Category: News
(Hall of Fame members in bold)
November 1:
Bill Anderson born in Columbia, South Carolina, 1937 (now 72)
Lyle Lovett born in Klein, Texas, 1957 (now 52)
Keith Stegall born in Wichita Falls, Texas, 1954 (now 55)
Lew Childre born in Opp, Alabama, 1901 (died 1961)
Buddy Killen died (cancer), 2006 (was 73)
Jack Reno died (brain cancer), 2008 (was 72)
November 2:
k.d. lang born in Consort, Alberta, 1961 (now 48)
John David Souther born in Detroit, Michigan, 1945 (now 64)
Charlie Walker born in Copeville, Texas, 1926 (died 2008)
Elaine Tubb, wife of Ernest Tubb and subject of the song "Blue-Eyed Elaine," died, 2001 (was 85)
November 3:
Fabor Robison born in Beebe, Arkansas, 1911 (died 1986)
Leon Huff born in Whitesboro, Texas, 1912 (died 1952)
John Maddox (Maddox Brothers & Rose) born in Boaz, Alabama, 1915 (died 1968)
Jimmie Rodgers, Fred Rose, and Hank Williams become the first inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame, 1961
Merle Haggard granted parole from San Quentin, 1960
November 4:
Kim Forrester born in Oglethorpe, Georgia, 1960 (now 49)
Will Rogers born near Oologah, Oklahoma, 1879 (died 1935)
Audrey Williams died (illness), 1975 (was 52)
Dale Noe died (unknown cause), 2004 (was 76)
November 5:
Billy Sherrill born in Phil Campbell, Alabama, 1936 (now 73)
Gram Parsons born in Winter Haven, Florida, 1946 (died 1973)
Roy Rogers (Leonard Slye) born in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1911 (died 1998)
Roy Horton born in Broad Top, Pennsylvania, 1914 (died 2003)
Johnny Horton died (car wreck), 1960 (was 35)
Jimmie Davis died (natural causes), 2000 (was 101)
Dorothy Southworth Ritter died (natural causes), 2003 (was 88)
November 6:
Stonewall Jackson born in Emerson, North Carolina, 1932 (now 77)
Guy Clark born in Monahan, Texas, 1941 (now 68)
Glenn Frey of the Eagles born in Detroit, Michigan, 1948 (now 61)
Hank Thompson died (lung cancer), 2007 (was 82)
Elvis Presley became a member of Louisiana Hayride, 1954
November 7:
Robin Lee born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1953 (now 56)
Red Ingle born in Toledo, Ohio, 1906 (died 1965)
Archie Campbell born in Bull's Gap, Tennessee, 1914 (died 1987)
A.P. Carter died (illness), 1960 (was 68)
Red Foley's daughter, Shirley, married Pat Boone, 1953
Gene Wooten died (cancer), 2001 (was 49)
Marty Robbins participated in his final NASCAR race, 1982
November 8:
Patti Page (Clara Fowler) born in Claremore, Oklahoma, 1927 (now 82)
Scotty Wiseman born in Ingalls, North Carolina, 1909 (died 1981)
Ivory Joe Hunter died (lung cancer), 1974 (was 60). A number of the R&B singer/songwriter's songs were turned into country hits by Sonny James, including "Since I Met You, Baby" and "Empty Arms."
November 9:
George D. Hay born in Attica, Indiana, 1895 (died 1968)
Curly Fox born in Graysville, Tennessee, 1910 (died 1995)
James "Spider" Rich, co-writer of "Yakety Sax," died (unknown cause), 2003 (was 80)
November 10:
Donna Fargo (Yvonne Vaughn) born in Mount Airy, North Carolina, 1940 (now 69)
Pat Severs of Pirates of the Mississippi born in Elmira, New York, 1952 (now 57)
Paul Cohen born in Chicago, Illinois, 1908 (died 1970)
Onie Wheeler born in Senath, Missouri, 1921 (died 1984)
Dave "Stringbean" Akeman died (murdered), 1973 (was 58)
Curly Fox died (natural causes), 1995 (was 85)
The Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior, killing all 29 aboard, 1975. The accident inspired Gordon Lightfoot's 1976 pop/country/folk hit "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."
November 11:
Narvel Felts born near Keiser, Arkansas, 1938 (now 71)
Hank "Sugarfoot" Garland born in Cow Pens, South Carolina, 1930 (died 2004)
Wade Ray died (illness), 1998 (was 85)
November 12:
Barbara Fairchild born in Lafe, Arkansas, 1950 (now 59)
Jo Stafford born in Coalinga, California, 1917 (died 2008). The pop singer was the girl singer on Red Ingle & Natural Seven hit "Tem-Tay-Shun."
John Lair, Renfro Valley Barn Dance founder, died (natural causes), 1985 (was 91)
Homer and Jethro's legendary live album At the Country Club recorded in Nashville, 1959
Groundbreaking ceremonies held for construction of the Grand Ole Opry House (current home of the Opry), 1971
The IRS confiscated Willie Nelson's belongings as payment for his tax bill, 1990
November 13:
Ray Wylie Hubbard born in Soper, Oklahoma, 1946 (now 63)
Jack Guthrie born in Olive, Oklahoma, 1915 (died 1948)
Buddy Killen born in Florence, South Carolina, 1932 (died 2006)
Jerry Lee Lewis Jr. died (car wreck), 1973 (was 20)
Junior Samples died (heart attack), 1983 (was 57)
November 14:
Ken Carson born in Coalgate, Oklahoma, 1914 (died 1994)
Robert Whitstein died (heart attack), 2001 (was 57)
November 15:
William Fries (C.W. McCall) born in Audubon, Iowa, 1928 (now 81)
Jack Ingram born in Houston, Texas, 1970 (now 39)
Lowell Blanchard born in Palmer, Illinois, 1910 (died 1968). Blanchard was the program director at WNOX in the 1930s and began the Midday Merry-Go-Round.
Albert E. Brumley died (unknown cause), 1977 (was 72)
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Chet Aktins' Widow Dies
CATEGORY: News/Obituary
When Leona Johnson met a shy guitarist named Chester Atkins in Cincinnati she was a star. Leona and her identical twin Lois were on the air on WLW as "Fern and LaVern," the Johnson Twins.
Chet had been sharing a room at the YMCA with Jethro Burns of Homer and Jethro when Jethro began dating Lois. In May 1946 Jethro and "Gussie" married. Two months later Leona wed Chet. The twins gave up their careers to become Mrs. Jethro and Mrs. Guitar. They also quietly participated in two of the great love stories in country music.
Leona Johnson Atkins died October 21 in Nashville after a long illness.
After the marriage in 1946 Leona was the number one love of Chet Atkins' life (with number two being their daughter, Merle). Their marriage lasted through Chet's rise from backing musician to the A&R man at RCA (which some joked stood for "Record for Chet Atkins") and his Hall of Fame career as the most identifiable guitarist in country music since Merle Travis (Atkins' idol). Their storybook life together continued until Chet's passing in 2001, three days before what would have been their 55th wedding anniversary.
Leona's twin sister Lois Johnson Burns died in April 1989, two months after her husband of nearly 43 years lost his battle with cancer.
Leona Johnson Atkins was 85.
When Leona Johnson met a shy guitarist named Chester Atkins in Cincinnati she was a star. Leona and her identical twin Lois were on the air on WLW as "Fern and LaVern," the Johnson Twins.
Chet had been sharing a room at the YMCA with Jethro Burns of Homer and Jethro when Jethro began dating Lois. In May 1946 Jethro and "Gussie" married. Two months later Leona wed Chet. The twins gave up their careers to become Mrs. Jethro and Mrs. Guitar. They also quietly participated in two of the great love stories in country music.
Leona Johnson Atkins died October 21 in Nashville after a long illness.
After the marriage in 1946 Leona was the number one love of Chet Atkins' life (with number two being their daughter, Merle). Their marriage lasted through Chet's rise from backing musician to the A&R man at RCA (which some joked stood for "Record for Chet Atkins") and his Hall of Fame career as the most identifiable guitarist in country music since Merle Travis (Atkins' idol). Their storybook life together continued until Chet's passing in 2001, three days before what would have been their 55th wedding anniversary.
Leona's twin sister Lois Johnson Burns died in April 1989, two months after her husband of nearly 43 years lost his battle with cancer.
Leona Johnson Atkins was 85.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Hardcore Country
Category: 50 Songs to Hear
SONG: Playboy
ARTIST: Wynn StewartSONGWRITER: W.S. Stevenson / W. Chandler
ALBUM: None, issued as a singleYEAR/LABEL: 1959; Challenge
Wynn's sound is what influenced Buck and me both.
(Merle Haggard)
If any one artist will make someone shake their head and think, "How on earth did this person NOT become a superstar?" it's Wynn Stewart. Stewart was a singer's singer with a good tenor voice and a driving hard country sound that kowtowed to nothing -- not rock and roll, not the Nashville sound. That may have been part of the problem, along with the fact that he was based in Bakersfield, California instead of Nashville.
Some of Stewart's best work was during his tenure of Challenge Records. Most of it was not commercially successful, but most of it was exceptional. Case in point: "Playboy."
The opening fiddle and driving shuffle beat warn everyone before Stewart uttered a note issued a warning to the listener that this song, to steal a Vern Gosdin album title, contains country music. There was absolutely nothing "Nashville sound" about this tune. The steel guitar played as Stewart sang of the misery of a lost love and how life as a nightclub-hopper was nothing more than "this false front I'm wearing" that "is just to cover my blues." This is country music at its pure honky tonking best.
Buck Owens and Merle Haggard may have been influenced by Stewart but they didn't match him, even though both went on to Hall of Fame careers while Stewart languished in "cult" status. His best-known song is "It's Such a Pretty World Today," ironically a compromise into the world of "Nashville sound."
Wynn Stewart died of a heart attack on July 17, 1985 at the young age of 51, leaving a legacy of superb music, most of which lies undiscovered by the masses in an exhaustive Bear Family box set. Songs like "Playboy" indicate why that is one of the saddest things to say about country music.
OTHER WYNN STEWART MUSIC TO INVESTIGATE:
The entire California Country: The Best of the Challenge Masters album -- it is unfortunately out of print, but if you find it you will have in your possession some of the greatest music to come out of the Bakersfield scene -- or anywhere else in country music -- in the 1950s and early 60s.
"The Waltz of the Angels" (available on Capitol Country Classics - 1950s) -- the first hit version of a song later covered by nearly everyone from George Jones to Johnny Paycheck displays the true beauty of the tune and Stewart's voice.
Wynn's sound is what influenced Buck and me both.
(Merle Haggard)
If any one artist will make someone shake their head and think, "How on earth did this person NOT become a superstar?" it's Wynn Stewart. Stewart was a singer's singer with a good tenor voice and a driving hard country sound that kowtowed to nothing -- not rock and roll, not the Nashville sound. That may have been part of the problem, along with the fact that he was based in Bakersfield, California instead of Nashville.
Some of Stewart's best work was during his tenure of Challenge Records. Most of it was not commercially successful, but most of it was exceptional. Case in point: "Playboy."
The opening fiddle and driving shuffle beat warn everyone before Stewart uttered a note issued a warning to the listener that this song, to steal a Vern Gosdin album title, contains country music. There was absolutely nothing "Nashville sound" about this tune. The steel guitar played as Stewart sang of the misery of a lost love and how life as a nightclub-hopper was nothing more than "this false front I'm wearing" that "is just to cover my blues." This is country music at its pure honky tonking best.
Buck Owens and Merle Haggard may have been influenced by Stewart but they didn't match him, even though both went on to Hall of Fame careers while Stewart languished in "cult" status. His best-known song is "It's Such a Pretty World Today," ironically a compromise into the world of "Nashville sound."
