JULY 11
1930: Jimmie Rodgers recorded “Blue Yodel No. 8 (Muleskinner Blues)” and “The Mystery Of Number Five” at the Victor Studios in Los Angeles.
1937: Songwriter/producer Billy Davis was born in Detroit, MI. He wrote such hits as “Lonely Teardrops” and “Reet Petite.” He also penned a Coke commercial that Dottie West rewrote as “Country Sunshine.”
1947: Singer/guitarist Jeff Hanna was born in Detroit, MI. He helped found The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, whose historic 1972 album “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” album pre-dates a string of country hits in the 1980s.
1952: Hank Williams recorded “You Win Again” a day after his divorce was finalized, along with “I Won’t Be Home No More” at the Castle Studio in Nashville’s Tulane Hotel.
1955: Elvis Presley recorded “Mystery Train” and “I Forgot To Remember To Forget” at Memphis’ Sun Recording Studio.
1955: Jenny Peer filed for divorce in Charleston, WV, from bandleader Bill Peer. She accused him of adultery with his protege, Patsy Cline.
1961: While watching baseball’s annual All-Star Game on television, Bill Anderson got a phone call asking him to join the Grand Ole Opry. Anderson, of course, whispered yes. The National League, meanwhile, beat the American League, 5-4.
1961: Chet Atkins played a concert in the rain in Nashville’s Centennial Park without telling the audience of 10,000 that every time he touched the guitar, he got shocked. The closest he came to letting on is telling the audience “I’m real brave tonight!”
1963: Buck Owens recorded “Love’s Gonna Live Here” at Capitol’s recording studio in the Hollywood tower.
1967: One day after leaving The New Christy Minstrels, Kenny Rogers formed The First Edition with Thelma Camacho, Mike Settle and Terry Williams.
1970: Conway Twitty received a phone call in Winona, MN, threatening Bill Anderson’s life if he performed that night. Anderson performed anyway, with 16 policemen dispersed among a crowd of 2,000.
1972: Merle Haggard recorded “It’s Not Love (But It’s Not Bad)” at the Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville.
1973: Singer/songwriter Scotty Emerick was born in Hollywood, FL. He joined Toby Keith’s band and became a co-writer on such hits as “Beer For My Horses,” “Whiskey Girl,” “I Love This Bar” and “I’m Just Talkin’ About Tonight.“
1981: Earl Thomas Conley scored his first #1 single in Billboard with “Fire & Smoke.”
1982: Dolly Parton’s second movie, “The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas,” with Burt Reynolds, premiered in Austin.
1985: Kathy Yvonne Stone–the future Jett Williams–filed a petition in Montgomery, AL, for access to paternity and adoption records. The goal: to prove she is the illegitimate daughter of Hank Williams.
1986: In his first recording session for Columbia, Ricky Van Shelton cut “Somebody Lied.”
1987: “All My Ex’s Live In Texas” took George Strait to #1 on the Billboard country chart.
1998: Readers of The Tennessean received a two-song Martina McBride cassette with the morning paper. RCA spent $30,000 for the campaign, which raised the singer’s profile and courts awards votes from Country Music Association members.
2018: Collin Raye debuted a new series, “That’s My Story,” on WhereverTV, with Billy Dean aboard as the first guest.
