Jun 12, 1927
Songwriter Penny Jay is born. She authors Carl & Pearl Butler’s biggest hit, “Don’t Let Me Cross Over”
Jun 12, 1928
Emmett Miller records “Lovesick Blues” in New York with a band that includes Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey. Miller’s version of the song later influences Hank Williams to record it, leading to Williams’ breakthrough record
Jun 12, 1937
Producer Chips Moman is born in LaGrange, Georgia. He writes “Luckenbach, Texas” and “Another Done Somebody Wrong Song” and produces hits for Elvis Presley, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, among others
Jun 12, 1949
Ernest Tubb records five Top 10 hits in a single recording session at Nashville’s Castle Studio: “My Filipino Rose,” “My Tennessee Baby,” “Slipping Around,” “Warm Red Wine” and “Driftwood On The River”
Jun 12, 1952
Jamieson “Junior” Brown is born in Kirksville, Indiana. Hailed for his instrumental work on his self-designed guit-steel, he becomes a critics’ favorite in the 1990s and wins the Country Music Association’s video award for “My Wife Thinks You’re Dead”
Jun 12, 1970
Freddie Hart records “Easy Loving” in a late-night session at the Jack Clement Studios in Nashville
Jun 12, 1971
Fiddler Joseph Emmett Mainer dies. Better-known as J.E. Mainer, his Mountaineers were recognized as one of the top Appalachian string bands during the 1930s
Jun 12, 1973
Dolly Parton records “Jolene” during the afternoon at RCA Studio B in Nashville
Jun 12, 1976
Crystal Gayle notches her first #1 country single in Billboard with “I’ll Get Over You”
Jun 12, 1978
Johnny Bond dies of a heart attack at the St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. A movie sidekick to Gene Autry and Tex Ritter, as well as an artist and songwriter in his own right, he lands a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame two decades later
Jun 12, 1989
Thirty-five years after Memphis’ WHBQ became the first radio station to play an Elvis Presley record, the station pulls all of the King’s music from its airwaves, citing listener complaints
Jun 12, 1996
John Denver and “Yesterday, When I Was Young” composer Charles Aznavour join the Songwriters Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the New York Sheraton Hotel
Jun 12, 1998
Chet Atkins performs at the Tennessee Theater in Knoxville, Tennessee. It’s the last time the guitarist plays publicly, as he battles cancer
Jun 12, 2002
Marty Stuart holds his first Late Night Jam, playing “Walk Softly On This Heart Of Mine” with T. Graham Brown and Kentucky HeadHunter Richard Young. The Ryman Auditorium bill also features Joe Nichols, Billy Gibbons, Ray Benson, Pam Tillis, Montgomery Gentry and Connie Smith
Jun 12, 2017
Garth Brooks ranks #26 among Forbes’ highest-paid celebrities for earning $60 million. Also listed: Taylor Swift, #49, $44 million; Kenny Chesney, #53, $42.5 million; Luke Bryan, #55, $42 million; Dolly Parton, #71, $37 million; Florida Georgia Line and Toby Keith, #83, $34.5 million; and Jason Aldean, #98, $32.5 million
