APRIL 10
1898: Fiddlin’ Arthur Smith was born in Bold Springs, TN. He performed on the Grand Ole Opry from 1929-1938, helping popularize the long-bow style of fiddle playing.
1921: Sheb Wooley was born in Erick, OK. Best known for his pop hit “The Purple People Eater,” he also makes country novelties, including “That’s My Pa,” sometimes under the alias Ben Colder. In addition, he wrote the theme song to “Hee Haw.”
1938: Steel guitarist Weldon Myrick was born in Jayton, TX. Among his credits are George Strait’s “Right Or Wrong,” Trisha Yearwood’s “Wrong Side Of Memphis,” Connie Smith’s “Once A Day” and Elvis Presley’s “T-R-O-U-B-L-E.”
1958: Bobby Darin recorded “Splish Splash” at the ATCO Studio in New York. It became his breakthrough pop single and his lone country hit.
1962: Marty Robbins recorded “Devil Woman” and “Ruby Ann” in an evening session at Nashville’s Columbia Recording Studios.
1967: Merle Haggard recorded “Branded Man” at the Capitol Recording Studio in Hollywood, with Glen Campbell among his sidemen.
1970: Paul McCartney announced he is leaving The Beatles, folding the Fab Four. Several of the band’s songs are remade as country hits, including the McCartney co-wrote “I Feel Fine” and “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party.”
1973: Waylon Jennings recorded “You Ask Me To” during an afternoon session at RCA Studio B in Nashville.
1975: Max D. Barnes’ 18-year-old son, Butch, was killed in a car accident; his death eventually inspired “Chiseled In Stone.”
1982: Merle Haggard’s “Big City” went to #1 on the Billboard country singles chart.
1982: The single, “Always On My Mind,” by Willie Nelson entered the Top 40 chart.
1989: “Eighteen Wheels And A Dozen Roses” took Single Record of the Year for Kathy Mattea and producer Allen Reynolds and Song of the Year for Mattea and songwriters Gene and Paul Nelson at the 24th annual Academy Of Country Music awards, aired on NBC from the Disney Studios in Burbank.
1992: While on tour in Tallahassee, Alan Jackson started writing “Chattahoochee” with Jim McBride. They continued working on the song in Pensacola the next day and finished it in Thibodeaux, LA, on April 12.
1993: Reba McEntire & Vince Gill shared the top spot on the Billboard country singles chart with “The Heart Won’t Lie.”
1995: George Strait recorded “Check Yes Or No” and “I Know She Still Loves Me” at Nashville’s Emerald Sound Studios.
2002: After enjoying more than 4 decades of success in the music business, the Statler Brothers announced plans to say goodbye to touring. The band played their three last shows the following October with the grand finale on October 26th in Salem, Virginia.
2007: The former home of Johnny Cash and June Carter burned to the ground in Hendersonville, TN, while workers were restoring it for new owner Barry Gibb. Watching helplessly: Marty Stuart, Connie Smith, Tommy Cash, T.G. Sheppard and several Oak Ridge Boys.
2010: Shenandoah reunited for its first concert in more than 12 years during a benefit in Boaz, AL, for a domestic violence center. Also playing: Mark Collie, Jeff Bates, Ronnie Bowman and Randy Kohrs.
2011: The reality series “The Judds” debuted on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network.
2013: Kenny Rogers, Bobby Bare and songwriter/producer Jack Clement were announced as the 2013 inductees in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
