JULY 8
1957: Imperial released The Scholars’ single “Beloved.” The group includes 18-year-old singer Kenny Rogers.
1958: Drummer Fred Young was born in Glasgow, KY. He joined The Kentucky HeadHunters, whose energetic, influential blend of country and rock brings them the Country Music Association’s Vocal Group of the Year in 1990 and 1991.
1961: Toby Keith was born in Clinton, OK. The former semi-pro football player emerged in 1993 with “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” becoming a brash hitmaker, label owner and entrepreneur. Hejoined the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015. He was revealed as a Country Music Hall of Fame inductee in 2024 shortly after his death.
1964: Buck Owens recorded “I Don’t Care (Just As Long As You Love Me)” at the Capitol Recording Studios in Hollywood.
1970: Drew Womack was born in Brownwood, TX. He became the lead singer of Sons Of The Desert, which earned two hits in 1997, and wrote Kenny Chesney’s “She’s Got It All.” The group also backs Lee Ann Womack on “I Hope You Dance.”
1972: Kris Kristofferson recorded “Why Me” at the Monument Studios in Nashville. The session also yielded a performance of Larry Gatlin’s song “Help Me,” featuring Gatlin and Rita Coolidge, for Johnny Cash’s movie “The Gospel Road.”
1972: When a concert date was canceled, Barbara Mandrell joined the Grand Ole Opry, three weeks earlier than scheduled.
1985: MCA released The Oak Ridge Boys’ “Touch A Hand, Make A Friend.”
1989: Ricky Skaggs lifted “Lovin’ Only Me” to #1 on the Billboard country singles chart.
1997: Marty Stuart married Connie Smith on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Afterward, they drove out into the wilderness and end up dancing on a cliff to Buck Owens’ “Your Tender Loving Care.”
2000: Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” began a five-week ride at #1 on the Billboard country singles chart.
2011: Little Jimmy Dickens dressed in a phony William Lee Golden-like beard on the Grand Ole Opry as he invited The Oak Ridge Boys to become members. The group, of course, said yes.
