Jun 16, 1939
Billy “Crash” Craddock is born in Greensboro, North Carolina. Employing a sound and style influenced by Elvis Presley and rockabilly, he becomes a key 1970s figure behind such hits as “Rub It In,” “Ruby, Baby” and “Sweet Magnolia Blossom”
Jun 16, 1942
Bass player John Rostill is born in Birmingham, England. He plays with Tom Jones and the British group The Shadows, and writes the Olivia Newton-John hits “Please Mr. Please,” “Let Me Be There” and “If You Love Me (Let Me Know)”
Jun 16, 1951
Hank and Audrey Williams hold grand opening for a new clothing store, Hank & Audrey’s Corral, at 724 Commerce Street in downtown Nashville. Lefty Frizzell is on hand for the activities
Jun 16, 1959
Buck Owens records his first Top 10 hit, “Under Your Spell Again,” at the Capitol Recording Studio in Hollywood
Jun 16, 1967
Rumors emerge that Porter Wagoner has been killed and that his female singing partner, Norma Jean, is critically injured after a South Carolina man with a name similar to Wagoner is shot. Wagoner’s road show is in Little Rock at the time
Jun 16, 1967
Johnny Rivers, author of the future country hit “Poor Side Of Town,” performs on the opening night of the historic Monterey Pop Festival in California. He shares the bill with Simon & Garfunkel, Lou Rawls and The Association
Jun 16, 1972
JMI releases Don Williams’ first solo single, “Don’t You Believe”
Jun 16, 1974
Marty Robbins finishes fifth in a 1974 Dodge in the Motorstate 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. It marks the best finish of Robbins’ professional racing career
Jun 16, 1974
Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton perform at Opryland in a show that Parton calls “the last time we’ll play together.” Parton dedicates the final song to Wagoner in front of an audience that includes Paul McCartney
Jun 16, 1975
Tennessee Ernie Ford performs at the White House for West German leader Walter Scheel at the invitation of president Gerald Ford
Jun 16, 1978
Kenny Rogers records “The Gambler” in a morning session at Nashville’s Jack Clement Studios. Rogers returns in the late-afternoon to cut “All I Ever Need Is You” with Dottie West
Jun 16, 1980
Bob Nolan, of the original Sons Of The Pioneers, dies of a heart attack while boating in California. The western vocal group, for whom Nolan co-wrote “Cool Water” and “Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” enters the Country Music Hall of Fame four months later
Jun 16, 1980
Dolly Parton records “But You Know I Love You”
Jun 16, 1981
George Strait records “If You’re Thinking You Want A Stranger (There’s One Coming Home)” in an afternoon session at Nashville’s Music City Music Hall
Jun 16, 1983
Showtime debuts “Dottie West: Full Circle,” a music special featuring John Schneider, David Frizzell & Shelly West and Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers Band
Jun 16, 1987
Waylon Jennings records “My Rough And Rowdy Days” at Nashville’s Sound Stage
Jun 16, 1995
Merle Haggard and Buck Owens perform together on stage for the first time in 25 years at the Kern County Fairgrounds in Bakersfield, California. Dwight Yoakam joins the pair for one song
Jun 16, 1998
Artist manager Jack McFadden dies of liver cirrhosis in Nashville. During his career, his clients included Buck Owens, Keith Whitley, Merle Haggard, Lorrie Morgan and Billy Ray Cyrus, among others
Jun 16, 1999
The Country Music Association announces Dolly Parton, Conway Twitty and Johnny Bond will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame
Jun 16, 2000
The Country Music Association announces Charley Pride and Faron Young as the 2000 inductees in the Country Music Hall of Fame. They are the final members to be installed before the Hall moves into a new building in downtown Nashville
Jun 16, 2003
MTV renames The National Network as Spike TV, bringing the TNN monicker to an end. The cable channel had started out as The Nashville Network, the channel devoted exclusively to country music
Jun 16, 2011
Garth Brooks is added to the Songwriters Hall of Fame during an event at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York along with Leon Russell, “Southern Nights” author Allen Toussaint and “Slow Hand” composer John Bettis
