DECEMBER 3
1916: Rabon Delmore WAs born in Elkmont, AL. With older sibling Alton Delmore, The Delmore Brothers became a leading duo in the 1930s, with their mix of country and blues leading to a 2001 induction in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
1923: Hubert Long was born in Poteet, TX. He emerged among country music’s most influential executives, working with the likes of Eddy Arnold, Webb Pierce and Faron Young on his way to membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970.
1927: Ferlin Husky was born in Flat River, MO. His 1956 single “Gone” established the Nashville Sound. He also has a landmark with the gospel-themed “Wings Of A Dove” and entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010.
1944: Singer/songwriter Roger Bowling was born in Harlan, KY. He wrote the Kenny Rogers hit “Lucille” and “Coward Of The County,” plus Billie Jo Spears’ “Blanket On The Ground” and George Jones & Tammy Wynette’s “Southern California.”
1948: “Here Comes Santa Claus” by Gene Autry entered the Top 40 chart.
1954: In his second stab at the song, Webb Pierce recorded Jimmie Rodgers’ “In The Jailhouse Now” at the Castle Studio in Nashville’s Tulane Hotel.
1957: Don Gibson recorded “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and “Oh Lonesome Me” in a morning session at RCA Studio B in Nashville.
1960: Dave Dudley was hit by a car. He invested the $14,000 he received from the insurance company to record “Six Days On The Road.”
1960: Buck Owens recorded “Foolin’ Around” and “Nobody’s Fool But Yours” during a midday session at the Capitol Recording Studios in Los Angeles.
1964: Bobby Bare married his wife, Jeannie.
1965: The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards was electrocuted on stage in Sacramento when his guitar touched the microphone. It took seven minutes to revive him.
1966: Charley Pride entered the charts for the first time with “Just Between You And Me.”
1968: Waylon Jennings recorded Chuck Berry’s “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” and “Cedartown, Georgia” at Nashville’s RCA Studio B during an evening session.
1968: Elvis Presley’s NBC-TV special “Elvis,” aired for the first time. “Elvis” constitutes the King’s first big step toward his successful comeback. It drew rave critical reactions and also the year’s largest viewing figures for a musical special at the time. It was his first live performance in eight years — his first TV performance in seven. It has since been cited by “TV Guide” as the tenth most memorable moment in television history.
1977: Dolly Parton’s “Here You Come Again” began a five-week ride at #1 in Billboard.
1983: Anne Murray’s “A Little Good News” reached #1 on the Billboard country singles chart.
1984: The “Once Upon A Christmas” album by Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton was certified gold and platinum simultaneously.
1991: The album, “Okie From Muskogee,” by Merle Haggard was certified platinum. That same day, “The Best Of The Best Of Merle Haggard” album was certified platinum.
1992: Alan Jackson’s album, “A Lot About Livin’ (And A Little ‘Bout Love),” was certified platinum.
1993: Little Texas topped the country charts with the single, “God Blessed Texas.” That same day, the “20 Years Of Dirt: Best Of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band” album was certified gold.
1998: Shania Twain’s album, “The Woman In Me,” was certified for sales of 11-million.
2001: Martina McBride won $125,000 for the New York Police and Fire Widows and Children’s Fund on a special celebrity edition of the syndicated game show, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”
2003: Toby Keith’s “American Soldier” video debuted on CMT.
2001: Guitarist Grady Martin died of congestive heart failure at the Marshall Medical Center in Lewisburg, TN. One of Nashville’s most-used session players, he graced hits by Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Ray Price and others.
2006: Dolly Parton and Smokey Robinson were awarded Kennedy Center Honors in a Washington, D.C. event attended by president George W. Bush. Also recognized were Steven Spielberg and theatrical composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
2011: George Jones played a benefit at Itawamba Community College in Fulton, MS, to raise money for a Tammy Wynette memorial project. His set list includes two of the former couple’s duets: “Take Me” and “Golden Ring.”
2019: “Brad Paisley Thinks He’s Special” aired on ABC with Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Hootie + The Blowfish and Kelsea Ballerini. Paisley also offered up portions of “Celebrity,” “Mud On The Tires,” “Letter To Me,” “American Saturday Night” and “Alcohol.”
