MARCH 3
1847: Alexander Graham Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. The inventor created the telephone, a development that landed him in the first line of Reba McEntire’s 1994 country hit “Why Haven’t I Heard From You.”
1923: Doc Watson was born in Deep Gap, NC. A blind acoustic guitarist, he joined The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on its “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” album and collected seven Grammy awards.
1931: “The Star-Spangled Banner” was officially recognized as the national anthem.
1951: Songwriter Bob DiPiero was born in Youngstown, OH. His hits include Tim McGraw’s “Southern Voice,” Montgomery Gentry’s “Gone,” George Strait’s “Blue Clear Sky” and The Oak Ridge Boys’ “American Made.” He married, and later divorced, Pam Tillis.
1956: Ernest Stoneman, of The Stoneman Family, taped an appearance on NBC-TV’s “The Big Surprise.” His run on the game show lasted five weeks, as he earned $10,000.
1959: Lefty Frizzell recorded “The Long Black Veil” during an evening session at Nashville’s Bradley Film & Recording Studio, just hours after Marijohn Wilkin and Danny Dill wrote it.
1960: Bill Anderson recorded “The Tip Of My Fingers.”
1963: Patsy Cline gave what proved to be her final show, a benefit for the widow of Kansas City deejay “Cactus Jack” Call. Also appearing: Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas, Dottie West, Billy Walker, George Jones and Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper.
1966: Buffalo Springfield, an important link in the growth of country-rock, formed in Los Angeles. Founding members include guitarists Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Richie Furay, drummer Dewey Martin and bass player Bruce Palmer.
1970: Johnny Cash and June Carter had a son, John Carter Cash, in Nashville.
1973: Songwriter Ben Peters won Best Country Song, for “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’,” during the 15th annual Grammy awards at the Tennessee Theater in Nashville. The album it came from, “Charley Pride Sings Heart Songs,” earns Best Country Vocal Performance, Male.
1974: Johnny Cash played a singer who murders his wife in an episode of NBC-TV’s “Columbo.” Cash sang “Sunday Morning Coming Down.”
1981: Johnny Cash starred in the CBS-TV movie “The Pride Of Jesse Hallam,” portraying an adult dealing with illiteracy. In the special, Cash sang “I’m Just An Old Chunk Of Coal (But I’m Gonna Be A Diamond Someday).”
1984: The Whites joined the Grand Ole Opry, performing “You Put The Blue In Me” and “Give Me Back That Old Familiar Feeling.”
1984: Exile gained its first #1 country hit with “Woke Up In Love.”
1986: Buddy Holly was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame, along with the songwriting team of Felice & Boudleaux Bryant. Holly’s “True Love Ways” became a country hit for Mickey Gilley. The Bryants wrote “Bye Bye Love” and “Rocky Top,” among others.
1986: Reprise released Dwight Yoakam’s “Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.” album.
1990: Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson performed at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at the Astrodome, kicking off their first concert tour as the Highwaymen.
1992: Warner Bros. released Little Texas’ debut album, “First Time For Everything.”
1994: Joe Diffie recorded “Pickup Man” at the Soundshop in Nashville.
2002: Harlan Howard died in Nashville. The dean of country songwriters wrote The Judds’ “Why Not Me,” Patty Loveless’ “Blame It On Your Heart,” Patsy Cline’s “I Fall To Pieces” and Highway 101’s “Somewhere Tonight,” among many others.
2002: George Strait played the final Houston Livestock & Rodeo Show concert held at Houston’s Astrodome, with more than 68,000 in attendance. He dedicated “Love Without End, Amen” to George and Barbara Bush, who are part of the crowd.
