MARCH 29
1909: Moon Mullican is born in Corrigan, Texas. Nicknamed the King of the Hillbilly Piano Players, he runs a string of seven Top 10 hits from 1947-1951, including “Cherokee Boogie,” “I’ll Sail My Ship Alone” and “Mona Lisa.”
1960: Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge opens on lower Broadway in Nashville, just around the corner from the Grand Ole Opry. The small, lavender bar becomes a hangout for the likes of Willie Nelson, Harlan Howard, Hank Cochran and Mel Tillis.
1965: RCA celebrates the grand opening of RCA Studio A, later known as Music City Music Hall and Javelina. Among the records made there: Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance,” George Strait’s “Unwound” and Kacey Musgraves’ “Merry Go ‘Round.”
1969: Keyboard player Brady Seals is born in Hamilton, Ohio. As a member of Little Texas, he contributes to such hits as “What Might Have Been,” “God Blessed Texas” and “Kick A Little” before leaving in 1994 for a solo career.
1971: Named it after a man of the cloth: Jerry Reed earns a gold single, for “Amos Moses.”
1973: Billy “Crash” Craddock records “Sweet Magnolia Blossom” and “Ruby, Baby” in an evening session at the Woodland Sound Studio in Nashville.
1977: Kenny Rogers records “Daytime Friends” at the Jack Clement Studios in Nashville.
1980: Conway Twitty nets a #1 country single in Billboard with “I’d Love To Lay You Down.”
1983: Merle Haggard records “Someday When Things Are Good” in Nashville.
1985: Columbia releases USA For Africa’s “We Are The World” album, featuring Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kenny Rogers with a host of pop and rock stars, including Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and Bruce Springsteen.
1991: Bankruptcy officials open two storage warehouses at a Nashville Stor-N-Lok, where they discover numerous valuables Dottie West hid before filing for bankruptcy. The stash includes stage clothes, porcelain dolls and a guitar with her name on it.
1997: The Grand Ole Opry honors Jim & Jesse for their 50th anniversary as performers.
1997: Reba McEntire’s “How Was I To Know” reaches #1 on the Billboard country chart.
2004: Steel guitarist Dannie Jones dies. A former member of The Bellamy Brothers’ band, he played on such hits as “Too Much Is Not Enough” and “Kids Of The Baby Boom.”
