APRIL 25
1874: Guglielmo Marconi was born in Bologna, Italy. At age 22, he received a patent for the radio, a medium honored by such hits as “Nothing On But The Radio,” “I Watched It All On My Radio,” “Radio Heart” and “There Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With The Radio.”
1928: Fiddler Vassar Clements was born in Kinard, SC. He gained five Grammy nominations while playing everything from bluegrass to jazz, including an appearance on The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s classic “Will The Circle Be Unbroken.”
1930: The Beverly Hill Billies made their first recordings for Brunswick Records. In 1963, they successfully sued producers of The Beverly Hillbillies for copyright infringement.
1933: Songwriter Jerry Leiber was born in Baltimore, MD. Best known for the rock and rhythm & blues songs he writes with partner Mike Stoller, Leiber also hit the country chart as a writer with such titles as “Jailhouse Rock,” “Don’t,” “Hound Dog,” “Stand By Me” and “Ruby Baby.”
1936: The Chuck Wagon Gang held its first recording session for Vocalion Records, overseen by Art Satherley.
1940: O.B. McClinton was born in Senatobia, MS. The self-billed “Chocolate Cowboy” charted often in the 1970s and ’80s. His “Don’t Let The Green Grass Fool You” ranked among country’s 500 greatest singles in a Country Music Foundation book.
1954: Singer/songwriter Rob Crosby was born in Sumter, SC. He wrote Lee Greenwood’s “Holdin’ A Good Hand,” Martina McBride’s “Concrete Angel” and Eric Paslay’s “Friday Night,” and had two hits in 1991 as an artist: “She’s A Natural” and “Love Will Bring Her Around.”
1965: Rory Lee Feek was born in Atchison, KS. He formed the duo Joey+Rory with his wife, Joey Martin, and authors Blake Shelton’s “Some Beach,” Clay Walker’s “The Chain Of Love” and Easton Corbin’s “A Little More Country Than That.”
1980: Asylum released the “Urban Cowboy” soundtrack with Kenny Rogers, Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee, Anne Murray, Jimmy Buffett, The Eagles, The Charlie Daniels Band, Bob Seger, Bonnie Raitt, Joe Walsh, Linda Ronstadt, Dan Fogelberg and J.D. Souther.
1985: “Big River” opened on Broadway at the Eugene O’Neill Theater. Featuring music written by Roger Miller, the play went on to win seven Tony awards, including Best Score.
1986: The Judds received their first platinum album, for “Why Not Me.”
1990: Clint Black claimed four trophies in the 25th annual Academy Of Country Music awards on NBC from Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre: Top Male and New Male Vocalist; Album of the Year, for “Killin’ Time“; and Single Record of the Year, for “A Better Man.”
1994: The Eagles performed live for the first time in 14 years at the Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, CA. Two shows were shot for an MTV special, “The Eagles: Hell Freezes Over,” forming the foundation for their “Hell Freezes Over” album.
1994: Curb released Tim McGraw’s “Don’t Take The Girl” commercially. The song was already being played on radio stations.
