Wake-Up Call

Category:  Personal

To call me a "music junkie" is to minimize how I feel about music.  You should’ve known me in my wild and crazy 20’s and 30’s.  I worked primarily to support my music habit.  There were months where I spent more on Bear Family box sets than my mortgage.  And concerts?  I went more places than Hank Snow to see shows.  "Vacation days" were planned around concerts, and my weekends (I worked a goofy shift, so my "weekends" were usually Tuesday and Wednesday) were spent going to shows.  I would probably have my mortgage paid off three times over if it weren't for music -- not that I'm complaining.  A house without music is not a home; and nobody should consider "living to pay the mortgage" a "life."

It wasn’t a mid-life crisis that put the brakes on my concert-going (after all, 40 is the new 30, or so they say); rather, my mom’s illness.  Once emphysema tied my mom to an oxygen machine and a bottomless bottle of prednisone I didn't dare venture too far from home.  The last thing I wanted was to get a dreaded phone call while I was 1,100 miles away in Texas seeing a concert (and yes, I've driven 1,100 miles to Texas to see concerts).  So, I stayed home and basically stopped going to shows.  Not completely, but I fell asleep, so to speak, with the same old concerts every year (again, not that I'm complaining, because if I didn't like the acts I wouldn't see them repeatedly).  I would occasionally venture down to Nashville (a safe 2½ -hour drive), but with my mom sick my fire for music -- more specifically, live music -- was generally doused.  

After her death in 2007 I forgot to resume the concert spree, still seeing those two or three trusted regulars every year.  Even people that I wanted to see couldn't coax me out of my house.  Chalk that up to mourning, middle age, or anything you want.  I just know that music was passing me by, and I was content to let it.

That all changed one year ago.  A long time ago a friend of mine told me that if I had to crawl through a swarm of angry fire ants while covered in honey to see the legendary folk-rock singer/songwriter/guitarist Richard Thompson, especially solo acoustic, I should do it.  Thompson played in Bloomington, Indiana on September 18 and I went.  Two nights later, Deke Dickerson, a man I had been trying to see for nearly two years, came to Louisville and I finally got to see him.

Chris "Sugarballs" Sprague defying gravity during the Deke
Dickerson & the Ecco-Fonics show on September 20, 2012
c.2013 K.F. Raizor

Talk about a wake-up call.  I was out until 2 AM having my head knocked off my shoulders by Deke and his first-rate group the Ecco-Fonics...just 48 hours after Richard Thompson put my chin on the floor with his astonishing solo concert.  To say the very least, the alarm clock rang loudly (sounding remarkably like Dickerson's guitar).  Unlike the alarm that wakes me for work, however, I did not hit the snooze button then roll over and go back to sleep.  After seeing those two shows in such close proximity to each other the joys of youth came flooding back.  I felt half my age, and it felt great.

In the five years prior to my awakening I saw a total of fourteen concerts.  Most were either in Louisville or Nashville.  In the past twelve months, however, I have walked through the doors of concert venues twenty one times (in chronological order:  Richard Thompson; Deke Dickerson & the Ecco-Fonics; Wanda Jackson; Iris DeMent; Dailey & Vincent; Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver; Robbie Fulks & Don Stiernberg; Don Stiernberg & Trio Brasileiro; Robbie Fulks & Nora O'Connor; Dale Watson; Alan Munde, Greg Cahill & Don Stiernberg; Dale Watson; Marshall Crenshaw & the Bottle Rockets; the Old 97's & Robbie Fulks; Justin Trevino; Dale Watson & Amber Digby; Kathy Copas & the John Simon Band; Reverend Horton Heat, Deke Dickerson & Wayne Hancock; Dale Watson; Robbie Fulks; and Donna the Buffalo) in five states (Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio).  PLUS...I have three more Dale Watson shows (I could literally see that man every night), Wayne Hancock (this time as a headlining act), Webb Wilder, two more Deke Dickerson shows, and two more Robbie Fulks gigs (I figure it's high time I see him outside of Illinois) scheduled in the next five weeks. 

I offer my thanks to Richard and especially Deke for the wake-up call.  Thank you, too (though that feels terribly insufficient), to the men and women who make the music that is worth going to see -- and (as I told Bottle Rockets drummer Mark Ortmann) worth traveling to see.  It's good to be back home in music clubs.

Dates of Note in Country Music, September 16-30

Category: News

(Hall of Fame members in bold on birth/death date, followed by hall[s] of fame in which they are enshrined and the year enshrined.  CM=Country Music; BG=Bluegrass; NS=Nashville Songwriter; SG=Southern Gospel)

September 16:

David Bellamy of the Bellamy Brothers born in Darby, Florida, 1950 (now 63)
Bobby Randall of Sawyer Brown born in Midland, Michigan, 1952 (now 61)
Terry McBride of McBride & the Ride born in Austin, Texas, 1958 (now 55)
Ralph Mooney (Steel Guitar 83) born in Duncan, Oklahoma, 1928 (died 2011)
Sheb Wooley died in Nashville, Tennessee (leukemia), 2003 (was 82)

September 17:

Hank Williams (CM 61, NS 70) born in Mount Olive, Alabama, 1923 (died 1953)
Jimmie Crawford (Steel Guitar 00) born in Obetz, Ohio, 1935 (died 2005)
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 first appeared, 1931

September 18:

Priscilla Mitchell born in Marietta, Georgia, 1941 (now 72). 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 60)
Lydia Rogers of the Secret Sisters born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, 1988 (now 25)
Ervin T. Rouse born in Craven County, North Carolina, 1917 (died 1981)
Michael "Bea" Lilly died in Plymouth, Massachusetts (Alzheimer's disease), 2005 (was 83)

September 19:

