MARCH 25
1923: Bonnie Guitar was born in Seattle, WA. An L.A. session guitarist in the 1950s, she had three Top 10 country hits in the 1960s and co-founded Dolphin Records, which yielded The Fleetwoods’ pop hit “Come Softly” and The Ventures’ “Walk–Don’t Run.”
1927: Musician/executive Joe Talbot was born in Nashville. A member of Hank Snow’s Rainbow Ranch Boys from 1950-1954, he played steel guitar on “(Now And Then There’s) A Fool Such As I,” “The Golden Rocket” and “I’m Moving On,” among others.
1934: Johnny Burnette was born in Memphis, TN. In the mid-1950s, Johnny Burnette & The Rock ‘N’ Roll Trio became a rockabilly force, pioneering the use of distortion.
1938: Hoyt Axton was born in Duncan, OK. The son of Mae Boren Axton, who wrote “Heartbreak Hotel,” he netted two Top 10 country hits in 1974 and wrote pop hits for Three Dog Night, Ringo Starr and Steppenwolf.
1939: “Billboard” magazine introduced the hillbilly chart, which has since become the country music chart.
1953: Webb Pierce recorded “It’s Been So Long,” “Don’t Throw Your Life Away” and “There Stands The Glass” at Nashville’s Castle Studio in the Tulane Hotel.
1961: Elvis Presley performed at Bloch Arena in Pearl Harbor, HI, his last concert for nearly eight years. He donated $5,000 to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial Fund, joined on the appearance by Minnie Pearl.
1963: Johnny Cash recorded “Ring Of Fire” at the Columbia Recording Studio in Nashville.
1966: Buck Owens recorded a live album at New York’s prestigious Carnegie Hall, kicking off the concert with “Act Naturally.” Opening the show: Dick Curless.
1974: Charlie Rich won three times during the ninth annual Academy Of Country Music awards at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA. Rich swiped Top Male Vocalist, Single Record and Album of the Year for “Behind Closed Doors,” also named Song of the Year.
1983: Epic released George Jones’ “Shine On” album.
1986: Tammy Wynette began a run playing a waitress on the CBS-TV daytime soap opera “Capitol.” In the role, she had a romance with an actor played by Rory Calhoun.
1987: Rosanne Cash recorded “Runaway Train” and “Tennessee Flat Top Box.”
1989: Reba McEntire took the top spot on the Billboard country singles chart with “New Fool At An Old Game.”
1990: Glen Campbell, Tanya Tucker, Janie Fricke, Roy Clark and Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers Band performed for George Bush as WTBS tapes “A Festival At Ford’s Theatre: The Stars Salute The President” in Washington, D.C.
1991: Alan Jackson became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
2003: “Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie” premiered at Nashville’s Belcourt Theatre the day the soundtrack was released. The album features Leon Russell’s “Act Naturally,” Chris Cagle’s “Don’t Ask Me No Questions” and Brad Paisley’s “Sharp Dressed Man.”
2006: Country Music Hall of Famer Buck Owens died in his sleep at his Bakersfield home. Known for his red, white and blue guitar, Owens hosted TV’s “Hee Haw” for more than 15 years and left such classics as “Together Again” and “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail.”
2007: Willie Nelson, Ray Price and Merle Haggard embarked on their “Last of the Breed” tour. They were backed by Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel.
2009: Dan Seals died of lymphoma at his daughter’s Nashville home. A former member of pop music’s England Dan & John Ford Coley, he collected 11 #1 hits as a country singer, including “Bop,” “You Still Move Me” and “Good Times.”
2020: Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman” and Eddy Arnold’s “Make The World Go Away” were announced by the Library of Congress as new additions to the National Recording Registry. Also in the class are the Dusty Springfield album “Dusty In Memphis” and Whitney Houston’s version of the Dolly Parton-penned “I Will Always Love You.”
