DECEMBER 25
1904: Riverboat captain Thomas Ryman, who funded construction of the Union Tabernacle, died in Nashville. After his passing, the building was renamed the Ryman Auditorium, eventually becoming the venue for the Grand Ole Opry.
1908: Alton Delmore was born in Elkmont, AL. With younger sibling Ramon, he formed The Delmore Brothers, whose mix of country and the blues made them a popular Grand Ole Opry act in the 1930s and a 2001 entry in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
1919: Tenor vocalist and mandolin player John “Curly” Seckler was born in China Grove, NC. He joined Flatt & Scruggs from 1949-1962, appearing on such classics as “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” and “Roll In My Sweet Baby’s Arms.”
1944: Record producer Emory Gordy Jr. was born in Atlanta. The bass player on Elvis Presley’s “Burning Love,” he went on to produce his wife, Patty Loveless, plus Alabama, Aaron Tippin, Steve Earle and The Bellamy Brothers, among others.
1946: Singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett was born in Mobile, AL. With a devout following of Parrot Heads, he combined pop, country and Caribbean influences, gaining a country hit with “Margaritaville” in 1977 and returning to the genre with several collaborations 30 years later.
1948: Barbara Mandrell was born in Houston, TX. She won the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year award twice while hosting the “Barbara Mandrell & The Mandrell Sisters” TV show, ultimately joining the Country Music Hall of Fame.
1949: Sissy Spacek was born in Quitman, TX. She portrays Loretta Lynn in the 1980 movie “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and earned a minor 1983 hit, “Lonely But Only For You.”
1954: Steve Wariner was born in Noblesville, IN. The singer/songwriter/guitarist arrived in Nashville as Dottie West’s bass player at age 17, acquiring a recording contract in 1978 which yielded a string of smooth singles that stretched more than two decades.
1955: Thirteen-year-old Tammy Wynette joined Auzella Moore, sister-in-law of Elvis guitarist Scotty Moore, in taking Christmas presents to Elvis Presley’s house on Audubon Drive in Memphis.
1967: Decca released The Osborne Brothers’ “Rocky Top.”
1976: “Smokey & The Bandit” actor Burt Reynolds gave an inscribed watch to girlfriend Tammy Wynette for Christmas.
1976: The Gatlin Brothers joined the Grand Ole Opry.
1976: Emmylou Harris’ remake of “Sweet Dreams” became a #1 country single in Billboard.
1982: John Anderson notched his first #1 single in Billboard with “Wild And Blue.”
1996: Trace Adkins’ “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing” had its television debut on CMT.
