Dates of Note in Country Music, August 1-15

Category: News

(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; NS=Nashville Songwriter; SG=Southern Gospel; StG=Steel Guitar; RR=country performer also inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)

August 1:

Leon Chappelear born in Tyler, Texas, 1909 (died 1962)
Howard "Howdy" Forrester of the Smoky Mountain Boys died in Nashville, Tennessee (unknown cause), 1987 (was 65)

The AFM called a strike against record companies, 1942. The strike, combined with the shortage of shellac because of World War II, severely limited the record companies' output for two years.

August 2:

Hank Cochran (CM 14, NS 74) born in Isola, Mississippi, 1935 (died 2010)
Ted Harris (NS 90) born in Lakeland, Florida, 1937 (died 2015)

Betty Jack Davis died in Cincinnati, Ohio (car wreck), 1953 (was 21)

Joe Allison (NS 78) died in Nashville, Tennessee (illness), 2002 (was 77)

Redd Stewart (NS 70) died in Louisville, Kentucky (complications from a head injury), 2003 (was 82)
LTJG John F. Kennedy’s PT boat rammed and sunk near Kolombangar, Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, 1943.  The six-day ordeal of the future president and his crew was recounted in Jimmy Dean’s hit “PT 109.”
The wreckage of Jim Reeves' plane discovered, 1964. The two-day search of wooded areas in and around Nashville for the plane included many country music performers. Eddy Arnold was among those in the party that found and identified Reeves' body.

August 3:

Dean Sams of Lonestar born in Garland, Texas, 1966 (now 53)
Dorothy Dillard of the Anita Kerr Singers born in Springfield, Missouri, 1923 (died 2015)
Gordon Stoker of the Jordanaires (CM 01) born in Gleason, Tennessee, 1924 (died 2013)
Randy Scruggs born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1953 (died 2018)

Little Roy Wiggins (StG 85) died in Sevierville, Tennessee (heart disease and diabetes complications), 1999 (was 73)

August 4:

Bear Family Records founder Richard Weize born in Bad Gandersheim, Germany, 1945 (now 75)
Vicki Hackerman of Dave & Sugar born in Louisville, Kentucky, 1950 (now 70)

Craig Wiseman (NS 15) born in Selma, Alabama, 1963 (now 57)

Louis Armstrong born in New Orleans, 1901 (died 1971). The legendary jazz trumpet player and singer recorded with Jimmie Rodgers.

Carson J. Robison (NS 71) born in Oswego, Kansas, 1890 (died 1957)

James Blackwood of the Blackwood Brothers (SG 97) born in Ackerman, Mississippi, 1919 (died 2002)
Scotty Stoneman born in Galax, Virginia, 1932 (died 1973)
Fiddlin' Doc Roberts died in Richmond, Kentucky (unknown cause), 1978 (was 81)

Kenny Price died in Nashville, Tennessee (heart attack), 1987 (was 56)
Billy Sherrill (CM 10, NS 84) died in Nashville, Tennessee (short illness), 2015 (was 78)
Lorrie Collins of the Collins Kids died in Reno, Nevada (illness), 2018 (was 76)

August 5:

Bobby Braddock (CM 11, NS 81) born in Lakeland, Florida, 1940 (now 80)

Terri Clark born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1968 (now 52)

Allan Spinney of the Spinney Brothers born in Hamilton, Ontario, 1965 (now 55)

Rick Spinney of the Spinney Brothers born in Hamilton, Ontario, 1966 (now 54)

Hal Durham born in McMinnville, Tennessee, 1931 (died 2009)
Vern "The Voice" Gosdin born in Woodland, Alabama, 1934 (died 2009)

Sammi Smith born in Orange, California, 1943 (died 2005)
Tim Wilson born in Columbus, Georgia, 1961 (died 2014)

Luther Perkins died in Nashville, Tennessee (injuries from a house fire), 1968 (was 40)

August 6:

Billy Robinson (StG 96) born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1931 (now 89)
Patsy and Peggy Lynn born in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, 1964 (now 56)

Lisa Stewart born in Louisville, Mississippi, 1968 (now 52)

Old Joe Clark (Manuel Clark), longtime Renfro Valley performer, born in Erwin, Tennessee, 1922 (died 1998)
Billy Bowman (StG 89) died in Columbia, South Carolina (cancer), 1989 (was 60)

