JANUARY 19
1911: Record producer Ken Nelson was born in Caledonia, MN. Instrumental in building Capitol Records’ country division, he oversaw sessions for such acts as Sonny James, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Ferlin Husky on his way to membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
1919: Rollin “Oscar” Sullivan, of Lonzo & Oscar, is born in Edmonton, KY. The comic duo joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1947, a year before gaining a novelty hit with “I’m My Own Grandpa.” Sullivan also played on more than 15 of Eddy Arnold’s hits.
1935: Charlie Waller was born in Jointerville, TX. He became a founding member of the Country Gentlemen, a significant bluegrass group that went on to include Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley among its members.
1939: Phil Everly, of The Everly Brothers, was born in Chicago. Along with older brother Don, The Everlys’ harmonies became an influential sound, gaining them membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
1946: Dolly Parton was born in Sevier County, TN. First gaining attention as a duet partner with Porter Wagoner, she melds a big personality with talents in performing, writing and acting on her way into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
1953: Marty Robbins joined the Grand Ole Opry, the same day he moves to Nashville from Arizona.
1954: George Jones had his first recording session, at a makeshift studio in the home of Starday Records co-owner Jack Starnes, recording “No Money In This Deal.”
1957: Johnny Cash made his first network TV appearance, on CBS’ “The Jackie Gleason Show,” where he sang “I Walk The Line.” Also appearing on the broadcast: Johnny Horton and Marty Robbins.
1960: Ralph Sylvester Peer died in Hollywood. Peer coined the phrase “hillbilly music” and produced the first recordings of Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family in Bristol, TN. He was inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1984.
1963: Black gold, Texas tea and Flatt & Scruggs: “The Ballad Of Jed Clampett” went to #1 in Billboard.
1966: King of the tube: Roger Miller hosted a TV special, the first color 30-minute special in NBC’s history.
1973: Ray Stevens and the Mike Curb Congregation perform at an inaugural ceremony for president Richard Nixon at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Stevens cut his set short, angered when vice president Spiro Agnew left early.
1974: Tom T. Hall reached #1 on the Billboard country singles list with his own list of favorite things, “I Love.”
1977: Dolly Parton made her first appearance with Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show.”
1985: “How Blue” took Reba McEntire to #1 on the Billboard country chart.
1986: On Dolly Parton’s 40th birthday, she began recording the “Trio” album with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.
1988: Ricky Van Shelton recorded “From A Jack To A King” and “I’ll Leave This World Loving You” in Nashville.
1998: Carl Perkins died at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, TN, following a series of strokes. He is recognized as one of the pioneers of rockabilly music, best known for his hit “Blue Suede Shoes.”
2008: Charlie Daniels was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium by Marty Stuart and Connie Smith. They joined him on “Drinkin’ My Baby Goodbye” before Trace Adkins and Montgomery Gentry added to “Will The Circle Be Unbroken.”
