Apr 30, 1925: Johnny Horton is born in Los Angeles. Married to Hank Williams’ widow, Billie Jean Jones, he finds a niche in the late-1950s and 1960 with historically based singles, including “North To Alaska,” “Sink The Bismarck” and “The Battle Of New Orleans”
Apr 30, 1929: Charles “Fuzzy” Owen is born in Conway, Arkansas. He writes Ferlin Husky & Jean Shepard’s “A Dear John Letter” and Ray Price’s “The Same Old Me,” and founds Tally Records, the first label to record Merle Haggard
Apr 30, 1951: Columbia releases Ray Price’s debut single, the Lefty Frizzell-penned “If You’re Ever Lonely Darling”
Apr 30, 1957: Elvis Presley records “Jailhouse Rock” at Radio Recorders in Hollywood
Apr 30, 1963: Wynn Stewart holds his final recording session for Challenge Records. Playing bass on the date: Merle Haggard
Apr 30, 1970: Bobby Bare records “That’s How I Got To Memphis” and “Come Sundown” during an afternoon session at the Jack Clement Recording Studio in Nashville
Apr 30, 1980: Warner Bros. releases Emmylou Harris’ “Roses In The Snow” album
Apr 30, 1981: George Jones wins three times in the 16th Academy Of Country Music awards at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium. Jones takes Top Male Vocalist, and “He Stopped Loving Her Today”–written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman–is Song and Single Record of the Year
Apr 30, 1988: Rodney Crowell & Rosanne Cash meet at #1 on the Billboard country singles chart with “It’s Such A Small World”
Apr 30, 1991: Three nights of recording begins for Emmylou Harris & The Nash Ramblers’ “At The Ryman” at a still-unrefurbished Ryman Auditorium
Apr 30, 1991: MCA releases Trisha Yearwood’s debut single, “She’s In Love With The Boy”
Apr 30, 1994: Faith Hill’s remake of “Piece Of My Heart” ascends to the #1 spot on the Billboard cou
ntry singles chart
