FEBRUARY 1
1937: Don Everly was born in Brownie, KY. 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.
1939: Del McCoury was born in Bakersville, NC. Following a membership in Bill Monroe’s band, he eventually led The Del McCoury Band, becoming one of bluegrass music’s dominant acts and joining the Grand Ole Opry in 2003.
1950: RCA unveiled the first 45 rpm record player.
1960: Loretta Lynn signed her first recording contract with Zero Records. The document required just three pages.
1968: Merle Haggard recorded “Today I Started Loving You Again” at the Capitol Recording Studio .
1971: Decca released Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn’s “We Only Make Believe” album.
1973: Bobby Bare recorded “Ride Me Down Easy” and “The Winner” in a midday recording session at Nashville’s RCA Studio B.
1976: Elvis Presley took a midnight flight from Memphis to Denver for Fool’s Gold Loafs, a glorified peanut butter sandwich that costs $49.95. He returned by 5 a.m.
1978: “Here You Come Again” was certified as Dolly Parton’s first gold single.
1992: Doug Stone’s “A Jukebox With A Country Song” blasted into the #1 position on the Billboard country singles list.
1994: MCA released The Mavericks’ “What A Crying Shame” album.
1990: Waylon Jennings recorded “Wrong” and “The Eagle” at Eleven-Eleven Sound in Nashville.
2001: Songwriter John Jarrard died from reactions to an administered drug. 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.”
2016: Stetson began selling The Lash, a western hat that recreated the model Waylon Jennings wore on the cover of his “Greatest Hits.”