Wynn Stewart died of a heart attack on July 17, 1985 at the young age of 51, leaving a legacy of superb music, most of which lies undiscovered by the masses in an exhaustive Bear Family box set. Songs like "Playboy" indicate why that is one of the saddest things to say about country music.
OTHER WYNN STEWART MUSIC TO INVESTIGATE:
The entire California Country: The Best of the Challenge Masters album -- it is unfortunately out of print, but if you find it you will have in your possession some of the greatest music to come out of the Bakersfield scene -- or anywhere else in country music -- in the 1950s and early 60s.
"The Waltz of the Angels" (available on Capitol Country Classics - 1950s) -- the first hit version of a song later covered by nearly everyone from George Jones to Johnny Paycheck displays the true beauty of the tune and Stewart's voice.
PREVIOUS SONGS:
(Country)
Our Town
Old Memories Mean Nothing to Me
Not That I Care
Nobody Eats at Linebaugh's Anymore
My Book of Memories
Lost to a Stranger
A Little Bitty Heart
Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs
Life is Too Short
I Want a Home in Dixie
I Lost Today
Fingerprints
Down to the River to Pray
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyeballs
A Death in the Family
Dark as a Dungeon
Bottomless Well
(Rock)
Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate
She's a Runaway
Painted Bells
Out to Sea
One More Song
New Delhi Freight Train
Millworker
Long Way Home
Island
Heart of Rome
Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home
Entella Hotel
Desperados Under the Eaves
Crossing Muddy Waters
Cliffs of Dooneen
Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)
Baby Mine
(Country)
Our Town
Old Memories Mean Nothing to Me
Not That I Care
Nobody Eats at Linebaugh's Anymore
My Book of Memories
Lost to a Stranger
A Little Bitty Heart
Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs
Life is Too Short
I Want a Home in Dixie
I Lost Today
Fingerprints
Down to the River to Pray
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyeballs
A Death in the Family
Dark as a Dungeon
Bottomless Well
(Rock)
Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate
She's a Runaway
Painted Bells
Out to Sea
One More Song
New Delhi Freight Train
Millworker
Long Way Home
Island
Heart of Rome
Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home
Entella Hotel
Desperados Under the Eaves
Crossing Muddy Waters
Cliffs of Dooneen
Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)
Baby Mine
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Dates of Note in Country Music, October 16-31
Category: News
(Hall of Fame members in bold)
October 16:
Jim Ed Norman born in Ft. Myers, Florida, 1948 (now 61)
Stoney Cooper born in Harman, West Virginia, 1918 (died 1977)
Doyle Wilburn died (cancer), 1982 (was 52)
Don Reno died (post-operative complications), 1984 (was 58)
Danny Dill died (unknown cause), 2008 (was 84)
Naomi Judd retired from touring because of health issues, 1990
Ralph Stanley Museum opened, 2004
October 17:
Earl Thomas Conley born in Portsmouth, Ohio, 1941 (now 68)
Alan Jackson born in Newman, Georgia, 1958 (now 51)
Tennessee Ernie Ford died (liver disease), 1991 (was 72)
Jay Livingston died (pneumonia), 2001 (was 86). Among the songwriter's many credits were "Bonanza!," which Johnny Cash recorded, and "The Hanging Tree," which Marty Robbins recorded.
Bashful Brother Oswald (Beecher Ray Kirby) died (cancer), 2002 (was 90)
October 18:
Chuck Berry born in San Jose, California, 1926 (now 83). Among the rock and roll legend's hits that have made it to the country chart are "Memphis" (#10 hit for Fred Knoblock, 1981), "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" (#3 hit for Waylon Jennings, 1970), "The Promised Land" (#3 hit for Freddy Weller, 1970), and "Johnny B. Goode" (#1 hit for Buck Owens, 1969).
Keith Knudsen of Southern Pacific born in Ames, Iowa, 1952 (now 57)
Harty Taylor of Karl & Harty died (stroke), 1963 (was 58)
Hank Williams married Billie Jean Jones, 1952. After Williams' death, she would marry Johnny Horton.
Don Hecht died (heart attack), 2002 (was 72)
October 19:
Charlie Chase born in Rogersville, Tennessee, 1952 (now 57)
Don Parmley of the Bluegrass Cardinals born in Oliver Springs, Tennessee, 1933 (now 76)
Ebo Walker (ne Harry Shelor) of Bluegrass Alliance and New Grass Revival born in Louisville, Kentucky, 1941 (now 68)
Jeannie C. Riley born in Anson, Texas, 1945 (now 64)
Arthur E. "Uncle Art" Satherley born in Bristol, England, 1889 (died 1986)
Grant Turner died (heart failure), 1991 (was 79)
The CMA Awards were held, 1967. The awards show was not televised.
October 20:
Wanda Jackson born in Maud, Oklahoma, 1937 (now 72)
Stuart Hamblin born in Kellyville, Texas, 1908 (died 1989)
Grandpa Jones born in Niagara, Kentucky, 1913 (died 1998)
Merle Travis died (heart attack), 1983 (was 65)
Rounder Records founded by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin, and Marian Leighton, 1970. Mr. Nowlin says this "birth" of Rounder is based on the date of their first invoice.
October 21:
Owen Bradley born in Westmoreland, Tennessee, 1915 (died 1998)
Bill Black died (brain tumor), 1965 (was 39)
Mel Street born in Grundy, Virginia, 1933 (died 1978)
Mel Street died (suicide), 1978 (45th birthday)
October 22:
Shelby Lynn born in Quantico, Virginia, 1968 (now 40)
Leon Chappelear died (suicide), 1962 (was 53)
Dorothy Shay, the "Park Avenue Hillbillie," died (heart attack), 1978 (was 57)
October 23:
Dwight Yoakam born in Pikeville, Kentucky, 1956 (now 53)
Junior Bryant of Ricochet born in Pecos, Texas, 1968 (now 41)
Mother Maybelle Carter died (respiratory arrest), 1978 (was 68)
Merle Watson died (tractor accident), 1985 (was 36). His father Doc's long-lasting tribute to his late son is the annual bluegrass event known as "MerleFest."
Rusty Kershaw died (heart attack), 2001 (was 63)
October 24:
Mark Gray (former member of Exile) born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, 1952 (now 57)
Jiles Perry "The Big Bopper" Richardson born in Sabine Pass, Texas, 1930 (died 1959). Among his songwriter credits is "White Lightnin'" by friend George Jones and Hank Snow's "Beggar to a King."
Kirk McGee died (natural causes), 1983 (was 83)
Rosey Nix Adams, daughter of June Carter Cash, died (carbon monoxide poisoning), 2003 (was 45)
October 25:
Mark Miller (Sawyer Brown) born in Dayton, Ohio, 1958 (now 51)
Jeanne Black born in Pomona, California, 1937 (now 72)
Chely Wright born in Kansas City, Missouri, 1970 (now 39)
Cousin Minnie Pearl (Sarah Ophelia Colley Canon) born in Grinders Switch (actually, Centerville), Tennessee, 1912 (died 1996)
Roger Miller died (throat cancer), 1992 (was 56)
Johnnie Lee Willis died (heart ailment), 1984 (was 72)
Johnny Cash's last concert performance, Flint Michigan, 1997
October 26:
Keith Urban born in Whangarei, New Zeland, 1967 (now 42)
Hoyt Axton died (heart attack), 1999 (was 62)
Statler Brothers' final concert in their hometown of Salem, Virginia, 2002
October 27:
Dallas Frazier born in Spiro, Oklahoma, 1939 (now 70)
Lee Greenwood born in Southgate, California, 1942 (now 67)
Snuffy Jenkins born in Harris, North Carolina, 1908 (died 1990)
Floyd Cramer born in Campti, Louisiana, 1933 (died 1997)
Ruby Wright born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1939 (died 2009)
Allan "Rocky" Lane died (cancer), 1973 (was 72). He is mentioned in the Statler Brothers' "Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott."
Grand Ole Opry moves to the Hillsboro Theater, 1934
October 28:
Mitchell Torok born in Houston, Texas, 1929 (now 80)
Charlie Daniels born in Wilmington, North Carolina, 1936 (now 73)
Brad Paisley born in Glen Dale, West Virginia, 1972 (now 37)
Bill Bolick of the Blue Sky Boys born in Hickory, North Carolina, 1917 (died 2008)
Jimmy Skinner died (heart attack), 1979 (was 70)
Mel Foree died (cancer), 1990 (age unknown)
Porter Wagoner died (lung cancer), 2007 (was 80)
October 29:
Sonny Osborne born in Hyden, Kentucky, 1937 (now 72)
Charlie Monk born in Noma, Florida, 1938 (now 71)
Albert E. Brumley born in Spiro, Oklahoma, 1905 (died 1977)
Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan born in Gardena, California, 1916 (died 1994)
Fred Maddox died (heart disease), 1992 (was 73)
October 30:
Timothy B. Schmit of Poco and the Eagles born in Sacramento, California, 1947 (now 62)
T. Graham Brown born in Atlanta, Georgia, 1954 (now 55)
Patsy Montana (nee Ruby Rose Blevins) born in Hope, Arkansas, 1908 (died 1996)
Clifton Clowers born in Wolverton Mountain, Conway County, Arkansas, 1891 (died 1994)
Kitty Wells and Johnnie Wright wed, 1937 (72 years!!)
October 31:
Anita Kerr born in Memphis, Tennessee, 1927 (now 82)
Richard "Kinky" Friedman born in Chicago, Illinois, 1944 (now 65)
Dale Evans born in Uvalde, Texas, 1912 (died 2001)
Carl Belew died (cancer), 1990 (was 59)
Bob Atcher died (unknown causes), 1993 (was 79)
(Hall of Fame members in bold)
October 16:
Jim Ed Norman born in Ft. Myers, Florida, 1948 (now 61)
Stoney Cooper born in Harman, West Virginia, 1918 (died 1977)
Doyle Wilburn died (cancer), 1982 (was 52)
Don Reno died (post-operative complications), 1984 (was 58)
Danny Dill died (unknown cause), 2008 (was 84)
Naomi Judd retired from touring because of health issues, 1990
Ralph Stanley Museum opened, 2004
October 17:
Earl Thomas Conley born in Portsmouth, Ohio, 1941 (now 68)
Alan Jackson born in Newman, Georgia, 1958 (now 51)
Tennessee Ernie Ford died (liver disease), 1991 (was 72)
Jay Livingston died (pneumonia), 2001 (was 86). Among the songwriter's many credits were "Bonanza!," which Johnny Cash recorded, and "The Hanging Tree," which Marty Robbins recorded.
Bashful Brother Oswald (Beecher Ray Kirby) died (cancer), 2002 (was 90)
October 18:
Chuck Berry born in San Jose, California, 1926 (now 83). Among the rock and roll legend's hits that have made it to the country chart are "Memphis" (#10 hit for Fred Knoblock, 1981), "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" (#3 hit for Waylon Jennings, 1970), "The Promised Land" (#3 hit for Freddy Weller, 1970), and "Johnny B. Goode" (#1 hit for Buck Owens, 1969).
Keith Knudsen of Southern Pacific born in Ames, Iowa, 1952 (now 57)
Harty Taylor of Karl & Harty died (stroke), 1963 (was 58)
Hank Williams married Billie Jean Jones, 1952. After Williams' death, she would marry Johnny Horton.
Don Hecht died (heart attack), 2002 (was 72)
October 19:
Charlie Chase born in Rogersville, Tennessee, 1952 (now 57)
Don Parmley of the Bluegrass Cardinals born in Oliver Springs, Tennessee, 1933 (now 76)
Ebo Walker (ne Harry Shelor) of Bluegrass Alliance and New Grass Revival born in Louisville, Kentucky, 1941 (now 68)
Jeannie C. Riley born in Anson, Texas, 1945 (now 64)
Arthur E. "Uncle Art" Satherley born in Bristol, England, 1889 (died 1986)
Grant Turner died (heart failure), 1991 (was 79)
The CMA Awards were held, 1967. The awards show was not televised.
