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Country Music History – February 4

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FEBRUARY 4

1931: Fiddler Clarence “Tater” Tate was born in Gate City, VA. He performed with Bill Monroe, Patty Loveless and Wilma Lee Cooper, among others.

1941: The United Service Organization, otherwise known as the USO, was established to provide entertainment for American troops. Among the many artists who have participated: Gene Autry, Roy Acuff, Loretta Lynn, Lee Greenwood and Aaron Tippin.

1962: Clint Black was born in Long Branch, NJ. Raised in Houston, he earned the Country Music Association’s 1989 Horizon award at the outset of a career that includes “A Better Man,” “Something That We Do” and “Put Yourself In My Shoes.”

1963: The Dillards, a bluegrass group that influenced The Eagles, tape their first appearance on “The Andy Griffith Show” in a recurring role as The Darlings.

1966: The Tennessean reported Johnny Cash would file a $25-million defamation of character lawsuit against the Ku Klux Klan, which has circulated messages demanding boycotts of his concerts, falsely believing he married an African-American woman.

1971: John Denver recorded “Take Me Home, Country Roads” at the RCA Studios in New York with the song’s writers, Bill Nivert and Taffy Danoff, on backing vocals.

1975: “W.W. And The Dixie Dancekings” premiered at Nashville’s Crescent Theater. The cast included Burt Reynolds, Mel Tillis, Don Williams, Roni Stoneman and Jerry Reed.

1976: Elvis Presley recorded “Moody Blue” in the Jungle Room at Graceland in Memphis.

1976: Dolly Parton taped the pilot for her first syndicated television show, “Dolly,” at Opryland’s production studios.

1983: Karen Carpenter, of The Carpenters, died from anorexia nervosa at her parents’ home in Downey, CA. Primarily a pop act, The Carpenters did earn a Top 10 country hit in 1978 by recording “Sweet, Sweet Smile,” written by Juice Newton.

1993: Randy Travis joined Andy Griffith on NBC’s “Matlock” as an aspiring country singer.

1995: Pam Tillis earned her first #1 single in Billboard with “Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life).”

1999: Freddy Fender received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.

2008: George Strait’s “I Saw God Today” was released to radio.

2010: Online” by Brad Paisley was certified gold.

2016: The scientific journal “ZooKeys” indicated a new strain of tarantulas named after Johnny Cash, aphonopelma johnnycashi, had been discovered near Folsom Prison.