Trisha Yearwood born in Monticello, Georgia, 1964 (now 49)
Clyde Moody born in Cherokee, North Carolina, 1915 (died 1989)
Danny Dill (NS 75) born in Carroll County, Tennessee, 1924 (died 2008)
Carlton Haney (BG 98) born in Rockingham County, North Carolina, 1928 (died 2011)
Clyde "Sonny' Burns born in Lufkin, Texas, 1930 (died 1992)
Red Foley (CM 67) died in Fort Wayne, Indiana (heart attack), 1968 (was 58)
Gram Parsons died in Joshua Tree, California (drug overdose), 1973 (was 26)
Skeeter Davis died in Nashville, Tennessee (cancer), 2004 (was 72)
Slim Dusty ("Australian king of country music") died in St. Ives, New South Wales (cancer), 2003 (was 76)
Carl Smith married singer Goldie Hill, 1957

September 20:

Bob Miller (NS 70) born in Memphis, Tennessee, 1895 (died 1955)
Pearl Butler born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1927 (died 1988)
Karl Farr (CM 80) died in West Springfield, Massachusetts (heart attack), 1961 (was 52)
Jim Croce died in Natchitoches, Louisiana (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 in Seattle, Washington (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:

Dickey Lee (NS 95) born in Memphis, Tennessee, 1936 (now 77)
Don Felder, former guitarist/steel guitarist for the Eagles, born in Gainesville, Florida, 1947 (now 66)
Kenny Starr born in Topeka, Kansas, 1952 (now 61)
Daryl Mosley of New Tradition born in Waverly, Tennessee, 1964 (now 49)
Ronna Reeves born in Big Spring, Texas, 1966 (now 47)
Ted Daffan (NS 70) born in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, 1912 (died 1996)
Walter Brennan died in Oxnard, California (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 61)
Debby Boone born in Hackensack, New Jersey, 1956 (now 57). The "You Light Up My Life" singer is Red Foley's granddaughter.
James Roy "Pop" Lewis Sr. of the Lewis Family (BG 06) born in Pickens, South Carolina, 1905 (died 2004)

September 23:

Pat Alger (NS 10) born in Long Island City, New York, 1947 (now 66)
Don Herron Jr. of BR5-49 born in Steubenville, Ohio, 1962 (now 51)
Roy Drusky died in Nashville, Tennessee (emphysema), 2004 (was 74)
Bradley Kincaid (NS 71) died in Springfield, Ohio (natural causes), 1989 (was 94)
O.B. McClinton died in Nashville, Tennessee (abdominal cancer), 1987 (was 45)
Jimmy Wakely (NS 71) died in Mission Hills, California (emphysema), 1982 (was 68)
Roy Horton (CM 82) died in Nashville, Tennessee (diabetes/congestive heart failure), 2003 (was 88)
First recording session for Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, 1935

September 24:

Rosalie Allen died in Palmdale, California (congestive heart failure), 2003 (was 79)
Jim Denny fired as Opry manager, 1956

September 25:

Ian Tyson born in Victoria, British Columbia, 1933 (now 80)
Larry Sparks born in Lebanon, Ohio, 1947 (now 66)
Shel Silverstein (NS 02) born in Chicago, Illinois, 1930 (died 1999)
Royce Kendall born in St. Louis, Missouri, 1934 (died 1998)
Little Jimmy Dickens became a member of the Grand Ole Opry, 1948. This is his 65th year as an Opry member, which is one of the longest tenures in the history of the show.

September 26:

David Frizzell born in El Dorado, Arkansas, 1941 (now 72)
Lynn Anderson born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, 1947 (now 66)
Carlene Carter born in Madison, Tennessee, 1955 (now 58)
Doug Supernaw born in Bryan, Texas, 1960 (now 53)
Marty Robbins (CM 82, NS 75) 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:

Beasley Smith (NS 83) born in McEwen, Tennessee, 1902 (died 1968)
Uncle Josh Graves (BG 97) born in Tellico Plains, Tennessee, 1928 (died 2006)
Charlie Monroe died in Reidsville, North Carolina (cancer), 1975 (was 72)
Johnnie Wright died in Madison, Tennessee (natural causes), 2011 (was 97)
Johnny Mathis died in Cornersville, Tennessee (pneumonia), 2011 (was 80)

September 28:

Ronnie Reno born in Buffalo, South Carolina, 1947 (now 64)
Laurie Lewis born in Long Beach, California, 1950 (now 61)
Mandy Barnett born in Crossville, Tennessee, 1975 (now 36)
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)
Jerry Clower born in Liberty, Mississippi, 1926 (died 1998)
Tommy Collins (ne Leonard Sipes) (NS 99) born in Bethany, Oklahoma, 1930 (died 2000)
Johnny Mathis born in Maud, Texas, 1930 (died 2011). Because of the rise of a pop singer by the same name in the mid 1950's, Mathis became known as "Country Johnny Mathis."
Glenn Sutton (NS 99) born in Hodge, Louisiana, 1937 (died 2007)
Johnny Horton married Billie Jean Williams (widow of Hank Williams), 1953

September 29:

Jerry Lee Lewis born in Ferriday, Louisiana, 1935 (now 78)
Gene Autry (CM 69, NS 70) 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 in San Fernando, California (natural causes), 2003 (was 85)
Mickey Newbury (NS 80) died in Springfield, Oregon (emphysema), 2002 (was 62)

September 30:

Richard Bowden born in Linden, Texas, 1945 (now 68)
Johnny Burns born in Knoxville, Tennessee, 1948 (now 65).  The son of Jethro Burns is a singer/songwriter/guitarist on his own, and worked for many years with country-folk icon John Prine.
Deborah Allen born in Memphis, Tennessee, 1953 (now 60)
Marty Stuart born in Philadelphia, Mississippi, 1958 (now 55)
Mary Ford died in Arcadia, California (diabetes complications), 1977 (was 53)
Uncle Josh Graves (BG 97) died in Nashville, Tennessee (lengthy illness), 2006 (was 81)
Ruby Wright died in Nashville, Tennessee (heart disease), 2009 (was 69)
Billboard magazine changed the name of the "Hillbilly and Western" chart to the "Folk 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.

