APRIL 22
1935: Songwriter Jack Nance was born in Newport, AR. He co-wrote Conway Twitty’s breakthrough 1958 pop hit “It’s Only Make Believe.”
1935: Drummer W.S. “Fluke” Holland was born in Saltillo, TN. He played on most of Johnny Cash’s hits–including “Ring Of Fire,” “A Boy Named Sue” and “Folsom Prison Blues“–as well as Carl Perkins’ “Blue Suede Shoes” and The Statler Brothers’ “Flowers On The Wall.”
1936: Glen Campbell is born in Delight, AR. A session guitarist in the mid-1960s, he gained his own network television show and a string of crossover hits, ultimately landing in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
1944: Songwriter Danny Morrison was born in Nashville. He authored Lee Greenwood’s “You’ve Got A Good Thing Comin’,” Joe Diffie’s “Is It Cold In Here,” Razzy Bailey’s “Friends” and Kenny Rogers’ “Blaze Of Glory.”
1945: Guitarist Pat Enright was born in Huntington, IN. He became a founding member of The Nashville Bluegrass Band and was also a part of the fictitious Soggy Bottom Boys, providing harmonies on the award-winning “I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow.”
1950: Hank Williams’ “Long Gone Lonesome Blues” reached the #1 position on the Billboard country singles chart.
1961: The first annual Country Music Festival opened in Jacksonville, Florida. The roster included artists like Patsy Cline, Webb Pierce, Flatt and Scruggs, Porter Wagoner and Mel Tillis.
1973: The Houston Post quoted Ernest Tubb on Kris Kristofferson: “Representing country music, you know–with a beard, and using four-letter words in front of children…it’s just a shame. I didn’t know a Rhodes Scholar could be so dumb.”
1976: George Jones & Tammy Wynette recorded “Golden Ring.”
1978: Kenny Rogers & Dottie West shared the top spot on the Billboard country chart with “Every Time Two Fools Collide.”
1989: Clint Black made his Grand Ole Opry debut.
1989: Shenandoah went to #1 on the Billboard country singles chart with “The Church On Cumberland Road.”
1993: George Strait recorded “Easy Come, Easy Go” at Nashville’s Sound Stage.
1995: John Michael Montgomery reached the top of the Billboard country singles chart with “I Can Love You Like That.”
1998: Harris poll dubbed Garth Brooks the second-most popular singer among adult Americans. Alan Jackson was fifth, the Beatles and Alabama were tied for sixth place, George Strait was seventh and Reba McEntire was eighth.
2002: Johnny Cash received the National Medal of Arts from president George W. Bush during a ceremony at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
2003: Songwriter Felice Bryant died of cancer in Gatlinburg, TN. Her credits include The Osborne Brothers’ “Rocky Top,” Roy Clark’s “Come Live With Me,” The Everly Brothers’ “Bye Bye Love” and Ricky Van Shelton’s “Hole In My Pocket.”
2008: Singer/songwriter Paul Davis died of a heart attack at Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian, MS. He collaborated on hits with Marie Osmond and Tanya Tucker and wrote “Bop,” “One Love At A Time” and “Meet Me In Montana.”
2017: Marty Stuart visited Glen Campbell at Abe’s Garden, an Alzheimer’s facility in Nashville. He took the last photos of Campbell with his wife, Kimberly.
