chart to the "Country and Western" chart, 1950. Ernest Tubb is considered by many to be one of the people responsible for this, as he claimed that "hillbilly" was a derogatory term.