Acoustic Roar

Category:  Concert Review

Robbie Fulks began to explain the scenario behind "Where I Fell," one of the songs off his brilliant new album Gone Away Backward, to the sold-out audience at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago on Friday (9/6), then he stopped.  "It's in English,"  he said with his trademark dry humor, "so you'll figure it out."

Fulks and his stellar band left little to "figure out" as they roared through a two-hour set of acoustic and bluegrass music, highlighted by half a dozen songs from the new release.  Backing Fulks were his longtime accomplice Robbie Gjerose, former Del McCoury Band bassist Mike Bub (who also played banjo) multi-instrumentalist Chris Scruggs, and amazing fiddler Jenny Scheinman (who played on the album and opened the show with 50 minutes of her own music).  

After opening with "Where There's a Road," a song that Sam Bush covered on an album, Fulks dusted off an obscure chestnut, "I Just Want to Meet the Man" from his sarcastically-titled The Best of Robbie Fulks.  The song, with its underlying threats of violence directed toward the new lover of the narrator's ex-wife, is not easy to explain.  Fulks admitted post-concert that the song is either received by laughter (which was the case this time) or stone silence.  "Let's Kill Saturday Night" works as well with an acoustic arrangement as the rocking original, and "Goodbye Good Lookin'" was presented with a swinging jazz feel highlighted by Scruggs on the bass. 

"That's Where I'm From," the masterpiece of Gone Away Backward, was the first new song unleashed on the crowd, and a perfect place to start.  The quiet music behind lyrics simultaneously missing home and realizing the adage "you can't go home again" is true captivated the crowd.  If a Grammy ever needed a song to reward it's "That's Where I'm From."  

Most of the band then departed, leaving Scheinman and Fulks alone onstage for "I'll Trade You Money for Wine."  The tortured soul of the lyrics' narrator was more haunting than on the recording thanks to Scheinman's fiddle work.  Fulks lightened the mood by doing a duet with Scheinman on the Carter Family classic "Single Girl, Married Girl."

Following "Goodbye, Virginia," a song that is on the download-only "album" ("marathon" might be a better description) 50 Vc. Doberman Fulks asked for requests from the audience.  A number of songs were shouted to the singer, along with a call for "Gram Parsons," to which Fulks replied, "Are there any requests for songs I made up?"  After hearing a few more songs shouted at him Fulks said, "We'll do the Gram Parsons."  He didn't (hopefully one day he will -- "Sin City" is a song begging for the Robbie Fulks touch), going instead into "Tears Only Run One Way."  He prefaced the great "Georgia Hard" by saying he was a southerner by upbringing (as he sang earlier in "That's Where I'm From," the land "where it's 'yes, ma'am' and 'no, sir'") but after living in Chicago since the early 1980's he considered himself a Chicagoan, something the protagonist of "Georgia Hard" could never bring himself to do.

Near the end of the set he presented to other highlights from the new album, "Sometimes the Grass is Really Greener," which featured Bub on banjo, and "When You Get to the Bottom," complete with harmonies that would make any bluegrass band this side of Dailey and Vincent green with envy.  Fulks explained that Scruggs is the grandson of Earl Scurggs (his mother is country singer/producer Gail Davies, leading Fulks to conclude Chris is "royalty" and has "a super DNA thing") before the band did a smoking instrumental version of "Fireball Mail."  "Busy Not Crying" and Fulks' tongue-in-cheek ode to his home state of North Carolina, "Cigarette State," closed out the set.  The encore featured another highlight from the new album, "Long I Ride," and a superb and surprising George Jones cover, the great but forgotten "If I Don't Love You (Grits Ain't Groceries)."  

Fulks will begin a tour next week to promote Gone Away Backward, performing two months this year then more dates in 2014.  Do not miss this performer or this album.

Dates of Note in Country Music, September 1-15

Category: News

(Hall of Fame members in bold on birth/death date, followed by hall[s] of fame in which they are enshrined and the year enshrined.  CM=Country Music; BG=Bluegrass; NS=Nashville Songwriter; SG=Southern Gospel)

September 1

Steve Goetzman of Exile born in Louisville, Kentucky, 1950 (now 63)
Maggie Cavender (NS 89) born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1918 (died 1996)
Boxcar Willie (ne Lecil Travis Martin) 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 (CM 99, NS 93) born in Friars Point, Mississippi, 1933 (died 1993)
Delia "Mom" Upchurch, the "Den Mother to the Stars," died in Nashville, Tennessee (unknown cause), 1967 (was 85)
Jerry Reed (NS 05) died in Nashville, Tennessee (emphysema), 2008 (was 71)
Hal David (NS 84) died in Los Angeles, California (stroke), 2012 (was 91)
Doug Bounsall died in Las Vegas, Nevada (car wreck), 2012 (was 61)

September 2

Paul Wylie Deakin of the Mavericks born in Miami, Florida, 1959 (now 54)
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 in Minden, Louisiana (unknown cause), 1986 (was 74)

September 3

Jimmy Riddle born in Dyersburg, Tennessee, 1918 (died 1981)
Hank Thompson (CM 89, NS 97) born in Waco, Texas, 1925 (died 2007)
Tompall Glaser born in Spalding, Nebraska, 1933 (died 2013)

September 4

Kathy Louvin born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1957 (now 56)
Harold "Shot" Jackson (Steel Guitar 86) born in Wilmington, North Carolina, 1920 (died 1991)
Dottie West died in Nashville, Tennessee (injuries from a car wreck), 1991 (was 58)
Carl Butler died in Franklin, Tennessee (heart attack), 1992 (was 65)

September 5

Chuck Seitz born in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1918 (died 2012).  In addition to serving as a Grammy-nominated recording engineer at King and RCA Seitz co-wrote the classic "Before I Met You."
Curley Williams died in Montgomery, Alabama (unknown cause), 1970 (was 66)
Joe South (NS 79) died in Atlanta, Georgia (heart failure), 2012 (was 72)
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

