JANUARY 18
1926: Robert Moncrief was born in Anniston, AL. Under the pseudonym Bobby Edwards, he wrote and recorded the 1961 hit “You’re The Reason.”
1938: Piano player Hargus “Pig” Robbins was born in Spring City, TN. A key Nashville studio musician, he played on Charlie Rich’s “Behind Closed Doors,” Crystal Gayle’s “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” and Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” joining the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2012.
1941: Bobby Goldsboro was born in Marianna, FL. His sentimental “Honey” sold a fast 1 million copies in 1968. He also earned a Top 10 country hit with his 1971 single “Watching Scotty Grow” and wrote Johnny Darrell’s “With Pen In Hand” and Brenda Lee’s “The Cowgirl And The Dandy.”
1953: Jim Reeves recorded his first charted single, “Mexican Joe,” at the KWKH Studios in Shreveport, LA.
1956: Mark Collie was born in Waynesboro, TN. He scored two Top 10 singles, “Even The Man In The Moon Is Crying” and “Born To Love You,” during the 1990s and became a spokesman for diabetes.
1965: Singer and fiddler Tammy Rogers was born in Rogersville, TN. She became a member of the Grammy-nominated bluegrass band The SteelDrivers and appears as a backing vocalist on Terri Clark’s “A Little Gasoline.”
1974: Dottie West recorded “Last Time I Saw Him.”
1978: The Statler Brothers recorded “Do You Know You Are My Sunshine” in the afternoon at the US Recording Studio in Nashville.
1984: Randy Travis made his national TV debut as a guest on “Nashville Now,” promoting his album “Randy Ray Live At The Nashville Palace.” At the end of the show, he sang “I’ll Fly Away” with host Ralph Emery and fellow guest Barbara Mandrell.
1993: Liberty released Billy Dean’s “Fire In The Dark” album.
1994: MCA released the soundtrack to “8 Seconds,” featuring John Anderson, Pam Tillis, Billy Dean, Brooks & Dunn, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, McBride & The Ride, Karla Bonoff, David Lee Murphy, Mark Chesnutt, Patty Smyth and Bill Conti.
2013: George Strait launched the Cowboy Rides Away Tour, his last official concert trek, at the United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Martina McBride opened the show.
2016: Singer/songwriter Glenn Frey died in New York with multiple ailments, including colitis. His band The Eagles earned a country hit with “Lyin’ Eyes,” while Frey co-wrote such hits as “Desperado,” “Take It To The Limit” and “Heartache Tonight.”
2018: Ray Stevens held the public grand opening of his new Nashville showroom, CabaRay.
2023: David Crosby died. He was a founding member of both Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and The Byrds. The latter band became a seminal act in the development of country/rock following Crosby’s departure.
