FEBRUARY 18
1914: Julius Frank Anthony Kuczynski–a.k.a. Pee Wee King–was born in Milwaukee, WI. He led the Golden West Cowboys to Grand Ole Opry membership and co-wrote “Tennessee Waltz,” entering the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1974.
1939: Pop songwriter/producer Bobby Hart was born in Phoenix, AZ. Best known for his work with The Monkees, he wrote Johnny Duncan and Janie Fricke’s “Come A Little Bit Closer” and Lane Brody’s “Over You.”
1952: Judy Kay “Juice” Newton was born at Lakehurst Naval Base, NJ. A distant descendent of Sir Isaac Newton, she earned pop/country crossover hits during the 1980s with “Queen Of Hearts,” “Angel Of The Morning” and “Break It To Me Gently.”
1970: Hank Williams Jr. signed with MGM Records for $500,000, the highest amount paid at the time in the label’s history.
1976: Dolly Parton recorded her original version of “To Daddy,” later remade by Emmylou Harris, at RCA Studio B in Nashville.
1978: Hattie Louise Bess–better-known as “Tootsie”–died in Nashville. Her bar on Lower Broadway in Nashville, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, became a hangout for Harlan Howard, Mel Tillis, Willie Nelson, Faron Young and others after she bought it in 1960.
1981: Warner Bros. released T.G. Sheppard’s “I Loved ‘Em Every One.”
1983: “The Sting II” debuted in U.S. movie theaters, with Mac Davis starring alongside Jackie Gleason and Karl Malden.
1986: The Academy Of Country Music celebrated its 20th anniversary on NBC, with Charlie Daniels, Carl Perkins and Johnny Lee performing “Rollin’ In My Sweet Baby’s Arms.”
1988: Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner performed together for the first time since their 1974 breakup, while taping an episode of “Dolly!” at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House.
1995: Collin Raye hit the top of the charts with “My Kind of Girl.”
1996: Billy Dean had a fight with Superman when he portrayed a plumber on the ABC-TV series “Lois & Clark.”
2015: Toby Keith and Bobby Braddock were announced as 2015 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees. Also in the class are Cyndi Lauper, Willie Dixon, Linda Perry, Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter.
