RCA unveiled the first 45 rpm record player in 1950
Loretta Lynn signed her first recording contract with Zero Records in 1960. The document required just three pages.
Elvis Presley took a midnight flight from Memphis to Denver in 1976. The trip’s sole purpose was to find Fool’s Gold Loafs, a glorified peanut butter sandwich that cost $49.95. He was back at Graceland by 5 a.m.
Here You Come Again is certified as Dolly Parton’s first gold single in 1978.
Songwriter John Jarrard died from reactions to an administered drug in 2001. Despite a lengthy battle with diabetes, he wrote such hits as Diamond Rio’s Mirror Mirror, George Strait’s Blue Clear Sky and Tracy Lawrence’s Is That A Tear.
Stetson began selling The Lash in 2016. It’s a western hat that recreated the model Waylon Jennings wore on the cover of his Greatest Hits. You can get yours here, at The Waylon Shop.
RECORDED ON FEBRUARY 1
1968: Merle Haggard recorded Today I Started Loving You Again at the Capitol Recording Studio in Hollywood
1973: Bobby Bare recorded Ride Me Down Easy and The Winner in a midday recording session at Nashville’s RCA Studio B
1990: Waylon Jennings recorded Wrong and The Eagle at Eleven-Eleven Sound in Nashville.
RELEASED ON FEBRUARY 1
1971: Decca released Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn’s We Only Make Believe album
1994: MCA releases The Mavericks’ What A Crying Shame album
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Don Everly was born in Brownie, KY in 1937. With sibling Phil, The Everly Brothers netted such hits as Wake Up Little Susie and Bye Bye Love while earning membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Del McCoury was born in Bakersville, NC in 1939. Following a membership in Bill Monroe’s band, he eventually led The Del McCoury Band, becoming one of bluegrass music’s dominant acts. He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 2003.