David Allan Coe born in Akron, Ohio, 1939 (now 74)
Buddy Miller born in Fairborn, Ohio, 1952 (now 61)
Jeff Foxworthy born in Atlanta, Georgia, 1958 (now 55)
Mark Chesnutt born in Beaumont, Texas, 1963 (now 50)
Zeke Clements (NS 71) born near Empire, Alabama, 1911 (died 1994)
Paul Yandell, C.G.P. born in Mayfield, Kentucky, 1935 (died 2011)
Mel McDaniel born in Checotah, Oklahoma, 1942 (died 2011)
Ernest Tubb (CM 64, NS 70) died in Nashville, Tennessee (complications from emphysema), 1984 (was 70)
Autry Inman died (unknown cause), 1988 (was 59)
Roy Huskey Jr. died in Nashville, Tennessee (cancer), 1997 (was 41)

September 7

Ronnie Dove born in Herndon, Virginia, 1940 (now 73)
Mark D. Sanders (NS 09) born in Los Angeles, California, 1950 (now 63)
Buddy Holly (NS 94) born in Lubbock, Texas, 1936 (died 1959)
Hubert Long (CM 79) died in Nashville, Tennessee (brain tumor), 1972 (was 48)
Warren Zevon died in Los Angeles, California (mesothelioma), 2003 (was 56).  The folk-rock singer wrote "Poor Poor Pitiful Me," which made the country charts by both Linda Ronstadt and Terri Clark, and Dwight Yoakam recorded Zevon's "Carmelita" and sang on two of Zevon's albums.  Zevon also appeared in the movie South of Heaven, West of Hell with Yoakam.
Oscar Sullivan died in Nashville, Tennessee (leukemia), 2012 (was 93)

September 8

Jimmie Rodgers (CM 61, NS 70) born in Meridian, Mississippi, 1897 (died 1933)
Milton Brown born in Stephenville, Texas, 1903 (died 1936)
Patsy Cline (CM 73) born in Winchester, Virginia, 1932 (died 1963)
Harlan Howard (CM 97, NS 73) born in Detroit, Michigan, 1929 (died 2002)

September 9

Freddy Weller born in Atlanta, Georgia, 1947 (now 66)
Rodger Dale Tubb died in Fredericksburg, Texas (car wreck), 1938 (was 7 weeks old)
Tex Owens (NS 71) died in New Baden, Texas (unknown cause), 1962 (was 70)
Bill Monroe (CM 70, BG 91, NS 71) died in Nashville, Tennessee (stroke), 1996 (was 84)

September 10

Tommy Overstreet born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1937 (now 76)
Rosie Flores born in San Antonio, Texas, 1956 (now 57)
Luke Wills born in Memphis, Texas, 1920 (died 2000)
Joe (ne Walter) Callahan of the Callahan Brothers died in Asheville, North Carolina (cancer), 1971 (was 61)

September 11

Jimmie Davis (CM 72, NS 71) born in Beech Springs, Louisiana, 1899 (died 2000)
Randy Hughes born in Gum, Tennessee, 1928 (died 1963)
Lorne Greene died in Santa Monica, California (pneumonia), 1987 (was 72). The actor's recitation "Ringo" was a top 25 country hit in 1964.
Leon Payne (NS 70) died in San Antonio, Texas (heart attack), 1969 (was 52)
Bill (ne Homer) Callahan of the Callahan Brothers died in Dallas, Texas (congestive heart failure), 2002 (was 90)
Terrorists crash planes into the World Trade Center's twin towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington DC, 2001.  The attack spawned several country songs including Alan Jackson's "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" and Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)."

September 12

Leona Johnson Atkins born in Jackson Township, Ohio, 1924 (died 2009). 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)
George Jones (CM 92) born in Saratoga, Texas, 1931 (died 2013)
Rod Brasfield (CM 87) died in Martin, Tennessee (heart failure), 1958 (was 48)
Johnny Cash (CM 80, NS 77) died in Nashville, Tennessee (Shy-Drager syndrome complications, diabetes, lung disease), 2003 (was 71)
John Ritter died in Los Angeles, California (heart ailment), 2003 (was 54). The actor was the son of Western legend Tex Ritter.
Charlie Walker died in Nashville, Tennessee (colon cancer), 2008 (was 81)
Don Wayne (NS 78) died in Nashville, Tennessee (cancer), 2011 (was 78)
Wade Mainer died in Flint, Michigan (congestive heart failure), 2011 (was 104)

September 13

Bobbie Cryner born in Woodland, California, 1961 (now 51)
Bill Monroe (CM 70, BG 91, NS 71) born in Rosine, Kentucky, 1911 (died 1996)
Wilma Lee Cooper died in Nashville, Tennessee (natural causes), 2011 (was 90)
Roy Acuff postage stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service, 2003

September 14

John Berry born in Aiken, South Carolina, 1959 (now 54)
Mae Boren Axton born in Bardwell, Texas, 1914 (died 1997)
Don Walser born in Brownfield, Texas, 1934 (died 2006)
Vernon Dalhart (CM 81, NS 70) died in Bridgeport, Connecticut (heart attack), 1948 (was 65)
Beasley Smith (NS 83) died in Nashville, Tennessee (cerebral hemorrhage), 1968 (was 66)
Hank Williams arrived in Nashville and met with Fred Rose to discuss a record or publishing deal, 1946

September 15

Roy Acuff (CM 62) born in Maynardsville, Tennesssee, 1903 (died 1992)
Patsy Cline married Charlie Dick, 1957

The Tornado Inside

Category:  Album Review

Robbie Fulks from the promotional photo shoot

for his excellent new album Gone Away Backward

courtesy of Bloodshot Records

"If you've ever heard Hank Williams sing," Robbie Fulks says in "That's Where I'm From," the highlight of his new acoustic album Gone Away Backward, "then you know the whole blessed thing."  Fulks' new release may not be "the whole blessed thing," but it's certainly close.

