Dates of Note in Country Music, June 16-30

Category: News

Hall of Fame members in bold

June 16:

Billy "Crash" Craddock born in Greensboro, North Carolina, 1946 (now 63)
Bob Nolan of the Sons of the Pioneers died (heart attack), 1980 (was 72)

June 17:

Clyde "Red" Foley born in Blue Lick, Kentucky, 1910 (died 1968)
Dave Akeman (Stringbean) born in Annville, Kentucky, 1916 (died 1973)
Minnie Pearl suffered a stroke that ended her career, 1991
Ground breaking ceremonies held for the new Country Music Hall of Fame, 1999. Your blogger was a member of the "All-Guitar Marching Band," fronted by Chet Atkins, that led the Hall of Fame members to the grounds.

June 18:

Sir Paul McCartney born in Liverpool, England, 1942 (now 67). The legendary Beatle hit the country chart in 1974 with "Sally G." He was also introduced to a Friday Night Opry audience in 1974 by Roy Acuff, where McCartney proclaimed Nashville the "music capital of the universe."
Marty Haggard born in Bakersfield, California, 1958 (now 51)
Blake Shelton born in Ada, Oklahoma, 1976 (now 33)
Zeke Turner born in Lynchburg, Virginia, 1923 (died 2003)
Henry Maddox of the Maddox Brothers & Rose died (heart disease), 1974 (was 46)
A.P. Carter married Sara Dougherty, 1915

June 19:

Doug Stone born in Marietta, Georgia, 1956 (now 53)
Howard Dixon of the Dixon Brothers born in Darlington, South Carolina, 1903 (died 1951)
Lester Flatt born in Sparta, Tennessee, 1914 (died 1979)
Pat Buttram born in Addison, Alabama, 1915 (died 1994)
Bobby Helms died (emphysema), 1997 (was 63)

June 20:

Anne Murray born in Springhill, Nova Scotia, 1945 (now 64)
Evelyn Mae Cox of the Cox Family born in Springhill, Louisiana, 1959 (now 50)
Jimmie Driftwood born in Mountain View, Arkansas, 1907 (died 1998)
T. Texas Tyler born in Mena, Arkansas, 1916 (died 1972)
Chet Atkins born in Luttrell, Tennessee, 1924 (died 2001)
Ira Louvin died (car wreck), 1965 (was 41)
Whitey Ford, the "Duke of Paducah," died (cancer), 1986 (was 85)

June 21:

Charlie Lamb born in Knoxville, Tennessee, 1921 (now 88)
Eddie Adcock born in Scottsville, Virginia, 1938 (now 71)
Leon Everette born in Aiken, South Carolina, 1948 (now 61)
Kathy Mattea born in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, 1959 (now 50)
Porter Howell of Little Texas born in Longview, Texas, 1964 (now 45)

June 22:

Peter Asher born in Williesden, Middlesex, England, 1944 (now 65). The former half of the pop duo Peter and Gordon was the producer of most of Linda Ronstadt's crossover hits.
Kris Kristofferson born in Brownsville, Texas, 1936 (now 72)
Ralph S. Peer born in Independence, Missouri, 1892 (died 1960)
Roy Drusky born in Atlanta, Georgia, 1930 (died 2004)
Elton Britt died (heart attack), 1972 (was 58)

June 23:

Zeb Turner born in Lynchburg, Virginia, 1915 (died 1978)
June Carter Cash born in Maces Springs, Virginia, 1929 (died 2003)

June 24:

Johnnie Bailes of the Bailes Brothers born in Kanawha County, West Virginia, 1918 (died 1989)
Foy Willing of Riders of the Purple Sage died (heart attack), 1978 (was 63)

June 25:

Jenifer Strait, daughter of George Strait, died (car wreck), 1986 (was 13)
Boudleaux Bryant died (cancer), 1987 (was 67)
Lew DeWitt retires from the Statler Brothers because of health issues, 1982
Billboard magazine renames the "Hillbilly" music chart the "Country and Western" chart, 1949

June 26:

Doc Williams born in Cleveland, Ohio, 1914 (now 95)
Kenny Baker born in Jenkins, Kentucky, 1926 (now 83)
Gretchen Wilson born in Granite City, Illinois, 1973 (now 36)
Colonel Tom Parker born in Breda, Netherlands, 1909 (died 1997). Before Elvis, Colonel Tom managed Hank Snow, Eddy Arnold, and Minnie Pearl.
Vernon Presley died (heart failure), 1979 (was 63)
Elvis Presley's final concert, at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, 1977

June 27:

Lorrie Morgan born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1959 (now 50)
Elton Britt born in Marshall, Arkansas, 1913 (died 1972)
Rosalie Allen born in Old Forge, Pennsylavania, 1924 (died 2003)
Little Roy Wiggins born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1926 (died 1999)
Joe Maphis died (lung cancer), 1986 (was 65)
Bob Keeshan born in Lynbrook, New York, 1927 (died 2004). The Statler Brothers referenced Keeshan's best-known character in their hit "Flowers on the Wall:" "Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo."

June 28:

George Morgan born in Waverly, Tennessee, 1924 (died 1975)
The WWVA Wheeling Jamboree began, 1940

June 29:

T. Tommy Cutrer born in Osyka, Mississippi, 1924 (died 1998)
Frank Loesser born in New York City, 1910 (died 1969). The legendary pop songwriter was the first "victim" of a Homer & Jethro parody in 1949, "Baby, It's Cold Outside." After Homer & Jethro recorded seven more parodies of Loesser compositions for an EP (Homer & Jethro Fracture Frank Loesser), Loesser, a fan of the pair, wrote the liner notes.
Rosemary Clooney died (lung cancer), 2002 (was 74)

June 30:

Dwayne O'Brien of Little Texas born in Ada, Oklahoma, 1963 (now 46)
Doyle Holly born in Perkins, Oklahoma, 1936 (died 2007)
R.W. Blackwood of the Blackwood Brothers Quartet died (plane crash), 1954 (was 33)
Bill Lyles of the Blackwood Brothers Quartet died (plane crash), 1954 (age unknown)
Chet Atkins died (brain cancer), 2001 (was 77)