October 20:
Wanda Jackson born in Maud, Oklahoma, 1937 (now 72)
Stuart Hamblin born in Kellyville, Texas, 1908 (died 1989)
Grandpa Jones born in Niagara, Kentucky, 1913 (died 1998)
Merle Travis died (heart attack), 1983 (was 65)
Rounder Records founded by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin, and Marian Leighton, 1970. Mr. Nowlin says this "birth" of Rounder is based on the date of their first invoice.
October 21:
Owen Bradley born in Westmoreland, Tennessee, 1915 (died 1998)
Bill Black died (brain tumor), 1965 (was 39)
Mel Street born in Grundy, Virginia, 1933 (died 1978)
Mel Street died (suicide), 1978 (45th birthday)
October 22:
Shelby Lynn born in Quantico, Virginia, 1968 (now 40)
Leon Chappelear died (suicide), 1962 (was 53)
Dorothy Shay, the "Park Avenue Hillbillie," died (heart attack), 1978 (was 57)
October 23:
Dwight Yoakam born in Pikeville, Kentucky, 1956 (now 53)
Junior Bryant of Ricochet born in Pecos, Texas, 1968 (now 41)
Mother Maybelle Carter died (respiratory arrest), 1978 (was 68)
Merle Watson died (tractor accident), 1985 (was 36). His father Doc's long-lasting tribute to his late son is the annual bluegrass event known as "MerleFest."
Rusty Kershaw died (heart attack), 2001 (was 63)
October 24:
Mark Gray (former member of Exile) born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, 1952 (now 57)
Jiles Perry "The Big Bopper" Richardson born in Sabine Pass, Texas, 1930 (died 1959). Among his songwriter credits is "White Lightnin'" by friend George Jones and Hank Snow's "Beggar to a King."
Kirk McGee died (natural causes), 1983 (was 83)
Rosey Nix Adams, daughter of June Carter Cash, died (carbon monoxide poisoning), 2003 (was 45)
October 25:
Mark Miller (Sawyer Brown) born in Dayton, Ohio, 1958 (now 51)
Jeanne Black born in Pomona, California, 1937 (now 72)
Chely Wright born in Kansas City, Missouri, 1970 (now 39)
Cousin Minnie Pearl (Sarah Ophelia Colley Canon) born in Grinders Switch (actually, Centerville), Tennessee, 1912 (died 1996)
Roger Miller died (throat cancer), 1992 (was 56)
Johnnie Lee Willis died (heart ailment), 1984 (was 72)
Johnny Cash's last concert performance, Flint Michigan, 1997
October 26:
Keith Urban born in Whangarei, New Zeland, 1967 (now 42)
Hoyt Axton died (heart attack), 1999 (was 62)
Statler Brothers' final concert in their hometown of Salem, Virginia, 2002
October 27:
Dallas Frazier born in Spiro, Oklahoma, 1939 (now 70)
Lee Greenwood born in Southgate, California, 1942 (now 67)
Snuffy Jenkins born in Harris, North Carolina, 1908 (died 1990)
Floyd Cramer born in Campti, Louisiana, 1933 (died 1997)
Ruby Wright born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1939 (died 2009)
Allan "Rocky" Lane died (cancer), 1973 (was 72). He is mentioned in the Statler Brothers' "Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott."
Grand Ole Opry moves to the Hillsboro Theater, 1934
October 28:
Mitchell Torok born in Houston, Texas, 1929 (now 80)
Charlie Daniels born in Wilmington, North Carolina, 1936 (now 73)
Brad Paisley born in Glen Dale, West Virginia, 1972 (now 37)
Bill Bolick of the Blue Sky Boys born in Hickory, North Carolina, 1917 (died 2008)
Jimmy Skinner died (heart attack), 1979 (was 70)
Mel Foree died (cancer), 1990 (age unknown)
Porter Wagoner died (lung cancer), 2007 (was 80)
October 29:
Sonny Osborne born in Hyden, Kentucky, 1937 (now 72)
Charlie Monk born in Noma, Florida, 1938 (now 71)
Albert E. Brumley born in Spiro, Oklahoma, 1905 (died 1977)
Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan born in Gardena, California, 1916 (died 1994)
Fred Maddox died (heart disease), 1992 (was 73)
October 30:
Timothy B. Schmit of Poco and the Eagles born in Sacramento, California, 1947 (now 62)
T. Graham Brown born in Atlanta, Georgia, 1954 (now 55)
Patsy Montana (nee Ruby Rose Blevins) born in Hope, Arkansas, 1908 (died 1996)
Clifton Clowers born in Wolverton Mountain, Conway County, Arkansas, 1891 (died 1994)
Kitty Wells and Johnnie Wright wed, 1937 (72 years!!)
October 31:
Anita Kerr born in Memphis, Tennessee, 1927 (now 82)
Richard "Kinky" Friedman born in Chicago, Illinois, 1944 (now 65)
Dale Evans born in Uvalde, Texas, 1912 (died 2001)
Carl Belew died (cancer), 1990 (was 59)
Bob Atcher died (unknown causes), 1993 (was 79)
Saturday, October 10, 2009
A Modern Voice With an Ancient Sound
Category: 50 Songs to Hear
SONG: Our Town
ARTIST: Iris DeMent SONGWRITER: Iris DeMent
ALBUM: Infamous AngelYEAR/LABEL: 1992; Warner Brothers
The reason I love music so much is it's the one place I can go to in life when stuff happens.
(Iris DeMent)
One of the saddest things about modern country music is there are no VOICES. There are lots of supposed "singers" (many of whom qualify more as screamers than singers), but a voice that grabs the listener and refuses to let go the way someone like Patsy Cline or Jim Reeves had is simply not out there. When such a voice comes along the fact that they do not gain superstar status while the aforementioned supposed singers become household names can make you shrug your shoulders and agree that there really has been an awful murder on Music Row -- and the gunshot left everyone deaf.
The voice that should be in everyone's home and heart belongs to Iris DeMent. The lady has a marvelous voice that is plain, earthy, unpretentious, and gets to the heart of every word she sings. Conviction emits from every syllable uttered by this woman, and one of the best examples of that is the song "Our Town."
This song, which was used at the conclusion of the television series Northern Exposure, depicts life in a small town -- the good and the bad. The notion of trying to leave for the big city, the dream of many a one-horse town citizen, comes through with bittersweet conviction. The grass might be greener, but mom and dad are buried "up the street beside the pretty brick wall." She is leaving because the town is as dead as the deceased parents. It's a hard fact to face, but reality has her at the point where "I can't see too good, I've got tears in my eyes." Her farewell message: "I love you, my town, you'll always live in my soul."
DeMent has a sporadic recording history (her most recent album came out in 2004), which has made it easy for those who have heard of her to shove her to the back of their minds. If she never releases another album she has already contributed enough to American country and folk music to be hailed as one of the greatest -- simply by her exceptional voice.
OTHER IRIS DEMENT MUSIC TO INVESTIGATE:
The entire Infamous Angel album -- an album for the ages with lovely songs ranging from trying to understand death ("Let the Mystery Be") to one of the greatest tributes to one's mother ever recorded ("Mama's Opry"). If there were any justice in this world, this would be one of the biggest-selling albums in history.
"In Spite of Ourselves" (duet with John Prine, from Prine's In Spite of Ourselves) -- Prine is one of DeMent's biggest fans and he never passes up the chance to give her more exposure (he has recorded a number of duets with her). This Prine composition about love serves as one of their best.
The reason I love music so much is it's the one place I can go to in life when stuff happens.
(Iris DeMent)
One of the saddest things about modern country music is there are no VOICES. There are lots of supposed "singers" (many of whom qualify more as screamers than singers), but a voice that grabs the listener and refuses to let go the way someone like Patsy Cline or Jim Reeves had is simply not out there. When such a voice comes along the fact that they do not gain superstar status while the aforementioned supposed singers become household names can make you shrug your shoulders and agree that there really has been an awful murder on Music Row -- and the gunshot left everyone deaf.
The voice that should be in everyone's home and heart belongs to Iris DeMent. The lady has a marvelous voice that is plain, earthy, unpretentious, and gets to the heart of every word she sings. Conviction emits from every syllable uttered by this woman, and one of the best examples of that is the song "Our Town."
This song, which was used at the conclusion of the television series Northern Exposure, depicts life in a small town -- the good and the bad. The notion of trying to leave for the big city, the dream of many a one-horse town citizen, comes through with bittersweet conviction. The grass might be greener, but mom and dad are buried "up the street beside the pretty brick wall." She is leaving because the town is as dead as the deceased parents. It's a hard fact to face, but reality has her at the point where "I can't see too good, I've got tears in my eyes." Her farewell message: "I love you, my town, you'll always live in my soul."
DeMent has a sporadic recording history (her most recent album came out in 2004), which has made it easy for those who have heard of her to shove her to the back of their minds. If she never releases another album she has already contributed enough to American country and folk music to be hailed as one of the greatest -- simply by her exceptional voice.
OTHER IRIS DEMENT MUSIC TO INVESTIGATE:
The entire Infamous Angel album -- an album for the ages with lovely songs ranging from trying to understand death ("Let the Mystery Be") to one of the greatest tributes to one's mother ever recorded ("Mama's Opry"). If there were any justice in this world, this would be one of the biggest-selling albums in history.
"In Spite of Ourselves" (duet with John Prine, from Prine's In Spite of Ourselves) -- Prine is one of DeMent's biggest fans and he never passes up the chance to give her more exposure (he has recorded a number of duets with her). This Prine composition about love serves as one of their best.
PREVIOUS SONGS:
(Country)
Old Memories Mean Nothing to Me
Not That I Care
Nobody Eats at Linebaugh's Anymore
My Book of Memories
Lost to a Stranger
A Little Bitty Heart
Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs
Life is Too Short
I Want a Home in Dixie
I Lost Today
Fingerprints
Down to the River to Pray
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyeballs
A Death in the Family
Dark as a Dungeon
Bottomless Well
(Rock)
She's a Runaway
Painted Bells
Out to Sea
One More Song
New Delhi Freight Train
Millworker
Long Way Home
Island
Heart of Rome
Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home
Entella Hotel
Desperados Under the Eaves
Crossing Muddy Waters
Cliffs of Dooneen
Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)
Baby Mine
(Country)
Old Memories Mean Nothing to Me
Not That I Care
Nobody Eats at Linebaugh's Anymore
My Book of Memories
Lost to a Stranger
A Little Bitty Heart
Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs
Life is Too Short
I Want a Home in Dixie
I Lost Today
Fingerprints
Down to the River to Pray
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyeballs
A Death in the Family
Dark as a Dungeon
Bottomless Well
(Rock)
She's a Runaway
Painted Bells
Out to Sea
One More Song
New Delhi Freight Train
Millworker
Long Way Home
Island
Heart of Rome
Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home
Entella Hotel
Desperados Under the Eaves
Crossing Muddy Waters
Cliffs of Dooneen
Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)
Baby Mine
Friday, October 09, 2009
Dang Me! We've Lost a Music Giant
Category: News/Obituary
Shelby Singleton was the man behind many careers. He signed Roger Miller to Smash after Miller's failed tenure on Starday and RCA. The next thing everyone knew, Miller was a multi-Grammy winner and king of everything (including the road). Singleton signed Jeannie C. Riley and gave her a Tom T. Hall song, "Harper Valley P.T.A.," that became part of American culture to the point where the song spawned a television series that starred Barbara Eden. He also ran Sun Records from 1969.
Shelby Singleton died Wednesday, October 7, after a brief battle with brain cancer.