Colleen Carroll Brooks died in Yukon, Oklahoma (throat cancer), 1999 (was 70). The former Ozark Mountain Jubilee singer was the mother of Garth Brooks.
Marshall Grant died in Jonesboro, Arkansas (brain aneurysm), 2011 (was 83)

August 7:

B.J. Thomas born in Hugo, Oklahoma, 1942 (now 78)

Rodney Crowell (NS 03) born in Houston, Texas, 1950 (now 70)

Raul Malo of the Mavericks born in Miami, Florida, 1965 (now 55)

Felice Bryant (CM 91, NS 72) born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1925 (died 2003)

Henry "Homer" Haynes (CM 01) died in Hammond, Indiana (heart attack), 1971 (was 51)
Billy Byrd died in Nashville, Tennessee (natural causes), 2001 (was 81)

August 8:

Phil Balsley of the Statler Brothers (CM 08) born in Staunton, Virginia, 1939 (now 81)

Jamie O'Hara born in Toledo, Ohio, 1950 (now 70)

Tony Villanueva of the Derailers born in Eugene, Oregon, 1967 (now 53)

Webb Pierce (CM 01) born in West Monroe, Louisiana, 1926 (died 1991)
Mel Tillis (CM 07, NS 76) born in Tampa, Florida, 1932 (died 2017)
Dale Warren of the Sons of the Pioneers died in Branson, Missouri (heart failure), 2008 (was 83)
Chuck Seitz died in Cincinnati, Ohio (natural causes), 2012 (was 93).  In addition to serving as recording engineer at King and RCA Seitz co-wrote the classic "Before I Met You."
Glen Campbell (CM 05) died in Nashville, Tennessee (Alzheimer's disease), 2017 (was 81)
Hank Williams Jr. critically inured in a fall while mountain climbing on Ajax Mountain in Montana, 1975. Williams' head was split open, his face was shattered, and he lost an eye in the 500-foot fall.

August 9:

Merle Kilgore (NS 98) born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, 1934 (died 2005)
Hal Rugg (StG 89) died in Tuscon, Arizona (cancer), 2005 (was 69)

August 10:

Jerry Kennedy born in Shreveport, Louisiana, 1940 (now 80)

Jonie Mosby born in Van Nuys, California, 1940 (now 80)

Gene Johnson of Diamond Rio born in Jamestown, New York, 1949 (now 71)

Delia Upchurch born in Gainesboro, Tennessee, 1891 (died 1976). Upchurch was known as "the Den Mother of Nashville Stars" because she ran a boarding house where struggling musicians and songwriters could stay and pay what they could afford.

Jimmy Martin (BG 95) born in Sneedville, Tennessee, 1927 (died 2005)

Jimmy Dean (CM 10) born in Plainview, Texas, 1928 (died 2010)

Alvin "Junior" Samples born in Buena Park, California, 1926 (died 1983)
Billy Grammer died in Benton, Illinois (long-term illness), 2011 (was 85)

August 11:

John Conlee born in Versailles, Kentucky, 1946 (now 74)
Don Helms (StG 84) died in Nashville, Tennessee (heart attack), 2008 (was 81)

Hank Williams fired from the Grand Ole Opry, 1952

August 12:

Mark Knopfler born in Glasgow, Scotland, 1949 (now 71). Knopfler, best known as guitarist and lead singer of Dire Straits, won a "Best Country Vocal Collaboration" Grammy with Chet Atkins in 1990 for the song "Poor Boy Blues."  He also recorded an album of country songs under the pseudonym the Notting Hillbillies.

Rex Griffin (NS 70) born in Gadsden, Alabama, 1912 (died 1958)

Porter Wagoner (CM 02) born in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, 1927 (died 2007)

Buck Owens (CM 96, NS 96) born in Sherman, Texas, 1929 (died 2006)

Linda Parker of the WLS National Barn Dance died in Mishawaka, Indiana (peritonitis), 1935 (was 23)

August 13:

Lee Roy Abernathy (SG 97) born in Atco, Georgia, 1913 (died 1993)
Dan Fogelberg born in Peoria, Illinois, 1951 (died 2007)
Les Paul died (pneumonia), 2009 (was 94). The legendary guitarist won a Grammy for his work with Chet Atkins on the album Chester and Lester.

Vernon Dalhart recorded "The Prisoner's Song," 1924. The song would sell an estimated seven million copies as country's first million-selling song.

