Dates of Note in Country Music, December 1-15

Category: Almanac

(Hall of Fame members in bold on birth/death date, followed by hall[s] of fame in which they are enshrined and the year enshrined.  CM=Country Music; BG=Bluegrass; DJ=Country Disc Jockey; NS=Nashville Songwriter; SG=Southern Gospel; StG=Steel Guitar; WS=Western Swing; GLA=Grammy Lifetime Achievement recipient; RR=country performer also in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)

December 1:

Darryl Ellis born in Norfolk, Virginia, 1964 (now 58)

Silm Willet born in Dublin, Texas, 1919 (died 1966)

Jim Nesbitt born in Bishopville, South Carolina, 1931 (died 2007)

Fred Rose (CM 61, NS 70) died in Nashville, Tennessee (heart failure), 1954 (was 57)

Carter Stanley (BG 92) died in Bristol, Tennessee (cirrhosis of the liver), 1966 (was 41)

December 2:

John Wesley Ryles born in Bastrop, Louisiana, 1950 (now 72)

Herman Crook born in Scottsboro, Tennessee, 1898 (died 1988)

Marvin Hughes died in Nashville, Tennessee (unknown cause), 1986 (was 75)
Mark Gray died in Lebanon, Tennessee (unknown cause), 2016 (was 64) 

"Tennessee Waltz" recorded by Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart, 1947

December 3:

Paul Gregg of Restless Heart born in New York, New York, 1954 (now 68)

Ferlin Husky (CM 10) born in Flat River, Missouri, 1927 (died 2011)

Rabon Delmore (CM 01, NS 71) born in Dothan, Alabama, 1916 (died 1952)

Hubert Long (CM 79) born in Poteet, Texas, 1923 (died 1972)

Lew Childre died in Foley, Albama (various health issues), 1961 (was 60)

Grady Martin died (heart attack), 2001 (was 72)

Homer Bailes of the Bailes Brothers died in Ruston, Louisiana (natural causes), 2013 (was 91)

Bob Wills recorded "What Makes Bob Holler," 1973.  He suffered a stroke during the night after the recording session and never spoke or sang again.

December 4:

Chris Hillman born in Los Angeles, California, 1944 (now 78)

Rabon Delmore (CM 01, NS 71) died in Athens, Alabama (lung cancer), 1952 (was 36)

Connie B. Gay (CM 80) died in Fairfax, Virginia (cancer), 1989 (was 75)

Bob Montgomery died in Lee's Summit, Missouri (Parkinson's disease), 2014 (was 77)

Stonewall Jackson died in Nashville, Tennessee (vascular dementia), 2021 (was 89)

Eddy Arnold's first record session as a solo artist, 1944

Sun Records' "Million Dollar Quartet" of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis record together, 1956

Connie B. Gay elected inaugural president of the Country Music Association, 1958

December 5:

Jim Messina of Poco born in Harlingen, Texas, 1947 (now 75)

Ty England born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1963 (now 59)

Ray Whitley (NS 81) born in Atlanta, Georgia, 1901 (died 1979)

Eddie Alkire (Steel Guitar 83) born in Hacker, West Virginia, 1907 (died 1981)

Michael "Bea" Lilly (BG 02) born in Clear Creek, West Virginia, 1921 (died 2005)

Don Robertson (NS 72) born in Peking, China, 1922 (died 2015)

Molly O'Day died in Huntington, West Virginia (cancer), 1987 (was 64)

Wilf Carter (Montana Slim) (NS 71) died in Scottsdale, Arizona (stomach cancer), 1996 (was 91)

The soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou released, 2000

December 6:

Helen Cornelius born in Hannibal, Missouri, 1941 (now 81)

Bill Lloyd of Foster & Lloyd born in Ft. Hood, Texas, 1955 (now 67)

Hugh Farr (CM 80) born in Llano, Texas, 1903 (died 1980)

Eddie Alkire (StG 83) born in Hacker Valley, West Virginia, 1907 (died 1981)

Jim Eanes born in Mountain Valley, Virginia, 1923 (died 1995)

Huddie "Lead Belly" Leadbetter (NS 80) died in New York, New York (Lou Gehrig's Disease), 1949 (was 60)

Roy Orbison (NS 87) died in Hendersonville, Tennessee (heart attack), 1989 (was 52)

Peter Cooper died in Nashville, Tennessee (head injuries suffered in a fall), 2022 (was 52)

December 7:

Bobby Osborne (BG 94) born in Hyden, Kentucky, 1931 (now 91)

Gary Morris born in Fort Worth, Texas, 1948 (now 74)

Ronnie Sessions born in Henrietta, Oklahoma, 1948 (now 74)

Slim Bryant born in Atlanta, Georgia, 1908 (died 2010)

Don Maddox born in Boaz, Alabama, 1923 (died 2021)

Hugh X. Lewis born in Yeaddiss, Kentucky, 1932 (died 2020)

Darrell Glenn born in Waco, Texas, 1935 (died 1990)

Dawn Sears born in East Grand Forks, Minnesota, 1961 (died 2014)