Singleton had been one of the panelists at the 26th annual International Country Music Conference in May (along with his longtime friend Jerry Kennedy) at the Quonset Hut, where he regaled the attendees with stories of his career and the numerous acts he had produced over his long career. Singleton also thought nothing of bringing black artists to Nashville and recording them with a mixed session of white and black performers -- at a time when the nation outside the studio walls was in the midst of turmoil over racial division.
Shelby Singleton at the Quonset
Hut at ICMC, May 22, 2009
Shelby Singleton was 77.
Shelby Singleton was the man behind many careers. He signed Roger Miller to Smash after Miller's failed tenure on Starday and RCA. The next thing everyone knew, Miller was a multi-Grammy winner and king of everything (including the road). Singleton signed Jeannie C. Riley and gave her a Tom T. Hall song, "Harper Valley P.T.A.," that became part of American culture to the point where the song spawned a television series that starred Barbara Eden. He also ran Sun Records from 1969.
Shelby Singleton died Wednesday, October 7, after a brief battle with brain cancer.
Singleton had been one of the panelists at the 26th annual International Country Music Conference in May (along with his longtime friend Jerry Kennedy) at the Quonset Hut, where he regaled the attendees with stories of his career and the numerous acts he had produced over his long career. Singleton also thought nothing of bringing black artists to Nashville and recording them with a mixed session of white and black performers -- at a time when the nation outside the studio walls was in the midst of turmoil over racial division.
Shelby Singleton at the Quonset
Hut at ICMC, May 22, 2009
Shelby Singleton was 77.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Ruby Wright Dies
Category: News/Obituary
Ruby Wright had but one hit, an answer song to Roger Miller's smash "Dang Me." Her version was called "Dern Ya." With only that one hit, Ruby still had quite a record in country music, as she was the child of royalty. Her parents were Johnnie Wright and "Queen of Country Music" Kitty Wells.
Ruby Wright was found dead in her apartment in suburban Nashville on September 29th. The suspected cause of death was heart-related, as she had dealt with heart problems for many years.
She is survived by both parents, 95-year-old Johnnie and 90-year-old Kitty. Ruby was 69.
Ruby Wright had but one hit, an answer song to Roger Miller's smash "Dang Me." Her version was called "Dern Ya." With only that one hit, Ruby still had quite a record in country music, as she was the child of royalty. Her parents were Johnnie Wright and "Queen of Country Music" Kitty Wells.
Ruby Wright was found dead in her apartment in suburban Nashville on September 29th. The suspected cause of death was heart-related, as she had dealt with heart problems for many years.
She is survived by both parents, 95-year-old Johnnie and 90-year-old Kitty. Ruby was 69.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Dates of Note in Country Music, October 1-15
Category: News
(Hall of Fame members in bold)
October 1:
Kelly Willis born in Lawton, Oklahoma, 1968 (now 41)
Skeets McDonald born in Greenway, Arkansas, 1915 (died 1968)
Bonnie Owens born in Blanchard, Oklahoma, 1932 (died 2006)
October 2:
Jo-El Sonnier born in Rayne, Louisiana, 1946 (now 63)
Tammy Sullivan born in Wagarville, Alabama, 1964 (now 45)
Chris LeDoux born in Biloxi, Mississippi, 1948 (died 2005)
Chubby Wise born in Lake City, Florida, 1915 (died 1996)
Gene Autry died (lymphoma), 1998 (was 91). The "Singing Cowboy" owned the Anaheim Angels, who dedicated their 2002 World Series victory to his memory.
Elvis Presley played the Grand Ole Opry, 1954. Opry manager Jim Denny critiqued his performance by telling him that he was going nowhere and to "go back to driving trucks."
October 3:
Joe Allison born in McKinney, Texas, 1924 (died 2002)
Woody Guthrie died (Huntington's disease), 1967 (was 55). Among the folk singer's compositions were the Maddox Brothers and Rose's hit "Philadelphia Lawyer."
Del Wood died (stroke), 1989 (was 69)
October 4:
Leroy Van Dyke born in Spring Fork, Missouri, 1929 (now 80)
Larry Collins of the Collins Kids born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1944 (now 65)
Greg Hubbard of Sawyer Brown born in Orlando, Florida, 1960 (now 49)
Jerry Rivers died (cancer), 1996 (was 69)
A.L. "Doodle" Owens died (heart attack), 1999 (was 69)
Tammy Wynette's ordeal where she claimed to have been kidnapped and beaten began, 1978
October 5:
Radio station WSM born in Nashville at 650 on the AM dial, 1925 (now 84)
Margie Singleton born in Coushatta, Louisiana, 1935 (now 74)
Johnny Duncan born in Dublin, Texas, 1938 (died 2006)
October 6:
Tim Rushlow of Little Texas born in Arlington, Texas, 1966 (now 42)
Kendall Hayes born in Perryville, Kentucky, 1935 (died 1995)
Ted Daffan died (natural causes), 1996 (was 84)
October 7:
Jim Halsey born in Independence, Kansas, 1930 (now 79)
Dale Watson born in Birmingham, Alabama, 1962 (now 47)
Kieran Kane born in Queens, New York, 1949 (now 60)
Uncle Dave Macon born in Warren County, Tennessee, 1870 (died 1952)
Gordon Terry born in Decatur, Alabama, 1931 (died 2006)
Hugh Cherry born in Louisville, Kentucky, 1922 (died 1998)
Buddy Lee born in Brooklyn, New York, 1932 (died 1998)
Johnny Darrell died (diabetes complications), 1997 (was 57)
Jimmie Logsdon died (unknown cause), 2001 (was 79)
October 8:
Ricky Lee Phelps of the Kentucky Headhunters born in Paragould, Arkansas, 1953 (now 56)
Susan Raye born in Eugene, Oregon, 1944 (now 65)
Lynn Morris born in Lamesa, Texas, 1948 (now 61)
Jackie Frantz of Dave & Sugar born in Sidney, Ohio, 1950 (now 59)
Pete Drake born in Atlanta, Georgia, 1932 (died 1988)
October 9:
Goebel Reeves born in Sherman, Texas, 1899 (died 1969)
October 10:
John Prine born in Maywood, Illinois, 1946 (now 63). The folk singer has written a number of tunes that have become country and bluegrass standards, most notably, "Paradise."
Tanya Tucker born in Seminole, Texas, 1958 (now 51)
October 11:
Gene Watson born in Palestine, Texas, 1943 (now 66)
Paulette Carlson of Highway 101 born in Northfield, Minnesota, 1952 (now 57)
Dottie West born in McMinnville, Tennessee, 1932 (died 1991)
Rex Griffin died (tuberculosis), 1958 (was 46)
Tex Williams died (cancer), 1985 (was 68)
T. Tommy Cutrer died (heart attack), 1998 (was 74)
October 12:
Shane McAnally born in Mineral Wells, Texas, 1974 (now 34)
John Denver died (plane crash), 1997 (was 53)
October 13:
Rhett Akins born in Valdosta, Georgia, 1969 (now 40)
Lacy J. Dalton born in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, 1946 (now 63)
Anita Kerr born in Memphis, Tennessee, 1927 (now 82)
John Wiggins born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1962 (now 47)
Hoarce Lee Logan died (respiratory disease), 2002. The founder of the Louisiana Hayride also coined one of the most oft-repeated phrases in American popular culture: trying to calm down an audience after one Louisiana Hayride performer wowed the crowd, Logan announced, "Elvis has left the building."
October 14:
Kenny Roberts born in Lenoir City, Tennessee, 1926 (now 83)
Melba Montgomery born in Iron City, Tennessee, 1938 (now 71)
Bing Crosby died (heart attack), 1977. The legendary pop crooner has the distinction of being the first artist to have a #1 single on Billboard magazine's Country and Western charts, with his rendition of Al Dexter's "Pistol Packin' Mama," 1944.
October 15:
Dean Miller born in Los Angeles, California, 1965 (now 44)
(Hall of Fame members in bold)
October 1:
Kelly Willis born in Lawton, Oklahoma, 1968 (now 41)
Skeets McDonald born in Greenway, Arkansas, 1915 (died 1968)
Bonnie Owens born in Blanchard, Oklahoma, 1932 (died 2006)
October 2:
Jo-El Sonnier born in Rayne, Louisiana, 1946 (now 63)
Tammy Sullivan born in Wagarville, Alabama, 1964 (now 45)
Chris LeDoux born in Biloxi, Mississippi, 1948 (died 2005)
Chubby Wise born in Lake City, Florida, 1915 (died 1996)
Gene Autry died (lymphoma), 1998 (was 91). The "Singing Cowboy" owned the Anaheim Angels, who dedicated their 2002 World Series victory to his memory.
Elvis Presley played the Grand Ole Opry, 1954. Opry manager Jim Denny critiqued his performance by telling him that he was going nowhere and to "go back to driving trucks."
October 3:
Joe Allison born in McKinney, Texas, 1924 (died 2002)
Woody Guthrie died (Huntington's disease), 1967 (was 55). Among the folk singer's compositions were the Maddox Brothers and Rose's hit "Philadelphia Lawyer."
Del Wood died (stroke), 1989 (was 69)
October 4:
Leroy Van Dyke born in Spring Fork, Missouri, 1929 (now 80)
Larry Collins of the Collins Kids born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1944 (now 65)
Greg Hubbard of Sawyer Brown born in Orlando, Florida, 1960 (now 49)
Jerry Rivers died (cancer), 1996 (was 69)
A.L. "Doodle" Owens died (heart attack), 1999 (was 69)
Tammy Wynette's ordeal where she claimed to have been kidnapped and beaten began, 1978
October 5:
Radio station WSM born in Nashville at 650 on the AM dial, 1925 (now 84)
Margie Singleton born in Coushatta, Louisiana, 1935 (now 74)
Johnny Duncan born in Dublin, Texas, 1938 (died 2006)
October 6:
Tim Rushlow of Little Texas born in Arlington, Texas, 1966 (now 42)
Kendall Hayes born in Perryville, Kentucky, 1935 (died 1995)
Ted Daffan died (natural causes), 1996 (was 84)
October 7:
Jim Halsey born in Independence, Kansas, 1930 (now 79)
Dale Watson born in Birmingham, Alabama, 1962 (now 47)
Kieran Kane born in Queens, New York, 1949 (now 60)
Uncle Dave Macon born in Warren County, Tennessee, 1870 (died 1952)
Gordon Terry born in Decatur, Alabama, 1931 (died 2006)
Hugh Cherry born in Louisville, Kentucky, 1922 (died 1998)
Buddy Lee born in Brooklyn, New York, 1932 (died 1998)
Johnny Darrell died (diabetes complications), 1997 (was 57)
Jimmie Logsdon died (unknown cause), 2001 (was 79)
October 8:
Ricky Lee Phelps of the Kentucky Headhunters born in Paragould, Arkansas, 1953 (now 56)
Susan Raye born in Eugene, Oregon, 1944 (now 65)
Lynn Morris born in Lamesa, Texas, 1948 (now 61)
Jackie Frantz of Dave & Sugar born in Sidney, Ohio, 1950 (now 59)
Pete Drake born in Atlanta, Georgia, 1932 (died 1988)
October 9:
Goebel Reeves born in Sherman, Texas, 1899 (died 1969)
October 10:
John Prine born in Maywood, Illinois, 1946 (now 63). The folk singer has written a number of tunes that have become country and bluegrass standards, most notably, "Paradise."