Robbie Fulks began his recording career as a member of the bluegrass band The Special Consensus, appearing on their 1989 album A Hole In My Heart.  Bluegrass has permeated his music throughout his career, from the instrumental "Pete Way's Trousers" on his stunning debut Country Love Songs to "South Richmond Girl" on South Mouth (one of the best murder ballads since the Louvins recorded "Knoxville Girl") to "Where There's a Road" on Georgia Hard (well covered by Sam Bush, who played on Fulks' recording, on Circles in Seven).  This isn't an attempt to capitalize on the resurgence of bluegrass or a "gee, that album didn't sell well, guess I'll try bluegrass" move that more than one country act has tried in the past.  Bluegrass has always been there for Fulks.  This time, he's just concentrating on it.

While this is not a 100% bluegrass album (Fulks has referred to it as more of an acoustic album with heavy bluegrass overtone), what it does score a perfect mark on is quality.  The cover photo of a torndao (the album art was shot in April and displayed on Fulks' website in May, lest anyone think he is making light of the Oklahoma tornadoes earlier this year -- something that must be pointed out given that Fulks has endured more than his unfair share of ridicule for his album covers and accompanying liner notes in the past) is appropriate, given the raging souls depicted in a number of the songs.  The protagonist of "Where I Fell," who can only "sling hash for what-all spills off the interstate" in a dead-end town where the biggest attraction is the war memorial, is resigned to his fate, but he says, "the choice was never mine, so I dwell where I fell."  In contrast, the alcoholic of "I'll Trade You Money for Wine" did have a choice, and he is content with leaving his life of high-rolling executive who once perused "your towns from a long black Lincoln" but now occupies the same corner that he has stood on for the past decade obtaining quarters from the banker ("his trouble's deeper than mine") in order to purchase the liquor.  Jenny Scheinman's fiddle breaks reiterate the torment in the soul of the man who scorns those who would pray for him.  

The divorce song "Guess I Got It Wrong" could follow the theme, being the event that would drive a man to drink as he leaves the driveway of his home for the last time with "a few shared things of little worth, and now they're all that's left to hold."  One of the quietest songs on the album, it's also one of the best.  Equally good, but with more harmonies and brighter tempo, is the lost-love song "Rose of the Summer," a song about a man who loses the love of his life when he joins the military and goes overseas for three years but never forgets her.  Even decades later when all of the young people have left town and the old people have passed away, it is the grave of the love he couldn't have that he visits and weeps over.

Not everything drags the listener to the depths of depression, however.  "That's Where I'm From" may break a few hearts with its comparison of modern life of "white collar, necktie" in Chicago to the carefree youth of running "half-naked in the moonshine" in North Carolina with the sad conclusion that the past is gone ("but the road, it goes but one way" Fulks sings in "Long I Ride" elsewhere on the album).  However, you will leave this six-minute visit to country life with a warm feeling, happy that Fulks invited you along for the ride.  

"Long I Ride" and "Sometimes the Grass is Really Greener" take dead aim at the pitfalls of life as a musician (the tag line in the former professes, "it's long to ride for the little I gain"), complete with Fulks' trademark tongue-in-cheek digs ("I don't know just what this deal has got me," he sings in "Sometimes the Grass is Really Greener" while discussing the record company trying to change him into a mainstream act complete with a Brooks and Dunn haircut, "I've gained not a fan, and I lost the ones I had").  While the songs will make you smile beneath the surface is hint of what countless performers sacrifice to entertain us for a couple of hours.

The harmonies on "When You Get to the Bottom," hearken back to Fulks' Special Consensus days not only musically but thematically:  the heroine of "She Hurts for a Living" could well be the person to whom the warning in "When You Get to the Bottom" ("don't reach for my hand") is directed.  This masterful song should be burning up the bluegrass airwaves all autumn long.

Two instrumentals grace the album, "Snake Chapman's Tune" showcasing Scheinman yet again, and "Pacific Slope," where Fulks and Robbie Gjersoe show off their guitar skills.  

The only song that sounds out of place is "The Many Disguises of God," which has a musical feel more along the lines of something from Couples in Trouble.  It may sound disjointed compared to the rest of the album, but it is still a good song.

Robbie Fulks doesn't have to prove anything to anyone, but if you need to know why so many people sing his praises he will prove why he is deserving of the accolades on this brilliant album.

Dates of Note in Country Music, August 16-31

Category: News

(Hall of Fame members in bold on birth/death date, followed by hall[s] of fame in which they are enshrined and the year enshrined.  CM=Country Music; BG=Bluegrass; NS=Nashville Songwriter; SG=Southern Gospel)

August 16:

Billy Joe Shaver (NS 04) born in Corsica, Texas, 1939 (now 74)
Kathie Lee Gifford born in Paris, France, 1953 (now 60). Gifford began her career as one of the "Hee Haw honeys."
Emory Martin born in Hickman County, Tennessee, 1889 (died 2006). Martin was the one-armed banjo player at the Renfro Valley Barn Dance.
Elvis Presley (CM 98) died at Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee (heart failure), 1977 (was 42)
Vassar Clements died in Nashville, Tennessee (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 (CM 98) born in Akron, Ohio, 1927 (now 86)
Wayne Raney (DJ 93) born in Wolf Bayou, Arkansas, 1920 (died 1993)

 August 18:

Allen Reynolds (NS 00) born in North Little Rock, Arkansas, 1938 (now 75)
Hank Penny born in Birmingham, Alabama, 1918 (died 1992)
Molly Bee born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1939 (died 2009)
Johnny Preston born in Port Arthur, Texas, 1939 (died 2011). Preston is best known for "Running Bear," the 1959 hit written by J.P. Richardson and featuring guitar work and backing vocals by George Jones.
Charlie Waller (BG 96) died in Gordonsville, Virginia (heart attack), 2004 (was 69)
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:

