Jun 4, 1929
All-night disc jockey Bill Mack, of Dallas’ WBAP, is born in Shamrock, Texas. He writes George Strait’s “Drinking Champagne” and LeAnn Rimes’ “Blue”
Jun 4, 1937
Baldemar Huerta is born in San Benito, Texas. Renamed Freddy Fender, he gains two million-selling hits, “Wasted Days And Wasted Nights” and his Spanglish “Before The Next Teardrop Falls,” eventually gaining a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Jun 4, 1942
To avoid confusion with Liberty Music Shops in New York, Liberty Records changes its name to Capitol. It becomes the first label to send out “promo” copies to disc jockeys, later promoting such stars as Buck Owens, Keith Urban and Garth Brooks
Jun 4, 1958
Ray Price and Charlie Walker find “Pick Me Up On Your Way Down” in a stack of demo tapes, the night before a scheduled Walker session. Ernest Tubb helps them change the gender on the song, originally penned for Kitty Wells
Jun 4, 1971
New York’s Madison Square Garden draws 11,000 fans in its first all-Nashville package show, featuring Sonny James, Dolly Parton, Conway Twitty, Porter Wagoner, Del Reeves, Jim Ed Brown, Faron Young and Loretta Lynn
Jun 4, 1975
Glen Campbell begins recording “Country Boy (You Got Your Feet In L.A.)” at Los Angeles’ Sound Labs
Jun 4, 1979
Kenny Rogers nabs three trophies in The Music City News awards, including Single Record of the Year, for “The Gambler”
Jun 4, 1982
Alabama sponsors the first June Jam in Fort Payne, Alabama. More than 30,000 attend the charity concert near the high school, where the hometown band shares the stage with Janie Fricke, The Oak Ridge Boys, Louise Mandrell and R.C. Bannon
Jun 4, 1996
LeAnn Rimes’ debut single, “Blue,” appears in record stores, selling 100,000 copies its first day
Jun 4, 1996
Atlantic releases the “Neal McCoy” album
Jun 4, 1996
BNA releases Lorrie Morgan’s “Greater Need” album
Jun 4, 1996
BNA releases Kenny Chesney’s “Me And You” album
Jun 4, 2001
John Hartford dies of lymphoma at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville. The bluegrass- and folk-influenced singer, banjo player and fiddler was best known for writing the Glen Campbell classic “Gentle On My Mind”
Jun 4, 2013
It Books publishes “Outlaw: Waylon, Willie, Kris, And The Renegades Of Nashville,” a book written by Michael Streissguth
