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Country Music History – July 19

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JULY 19

1937: George Hamilton IV was born in Winston-Salem, NC. Added to the Grand Ole Opry in 1961, he gained a massive #1 single with “Abilene” in 1963 and earned hits with Gordon Lightfoot’s “Early Morning Rain” and Joni Mitchell’s “Urge For Going.”

1947: Bernie Leadon was born in Minneapolis, MN. He became a founding member of The Eagles, playing on their lone country hit, “Lyin’ Eyes,” before leaving the group in 1975. He briefly joined The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band during the 1980s.

1954: Sun released Elvis Presley’s first single, “That’s All Right” backed with “Blue Moon Of Kentucky.”

1961: Johnny Cash recorded “Tennessee Flat-Top Box” in Hollywood at the Columbia Studios.

1962: Ray Charles received gold records for the single “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and the album “Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music.

1962: With the birth of his son, Mel Tillis Jr., the senior Tillis began thinking seriously about his future and gave up cigarettes. The boy, nicknamed Sonny, became a songwriter as an adult, co-writing Jamie O’Neal’s “When I Think About Angels.”

1975: Lefty Frizzell died in Nashville following a stroke. He left a trail of honky-tonk classics, such as “If You’ve Got The Money I’ve Got The Time” and “Always Late (With Your Kisses),” on his way to membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

1977: Johnny Duncan and Janie Fricke recorded “Come A Little Bit Closer” in the afternoon at Nashville’s Columbia Recording Studio.

1978: RCA released Dolly Parton’s “Heartbreaker” album.

1980: Mickey Gilley’s version of the Buddy Holly song “True Love Ways” went to #1 on the Billboard country chart.

1983: George Strait recorded “Let’s Fall To Pieces Together” in an afternoon session at Nashville’s Woodland Sound Studio.

1997: George Strait started a four-week stay at the top of the Billboard chart with “Carrying Your Love With Me.”