JULY 14
1912: Singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie was born in Okemah, OK. Best known for writing “This Land Is Your Land,” he influenced the use of folk and country as a tool for social commentary, and joined the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame posthumously in 1977.
1920: Songwriter Marijohn Wilkin was born in Kemp, TX. A 1975 inductee in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, she wrote such hits as “One Day At A Time,” “The Long Black Veil,” “P.T. 109” and “Waterloo.” She also mentored Kris Kristofferson.
1934: Del Reeves was born in Sparta, NC. 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 joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1966.
1942: Songwriter Rory Bourke was born in Cleveland, OH. He authored 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.”
1945: Drummer Jim Gordon was born. A member of Derek & The Dominos, he played on hits by Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell, Gordon Lightfoot and Waylon Jennings.
1949: Hank Williams’ Drifting Cowboys Band was formed. It featured guitarist Bob McNett, fiddler Jerry Rivers, bass player Hillous Butrum and steel guitarist Don Helms.
1953: Guitarist/mandolinist Mike Henderson was born in Independence, MO. He became 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.”
1956: Elvis Presley earned a #1 country single in Billboard magazine with “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You.”
1967: Burglars stole $5,000 worth of goods from Hank Snow’s office while he played the Grand Ole Opry. They took watches, cufflinks, diamond earrings, belt buckles and insurance papers – but no money.
1969: Ralph Stanley held his final recording session for King Records in Nashville.
1970: Barbara Mandrell recorded “Do Right Woman – Do Right Man,” previously a hit for Aretha Franklin, in an afternoon session at the Columbia Studios in Nashville.
1973: The Everly Brothers broke up in the midst of a concert at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA. Phil Everly smashed his guitar at the side of the stage after “(‘Til) I Kissed You.” Don Everly performed the night’s remaining two shows solo.
1975: Singer/songwriter Jamey Johnson was born in Enterprise, AL. The author of Trace Adkins’ “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” and George Strait’s “Give It Away,” he broke through as an artist with the 2008 album “That Lonesome Song.”
1978: Warner Bros. released Rodney Crowell’s debut single, “Elvira.” The song became a hit three years later for The Oak Ridge Boys.
1981: Some $175,000 worth of sound equipment and instruments were stolen from Merle Haggard prior to a show in Houston. He borrowed equipment for his concert; most of the equipment was recovered the next day when the thief tried to sell it at a pawn shop.
1986: MCA/Curb releases the “Lyle Lovett” album.
1989: Record executive Jim Stanton died. He founded Rich-R-Tone Records, a label based in Johnson City, TN, that released a series of significant bluegrass records by The Stanley Brothers in the 1940s.
1990: Garth Brooks’ “The Dance” stepped to #1 on the Billboard country chart, where it remained for three weeks.
1992: RCA released Clint Black’s third album “The Hard Way.”
1992: MCA released Tracy Byrd’s debut single, “That’s The Thing About A Memory.”
2010: Billy Ray Cyrus, Jamey Johnson and Buddy Cannon sang songs to Hank Cochran at his home in Hendersonville, TN. The songwriter died the next morning.
