FEBRUARY 26
1916: Actor, comedian and dance band leader Jackie Gleason was born in Brooklyn, NY. Immortalized for his role in the 1950s TV series “The Honeymooners,” he wrote Jimmy Dean’s 1962 country hit “To A Sleeping Beauty.”
1928: Antoine “Fats” Domino was born in New Orleans. The R&B singer found success in country music as a songwriter when Hank Williams Jr. recorded “Ain’t That A Shame.”
1932: J.R. Cash was born in Kingsland, AR. As Johnny Cash, he joined the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, rising to prominence with rockabilly music at Sun Records and graduating to become an icon for country music.
1938: Songwriter Jan Crutchfield was born in Paducah, KY. He authored Dave & Sugar’s “Tear Time,” Jack Greene’s “Statue Of A Fool,” Charley Pride’s “Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger” and Lee Greenwood’s “It Turns Me Inside Out.”
1938: Fearing that the locals will be insulted by having his band named The Crazy Tennesseans, Roy Acuff made his first Grand Ole Opry appearance in which the group is billed under a new name, The Smoky Mountain Boys.
1949: The Maddox Brothers & Rose make their Grand Ole Opry debut. The sight of Fred Maddox’ two-tone gray Cadillac Fleetwood spurred Chrysler owner Roy Acuff to buy a Caddy just like it.
1952: Singer/songwriter Chris Wall was born in Los Angeles, CA. He wrote Confederate Railroad’s “Trashy Women.”
1962: Carl & Pearl Butler recorded “Don’t Let Me Cross Over.”
1969: Tom T. Hall recorded “A Week In A Country Jail” at Nashville’s Columbia Recording Studio.
1970: Grand opening was held for Roger Miller’s King of the Road Motor Inn at 211 N. First Street in Nashville, with Miller performing in a gray-and-pink pinstripe suit. Built for $2.75 million, it became the site where Ronnie Milsap was discovered.
1973: Leon Russell began recording a country album in Nashville under a pseudonym, “Hank Wilson’s Back, Vol. I.” Recorded in three days, the album yielded two singles: “Roll In My Sweet Baby’s Arms” and “A Six Pack To Go.”
1973: Donna Fargo won four Academy Of Country & Western Music awards at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA. She earned Top Female Vocalist, and “The Happiest Girl In The Whole U.S.A.” takes Single Record, Song and Album of the Year.
1973: MCA released Loretta Lynn’s “Entertainer Of The Year” album.
1986: Epic released the Merle Haggard album “A Friend In California.”
1987: George Strait’s “Strait From The Heart” turned into a gold album and he received a platinum award for his “Greatest Hits.”
1991: Joe Diffie recorded “Ships That Don’t Come In” at the Bennett House in Nashville.
1993: Terrorists bombed New York’s World Trade Center, while just a few blocks away, Steve Wariner had a photo shoot for the cover of his “Drive” album.
1997: LeAnn Rimes won two trophies, Best New Artist and Best Female Country Vocal Performance for “Blue” at the 39th annual GRAMMY Awards.
2014: Comedian Tim Wilson died of a heart attack in Columbia, GA. He co-wrote Toby Keith’s country hit “High Maintenance Woman.”
