Jul 14, 1912
Singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie is born in Okemah, Oklahoma. Best known for writing “This Land Is Your Land,” he influences the use of folk and country as a tool for social commentary, and joins the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame posthumously in 1977
Jul 14, 1920
Songwriter Marijohn Wilkin is born in Kemp, Texas. A 1975 inductee in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, she writes such hits as “One Day At A Time,” “The Long Black Veil,” “P.T. 109” and “Waterloo.” She also mentors Kris Kristofferson
Jul 14, 1934
Del Reeves is born in Sparta, North Carolina. His successes in the 1960s include the #1 single “Girl On The Billboard” and the trucker classic “Looking At The World Through A Windshield.” He joins the Grand Ole Opry in 1966
Jul 14, 1942
Songwriter Rory Bourke is born in Cleveland, Ohio. He authors Charlie Rich’s “The Most Beautiful Girl,” Jo Dee Messina’s “Bye Bye,” Anne Murray’s “A Little Good News” and George Strait’s “You Look So Good In Love”
Jul 14, 1945
Drummer Jim Gordon is born. A member of Derek & The Dominos, he plays on hits by Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell, Gordon Lightfoot and Waylon Jennings
Jul 14, 1949
Hank Williams’ Drifting Cowboys Band is formed. It features guitarist Bob McNett, fiddler Jerry Rivers, bass player Hillous Butrum and steel guitarist Don Helms
Jul 14, 1953
Guitarist/mandolinist Mike Henderson is born in Independence, Missouri. He becomes a linchpin in the bluegrass band The SteelDrivers and plays on two Travis Tritt hits: “More Than You’ll Ever Know” and “Where Corn Don’t Grow”
Jul 14, 1956
Elvis Presley earns a #1 country single in Billboard magazine with “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You”
Jul 14, 1967
Burglars steal $5,000 worth of goods from Hank Snow’s office while he plays the Grand Ole Opry. Taken are watches, cufflinks, diamond earrings, belt buckles and insurance papers, but no money
Jul 14, 1969
Ralph Stanley holds his final recording session for King Records in Nashville
Jul 14, 1970
Barbara Mandrell records “Do Right Woman – Do Right Man,” previously a hit for Aretha Franklin, in an afternoon session at the Columbia Studios in Nashville
Jul 14, 1973
The Everly Brothers break up in the midst of a concert at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, Phil Everly smashing his guitar at the side of the stage after “(‘Til) I Kissed You.” Don Everly performs the night’s remaining two shows solo
Jul 14, 1975
Singer/songwriter Jamey Johnson is born in Enterprise, Alabama. The author of Trace Adkins’ “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” and George Strait’s “Give It Away,” he breaks through as an artist with the 2008 album “That Lonesome Song”
Jul 14, 1978
Warner Bros. releases Rodney Crowell’s debut single, “Elvira.” The song becomes a hit three years later for The Oak Ridge Boys
Jul 14, 1981
Some $175,000 worth of sound equipment and instruments is stolen from Merle Haggard prior to a show in Houston. He borrows equipment for his concert; most of the equipment is recovered the next day when the thief tries to sell it at a pawn shop
Jul 14, 1986
MCA/Curb releases the “Lyle Lovett” album
Jul 14, 1989
Record executive Jim Stanton dies. He founded Rich-R-Tone Records, a label based in Johnson City, Tennessee, that released a series of significant bluegrass records by The Stanley Brothers in the 1940s
Jul 14, 1990
Garth Brooks’ “The Dance” steps to #1 on the Billboard country chart, where it remains for three weeks
Jul 14, 1992
RCA releases Clint Black’s third album “The Hard Way”
Jul 14, 1992
MCA releases Tracy Byrd’s debut single, “That’s The Thing About A Memory”
Jul 14, 2010
Billy Ray Cyrus, Jamey Johnson and Buddy Cannon sing songs to Hank Cochran at his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee. The songwriter dies the next mornin