Tanya Tucker born in Seminole, Texas, 1958 (now 51)
October 11:
Gene Watson born in Palestine, Texas, 1943 (now 66)
Paulette Carlson of Highway 101 born in Northfield, Minnesota, 1952 (now 57)
Dottie West born in McMinnville, Tennessee, 1932 (died 1991)
Rex Griffin died (tuberculosis), 1958 (was 46)
Tex Williams died (cancer), 1985 (was 68)
T. Tommy Cutrer died (heart attack), 1998 (was 74)
October 12:
Shane McAnally born in Mineral Wells, Texas, 1974 (now 34)
John Denver died (plane crash), 1997 (was 53)
October 13:
Rhett Akins born in Valdosta, Georgia, 1969 (now 40)
Lacy J. Dalton born in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, 1946 (now 63)
Anita Kerr born in Memphis, Tennessee, 1927 (now 82)
John Wiggins born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1962 (now 47)
Hoarce Lee Logan died (respiratory disease), 2002. The founder of the Louisiana Hayride also coined one of the most oft-repeated phrases in American popular culture: trying to calm down an audience after one Louisiana Hayride performer wowed the crowd, Logan announced, "Elvis has left the building."
October 14:
Kenny Roberts born in Lenoir City, Tennessee, 1926 (now 83)
Melba Montgomery born in Iron City, Tennessee, 1938 (now 71)
Bing Crosby died (heart attack), 1977. The legendary pop crooner has the distinction of being the first artist to have a #1 single on Billboard magazine's Country and Western charts, with his rendition of Al Dexter's "Pistol Packin' Mama," 1944.
October 15:
Dean Miller born in Los Angeles, California, 1965 (now 44)
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Bitterness is Beautiful
Category: 50 Songs to Hear
SONG: Old Memories Mean Nothing to Me
ARTIST: Hazel Dickens, Carol Elizabeth Jones and Ginny HawkerSONGWRITER: Steve Young
ALBUM: Heart of a SingerYEAR/LABEL: 1998; Rounder
My father didn't like me to listen to Ernest Tubb because he was too modern.
(Hazel Dickens)
I was always much more interested in the singing. It just pulled my heart and ear toward it.
(Ginny Hawker)
I've spent so much of my time in old-time music. Hanging around with bluegrass musicians is relatively new to me.
(Carol Elizabeth Jones)
"Super groups" are nothing new. The Browns Ferry Four -- which put together the Delmore Brothers, Grandpa Jones, and a rotating bass singer of either Red Foley or Merle Travis -- was put together in 1946. The fact that three diverse singers joined forces for an album, therefore, was nothing new. The results of the collaboration between the "queen" of Appalachian-based female singers and two of her disciples produced a good album, with a definite stand-out: "Old Memories Mean Nothing to Me." Interestingly enough, the "superstar" of the group, Hazel Dickens, was not present when this song was recorded, making it a duet between Jones and Hawker. The song is so lyrically powerful that any combination of voices would have resulted in a superb recording.
The song was written by Steve Young, probably best-known for writing the final song of the Eagles' first career, "Seven Bridges Road," from Eagles Live. The cover is slower and more deliberate than Young's original recording from 1976. It is a biting, bitter dismissal of a former lover. "I'm not the grateful kind as you can see," the lyrics claim, "for old memories mean nothing to me." The "fine love" that the couple once had is thrown away, discarded like an old newspaper. The joy of the song is wondering at the end if the singer truly believes the words sung, for the song finishes with the line, "You don't love me now, I can see" with the title line that had followed it for three choruses left off.
One of the great joys of music is when a great song and great voices meet. That happens with this recording.
My father didn't like me to listen to Ernest Tubb because he was too modern.
(Hazel Dickens)
I was always much more interested in the singing. It just pulled my heart and ear toward it.
(Ginny Hawker)
I've spent so much of my time in old-time music. Hanging around with bluegrass musicians is relatively new to me.
(Carol Elizabeth Jones)
"Super groups" are nothing new. The Browns Ferry Four -- which put together the Delmore Brothers, Grandpa Jones, and a rotating bass singer of either Red Foley or Merle Travis -- was put together in 1946. The fact that three diverse singers joined forces for an album, therefore, was nothing new. The results of the collaboration between the "queen" of Appalachian-based female singers and two of her disciples produced a good album, with a definite stand-out: "Old Memories Mean Nothing to Me." Interestingly enough, the "superstar" of the group, Hazel Dickens, was not present when this song was recorded, making it a duet between Jones and Hawker. The song is so lyrically powerful that any combination of voices would have resulted in a superb recording.
The song was written by Steve Young, probably best-known for writing the final song of the Eagles' first career, "Seven Bridges Road," from Eagles Live. The cover is slower and more deliberate than Young's original recording from 1976. It is a biting, bitter dismissal of a former lover. "I'm not the grateful kind as you can see," the lyrics claim, "for old memories mean nothing to me." The "fine love" that the couple once had is thrown away, discarded like an old newspaper. The joy of the song is wondering at the end if the singer truly believes the words sung, for the song finishes with the line, "You don't love me now, I can see" with the title line that had followed it for three choruses left off.
One of the great joys of music is when a great song and great voices meet. That happens with this recording.
PREVIOUS SONGS:
(Country)
Not That I Care
Nobody Eats at Linebaugh's Anymore
My Book of Memories
Lost to a Stranger
A Little Bitty Heart
Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs
Life is Too Short
I Want a Home in Dixie
I Lost Today
Fingerprints
Down to the River to Pray
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyeballs
A Death in the Family
Dark as a Dungeon
Bottomless Well
(Rock)
Painted Bells
Out to Sea
One More Song
New Delhi Freight Train
Millworker
Long Way Home
Island
Heart of Rome
Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home
Entella Hotel
Desperados Under the Eaves
Crossing Muddy Waters
Cliffs of Dooneen
Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)
Baby Mine
(Country)
Not That I Care
Nobody Eats at Linebaugh's Anymore
My Book of Memories
Lost to a Stranger
A Little Bitty Heart
Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs
Life is Too Short
I Want a Home in Dixie
I Lost Today
Fingerprints
Down to the River to Pray
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyeballs
A Death in the Family
Dark as a Dungeon
Bottomless Well
(Rock)
Painted Bells
Out to Sea
One More Song
New Delhi Freight Train
Millworker
Long Way Home
Island
Heart of Rome
Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home
Entella Hotel
Desperados Under the Eaves
Crossing Muddy Waters
Cliffs of Dooneen
Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)
Baby Mine
Friday, September 11, 2009
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 81)
David Bellamy of the Bellamy Brothers born in Darby, Florida, 1950 (now 59)
Bobby Randall of Sawyer Brown born in Midland, Michigan, 1952 (now 57)
Terry McBride of McBride & the Ride born in Austin, Texas, 1958 (now 51)
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 68). In addition to her own singing career, she was married to Jerry Reed from 1959 until his death in 2008.
Carl Jackson born in Louisville, Mississippi, 1953 (now 56)
Ervin T. Rouse born in Craven County, North Carolina, 1917 (died 1981)
September 19:
Trisha Yearwood born in Monticello, Georgia, 1964 (now 45)
Clyde Moody born in Cherokee, North Carolina, 1915 (died 1989)
Danny Dill born in Carroll County, Tennessee, 1924 (died 2008)
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)
Carl Smith married singer Goldie Hill, 1957
September 20:
Pearl Butler born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1927 (died 1988)
Karl Farr died (heart attack), 1961 (was 52)
Jim Croce died (plane crash), 1973 (was 30). The folk singer/songwriter's pop hit "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" made the country charts a year after his death.
Steve Goodman died (liver and kidney failure/leukemia), 1984 (was 36)
Hank Williams re-joined the Louisiana Hayride after being fired from the Grand Ole Opry, 1952
September 21:
Faith Hill born in Jackson, Mississippi, 1967 (now 42)
Dickey Lee born in Memphis, Tennessee, 1936 (now 73)
Don Felder, former guitarist/steel guitarist for the Eagles, born in Gainesville, Florida, 1947 (now 62)
Daryl Mosley of New Tradition born in Waverly, Tennessee, 1964 (now 45)
Ronna Reeves born in Big Spring, Texas, 1966 (now 43)
Kenny Starr born in Topeka, Kansas, 1952 (now 57)
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:
June Forester of the Forester Sisters born in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, 1952 (now 57)
Debby Boone born in Hackensack, New Jersey, 1956 (now 52). The "You Light Up My Life" singer is Red Foley's granddaughter.
Roy "Pop" Lewis Sr. of the Lewis Family, born in Pickens, South Carolina, 1905 (died 2004)
September 23:
Don Herron Jr. of BR5-49 born in Steubenville, Ohio, 1962 (now 47)
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)
Roy Horton died (unknown cause), 2003 (was 88)
Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys make their first recording session, 1935
September 24:
Rosalie Allen died (congestive heart failure), 2003 (was 79)
Jim Denny fired as Opry manager, 1956
September 25:
Larry Sparks born in Lebanon, Ohio, 1947 (now 62)
Royce Kendall born in St. Louis, Missouri, 1934 (died 1998)
Little Jimmy Dickens became a member of the Grand Ole Opry, 1948. His 51 years as an Opry member is one of the longest tenures in the history of the show.
September 26:
David Frizzell born in El Dorado, Arkansas, 1941 (now 68)
Lynn Anderson born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, 1947 (now 62)
Carlene Carter born in Madison, Tennessee, 1955 (now 54)
Doug Supernaw born in Bryan, Texas, 1960 (now 49)
Marty Robbins born in Glendale, Arizona, 1925 (died 1982)
The Beverly Hillbillies debuted on CBS, 1962. The program featured appearances by Roy Clark as Cousin Roy and Flatt and Scruggs as friends of the Clampetts, and the show was frequently sponsored by Kellogg's Corn Flakes with ads featuring Homer and Jethro.
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 66). 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 62)
Laurie Lewis born in Long Beach, California, 1950 (now 59)
Mandy Barnett born in Crossville, Tennessee, 1975 (now 34)
Jerry Clower born in Liberty, Mississippi, 1926 (died 1998)
Tommy Collins (ne Leonard Sipes) 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 74)
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 64)
Deborah Allen born in Memphis, Tennessee, 1953 (now 56)
Marty Stuart born in Philadelphia, Mississippi, 1958 (now 51)
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.
(Hall of Fame members in bold)
September 16:
Ralph Mooney born in Duncan, Oklahoma, 1928 (now 81)
David Bellamy of the Bellamy Brothers born in Darby, Florida, 1950 (now 59)
Bobby Randall of Sawyer Brown born in Midland, Michigan, 1952 (now 57)
Terry McBride of McBride & the Ride born in Austin, Texas, 1958 (now 51)
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 68). In addition to her own singing career, she was married to Jerry Reed from 1959 until his death in 2008.
Carl Jackson born in Louisville, Mississippi, 1953 (now 56)
Ervin T. Rouse born in Craven County, North Carolina, 1917 (died 1981)
September 19:
Trisha Yearwood born in Monticello, Georgia, 1964 (now 45)
Clyde Moody born in Cherokee, North Carolina, 1915 (died 1989)
Danny Dill born in Carroll County, Tennessee, 1924 (died 2008)
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)
Carl Smith married singer Goldie Hill, 1957
September 20:
Pearl Butler born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1927 (died 1988)
Karl Farr died (heart attack), 1961 (was 52)
Jim Croce died (plane crash), 1973 (was 30). The folk singer/songwriter's pop hit "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" made the country charts a year after his death.
Steve Goodman died (liver and kidney failure/leukemia), 1984 (was 36)
Hank Williams re-joined the Louisiana Hayride after being fired from the Grand Ole Opry, 1952
September 21:
Faith Hill born in Jackson, Mississippi, 1967 (now 42)
Dickey Lee born in Memphis, Tennessee, 1936 (now 73)
Don Felder, former guitarist/steel guitarist for the Eagles, born in Gainesville, Florida, 1947 (now 62)
Daryl Mosley of New Tradition born in Waverly, Tennessee, 1964 (now 45)
Ronna Reeves born in Big Spring, Texas, 1966 (now 43)
Kenny Starr born in Topeka, Kansas, 1952 (now 57)
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:
June Forester of the Forester Sisters born in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, 1952 (now 57)
Debby Boone born in Hackensack, New Jersey, 1956 (now 52). The "You Light Up My Life" singer is Red Foley's granddaughter.