Roger Cook (NS 97) born in Bristol, England, 1940 (now 73)
Eddy Raven born in Lafayette, Louisiana, 1944 (now 69)
Lee Ann Womack born in Jacksonville, Texas, 1966 (now 47)
Clay Walker born in Beaumont, Texas, 1969 (now 44)
Curly Ray Cline (BG 09) died in Rockhouse, Kentucky (illness), 1997 (was 74)

August 20:

Rudy Gatlin born in Olney, Texas, 1952 (now 61)
John Hiatt (NS 08) born in Indianapolis, Indiana, 1952 (now 61)
Ralph Stanley II born in Coeburn, Virginia, 1958 (now 54)
Jim Reeves born in Galloway, Texas, 1923 (died 1964)
Justin Tubb born in San Antonio, Texas, 1935 (died 1998)
Louis Innis died (heart attack), 1982 (was 63)
Leon McAuliffe (Steel Guitar 78) died in Tulsa, Oklahoma (illness), 1988 (was 71)

 August 21:

Kenny Rogers (CM 13) born in Houston, Texas, 1938 (now 75)
Harold Reid (CM 08) born in Staunton, Virginia, 1939 (now 74)
Nick Kane of the Mavericks born in Jerusalem, Georgia, 1954 (now 59)
Teea Goans born in Lowry City, Missouri, year unknown
Sam McGee died in Williamson County, Tennessee (tractor accident on his farm), 1975 (was 81)
Murray "Buddy" Harman died in Nashville, Tennessee (congestive heart failure), 2008 (was 79)

August 22:

Rounder Records co-founder Marian Leighton-Levy born in Harrington, Maine, 1948 (now 65)
Holly Dunn born in San Antonio, Texas, 1957 (now 56)
Collin Raye born in DeQueen, Arkansas, 1959 (now 54)
Rod Brasfield (CM 87) born in Smithville, Arkansas, 1910 (died 1958)
Connie B. Gay (CM 80) born in Lizard Lick, North Carolina, 1914 (died 1989)
Horace "Aytchie" Burns died in Knoxville, Tennessee (heart attack), 1974 (was 56). Aytchie was a bass player at Knoxville's WNOX and on the Renfro Valley Barn Dance. He was also the older brother of Jethro Burns.
Elizabeth Haynes born in Greenville, Kentucky, 1920 (died 1976)
Elizabeth Haynes died in Hammond, Indiana (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 in Gladewater, Texas (suicide [gunshot]), 1962 (was 53)
Mooney Lynn, the husband of Loretta Lynn, died in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee (heart failure/diabetes), 1996 (was 69)
Floyd Tillman (CM 83, NS 70) died in Houston, Texas (leukemia), 2003 (was 88)

August 23:

Rex Allen, Jr. born in Chicago, Illinois, 1947 (now 66)
Woody Paul of Riders in the Sky born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1949 (now 64)
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 (CM 61, NS 70) born in Evansville, Indiana, 1897 (died 1954)
Jerry Clower died in Jackson, Mississippi (complications from heart surgery), 1998 (was 71)
Nat Stuckey died in Nashville, Tennessee (lung cancer), 1988 (was 54)

August 25:

Elvis Costello born in London, England, 1954 (now 59). The punk pioneer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member 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.
Jo Dee Messina born in Holliston, Massachusetts, 1970 (now 43)
Jerry Rivers born in Miami, Florida, 1928 (died 1996)
Cliff Bruner died in Texas City, Texas (cancer), 2000 (was 85)

August 26:

Jimmy Olander of Diamond Rio born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1961 (now 52)
Don Bowman born in Lubbock, Texas, 1937 (died 2013)
Bob Miller (NS 70) died in Nyack, New York (unknown cause), 1955 (was 59)
Wilma Burgess died in Nashville, Tennessee (heart attack), 2003 (was 64)

August 27:

Jimmy C. Newman born in Big Mamou, Louisiana, 1927 (now 86)
J.D. Crowe (BG 03) born in Lexington, Kentucky, 1937 (now 76)
Jeff Cook of Alabama (CM 05) born in Fort Payne, Alabama, 1949 (now 63)
Carter Stanley (BG 92) born in Dickenson County, Virginia, 1925 (died 1966)
Oliver "Mooney" Lynn, husband of Loretta Lynn, born in Butcher Holler, Kentucky, 1926 (died 1996)
Frances Preston (CM 92) born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1928 (died 2012)
'David "Bunny" Biggs of Jamup & Honey died in Nashville, Tennessee (unknown causes), 1948 (was 52)
Jim Denny (CM 66) died in Nashville, Tennessee (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:

LeAnn Rimes born in Jackson, Mississippi, 1982 (now 31)
Billy Grammer born in Benton, Illinois, 1925 (died 2011)

August 29:

Don Schlitz (NS 93) born in Durham, North Carolina, 1952 (now 61)
Dan Truman of Diamond Rio born in St. George, Utah, 1956 (now 57)
Grady Cole born in Lafayette, Georgia, 1909 (died 1981)
Archie Campbell died in Knoxville, Tennessee (heart attack), 1987 (was 67)

August 30:

Kitty Wells (CM 76) born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1919 (died 2012)
Jon Hagar born in Chicago, Illinois, 1946 (died 2009)
Jim Hagar born in Chicago, Illinois, 1946 (died 2008)

August 31:

Noel Boggs (Steel Guitar 81) died in Los Angeles, California (heart attack), 1974 (was 56)

I Don't Like It But I Guess Things Happen That Way

Category:  Obituary

Cowboy Jack Clement has died.

The legendary songwriter and producer died this morning (8/8), four months after being announced as one of the members of the "Class of 2013" Country Music Hall of Fame inductees.


