DECEMBER 6
1936: Guitarist and bass player Jack Cooke was born. As one of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, he appears on the 1959 hit “Gotta Travel On.” He eventually played with Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys for 39 years.
1941: Helen Cornelius was born in Hannibal, MO. She joined Jim Ed Brown to develop seven hit singles from 1976-1980, including “I Don’t Want To Have To Marry You,” which won the Country Music Association’s 1977 Vocal Duo of the Year honor.
1949: Huddie Ledbetter died in New York City. Better known as Leadbelly, the blues pioneer made a mark in country music when his composition “Goodnight Irene” became a hit for both Moon Mullican and the duo of Red Foley & Ernest Tubb.
1955: Bill Lloyd was born in Fort Hood, TX. Teamed with Radney Foster, the duo Foster & Lloyd became a major proponent in the late-1980s of rockabilly-tinged country, netting hits with “Sure Thing” and “Crazy Over You” before their 1991 split.
1956: Carl Smith and June Carter divorced after four years of marriage.
1967: Forty songwriters attended the inaugural meeting of the Nashville Songwriters Association International. They included Kris Kristofferson, Marijohn Wilkin, Eddie Miller, Boudleaux and Felice Bryant and Liz and Casey Anderson.
1969: The Rolling Stones’ free show at Altamont, CA, went awry as one concert-goer was stabbed to death by Hell’s Angels. Also on the bill: The Flying Burrito Brothers, including Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons, performing “Six Days On The Road.”
1974: Moe Bandy recorded “Bandy The Rodeo Clown” at Nashville’s Columbia Studio B.
1979: Johnny Cash performed “(Ghost) Riders In The Sky” during his annual CBS Christmas special. Musical guest Anne Murray sang “You Needed Me,” and Tom T. Hall added “(Old Dogs-Children And) Watermelon Wine.” Also appearing were June Carter Cash and comedian Andy Kaufman.
1980: Ronnie Milsap’s “Smoky Mountain Rain” rode to #1 on the Billboard country chart.
1980: The single, “I Love A Rainy Night,” by Eddie Rabbitt entered the Top 40 chart.
1984: Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson recorded “Highwayman” at Nashville’s Moman Studios. Among the musicians on the session was guitarist Marty Stuart.
1986: George Strait appeared at #1 on the Billboard country chart with “It Ain’t Cool To Be Crazy About You.”
1988: Roy Orbison died of a heart attack in Hendersonville. Though based in Music City, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s only country hits came in his 1980 duet with Emmylou Harris, “That Lovin’ You Feelin’ Again,” and his posthumous release “You Got It.”
1988: Recording began for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Volume 2” with Johnny Cash, John Denver, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Earl Scruggs, Steve Wariner, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, The Whites, Chris Hillman and others.
1991: Ricky Van Shelton’s “Backroads” album was certified platinum. Lorrie Morgan’s album, “Something In Red,” went gold. And the “White Limozeen” album by Dolly Parton was certified gold
1993: The Eagles reunited after a 13-year hiatus when Travis Tritt shoots a video in Los Angeles for “Take It Easy.”
2002: Travis Tritt and Ray Charles are paired for an hour of music as a new episode of “CMT Crossroads” debuted.
2008: A “CMT Giants” installment celebrating Alan Jackson premiered with performances by Dierks Bentley, George Strait, Lee Ann Womack, Miranda Lambert and Brad Paisley.
2016: Center Street published Naomi Judd’s book “River Of Time: My Descent Into Depression And How I Emerged With Hope.”
2020: The Dolly Parton holiday special, “A Holly Dolly Christmas,” aired on CBS. Parton performs “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Coat Of Many Colors” and “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.”