Roy "Pop" Lewis Sr. of the Lewis Family, born in Pickens, South Carolina, 1905 (died 2004)
September 23:
Don Herron Jr. of BR5-49 born in Steubenville, Ohio, 1962 (now 47)
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)
Roy Horton died (unknown cause), 2003 (was 88)
Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys make their first recording session, 1935
September 24:
Rosalie Allen died (congestive heart failure), 2003 (was 79)
Jim Denny fired as Opry manager, 1956
September 25:
Larry Sparks born in Lebanon, Ohio, 1947 (now 62)
Royce Kendall born in St. Louis, Missouri, 1934 (died 1998)
Little Jimmy Dickens became a member of the Grand Ole Opry, 1948. His 51 years as an Opry member is one of the longest tenures in the history of the show.
September 26:
David Frizzell born in El Dorado, Arkansas, 1941 (now 68)
Lynn Anderson born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, 1947 (now 62)
Carlene Carter born in Madison, Tennessee, 1955 (now 54)
Doug Supernaw born in Bryan, Texas, 1960 (now 49)
Marty Robbins born in Glendale, Arizona, 1925 (died 1982)
The Beverly Hillbillies debuted on CBS, 1962. The program featured appearances by Roy Clark as Cousin Roy and Flatt and Scruggs as friends of the Clampetts, and the show was frequently sponsored by Kellogg's Corn Flakes with ads featuring Homer and Jethro.
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 66). 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 62)
Laurie Lewis born in Long Beach, California, 1950 (now 59)
Mandy Barnett born in Crossville, Tennessee, 1975 (now 34)
Jerry Clower born in Liberty, Mississippi, 1926 (died 1998)
Tommy Collins (ne Leonard Sipes) 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 74)
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 64)
Deborah Allen born in Memphis, Tennessee, 1953 (now 56)
Marty Stuart born in Philadelphia, Mississippi, 1958 (now 51)
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.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Dates of Note in Country Music, September 1-15
Category: News
(Hall of Fame members in bold)
September 1
Boxcar Willie born in Sterratt, Texas, 1931 (died 1999)
Johnny Mack Brown born in Dothan, Alabama, 1904 (died 1974). The western actor was the namesake of Lester "Roadhog" Moran and the Cadillac Cowboy's Live at the Johnny Mack Brown High School album.
Conway Twitty born in Friars Point, Mississippi, 1933 (died 1993)
Jerry Reed died (emphysema), 2008 (was 71)
September 2
Johnny Lee Wills born in Jewell, Texas, 1912 (died 1984)
Charline Authur born in Henrietta, Texas, 1929 (died 1987)
Grady Nutt born in Amarillo, Texas, 1934 (died 1982)
Fabor Robinson, founder of Fabor Records, died (unknown cause), 1986 (was 74)
September 3
Tompall Glaser born in Spalding, Nebraska, 1933 (now 76)
Jimmy Riddle born in Dyersburg, Tennessee, 1918 (died 1981)
Hank Thompson born in Waco, Texas, 1925 (died 2007)
September 4
Shot Jackson born in Wilmington, North Carolina, 1920 (died 1991)
Dottie West died (injuries from a car wreck), 1991 (was 58)
Carl Butler died (heart attack), 1992 (was 65)
September 5
The Country Music Association was founded, 1958
The Lewis Family's final concert, 2009. The bluegrass and gospel band began performing in 1951.
September 6
Mark Chesnutt born in Beaumont, Texas, 1963 (now 46)
David Allan Coe born in Akron, Ohio, 1939 (now 70)
Jeff Foxworthy born in Atlanta, Georgia, 1958 (now 51)
Mel McDaniel born in Checotah, Oklahoma, 1942 (now 67)
Zeke Clements born in Warrior, Alabama, 1911 (died 1994)
Ernest Tubb died (complications from emphysema), 1984 (was 70)
Autry Inman died (unknown cause), 1988 (was 59)
Roy Huskey Jr. died (cancer), 1997 (was 41)
September 7
Ronnie Dove born in Herndon, Virginia, 1940 (now 69)
Buddy Holly born in Lubbock, Texas, 1936 (died 1959). The rock and roll pioneer began in country music, and among his band members was Waylon Jennings.
Hubert Long died (brain tumor), 1972 (was 48)
September 8
Milton Brown born in Stephenville, Texas, 1903 (died 1936)
Patsy Cline born in Winchester, Virginia, 1932 (died 1963)
Harlan Howard born in Lexington, Kentucky, 1929 (died 2002)
Jimmie Rodgers born in Meridian, Mississippi, 1897 (died 1933)
September 9
Freddy Weller born in Atlanta, Georgia, 1947 (now 62)
Rodger Dale Tubb died (car wreck), 1938 (was 7 weeks old)
Bill Monroe died (stroke), 1996 (was 84)
September 10
Tommy Overstreet born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1937 (now 72)
Rosie Flores born in San Antonio, Texas, 1956 (now 53)
Luke Wills born in Memphis, Texas, 1920 (died 2000)
Joe (ne Walter) Callahan of the Callahan Brothers died (cancer), 1971 (was 61)
September 11
Jimmie Davis born in Beech Springs, Louisiana, 1899 (died 2000)
Randy Hughes born in Gum, Tennessee, 1928 (died 1963)
Lorne Greene died (pneumonia), 1987 (was 72). The actor's recitation "Ringo" was a top 25 country hit in 1964.
Leon Payne died (heart attack), 1969 (was 52)
Bill (ne Homer) Callahan of the Callahan Brothers died (congestive heart failure), 2002 (was 90)
September 12
George Jones born in Saratoga, Texas, 1931 (now 78)
Leona Johnson Atkins born in Jackson Township, Ohio, 1924 (now 85). One of WLW's "Johnson Twins," she married Chet Atkins in 1946.
Lois Johnson Burns born in Jackson Township, Ohio, 1924 (died 1989). One of WLW's "Johnson Twins," she married Jethro Burns of Homer & Jethro in 1946.
Helen Carter born in Maces Springs, Virginia, 1927 (died 1998)
Rod Brasfield died (heart failure), 1958 (was 48)
Johnny Cash died (Shy-Drager syndrome complications, diabetes, lung disease), 2003 (was 71)
John Ritter died (heart ailment), 2003 (was 54). The actor was the son of Western legend Tex Ritter.
Charlie Walker died (colon cancer), 2008 (was 81)
September 13
Bobbie Cryner born in Woodland, California, 1961 (now 48)
Bill Monroe born in Rosine, Kentucky, 1911 (died 1996)
U.S. Postal Service issues a Roy Acuff postage stamp, 2003
September 14
John Berry born in Aiken, South Carolina, 1959 (now 50)
Mae Boren Axton born in Bardwell, Texas, 1914 (died 1997)
Don Walser born in Brownfield, Texas, 1934 (died 2006)
Vernon Dalhart died (heart attack), 1948 (was 65)
September 15
Roy Acuff born in Maynardsville, Tennesssee, 1903 (died 1992)
Patsy Cline married Charlie Dick, 1957
(Hall of Fame members in bold)
September 1
Boxcar Willie born in Sterratt, Texas, 1931 (died 1999)
Johnny Mack Brown born in Dothan, Alabama, 1904 (died 1974). The western actor was the namesake of Lester "Roadhog" Moran and the Cadillac Cowboy's Live at the Johnny Mack Brown High School album.
Conway Twitty born in Friars Point, Mississippi, 1933 (died 1993)
Jerry Reed died (emphysema), 2008 (was 71)
September 2
Johnny Lee Wills born in Jewell, Texas, 1912 (died 1984)
Charline Authur born in Henrietta, Texas, 1929 (died 1987)
Grady Nutt born in Amarillo, Texas, 1934 (died 1982)
Fabor Robinson, founder of Fabor Records, died (unknown cause), 1986 (was 74)
September 3
Tompall Glaser born in Spalding, Nebraska, 1933 (now 76)
Jimmy Riddle born in Dyersburg, Tennessee, 1918 (died 1981)
Hank Thompson born in Waco, Texas, 1925 (died 2007)
September 4
Shot Jackson born in Wilmington, North Carolina, 1920 (died 1991)
Dottie West died (injuries from a car wreck), 1991 (was 58)
Carl Butler died (heart attack), 1992 (was 65)
September 5
The Country Music Association was founded, 1958
The Lewis Family's final concert, 2009. The bluegrass and gospel band began performing in 1951.
September 6
Mark Chesnutt born in Beaumont, Texas, 1963 (now 46)
David Allan Coe born in Akron, Ohio, 1939 (now 70)
Jeff Foxworthy born in Atlanta, Georgia, 1958 (now 51)
Mel McDaniel born in Checotah, Oklahoma, 1942 (now 67)
Zeke Clements born in Warrior, Alabama, 1911 (died 1994)
Ernest Tubb died (complications from emphysema), 1984 (was 70)
Autry Inman died (unknown cause), 1988 (was 59)
Roy Huskey Jr. died (cancer), 1997 (was 41)
September 7
Ronnie Dove born in Herndon, Virginia, 1940 (now 69)
Buddy Holly born in Lubbock, Texas, 1936 (died 1959). The rock and roll pioneer began in country music, and among his band members was Waylon Jennings.
Hubert Long died (brain tumor), 1972 (was 48)
September 8
Milton Brown born in Stephenville, Texas, 1903 (died 1936)
Patsy Cline born in Winchester, Virginia, 1932 (died 1963)
Harlan Howard born in Lexington, Kentucky, 1929 (died 2002)
Jimmie Rodgers born in Meridian, Mississippi, 1897 (died 1933)
September 9
Freddy Weller born in Atlanta, Georgia, 1947 (now 62)
Rodger Dale Tubb died (car wreck), 1938 (was 7 weeks old)
Bill Monroe died (stroke), 1996 (was 84)
September 10
Tommy Overstreet born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1937 (now 72)
Rosie Flores born in San Antonio, Texas, 1956 (now 53)
Luke Wills born in Memphis, Texas, 1920 (died 2000)
Joe (ne Walter) Callahan of the Callahan Brothers died (cancer), 1971 (was 61)
September 11
Jimmie Davis born in Beech Springs, Louisiana, 1899 (died 2000)
Randy Hughes born in Gum, Tennessee, 1928 (died 1963)
Lorne Greene died (pneumonia), 1987 (was 72). The actor's recitation "Ringo" was a top 25 country hit in 1964.
Leon Payne died (heart attack), 1969 (was 52)
Bill (ne Homer) Callahan of the Callahan Brothers died (congestive heart failure), 2002 (was 90)
September 12
George Jones born in Saratoga, Texas, 1931 (now 78)
Leona Johnson Atkins born in Jackson Township, Ohio, 1924 (now 85). One of WLW's "Johnson Twins," she married Chet Atkins in 1946.
Lois Johnson Burns born in Jackson Township, Ohio, 1924 (died 1989). One of WLW's "Johnson Twins," she married Jethro Burns of Homer & Jethro in 1946.
Helen Carter born in Maces Springs, Virginia, 1927 (died 1998)
Rod Brasfield died (heart failure), 1958 (was 48)
Johnny Cash died (Shy-Drager syndrome complications, diabetes, lung disease), 2003 (was 71)
John Ritter died (heart ailment), 2003 (was 54). The actor was the son of Western legend Tex Ritter.