The legendary Jack Clement
Courtesy of cowboyjackclement.com


Jack Henderson Clement was born April 5, 1931 in Whitehaven, Tennessee, near Memphis.  He served in the Marines during the early 50's ("And I have the tattoos to prove it," he once quipped).  After his discharge he returned to Memphis.  He became an engineer and producer at Sun Records, where he worked with most of the legendary roster artists.  He also began writing songs.  One of Sun's artists, Johnny Cash, had hits with Clement compositions "Guess Things Happen That Way" and "Ballad of a Teenage Queen."  Soon people lined up to record Clement's tunes:  "I Know One" (Jim Reeves), "Miller's Cave" (two different hit versions by Hank Snow and Bobby Bare), and "A Girl I Used to Know" (George Jones), which was later reworked as a duet ("Just Someone I Used to Know") by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton.

Clement moved to Nashville in the early 1960's and continued to write songs, both serious ("She Thinks I Still Care") and silly ("Egg Sucking Dog" and "The One on the Right Was on the Left," both of which were recorded by Johnny Cash and Homer & Jethro).  While his prolific songwriting career was enough to solidify his status as a future Hall of Famer Clement turned back to record producing.  His most successful stint was as the producer of Charley Pride albums, beginning with Pride's first release in 1966.

Clement also recorded his own material, although his stint as a performer was the least successful area of his career.  He had three songs make the Billboard chart in 1978, but none reached higher than #84.

Johnny Cash, one of Clement's most frequent songwriting customers, credited Clement with solidifying one of the most legendary openings of a country song.  Cash said he woke in the middle of the night from a dream in which mariachi horns peppered the song he was recording.  He told the dream to Cowboy Jack, who arranged the horns just as Cash had heard them in his dreams.  The result:  the classic "Ring of Fire."

Clement had a home studio in his attic, which numerous artists utilized.  Sam Bush recorded his 2009 album Circles Around Me at Cowboy Jack's studio.  In June 2011 the home, studio, and most of Clement's memorabilia from a lifetime of country music were destroyed in a fire.

On April 10 Bill Anderson introduced Cowboy Jack as one of the three 2013 inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame (along with Bare and Kenny Rogers).  Clement was ostensibly inducted in the "Non-Performer" category, which struck me as strange at the time, given that Clement was most definitely a performer (Elvis Presley once opened for him during their Sun Records days) as well as a songwriter.  However, given this morning's news that Clement had been suffering from liver cancer it could be that the Hall of Fame simply wanted to ensure his induction while he was still alive.

Colorful, legendary, beloved -- all these words have been used to describe Cowboy Jack Clement in the tributes that have poured in since the news of his passing was made public this morning.  They are all fitting.  He was, as many have said, one of a kind; and we will never see another one like him.

Cowboy Jack Clement was 82.

Randy Travis in Physical Rehab Facility

Category:  News

Superstar Randy Travis has been moved from Baylor Heart Hospital in Plano, Texas, three weeks after suffering a stroke.  According to a press release from his fiancee, Travis was transferred to a rehab facility where he will undergo physical therapy to assist him "on the road to recovery."

The 54-year-old singer was initially admitted on July 7 with congestive heart failure.  He suffered a stroke three days later after a surgical procedure to install a pump.  He had been listed in critical condition for several days.

No information has been released as to the severity of Travis' stroke, although earlier press reports indicated that he was awake, alert and communicating with his family.

Please continue to keep this country great in your thoughts and prayers.

Press Release From Randy Travis' Web Site

Dates of Note in Country Music, August 1-15

Category: News

(Hall of Fame members in bold on birth/death date, followed by hall[s] of fame in which they are enshrined and the year enshrined.  CM=Country Music; BG=Bluegrass; NS=Nashville Songwriter; SG=Southern Gospel)

August 1:

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

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

August 2:

Ted Harris (NS 90) born in Lakeland, Florida, 1937 (now 76)
Hank Cochran (NS 74) born in Isola, Mississippi, 1935 (died 2010)

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

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

Redd Stewart (NS 70) died in Louisville, Kentucky (complications from a head injury), 2003 (was 82)
The wreckage of Jim Reeves' plane discovered, 1964. The two-day search of wooded areas in and around Nashville for the plane included many country music performers. Eddy Arnold was among those in the party that found Reeves' body.

August 3:

Dorothy Dillard of the Anita Kerr Singers born in Springfield, Missouri, 1923 (now 90)

Randy Scruggs born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1953 (now 60)

Dean Sams of Lonestar born in Garland, Texas, 1966 (now 47)
Gordon Stoker of the Jordanaires (CM 01) born in Gleason, Tennessee, 1924 (died 2013)

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

August 4:

Vicki Hackerman of Dave & Sugar born in Louisville, Kentucky, 1950 (now 63)

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

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

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

Kenny Price died in Nashville, Tennessee (heart attack), 1987 (was 56)

August 5:

Bobby Braddock (CM 11, NS 81) born in Lakeland, Florida, 1940 (now 73)

Tim Wilson born in Columbus, Georgia, 1961 (now 52)

Terri Clark born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1968 (now 45)
Hal Durham born in McMinnville, Tennessee, 1931 (died 2009)
Vern "The Voice" Gosdin born in Woodland, Alabama, 1934 (died 2009)

Sammi Smith born in Orange, California, 1943 (died 2005)

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

August 6:

Patsy and Peggy Lynn born in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, 1964 (now 49)

Lisa Stewart born in Louisville, Mississippi, 1968 (now 45)

Old Joe Clark (Manuel Clark), longtime Renfro Valley performer, born in Erwin, Tennessee, 1922 (died 1998)

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

August 7:

B.J. Thomas born in Hugo, Oklahoma, 1942 (now 71)

Rodney Crowell (NS 03) born in Houston, Texas, 1950 (now 63)

Raul Malo of the Mavericks born in Miami, Florida, 1965 (now 47)

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

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

August 8:

Mel Tillis (CM 07, NS 76) born in Tampa, Florida, 1932 (now 81)

Phil Balsley of the Statler Brothers (CM 08) born in Staunton, Virginia, 1939 (now 74)

Jamie O'Hara born in Toledo, Ohio, 1950 (now 62)

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

August 9:

Merle Kilgore (NS 98) born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, 1934 (died 2005)

August 10:

Jerry Kennedy born in Shreveport, Louisiana, 1940 (now 73)

Jonie Mosby born in Van Nuys, California, 1940 (now 73)

Gene Johnson of Diamond Rio born in Jamestown, New York, 1949 (now 64)

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

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

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

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

August 11:

John Conlee born in Versailles, Kentucky, 1946 (now 67)
Don Helms (Steel Guitar 84) died in Nashville, Tennessee (heart attack), 2008 (was 81)

Hank Williams fired from the Grand Ole Opry, 1952

August 12:

Mark Knopfler born in Glasgow, Scotland, 1949 (now 64). Knopfler, best known as guitarist and lead singer of Dire Straits, won a "Best Country Vocal Collaboration" Grammy with Chet Atkins in 1990 for the song "Poor Boy Blues."  He also recorded an album of country songs under the pseudonym the Notting Hillbillies.

