Apr 8, 1923: Guitarist, banjo player and mandolinist Paul Buskirk is born in West Virginia. Having played with Chet Atkins, Gene Austin and Tex Ritter, he gives guitar lessons in Texas to Willie Nelson and buys the rights to “Family Bible” from Nelson for a mere $50
Apr 8, 1942: Liberty Records is formed by Glenn Wallichs and songwriters Johnny Mercer and Buddy DeSylva in Hollywood. The firm is renamed Capitol Records in June as it charts a path that includes hits for Keith Urban, Garth Brooks and Merle Haggard
Apr 8, 1951: Singer/songwriter Jim Photoglo is born in Los Angeles. Following a career as a pop artist, he moves to Nashville, where he pens Alabama’s “Hometown Honeymoon” and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Fishin’ In The Dark”
Apr 8, 1954: Stuart Hamblen records “This Ole House” in New York City
Apr 8, 1960: John Schneider is born in Mount Kisco, New York. He portrays Bo Duke on the TV series “The Dukes Of Hazzard,” then shifts into a country career that nets 10 Top 10 hits, including “I’ve Been Around Enough To Know” and “Country Girls”
Apr 8, 1968: Capitol releases the Merle Haggard album “The Legend Of Bonnie & Clyde”
Apr 8, 1969: Waylon Jennings records “MacArthur Park” with The Kimberlys at RCA Studio B in Nashville. The performance earns a Grammy award
Apr 8, 1975: Conway Twitty overdubs Russian lyrics onto “Hello Darlin"” for the American/Soviet space rendezvous in August
Apr 8, 1980: Kenny Rogers portrays Brady Hawkes for the first time as CBS airs a TV movie built around his signature hit, “The Gambler”
Apr 8, 1981: Glen Campbell breaks up with Tanya Tucker when she goes to Los Angeles’ trendy Le Dome restaurant with friend Beverly Hills–and without him
Apr 8, 1988: Columbia releases Rodney Crowell’s “Diamonds & Dirt” album
Apr 8, 1989: Keith Whitley picks up a #1 single in Billboard with “I’m No Stranger To The Rain”
Apr 8, 1989: Bill Monroe becomes an honorary member of the Society For American Music during the organization’s conference in Tennessee
Apr 8, 2001: Singer/songwriter Van Stephenson dies at home in Nashville from skin cancer. Stephenson was one-third of the trio BlackHawk and wrote Lee Greenwood’s “You’ve Got A Good Love Comin"” and Restless Heart’s “Bluest Eyes In Texas”