Charlie Walker died (colon cancer), 2008 (was 81)
September 13
Bobbie Cryner born in Woodland, California, 1961 (now 48)
Bill Monroe born in Rosine, Kentucky, 1911 (died 1996)
U.S. Postal Service issues a Roy Acuff postage stamp, 2003
September 14
John Berry born in Aiken, South Carolina, 1959 (now 50)
Mae Boren Axton born in Bardwell, Texas, 1914 (died 1997)
Don Walser born in Brownfield, Texas, 1934 (died 2006)
Vernon Dalhart died (heart attack), 1948 (was 65)
September 15
Roy Acuff born in Maynardsville, Tennesssee, 1903 (died 1992)
Patsy Cline married Charlie Dick, 1957
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Happy Birthday, Your Majesty
Category: Birthday/News
Happy 90th birthday to the Queen of Country Music, Kitty Wells.
Her husband, Johnnie Wright (of Johnnie & Jack fame) is 95. They have been married for nearly seventy two years.
Happy 90th birthday to the Queen of Country Music, Kitty Wells.
Her husband, Johnnie Wright (of Johnnie & Jack fame) is 95. They have been married for nearly seventy two years.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Brothers Being Brothers
Category: 50 Songs to Hear
SONG: Not That I Care
ARTIST: Wilburn Brothers
SONGWRITER: Cindy Walker
ALBUM: Never Alone
YEAR/LABEL: 1964, Decca
One thing our daddy taught us was to never give up.
(Teddy Wilburn)
The Wilburn Brothers might not be the most deserving act to get into the Hall of Fame NOW, but they are certainly in the top five. Teddy and Doyle were comparable to the Louvin Brothers. The two brother acts even had dueling versions of "Knoxville Girl" on the charts in 1956 (the Wilburns won the chart position battle, but the Louvins won the length war: their version is nearly two minutes longer than the Wilburns, which caused Doyle to comment on their TV show that the song was so long "you could record it on one side of a long-playing record...and have 'Barbara Allen' on the other side!"). Their television show spotlighted a young girl singer named Loretta Lynn and shot her to national superstardom. They also owned their own publishing company, Sure-Fire. If there's one word that describes the Wilburns, it's "trailblazers."
While "behind the scenes" this may have hurt their chances for induction into the Hall of Fame during Teddy's lifetime (he died in 2003, twenty one years after his brother), the fans adored the Wilburns, and with good reason. While they were the "other" hot brother duet of the 50s (along with the Louvins), their harmonies lacked the punch of Ira's tenor, which admittedly is an acquired taste. Thanks to their TV show's success, in the 60s they left the disbanded Louvins in the dust in terms of popularity, although now the Louvins are the fondly remembered ones and the Wilburns are forgotten to the extent that only one CD, a meager twelve-song compilation of greatest hits, has been issued -- and that is out of print!
"Not That I Care" is a good example of just why these things are so wrong on so many levels. This Cindy Walker song is an excellent ballad that could have been at home as easily in the discography of Jim Reeves or Buck Owens. The subject is a man running into a mutual friend of his old flame and asking questions. The probes are followed by the half-hearted claim, "I just wonder, not that I care." At the end the misty eyes of the protagonist is blamed on "too much smoke, what I need is some air." Cindy knew how to write 'em and the Wilburns knew how to deliver 'em.
Doyle Wilburn died of cancer in 1982; Teddy died from congestive heart failure in 2003 after years of poor health. The two brothers are not forgotten thanks to repeats of their popular show airing on RFD-TV. Hopefully one day soon their plaque will hang in the Hall of Fame.
OTHER WILBURN BROTHERS MUSIC WORTH INVESTIGATING:
The entire Never Alone album -- big hits ("Roll Muddy River") and interesting covers ("Sundown Mary") highlight a classic from the Wilburn Brothers' career.
"I've Got That Old Time Religion in My Heart" (from Take Up Thy Cross) -- there was always a Gospel song at the end of the Wilburns' TV show, and this was one of the best they ever recorded.
"Put It Off Until Tomorrow" (from Let's Go Country) -- a spectacular song by Bill Phillips given a good reading by Teddy and Doyle.
PREVIOUS SONGS:
(Country)
Nobody Eats at Linebaugh's Anymore
My Book of Memories
Lost to a Stranger
A Little Bitty Heart
Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs
Life is Too Short
I Want a Home in Dixie
I Lost Today
Fingerprints
Down to the River to Pray
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyeballs
A Death in the Family
Dark as a Dungeon
Bottomless Well
(Rock)
Out to Sea
One More Song
New Delhi Freight Train
Millworker
Long Way Home
Island
Heart of Rome
Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home
Entella Hotel
Desperados Under the Eaves
Crossing Muddy Waters
Cliffs of Dooneen
Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)
Baby Mine
SONG: Not That I Care
ARTIST: Wilburn Brothers
SONGWRITER: Cindy Walker
ALBUM: Never Alone
YEAR/LABEL: 1964, Decca
One thing our daddy taught us was to never give up.
(Teddy Wilburn)
The Wilburn Brothers might not be the most deserving act to get into the Hall of Fame NOW, but they are certainly in the top five. Teddy and Doyle were comparable to the Louvin Brothers. The two brother acts even had dueling versions of "Knoxville Girl" on the charts in 1956 (the Wilburns won the chart position battle, but the Louvins won the length war: their version is nearly two minutes longer than the Wilburns, which caused Doyle to comment on their TV show that the song was so long "you could record it on one side of a long-playing record...and have 'Barbara Allen' on the other side!"). Their television show spotlighted a young girl singer named Loretta Lynn and shot her to national superstardom. They also owned their own publishing company, Sure-Fire. If there's one word that describes the Wilburns, it's "trailblazers."
While "behind the scenes" this may have hurt their chances for induction into the Hall of Fame during Teddy's lifetime (he died in 2003, twenty one years after his brother), the fans adored the Wilburns, and with good reason. While they were the "other" hot brother duet of the 50s (along with the Louvins), their harmonies lacked the punch of Ira's tenor, which admittedly is an acquired taste. Thanks to their TV show's success, in the 60s they left the disbanded Louvins in the dust in terms of popularity, although now the Louvins are the fondly remembered ones and the Wilburns are forgotten to the extent that only one CD, a meager twelve-song compilation of greatest hits, has been issued -- and that is out of print!
"Not That I Care" is a good example of just why these things are so wrong on so many levels. This Cindy Walker song is an excellent ballad that could have been at home as easily in the discography of Jim Reeves or Buck Owens. The subject is a man running into a mutual friend of his old flame and asking questions. The probes are followed by the half-hearted claim, "I just wonder, not that I care." At the end the misty eyes of the protagonist is blamed on "too much smoke, what I need is some air." Cindy knew how to write 'em and the Wilburns knew how to deliver 'em.
Doyle Wilburn died of cancer in 1982; Teddy died from congestive heart failure in 2003 after years of poor health. The two brothers are not forgotten thanks to repeats of their popular show airing on RFD-TV. Hopefully one day soon their plaque will hang in the Hall of Fame.
OTHER WILBURN BROTHERS MUSIC WORTH INVESTIGATING:
The entire Never Alone album -- big hits ("Roll Muddy River") and interesting covers ("Sundown Mary") highlight a classic from the Wilburn Brothers' career.
"I've Got That Old Time Religion in My Heart" (from Take Up Thy Cross) -- there was always a Gospel song at the end of the Wilburns' TV show, and this was one of the best they ever recorded.
"Put It Off Until Tomorrow" (from Let's Go Country) -- a spectacular song by Bill Phillips given a good reading by Teddy and Doyle.
PREVIOUS SONGS:
(Country)
Nobody Eats at Linebaugh's Anymore
My Book of Memories
Lost to a Stranger
A Little Bitty Heart
Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs
Life is Too Short
I Want a Home in Dixie
I Lost Today
Fingerprints
Down to the River to Pray
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyeballs
A Death in the Family
Dark as a Dungeon
Bottomless Well
(Rock)
Out to Sea
One More Song
New Delhi Freight Train
Millworker
Long Way Home
Island
Heart of Rome
Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home
Entella Hotel
Desperados Under the Eaves
Crossing Muddy Waters
Cliffs of Dooneen
Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)
Baby Mine
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Four Walls Too Near Me
Category: Birthday/Tribute
There is no voice like Jim Reeves, period. Gentleman Jim was born 86 years ago on August 20.
Gentleman Jim
One night Jim Reeves performed a Mitchell Torok song, "Mexican Joe," on the Louisiana Hayride. Encore after encore followed. Six times Reeves went back out. He would have gone out a seventh time, but a Hayride official stopped him and told him that nobody was going to beat Hank Williams' record of seven encores. The song went on to national success, and Jim Reeves was on his way.
Back in those days, Reeves did not sing in his natural baritone. Someone at his first successful record label (Abbott) didn't think people wanted to hear such a deep voice singing country music. (This was not unique to Reeves: another Abbott artist sang higher than his normal voice. That was Jim Ed Brown, the sole male member of the Browns.) Things changed on February 7, 1957, when Jim entered Studio B in Nashville and recorded the song "Four Walls." That song is regarded by many to be the start of what is now known as "the Nashville sound." Reeves never sang in an abnormally higher pitch again -- nor did he ever use fiddles on his songs.
Reeves was a major success, but in many ways he was also a victim of the times. With the advent of rock and roll the sales of country music dropped dramatically. Reeves' success with "Four Walls" caused many to drop straight country music for a hybrid, "crossover" sound. He continued to make country records, but they were released on RCA's subsidiary label RCA Camden. The RCA Victor label turned Reeves into an overproduced country-pop singer with orchestration occasionally so loud it nearly drowned out Reeves' rich, velvety voice.
Jim Reeves lost his life three weeks before his 41st birthday in a plane crash outside of Nashville. In the time that has passed since his death his popularity has not diminished. He left a large collection of demo tapes, many of which were overdubbed and released into the late 1980s as "new" songs. In the early 1990s Bear Family issued everything on a sixteen-CD box set, Welcome to My World.
A book on Reeves by Larry Jordan (Jim Reeves: His Untold Story) is due out shortly, evidence that the world has not forgotten the exceptional talent of Gentleman Jim Reeves.
There is no voice like Jim Reeves, period. Gentleman Jim was born 86 years ago on August 20.
Gentleman Jim
One night Jim Reeves performed a Mitchell Torok song, "Mexican Joe," on the Louisiana Hayride. Encore after encore followed. Six times Reeves went back out. He would have gone out a seventh time, but a Hayride official stopped him and told him that nobody was going to beat Hank Williams' record of seven encores. The song went on to national success, and Jim Reeves was on his way.
Back in those days, Reeves did not sing in his natural baritone. Someone at his first successful record label (Abbott) didn't think people wanted to hear such a deep voice singing country music. (This was not unique to Reeves: another Abbott artist sang higher than his normal voice. That was Jim Ed Brown, the sole male member of the Browns.) Things changed on February 7, 1957, when Jim entered Studio B in Nashville and recorded the song "Four Walls." That song is regarded by many to be the start of what is now known as "the Nashville sound." Reeves never sang in an abnormally higher pitch again -- nor did he ever use fiddles on his songs.
Reeves was a major success, but in many ways he was also a victim of the times. With the advent of rock and roll the sales of country music dropped dramatically. Reeves' success with "Four Walls" caused many to drop straight country music for a hybrid, "crossover" sound. He continued to make country records, but they were released on RCA's subsidiary label RCA Camden. The RCA Victor label turned Reeves into an overproduced country-pop singer with orchestration occasionally so loud it nearly drowned out Reeves' rich, velvety voice.
Jim Reeves lost his life three weeks before his 41st birthday in a plane crash outside of Nashville. In the time that has passed since his death his popularity has not diminished. He left a large collection of demo tapes, many of which were overdubbed and released into the late 1980s as "new" songs. In the early 1990s Bear Family issued everything on a sixteen-CD box set, Welcome to My World.
A book on Reeves by Larry Jordan (Jim Reeves: His Untold Story) is due out shortly, evidence that the world has not forgotten the exceptional talent of Gentleman Jim Reeves.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Dates of Note in Country Music, August 16-31
Category: News
Hall of Fame members in bold
August 16:
Kathie Lee Gifford born in Paris, France, 1953 (now 56). Gifford began her career as one of the "Hee Haw honeys."