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

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

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

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

August 13:

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

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

August 14:

Connie Smith (CM 12) born in Elkhart, Indiana, 1941 (now 72)
Charles K. Wolfe (BG 09) born in Sedalia, Missouri, 1943 (died 2006)

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

August 15:

Jimmy Webb (NS 90) born in Elk City, Oklahoma, 1946 (now 67)
Rose Maddox born in Boaz, Alabama, 1925 (died 1998)
Bobby Helms born in Bloomington, Indiana, 1933 (died 1997)
Don Rich born in Olympia, Washington, 1941 (died 1974)
Lew DeWitt (CM 08) died in Waynesboro, Virginia (complications from Chron's disease), 1990 (was 52)

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

Dates of Note in Country Music, July 16-31

Category: News

(Hall of Fame members in bold on birth/death date, followed by hall[s] of fame in which they are enshrined and the year enshrined.  CM=Country Music; BG=Bluegrass; NS=Nashville Songwriter; SG=Southern Gospel)

July 16:

Ronny Robbins born in Phoenix, Arizona, 1949 (now 64)

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

Jo Stafford died in Century City, California (congestive heart failure), 2008 (was 90). The pop singer also did country, including appearing on Red Ingle & Natural Seven's hit "Tem-Tay-Shun."
Kitty Wells (CM 76) died in Nashville, Tennessee (stroke), 2012 (was 92)

July 17:

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

July 18:

Ricky Skaggs born in Cordell, Kentucky, 1954 (now 59)
Mark Jones of Exile born in Harlan, Kentucky, 1954 (now 59)

July 19:

Sue Thompson born in Nevada, Missouri, 1926 (now 87)

George Hamilton IV born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 1937 (now 76)

Bernie Leadon of the Eagles, Flying Burrito Brothers, and Run C&W born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1947 (now 66)
William "Lefty" Frizzell (CM 82, NS 72) died in Nashville, Tennessee (stroke), 1975 (was 47)

July 20:

Thomas "Sleepy" LaBeef born in Smackover, Arkansas, 1935 (now 78)
T.G. Sheppard born in Humbolt, Tennessee, 1942 (now 71)

Radney Foster born in Del Rio, Texas, 1959 (now 54)

Joseph Emmett "J.E." Mainer born in Weaverville, North Carolina, 1898 (died 1971)
Cindy Walker (CM 97, NS 70) born near Mart, Texas, 1918 (died 2006)

July 21:

Sara Carter of the Carter Family (CM 70, BG 01) born in Wise County, Virginia, 1899 (died 1979)
Eddie Hill (DJ 75) born in Delano, Tennessee, 1921 (died 1994)

July 22:

Don Henley of the Eagles born in Gilmer, Texas, 1947 (now 66). In addition to the Eagles, Henley was in a band, Shiloh, in the late 60s with Richard Bowden (later of Pinkard and Bowden) and Jim Ed Norman.

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

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

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

July 23:

Alison Krauss born in Decatur, Illinois, 1971 (now 42)
Johnny Darrell born in Hopewell, Alabama, 1940 (died 1997)

July 24:

Donald "Red" Blanchard of the WLS National Barn Dance born in Pittsville, Wisconsin, 1914 (died 1980)
Lawton Williams born in Troy, Tennessee, 1922 (died 2007)
Max D. Barnes (NS 92) born in Hardscratch, Iowa, 1936 (died 2004)

July 25:

Roy Acuff Jr. born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1943 (now 70)
Marty Brown born in Maceo, Kentucky, 1965 (now 48)
Walter Brennan born in Swmapscott, Massachusetts, 1894 (died 1974). The actor had a major country hit with "Old Rivers" in 1962.
Steve Goodman born in Chicago, Illinois, 1948 (died 1984)
Tommy Duncan died in San Diego, California (heart attack), 1967 (was 56)
Charlie Rich died in Hammond, Louisiana (blood clot in lung), 1995 (was 62)

July 26:

Jim Foglesong (CM 04) born in Lundale, West Virginia, 1922 (died 2013)
Fred Foster born in Rutherford County, North Carolina, 1931 (now 82)

July 27:

Bobbie Gentry born in Chickasaw, Mississippi, 1944 (now 69)
Bill Engvall born in Galveston, Texas, 1957 (now 56)
Henry "Homer" Haynes (CM 01) born in Knoxville, Tennessee, 1920 (died 1971)

July 28:

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

July 29:

Martina McBride born in Sharon, Kansas, 1966 (now 47)
Pete Drake died in Brentwood, Tennessee (lung disease), 1988 (was 55)
Anita Carter died in Goodlettesville, Tennessee (illness), 1999 (was 66)

July 30:

Dennis Morgan (NS 04) born in Tracy, Minnesota, 1952 (now 61)
Sam Phillips (CM 01) died in Memphis, Tennessee (respiratory failure), 2003 (was 80)

July 31:

Bonnie Brown of the Browns born in Sparkman, Arkansas, 1937 (now 76)
Jim Reeves (CM 67) died in Nashville, Tennessee (plane crash), 1964 (was 40)
Dean Manuel died in Nashville, Tennessee (plane crash), 1964 (was 30)