JULY 26
1922: Record executive Jim Foglesong was born in Lundale, WV. Beginning in 1973, he successfully ran Dot Records, ABC, MCA and Capitol, influencing the careers of Garth Brooks, Donna Fargo, George Strait and Barbara Mandrell, among others.
1931: Monument Records founder Fred Foster was born in Rutherford County, NC. Credited as a co-writer on “Me And Bobby McGee,” Foster’s label is key in the careers of Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Roy Orbison and Billy Grammer.
1940: Lawrence Brown was born in Simonton, TX. Under the stage name Dobie Gray, he netted a million-selling pop single in 1973 with “Drift Away” and wrote John Conlee’s 1986 country hit “Got My Heart Set On You.”
1947: Guitarist Al Anderson was born in Windsor, CT. After a stint in the eclectic rock band NRBQ, he became a major songwriter, penning such hits as George Strait’s “Love’s Gonna Make It Alright,” Diamond Rio’s “Unbelievable,” LeAnn Rimes’ “Big Deal” and The Mavericks’ “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down.”
1968: Jeannie C. Riley recorded “Harper Valley P.T.A.“
1972: Columbia released the Lynn Anderson album “Listen To A Country Song.”
1977: Faron Young filed suit against Capitol Records, claiming the label owed him more than $150,000 in royalties over the past 20 years.
1982: Taping of “The Dukes Of Hazzard” resumed for the fall season without John Schneider and Tom Wopat as the stars were embroiled in lawsuits with Warner Bros.
1986: Randy Travis scored his first #1 single in Billboard with “On The Other Hand.”
1994: Epic released Joe Diffie’s “Third Rock From The Sun” album.
1999: Clint Black played at “A Night at the Net.” The event was a charity doubles tennis match that kicked off the eighth annual Mercedes-Benz Cup.
2016: Garth Brooks topped the “Forbes” list of Country’s Cash Kings after making an estimated $70-million in a year. Rounding out the Top 5 were Kenny Chesney, $56-million; Luke Bryan, $53-million; Toby Keith, $47.5-million; and Jason Aldean, $36.5-million.
2019: Officials with the Ulster County Fair in New York cancelled an August 1st Confederate Railroad concert, becoming the second fair to ban the group while citing racist connotations in the band’s name and its use of a Confederate flag in its branding.