August 14:

Connie Smith (CM 12) born in Elkhart, Indiana, 1941 (now 79)
Charles K. Wolfe (BG 09) born in Sedalia, Missouri, 1943 (died 2006)

Johnny Duncan died in Fort Worth, Texas (heart attack), 2006 (was 67)

August 15:

Ben Eldridge of the Seldom Scene (BG 14) born in Richmond, Virginia, 1938 (now 82)
Jimmy Webb (NS 90) born in Elk City, Oklahoma, 1946 (now 74)
Rose Maddox born in Boaz, Alabama, 1925 (died 1998)
Bobby Helms born in Bloomington, Indiana, 1933 (died 1997)
Don Rich born in Olympia, Washington, 1941 (died 1974)
Lew DeWitt (CM 08) died in Waynesboro, Virginia (complications from Chron's disease), 1990 (was 52)

Lawrence Reynolds died in Bigbee, Alabama (coronary artery disease), 2000 (was 56)

Will Rogers died near Port Barrow, Alaska (plane crash with Wiley Post), 1935 (was 55)

Eddie.

Category: News/Tribute

It's one of the saddest pieces of news to come out of Nashville about someone who's alive and well in eons. 

Eddie Stubbs is retiring.

The 58-year-old Country DJ Hall of Famer, who will be inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame this year as part of the Johnson Mountain Boys, announced on his radio show Tuesday (7/21) that July 29th would be his last day at WSM.  That ends his nightly "Eddie Stubbs Show" as well as his work as an announcer on the Grand Ole Opry, where he was the third-longest tenured announcer in Opry history.  

This will close a love affair between Stubbs and fans from all over the country who tune in to his WSM radio show in Nashville or online to get a nightly education in country music.  Along the way, he's interviewed countless country and bluegrass legends.  

To say the very least, his knowledge of country music is beyond comprehension or description. 

I've been in the studio a couple of times while he's been on the air (once to drop off some photos I took at the Johnson Mountain Boys' show in North Carolina).  He's not reading any of that stuff he tells you.  It's all coming from his memory bank.  And, as anyone who's ever come in contact with him will attest, he is a gracious, humble gentleman in every sense of the word.

So, what will Stubbs, who just married at the beginning of July, do?  There's no telling.  He may go back to being a road musician.  He may move that Fort Knox-like vault of golden music knowledge to Sirius/XM.  Or, he may just retire and enjoy life.  

Whatever he does in the future, I can guarantee you that, when Stubbs turns the microphone off for the final time at WSM next week, the final thread by which traditional country music in Nashville dangled will break.  

God bless you, Eddie.  Thanks for everything.

Dates of Note in Country Music, July 16-31

Category: News

(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; NS=Nashville Songwriter; SG=Southern Gospel; StG=Steel Guitar; RR=country performer also inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)

July 16:

Ronny Robbins born in Phoenix, Arizona, 1949 (now 71)

Harry Chapin died in East Meadow, New York (heart attack resulting in car wreck), 1981 (was 38). Chapin, a folk music icon, wrote "Cat's in the Cradle," which gave Ricky Skaggs one of his last country hits.

Jo Stafford died in Century City, California (congestive heart failure), 2008 (was 90). The pop singer also did country, including appearing on Red Ingle & Natural Seven's hit "Tem-Tay-Shun."
Kitty Wells (CM 76) died in Nashville, Tennessee (stroke), 2012 (was 92)
Bonnie Brown (CM 15) died in Nashville, Tennessee (lung cancer), 2016 (was 77)
Gary S. Paxton died in Branson, Missouri (unknown cause), 2016 (was 77)

July 17:

Elizabeth Cook born in Wildwood, Florida, 1972 (now 48)
Woodrow Wilson "Red" Sovine born in Charleston, West Virginia, 1918 (died 1980)
Harry Choates died in Austin, Texas (head injury, possibly self-inflicted), 1951 (was 29)
Dizzy Dean died in Reno, Nevada (heart attack), 1974 (was 63). Dizzy was credited with giving Roy Acuff the nickname "King of Country Music."
Don Rich died in Bakersfield, California (motorcycle accident), 1974 (was 32)
Wynn Stewart died in Nashville, Tennessee (heart attack), 1985 (was 51)
Ozark Jubilee debuted on KWTO radio, 1954

July 18:

Ricky Skaggs (CM 18, BG 18) born in Cordell, Kentucky, 1954 (now 66)
Mark Jones of Exile born in Harlan, Kentucky, 1954 (now 66)
Barney Alvin Kalanikau Isaacs, Jr. (StG 99) born in Honolulu, Hawaii, 1926 (died 1996)

