DECEMBER 16
1937: Jim Glaser was born in Spalding, NE. As a member of Tompall & The Glaser Brothers, he backed Marty Robbins on “El Paso” and earned several hits before chasing a solo career, which earned him a short series of successes in the mid-1980s.
1944: The Battle of the Bulge began in Europe. Future country star Hawkshaw Hawkins would earn four stars for his participation in the World War II offensive.
1950: Billboard magazine ran an ad touting Lefty Frizzell’s nickname as the result of an amateur boxing career. The claim was untrue, but became a part of the Frizzell legacy.
1952: A sickly Hank Williams canceled a show in Victoria, TX. Friends believed he may have had a heart attack, or an overdose.
1953: Hank Snow recorded “I Don’t Hurt Anymore” and “Yellow Roses” during an afternoon session at New York’s RCA Studios.
1954: Jim Reeves began a USO tour of Europe that took him overseas until January 3.
1963: Jeff Carson was born in Tulsa, OK. Compared vocally to Garth Brooks, he earned a hit in 1995 with “Not On Your Love,” and followed it with “The Car,” which claimed the Academy of Country Music’s Video of the Year award.
1963: Decca released the first Loretta Lynn album, “Loretta Lynn Sings.”
1966: In his fourth attempt at the song, Merle Haggard recorded the hit version of “I Threw Away The Rose.”
1976: Reba McEntire graduated from Southeastern Oklahoma State with a degree in elementary education.
1978: A “train bound for nowhere” reached #1 as Kenny Rogers tops the Billboard country chart with “The Gambler.”
1986: Tanya Tucker, Paul Overstreet and Paul Davis recorded “I Won’t Take Less Than Your Love” at the Music Mill in Nashville.
1992: Garth Brooks’ “Ropin’ The Wind” album was certified for shipments of 9 million units.
2000: Brad Paisley was asked to join the Grand Ole Opry by Little Jimmy Dickens and Jeannie Seely, dressed as Santa Claus and the Mrs., and Bill Anderson. Paisley cried in response to the invitation.
2003: Gary Stewart was found dead at his home in Fort Pierce, FL, from a gunshot to the neck in an apparent suicide just weeks after his wife’s death. He gained acclaim as a raw honky-tonk singer during the 1970s.
2007: Dan Fogelberg died from prostate cancer at his home in Deer Isle, ME. The pop singer/songwriter recorded a 1985 country album, “High Country Snows,” supporting it with a backing group that spawned The Desert Rose Band.
