JULY 20
1918: Songwriter Cindy Walker is born in Mart, TX. She landed a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame by writing such hits as Eddy Arnold’s “You Don’t Know Me,” Webb Pierce’s “I Don’t Care” and Jim Reeves’ “Distant Drums.”
1944: Bill Browder was born in Humboldt, TN. Under the stage name T.G. Sheppard, he segued from record promotion into performing, developing pop-slanted 1980s country hits, including “I Loved ‘Em Every One,” “Only One You” and “Slow Burn.”
1946: Kim Carnes was born in Pasadena, CA. Primarily a pop recording artist, she joined Kenny Rogers on the 1980 country hit “Don’t Fall In Love With A Dreamer” and wrote Rogers’ Ronnie Milsap duet “Make No Mistake, She’s Mine.” Carnes also penned Reba McEntire & Vince Gill’s “The Heart Won’t Lie.”
1949: Jimmy Wakely recorded “Slipping Around” and “Wedding Bells” with Margaret Whiting at the Capitol Studios on Melrose in Hollywood.
1955: Coral Records released Patsy Cline’s first single, “A Church, A Courtroom And Then Goodbye” and “Honky Tonk Merry-Go-Round.”
1959: Singer/songwriter Radney Foster was born in Del Rio, TX. He joined Bill Lloyd in the 1980s duo Foster & Lloyd, develops a solo career and authored such hits as Sara Evans’ “A Real Fine Place To Start” and Keith Urban’s “I’m In.”
1968: Johnny Cash’s live version of “Folsom Prison Blues” took the #1 slot on the Billboard country singles chart.
1969: Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. The historical moment provided a reference point for Diamond Rio’s conspiracy-theory theme in the 1996 hit “It’s All In Your Head.”
1977: Merle Haggard recorded “It’s Been A Great Afternoon” in Nashville
1983: George Strait recorded “You Look So Good In Love” and “Right Or Wrong” during an evening session at Woodland Sound Studio in Nashville.
1992: An unprecedented start: Billy Ray Cyrus’ debut album, “Some Gave All,” was certified gold, platinum and double-platinum two months after its release.
1992: Liberty released Chris LeDoux’s “Whatcha Gonna Do With A Cowboy” album.
1996: Ricochet deposited “Daddy’s Money” at #1 on the Billboard country singles chart.
2002: Toby Keith occupied the #1 position in Billboard with “Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American).”
2005: A Country Music Hall of Famer and a hot-shot newcomer blend voices, as George Jones and Dierks Bentley recorded a new version of “Murder On Music Row” in Nashville for a Starbucks specialty album.