July 19:

Sue Thompson born in Nevada, Missouri, 1926 (now 94)

Bernie Leadon of the Eagles, Flying Burrito Brothers, and Run C&W born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1947 (now 73)
George Hamilton IV born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 1937 (died 2014)

William "Lefty" Frizzell (CM 82, NS 72) died in Nashville, Tennessee (stroke), 1975 (was 47)
George Riddle died in Indianapolis, Indiana (throat cancer), 2014 (was 78)

July 20:

T.G. Sheppard born in Humbolt, Tennessee, 1942 (now 78)

Radney Foster born in Del Rio, Texas, 1959 (now 61)

Joseph Emmett "J.E." Mainer born in Weaverville, North Carolina, 1898 (died 1971)
Cindy Walker (CM 97, NS 70) born near Mart, Texas, 1918 (died 2006)
Velma Smith born in Eppley Station, Kentucky, 1927 (died 2014)
Ralph Rinzler (BG 12) born in Passaic, New Jersey, 1934 (died 1994)
Thomas "Sleepy" LaBeef born in Smackover, Arkansas, 1935 (died 2019)
Wayne Carson (NS 97) died in Nashville, Tennessee (long illness), 2015 (was 72)

July 21:

Bobby Hicks (BG 17) born in Newton, North Carolina, 1933 (now 87)
Sara Carter of the Carter Family (CM 70, BG 01) born in Wise County, Virginia, 1898 (died 1979)
Eddie Hill (DJ 75) born in Delano, Tennessee, 1921 (died 1994)
Hal Rugg (StG 89) born in New York, New York, 1936 (died 2005)

July 22:

Don Henley of the Eagles born in Gilmer, Texas, 1947 (now 73). In addition to the Eagles, Henley was in a band, Shiloh, in the late 60s with Richard Bowden (later of Pinkard and Bowden) and Jim Ed Norman.

Margaret Whiting born in Detroit, Michigan, 1924 (died 2011). Although primarily a pop singer, Whiting had a series of duets with Jimmy Wakely in the 40s and 50s.

Bob Ferguson died in Jackson, Mississippi (cancer), 2001 (was 73)

Jack Lynn, son of Loretta Lynn, died in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee (drowned), 1984 (was 34)
Ralph S. Peer arrived in Bristol to make recordings for RCA, 1927

July 23:

Alison Krauss born in Decatur, Illinois, 1971 (now 49)
Johnny Darrell born in Hopewell, Alabama, 1940 (died 1997)
Patsy Stoneman died in Manchester, Tennessee (natural causes), 2015 (was 90)

July 24:

Donald "Red" Blanchard of the WLS National Barn Dance born in Pittsville, Wisconsin, 1914 (died 1980)
Lawton Williams born in Troy, Tennessee, 1922 (died 2007)
Max D. Barnes (NS 92) born in Hardscratch, Iowa, 1936 (died 2004)
Freddie Tavares (StG 95) died in Anaheim, California (unknown cause), 1990 (was 77)

July 25:

Marty Brown born in Maceo, Kentucky, 1965 (now 55)
Walter Brennan born in Swmapscott, Massachusetts, 1894 (died 1974). The actor had a major country hit with "Old Rivers" in 1962.
Roy Acuff Jr. born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1943 (died 2015)
Steve Goodman born in Chicago, Illinois, 1948 (died 1984)
Tommy Duncan died in San Diego, California (heart attack), 1967 (was 56)
Charlie Rich died in Hammond, Louisiana (blood clot in lung), 1995 (was 62)

July 26:

Jim Foglesong (CM 04) born in Lundale, West Virginia, 1922 (died 2013)
Fred Foster (CM 16) born in Rutherford County, North Carolina, 1931 (died 2019)

July 27:

Bobbie Gentry born in Chickasaw, Mississippi, 1944 (now 76)
Bill Engvall born in Galveston, Texas, 1957 (now 63)
Henry "Homer" Haynes (CM 01) born in Knoxville, Tennessee, 1920 (died 1971)
Jack Davis died in St. Simon Island, Georgia (stroke), 2016 (was 91).  Davis, a cartoonist for Mad Magazine, designed the covers for numerous albums by Ben Colder, Johnny Cash, and Homer & Jethro.

