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Country Music History – June 13

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JUNE 13

1936: The Dixie Tabernacle became the home of the Grand Ole Opry, seating 3,500. The Opry remained there for the next three years. Pee Wee King and Roy Acuff both made their first Opry appearances at the venue.

1952: Hank Williams recorded “Jambalaya (On The Bayou),” “Settin’ The Woods On Fire” and “I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive” at the Castle Studio in Nashville.

1963: Ray Price recorded “Make The World Go Away” in an overnight session at the Columbia Studios in Nashville.

1970: Johnny Cash was featured on the cover of TV Guide.

1972: “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour” made its last prime-time appearance on CBS. Guests for the episode included Lynn Anderson, Ken Berry and Jerry Reed.

1973: Dolly Parton recorded “I Will Always Love You” in a morning session at Nashville’s RCA Studio B. She also recorded her own version of “Kentucky Gambler,” destined to become a hit when it was recorded by Merle Haggard.

1980: The movie “Roadie” opened, with cameo appearances by Roy Orbison, Asleep At The Wheel, Merle Kilgore, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Hank Williams Jr. The soundtrack includes Eddie Rabbitt’s “Drivin’ My Life Away” and Blondie’s version of “Ring Of Fire.

1987: Randy Travis began a three-week stay at #1 on the Billboard country chart with “Forever And Ever, Amen.”

1989: A week before the opening of the movie “Great Balls Of Fire,” Jerry Lee Lewis received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

1991: Dottie West bid for many of her own possessions, but lost most as the Internal Revenue Service sold her belongings to satisfy a $1.5 million debt. Among the items purchased: a white baby grand piano, $4,900; and a 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood, $3,100.

1995: BNA released Kenny Chesney’s “All I Need To Know” album.

2004: Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” was proclaimed the #1 country ballad of all-time in the premiere of “CMT 100 Greatest Love Songs.”

2010: Jimmy Dean died at home in Varina, VA. Best known for the million-selling “Big Bad John,” he spent significant time as a network-TV host and the owner of Jimmy Dean sausage. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October 2010.

2018: Drummer D.J. Fontana died in his sleep. An associate of Elvis Presley, he played on “Jailhouse Rock,” “Hound Dog” and “Heartbreak Hotel,” plus country hits by Dolly Parton, Charley Pride and Waylon Jennings.

2019: Tom T. Hall and John Prine were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York. They entered alongside Cat Stevens, Missy Elliott and Glenn Frey collaborator Jack Tempchin.