JANUARY 16
1894: Songwriter Irving Mills was born in New York. In addition to the jazz classics “Mood Indigo” and “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” he wrote Hank Williams’ breakthrough hit, “Lovesick Blues.”
1923: Roy Lanham was born in Corbin, KY. A member of The Sons Of The Pioneers for two decades, he played guitar on such hits as Loretta Lynn’s “I’m A Honky Tonk Girl,” Ned Miller’s “From A Jack To A King” and Roy Rogers & Dale Evans’ “Happy Trails.”
1937: Floods hit the state of Arkansas, where more than 2,700 people were forced to evacuate their homes, including the family of Johnny Cash in Dyess. The event inspired Cash to write the 1959 hit “Five Feet High And Rising.”
1943: Ronnie Milsap was born in Robbinsville, NC. The blind keyboard player emerged as one of country’s most innovative performers, offsetting traditional fare with pop crossovers, winning six Grammy awards and the CMA’s Entertainer honor in 1977. He entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2014.
1944: Jim Stafford was born in Eloise, FL. Though associated with country, his biggest records were pop novelty hits: “Spiders & Snakes,” “My Girl Bill” and “Wildwood Weed.” He played with Gram Parsons in a band, The Legends, during his youth.
1947: Sandy Pinkard was born in Abbeville, LA. He made a mark in the satirical duo Pinkard & Bowden and has written several country hits: “Blessed Are The Believers,” “You’re The Reason God Made Oklahoma” and “I Can Tell By The Way You Dance.”
1971: Elvis Presley accepted an award in person the only time in his life, after being named one of the 10 Outstanding Young Men in America by the Jaycees. United Nations ambassador George Bush gave the event’s keynote speech at a Memphis Holiday Inn.
1973: Two months after he first attempted the song, Johnny Rodriguez recorded “You Always Come Back (To Hurting Me).”
1973: Merle Haggard recorded “If We Make It Through December” during an evening session at Columbia Studio B in Nashville.
1978: Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn each won twice at the fifth annual American Music Awards, tying them with Stevie Wonder and Fleetwood Mac for top honors. Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers also won trophies on the show, co-hosted by Glen Campbell.
1981: “Harper Valley P.T.A.” debuted on NBC-TV, built around Jeannie C. Riley’s hit with Barbara Eden in the starring role. In the first episode, Stella gets kicked off a carnival committee for an alleged affair with the mayor, portrayed by George Gobel.
1981: Elektra/Curb released Hank Williams Jr.’s “Rowdy” album.
1982: Ronnie Milsap went #1 on the Billboard country chart with “I Wouldn’t Have Missed It For The World.” Not a bad birthday for him!
1984: RCA released Alabama’s “Roll On” album.
1989: Wynonna and Naomi hosted their first television special, CBS-TV’s “The Judds: Across The Heartland,” with special guest Gary Morris. Judd songs include “Girls Night Out,” “Have Mercy,” “I Know Where I’m Going” and “Why Not Me.”
2015: Tom T. Hall’s wife, Dixie Hall, died. She wrote Dave Dudley’s 1965 country hit “Truck Drivin’ Son-Of-A-Gun.”
2021: Songwriter/producer Phil Spector died of COVID-19 in prison in Stockton, CA. Noted for his work with The Righteous Brothers, The Crystals and The Beatles, Spector also wrote “To Know Him Is To Love Him,” covered in country by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.