Bill Boyd died in Dallas, Texas (unknown cause), 1977 (was 67)

December 8:

Marty Raybon born in Stanford, Florida, 1959 (now 62)

Jack Stapp (CM 89) born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1912 (died 1980)

Floyd Tillman (CM 83, NS 70) born in Ryan, Oklahoma, 1914 (died 2003)

Marty Robbins (CM 82, NS 75) died in Nashville, Tennessee (heart attack), 1982 (was 57)

Bonnie Lou (Mary Joan Kath) died in Cincinnati, Ohio (natural causes), 2015 (was 91)

December 9:

Billy Edd Wheeler (NS 00) born in Whitesville, Virginia, 1932 (now 90)

David Kersh born in Humble, Texas, 1970 (now 52)

David Houston born in Bossier City, Louisiana, 1938 (died 1993)

Tommy Jackson died in Nashville, Tennessee (unknown cause), 1979 (was 53)

December 10:

Johnny Rodriguez born in Sabinal, Texas, 1951 (now 71)

Eddie Miller (NS 75) born in Camargo, Oklahoma, 1919 (died 1977)

Roy Ayers (StG 07) born in Columbus, Mississippi, 1929 (died 2012)
Jimmy Riddle died in Nashville, Tennessee (cancer), 1982 (was 64)

John Duffey (BG 96, BG 14) died (heart attack), 1996 (was 62)

Faron Young (CM 00) died in Nashville, Tennessee (suicide [gunshot]), 1996 (was 64)
Leon Rhodes died in Nashville, Tennessee (long illness), 2017 (was 85)

Michael Nesmith died in Carmel Valley, California (heart failure), 2021 (was 78) 

Before the evening's WSM Barn Dance began, announcer George D. Hay commented, "For the past hour, you've been listening to selections taken from grand opera. Now we present Grand Ole Opry," 1927.

December 11:

Brenda Lee (CM 97, RR 02; GLA 09) born in Atlanta, Georgia, 1944 (now 78)

Charles Whitstein born in Colfax, Louisiana, 1945 (now 77)

Arthur Q. Smith (ne James Arthur Pritchett) born in Griffin, Georgia, 1909 (died 1963)

Cousin Jody (ne James Summey) born in Sevierville, Tennessee, 1914 (died 1975)

Tom Brumley (StG 92) born in Stella, Missouri, 1935 (died 2009)

Fiddlin' John Carson died in Atlanta, Georgia (natural causes), 1949 (was 81)

Dawn Sears died in Nashville, Tennessee (lung cancer), 2014 (was 53)
Jack Scott died in Warren, Michigan (congestive heart failure), 2019 (was 83)

Commercial plane with Tex Ritter aboard as a passenger hijacked to Cuba, 1968

December 12:

LaCosta Tucker born in Seminole, Texas, 1951 (now 71)

Shelton Hank Williams (Hank III) born in Houston, Texas, 1972 (now 50)

Maurice Anderson (StG 06) born in Dallas, Texas, 1934 (died 2013)

Clifton Chenier died in Lafayette, Louisiana (kidney disease related to diabetes), 1987 (was 62)

Charley Pride (CM 00, GLA 20) died in Dallas, Texas (COVID-19), 2020 (was 86)

December 13:

Buck White born in Oklahoma, 1930 (now 92)

Randy Owen of Alabama (CM 05) born in Fort Payne, Alabama, 1949 (now 73)

John Anderson (NS 14) born in Orlando, Florida, 1954 (now 68)

Wesley Tuttle born in Lamar, Colorado, 1917 (died 2003)

Wayne Walker (NS 75) born in Quapaw, Oklahoma, 1925 (died 1979)

Millie Kirkham of the Anita Kerr Singers died in Nashville, Tennessee (complications of a stroke), 2015 (was 91)

Lulu Belle and Scotty Wiseman wed, 1934

December 14:

DeFord Bailey (CM 05) born in Smith County, Tennessee, 1899 (died 1982)

Walter Haynes (StG 03) born in Kingsport, Tennessee, 1928 (died 2009)

Charlie Rich born in Forest City, Arkansas, 1932 (died 1995)

Billie Jo Spears died in Vidor, Texas (cancer), 2011 (was 73)

December 15:

Doug Phelps of Kentucky Headhunters born in Leachville, Arkansas, 1960 (now 62)

Alvin Pleasant Carter (CM 70, NS 70, BG 01; GLA 05) born in Maces Spring, Virginia, 1891 (died 1960)

Jerry Wallace born in Guilford, Missouri, 1928 (died 2008)

Ernie Ashworth born in Huntsville, Alabama, 1928 (died 2009)

Nudie Cohn (ne Nuta Kotlyarenko) born in Kiev, Ukraine, 1902 (died 1984)
William Eugene "Red" Rector born in Marshall, North Carolina, 1929 (died 1990)
Jerry Chesnut (NS 92) died in Nashville, Tennessee (natural causes), 2018 (was 87)

Hank Williams married Audrey Guy, 1944