July 28:

Frank Loesser died in New York, New York (lung cancer), 1969 (was 59). The legendary pop composer was the "victim" of Homer and Jethro's first major hit, "Baby, It's Cold Outside," in 1949 (which featured a young June Carter singing the female part). Although RCA officials worried about Loesser's reaction, Loesser loved the parody and only asked that the songwriter credit read, "With apologies to Frank Loesser."  Loesser later wrote the liner notes for the Homer & Jethro Fracture Frank Loesser EP.

July 29:

Martina McBride born in Sharon, Kansas, 1966 (now 54)
Pete Drake (StG 87) died in Brentwood, Tennessee (lung disease), 1988 (was 55)
Anita Carter died in Goodlettesville, Tennessee (illness), 1999 (was 66)
Buddy Emmons (StG 81) died in Hermitage, Tennessee (unknown cause), 2015 (was 78)

July 30:

Dennis Morgan (NS 04) born in Tracy, Minnesota, 1952 (now 68)
Sam Phillips (CM 01) died in Memphis, Tennessee (respiratory failure), 2003 (was 80)
Lynn Anderson died in Nashville, Tennessee (heart attack), 2015 (was 67)

July 31:

Bonnie Brown of the Browns (CM 15) born in Sparkman, Arkansas, 1937 (died 2016)
Jim Reeves (CM 67) died in Nashville, Tennessee (plane crash), 1964 (was 40)
Dean Manuel died in Nashville, Tennessee (plane crash), 1964 (was 30)
Velma Smith died in Madison, Tennessee (illness), 2014 (was 87)
Bill Mack (DJ 82) died (long illness/COVID-19), 2020 (was 91)

"Diggin' Barefoot Jerry and the CDB"

Category: News/Obituary

Country music has lost its third Hall of Famer this year with the death of Charlie Daniels.

Daniels died this morning (July 6) after suffering a stroke, according to his publicist.

Charles Edward Daniels, the proud Tennessean, was actually born in North Carolina on October 28, 1936.  Growing up in the Tar Heel State he learned music of all forms: the country music blaring from WSM in Nashville, the down-home picking of bluegrass, as well as the R&B and fledgling rock and roll.  Becoming proficient on the guitar and fiddle, Daniels absorbed it all.

He began his career as a session man, playing bass and guitar on Bob Dylan's groundbreaking Nashville Skyline album in 1969.  He also went to work as a producer, heading the album Elephant Mountain for the folk-rock group the Youngbloods.

After a couple of albums on his own, his third release, Honey in the Rock, yielded his first hit, the "talking blues" novelty song "Uneasy Rider."  The tune was about a counter-culture hero who has a run-in with the stereotypical southern "rednecks" (his own term in the lyrics), who want to fight the protagonist because of his long hair and the "peace sign, the mag wheels, and four on the floor" car he's driving.  Certainly in danger of being banned in today's culture, the song was hilarious (with its ending of deciding to get to Los Angeles from Jackson, Mississippi via Omaha).  

Understandably, the song, while a pop top ten song, didn't do all that well in the conservative country music realm (where songs like "Okie From Muskogee" and "The Fightin' Side of Me" were still getting airplay).  In fact, two subsequent Daniels singles, "Texas" and "Wichita Jail," both did much better on the country charts than "Uneasy Rider."

However, in 1979, there was no stopping Daniels, thanks to another "talking blues" song about a fiddle contest between Satan and a southern boy named Johnny.  "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" was a chart-topper in country music, and only kept out of the #1 position in pop by the 1979 song of the year, "My Sharona" by the Knack.

Among Daniels' lasting contributions to the American musical landscape was the Volunteer Jam, which he began in 1974 for a group of southern rock and country-rock acts to get together and party through music.  This year's Volunteer Jam, scheduled to be held on September 15 (COVID-19 permitting), will be a "Musical Salute" to the man who made us laugh (such as his Geico commercial, where he took a French restaurant's violinist's instrument away to play "Hoedown" to show the man "that's how you do it, son"), think (his musings on his website's "Soap Box" feature), and sing along for seven decades.

So many genres can claim him that it's no wonder much of the musical world is in mourning over the loss of this giant.  He loved his country roots and his southern rock roots.  In "The South's Gonna Do It Again" he honored both, naming practically every southern rock band in existence at the time (some, such as Grinderswitch [from Macon, not named for Minnie Pearl's hometown] had their biggest success by being mentioned in the song, while others like Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top made the Rock Hall of fame) while playing some terrific fiddle.  He closed the song by telling everyone:

All the good people down in Tennessee
Are diggin' Barefoot Jerry and the CDB.

Charlie Daniels was 83.