JULY 7
1927: Charlie Louvin, of The Louvin Brothers, was born in Section, AL. Along with brother Ira, they mixed gospel and country, landing on the Grand Ole Opry in 1955. Charlie remained with the Opry following his brother’s death in 1965.
1930: Doyle Wilburn was born in Hardy, AR. He teamed with younger sibling Teddy to form The Wilburn Brothers, debuting on the Grand Ole Opry as pre-teens. They netted 14 Top 10 hits from 1954-1966 and published Loretta Lynn’s first songs.
1940: Drummer Richard Starkey–a.k.a. Ringo Starr–was born in Liverpool, England. He rose to fame as a member of The Beatles, who have songs covered by Sweethearts Of The Rodeo, Rosanne Cash and Johnny Rodriguez.
1947: Songwriter Randy Goodrum was born in Hot Springs, AR. He authored Anne Murray’s “You Needed Me,” Michael Johnson’s “Bluer Than Blue” and Dottie West’s “A Lesson In Leavin’.”
1952: Keyboard player Floyd Domino was born. He became a member of Asleep At The Wheel and played with George Strait, appearing on such hits as “Love Without End, Amen,” “I’ve Come To Expect It From You” and “If You Ain’t Lovin’ (You Ain’t Livin’).”
1956: After Carl Smith’s introduction, Johnny Cash made his Grand Ole Opry debut at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, performing “I Walk The Line,” “Get Rhythm” and “So Doggone Lonesome.” Backstage, Cash also met his future wife, June Carter, for the first time.
1968: Cal Smith concluded a five-year run as a member of Ernest Tubb’s Texas Troubadours.
1969: Tom T. Hall recorded “Homecoming” and “Shoeshine Man” at the Monument Recording Studio in Nashville.
1973: Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me” reached #1 on the Billboard country singles chart.
1975: George Morgan died in Nashville, five days after undergoing open heart surgery. Voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the smooth-voiced Grand Ole Opry member was best known for his 1949 hit “Candy Kisses.” He was the father of Lorrie Morgan.
1979: Barbara Mandrell and The Oak Ridge Boys were booed off stage in favor of more traditional acts Roy Clark and Doc Watson at the first Montreux Country Festival in Switzerland. Irby Mandrell called the crowd “a bunch of barbarians.”
1982: Charley Pride recorded the George Jones classic “Why Baby Why.”
1987: Warner/Curb released Hank Williams Jr.’s “Born To Boogie” album.
1992: MCA released Marty Stuart’s “This One’s Gonna Hurt You” album
1998: Tim McGraw batted against his father, former all-star Tug McGraw, prior to major league baseball’s all-star game at Denver’s Coors Field. Faith Hill sang the national anthem. The American League defeated the National League with a score of 13-8.
2004: Jimmy Buffett’s “Hey, Good Lookin’” video–featuring appearances by George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Clint Black and Alan Jackson–debuted on CMT.
2010: Recording engineer Bill Porter died in Ogden, UT. Among his credits are Elvis Presley’s “It’s Now Or Never,” The Browns’ “The Three Bells” and Skeeter Davis’ “The End Of The World.”