Billy Joe Shaver born in Corsica, Texas, 1939 (now 70)
Elvis Presley died (heart failure), 1977 (was 42)
Vassar Clements died (lung cancer), 2005 (was 77)
Patsy Montana recorded "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart," 1935. The song would become country music's first million-seller by a female.
August 17:
E.W. "Bud" Wendell born in Akron, Ohio, 1927 (now 82)
Wayne Raney born in Wolf Bayou, Arkansas, 1920 (died 1993)
August 18:
Johnny Preston born in Port Arthur, Texas, 1939 (now 70). Preston is best known for "Running Bear," the 1959 hit which featured guitar work and backing vocals by George Jones.
Hank Penny born in Birmingham, Alabama, 1918 (died 1992)
Molly Bee born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1939 (died 2009)
The Louvin Brothers play their last official show as a duo (opening for Ray Price) in Watseka, Illinois, 1963. According to Charles Wolfe's biography, the duo that once commanded over $1,100 per show as headliners received $250 for the performance.
August 19:
Eddy Raven born in Lafayette, Louisiana, 1944 (now 65)
Lee Ann Womack born in Jacksonville, Texas, 1966 (now 43)
Clay Walker born in Beaumont, Texas, 1969 (now 40)
August 20:
Rudy Gatlin born in Olney, Texas, 1952 (now 57)
Jim Reeves born in Galloway, Texas, 1923 (died 1964)
Justin Tubb born in San Antonio, Texas, 1935 (died 1998)
August 21:
Harold Reid born in Staunton, Virginia, 1939 (now 70)
Nick Kane of the Mavericks born in Jerusalem, Georgia, 1954 (now 55)
Sam McGee died (tractor accident on his farm), 1975 (was 81)
August 22:
Rounder Records co-owner Marian Leighton-Levy born in Harrington, Maine, 1948 (now 61)
Holly Dunn born in San Antonio, Texas, 1957 (now 52)
Collin Raye born in DeQueen, Arkansas, 1959 (now 50)
Rod Brasfield born in Smithville, Arkansas, 1910 (died 1958)
Connie B. Gay born in Lizard Lick, North Carolina, 1914 (died 1989)
Horace "Aytchie" Burns died (heart attack), 1974 (was 56). Aytchie was a bass player at Knoxville's WNOX. He was also the older brother of Jethro Burns.
Elizabeth Haynes born in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, 1920 (died 1976)
Elizabeth Haynes died (kidney disease), 1976 (56th birthday). The one-time bass player and "red-headed yodeling gal" on the Renfro Valley Barn Dance was the wife of Homer Haynes.
Leon Chappelear died (suicide [gunshot]), 1962 (was 53)
Floyd Tillman died (leukemia), 2003 (was 88)
August 23:
Rex Allen, Jr. born in Chicago, Illinois, 1947 (now 62)
Woody Paul of Riders in the Sky born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1949 (now 60)
Tex Williams born in Anvil, Illinois, 1917 (died 1985)
Leslie York of the York Brothers born in Louisa, Kentucky, 1917 (died 1984)
"It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" hit #1 on the Billboard charts, 1952. The song, the first #1 hit for a female singer, was very controversial in its day, with many country stations refusing to play the song and the Grand Ole Opry management prohibiting Kitty Wells from performing the tune on the Opry.
August 24:
Fred Rose born in Evansville, Indiana, 1897 (died 1954)
Jerry Clower died (complications from heart surgery), 1998 (was 71)
Nat Stuckey died (lung cancer), 1988 (was 54)
August 25:
Elvis Costello born in London, England, 1954 (now 55). The punk pioneer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member is a die-hard country music fan who recorded an album of old country songs, Almost Blue, and has performed with numerous country legends including George Jones, Ricky Skaggs, Emmylou Harris, and Charlie Louvin. Johnny Cash recorded Costello's song "The Big Light" on Johnny Cash is Coming to Town.
Billy Ray Cyrus born in Flatwoods, Kentucky, 1961 (now 48)
Jo Dee Messina born in Holliston, Massachusetts, 1970 (now 39)
Jerry Rivers born in Miami, Florida, 1928 (died 1996)
Cliff Bruner died (cancer), 2000 (was 85)
August 26:
Don Bowman born in Lubbock, Texas, 1937 (now 72)
Jimmy Olander of Diamond Rio born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1961 (now 48)
Wilma Burgess died (heart attack), 2003 (was 64)
August 27:
Jimmy C. Newman born in Big Mamou, Louisiana, 1927 (now 82)
J.D. Crowe born in Lexington, Kentucky, 1937 (now 72)
Frances Preston born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1934 (now 75)
Jeff Cook of Alabama born in Fort Payne, Alabama, 1949 (now 60)
Carter Stanley born in Dickenson County, Virginia, 1925 (died 1966)
Jim Denny died (cancer), 1963 (was 52). For his Hall of Fame career, Denny may be most infamous for telling a guest artist after an appearance on the Grand Ole Opry, "You ain't goin' nowhere, son. You ought to go back to driving a truck." The person on the receiving end of Denny's criticism was Elvis Presley.
August 28:
Billy Grammer born in Benton, Illinois, 1925 (now 84)
LeAnn Rimes born in Jackson, Mississippi, 1982 (now 27)
August 29:
Shawn Camp born in Perryville, Arkansas, 1966 (now 42)
Dan Truman of Diamond Rio born in St. George, Utah, 1956 (now 53)
Grady Cole born in Lafayette, Georgia, 1909 (died 1981). He and wife Hazel wrote the country gospel classic "Tramp on the Street."
Archie Campbell died (heart attack), 1987 (was 67)
August 30:
Kitty Wells born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1919 (now 90)
Jon Hagar born in Chicago, Illinois, 1946 (died 2009)
Jim Hagar born in Chicago, Illinois, 1946 (died 2008)
Hall of Fame members in bold
August 16:
Kathie Lee Gifford born in Paris, France, 1953 (now 56). Gifford began her career as one of the "Hee Haw honeys."
Billy Joe Shaver born in Corsica, Texas, 1939 (now 70)
Elvis Presley died (heart failure), 1977 (was 42)
Vassar Clements died (lung cancer), 2005 (was 77)
Patsy Montana recorded "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart," 1935. The song would become country music's first million-seller by a female.
August 17:
E.W. "Bud" Wendell born in Akron, Ohio, 1927 (now 82)
Wayne Raney born in Wolf Bayou, Arkansas, 1920 (died 1993)
August 18:
Johnny Preston born in Port Arthur, Texas, 1939 (now 70). Preston is best known for "Running Bear," the 1959 hit which featured guitar work and backing vocals by George Jones.
Hank Penny born in Birmingham, Alabama, 1918 (died 1992)
Molly Bee born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1939 (died 2009)
The Louvin Brothers play their last official show as a duo (opening for Ray Price) in Watseka, Illinois, 1963. According to Charles Wolfe's biography, the duo that once commanded over $1,100 per show as headliners received $250 for the performance.
August 19:
Eddy Raven born in Lafayette, Louisiana, 1944 (now 65)
Lee Ann Womack born in Jacksonville, Texas, 1966 (now 43)
Clay Walker born in Beaumont, Texas, 1969 (now 40)
August 20:
Rudy Gatlin born in Olney, Texas, 1952 (now 57)
Jim Reeves born in Galloway, Texas, 1923 (died 1964)
Justin Tubb born in San Antonio, Texas, 1935 (died 1998)
August 21:
Harold Reid born in Staunton, Virginia, 1939 (now 70)
Nick Kane of the Mavericks born in Jerusalem, Georgia, 1954 (now 55)
Sam McGee died (tractor accident on his farm), 1975 (was 81)
August 22:
Rounder Records co-owner Marian Leighton-Levy born in Harrington, Maine, 1948 (now 61)
Holly Dunn born in San Antonio, Texas, 1957 (now 52)
Collin Raye born in DeQueen, Arkansas, 1959 (now 50)
Rod Brasfield born in Smithville, Arkansas, 1910 (died 1958)
Connie B. Gay born in Lizard Lick, North Carolina, 1914 (died 1989)
Horace "Aytchie" Burns died (heart attack), 1974 (was 56). Aytchie was a bass player at Knoxville's WNOX. He was also the older brother of Jethro Burns.
Elizabeth Haynes born in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, 1920 (died 1976)
Elizabeth Haynes died (kidney disease), 1976 (56th birthday). The one-time bass player and "red-headed yodeling gal" on the Renfro Valley Barn Dance was the wife of Homer Haynes.
Leon Chappelear died (suicide [gunshot]), 1962 (was 53)
Floyd Tillman died (leukemia), 2003 (was 88)
August 23:
Rex Allen, Jr. born in Chicago, Illinois, 1947 (now 62)
Woody Paul of Riders in the Sky born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1949 (now 60)
Tex Williams born in Anvil, Illinois, 1917 (died 1985)
Leslie York of the York Brothers born in Louisa, Kentucky, 1917 (died 1984)
"It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" hit #1 on the Billboard charts, 1952. The song, the first #1 hit for a female singer, was very controversial in its day, with many country stations refusing to play the song and the Grand Ole Opry management prohibiting Kitty Wells from performing the tune on the Opry.
August 24:
Fred Rose born in Evansville, Indiana, 1897 (died 1954)
Jerry Clower died (complications from heart surgery), 1998 (was 71)
Nat Stuckey died (lung cancer), 1988 (was 54)
August 25:
Elvis Costello born in London, England, 1954 (now 55). The punk pioneer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member is a die-hard country music fan who recorded an album of old country songs, Almost Blue, and has performed with numerous country legends including George Jones, Ricky Skaggs, Emmylou Harris, and Charlie Louvin. Johnny Cash recorded Costello's song "The Big Light" on Johnny Cash is Coming to Town.
Billy Ray Cyrus born in Flatwoods, Kentucky, 1961 (now 48)
Jo Dee Messina born in Holliston, Massachusetts, 1970 (now 39)
Jerry Rivers born in Miami, Florida, 1928 (died 1996)
Cliff Bruner died (cancer), 2000 (was 85)
August 26:
Don Bowman born in Lubbock, Texas, 1937 (now 72)
Jimmy Olander of Diamond Rio born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1961 (now 48)
Wilma Burgess died (heart attack), 2003 (was 64)
August 27:
Jimmy C. Newman born in Big Mamou, Louisiana, 1927 (now 82)
J.D. Crowe born in Lexington, Kentucky, 1937 (now 72)
Frances Preston born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1934 (now 75)
Jeff Cook of Alabama born in Fort Payne, Alabama, 1949 (now 60)
Carter Stanley born in Dickenson County, Virginia, 1925 (died 1966)
Jim Denny died (cancer), 1963 (was 52). For his Hall of Fame career, Denny may be most infamous for telling a guest artist after an appearance on the Grand Ole Opry, "You ain't goin' nowhere, son. You ought to go back to driving a truck." The person on the receiving end of Denny's criticism was Elvis Presley.
August 28:
Billy Grammer born in Benton, Illinois, 1925 (now 84)
LeAnn Rimes born in Jackson, Mississippi, 1982 (now 27)
August 29:
Shawn Camp born in Perryville, Arkansas, 1966 (now 42)
Dan Truman of Diamond Rio born in St. George, Utah, 1956 (now 53)
Grady Cole born in Lafayette, Georgia, 1909 (died 1981). He and wife Hazel wrote the country gospel classic "Tramp on the Street."
Archie Campbell died (heart attack), 1987 (was 67)
August 30:
Kitty Wells born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1919 (now 90)
Jon Hagar born in Chicago, Illinois, 1946 (died 2009)
Jim Hagar born in Chicago, Illinois, 1946 (died 2008)
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