AUGUST 25
1928: Fiddler Jerry Rivers was born in Nashville. He joined Hank Williams’ Drifting Cowboys from 1949-1951, playing on such classics as “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “Hey, Good Lookin’” and “Cold, Cold Heart.”
1949: Henry Paul was born in Kingston, NY. After stints with the Southern rock band The Outlaws and his own Henry Paul Band, he became the lead singer of BlackHawk, combining ’70s rock influences with tight, three-part harmonies in numerous hook-filled 1990s hits.
1956: George Jones joined the Grand Ole Opry for the first time.
1959: Songwriter Tim Menzies was born in Mechanicsville, VA. Known under a recording deal as Tim Mensy, he wrote Doug Stone’s “I Thought It Was You,” Mark Chesnutt’s “I Just Wanted You To Know” and Shenandoah’s “Mama Knows.”
1961: Billy Ray Cyrus was born in Flatwoods, KY. The novelty hit “Achy Breaky Heart” brought him instant fame in 1992. He maintained an avid core audience even when the hits slowed down and turned to acting on the TV series “Doc” and “Hannah Montana.”
1970: Jo Dee Messina was born in Holliston, MA. After releasing her first album in 1996, she became a significant performer by mining strong, survivor themes, taking the Country Music Association’s Horizon Award in 1999.
1972: Junior Samples showed up at the jail in Georgia’s Forsyth County to post bail for his manager, James Gibson, and son, Lamar Samples, each incarcerated on alcohol charges. Instead of freeing them, Junior was booked for being intoxicated.
1979: “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” brought The Charlie Daniels Band a #1 country single in Billboard.
1981: Epic released Merle Haggard’s “My Favorite Memory.”
1984: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band topped the Billboard country chart for the first time with “Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper’s Dream).”
1992: Liberty released Garth Brooks’ Christmas album, “Beyond The Season.”
1992: Epic released Collin Raye’s “In This Life” album.
1993: Randy Travis celebrated the West with his first TV special, “Wind In The Wire,” on ABC. Also appearing: Chuck Norris, Burt Reynolds and Lou Diamond Phillips.
2005: “Man Of Constant Sorrow: The Story Of The Stanley Brothers,” a two-act musical production, opened at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, VA.
