APRIL 9
1932: Carl Perkins is born in Tiptonville, TN. He became a rockabilly pioneer through his single “Blue Suede Shoes.” He also wrote Johnny Cash’s “Daddy Sang Bass,” Patsy Cline’s “So Wrong” and The Judds’ “Let Me Tell You About Love.”
1942: Margo Smith was born in Dayton, OH. Tabbed the Tennessee Yodeler, she grabbed eight hits in the 1970s–mostly remakes, including covers of “Don’t Break The Heart That Loves You,” “It Only Hurts For A Little While” and “Little Things Mean A Lot.”
1944: Drummer Gene Parsons was born in Los Angeles. He joined The Byrds, pivotal in the development of country-rock, beginning with the 1969 album “Dr. Byrd & Mr. Hyde.” He left in 1972, following the album “Further Along.”
1945: Gus Hardin was born in Tulsa, OK. A tough-voiced club singer, she rose to prominence in the mid-1980s, earning Top 10 releases with “After The Last Goodbye” and a duet with Earl Thomas Conley, “All Tangled Up In Love.”
1945: Con Hunley was born in Luttrell, TN. The R&B-influenced singer nabs 11 Top 20 singles in the late-1970s and early-’80s without cracking the Top 10.
1948: MGM released Hank Williams’ “Honky Tonkin’.”
1951: Songwriter Bob Corbin was born in Butler, PA. He joined Dave Hanner to form The Corbin/Hanner Band but finds his largest success by writing Alabama’s “Can’t Keep A Good Man Down” and “(There’s A) Fire In The Night.”
1953: Singer/songwriter Hal Ketchum was born in Greenwich, NY. He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1994 on the back of such melodic singles as “Small Town Saturday Night,” “Past The Point Of Rescue” and “Sure Love.” Sadly, we lost Hal Ketchum in November 2020. He was 67.
1958: Sun released “Sweet Woman,” the debut single by future country hitmaker Ed Bruce.
1961: Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces” entered the country charts.
1969: Porter Wagoner became the first person to record Dolly Parton’s “Coat Of Many Colors,” two years before she had a hit with it.
1975: Charley Pride recorded “Hope You’re Feelin’ Me (Like I’m Feelin’ You).”
1979: Waylon Jennings overdubbed new lyrics to his 1974 recording of “Amanda,” before including it on his “Greatest Hits.”
1979: Ed Bruce recorded “Girls, Women And Ladies” in a midday session at Nashville’s Sound Stage.
1988: George Strait realized a #1 single in Billboard with “Famous Last Words Of A Fool.”
1990: Liberty released Tanya Tucker’s “Tennessee Woman” album.
1991: RCA released Lorrie Morgan’s “Something In Red” album.
1998: Tammy Wynette’s funeral was held at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Stars including Wynonna, Randy Travis, Dolly Parton, Lorrie Morgan and the Oak Ridge Boys all performed musical tributes. Before that very public service, there was a private service earlier in the day attended by Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill and George Jones.
2006: Fiddler Gordon Terry died at his daughter’s home in Spring Hill, TN, after battling diabetes. Noted for his work with Bill Monroe, Johnny Cash, Faron Young and others, he also had an on-screen role in the Clint Eastwood picture “Honkytonk Man.”
2016: Marty Stuart and Connie Smith sang “Silver Wings” during the funeral for Merle Haggard at his ranch in Palo Cedro, CA. Kris Kristofferson performed “Sing Me Back Home,” and Haggard’s sons–Marty, Noel and Ben Haggard–delivered “Today I Started Loving You Again.”
