MAY 13

1914: Johnny Wright was born in Mt. Juliet, TN. The husband of Kitty Wells, registered a #1 single in 1965 with the Tom T. Hall song “Hello Vietnam” and accumulated hits during the ’50s as one-half of Johnnie & Jack.

1950: Mother Maybelle Carter and The Carter Sisters joined the Grand Ole Opry

1955: An Elvis Presley performance caused a riot for the first time in Jacksonville. Mae Boren Axton saw the show, and promises to write him a hit. Six months later, she brought him “Heartbreak Hotel.”

1965: Lari White was born in Dunedin, FL. The soulful vocalist had three hits in the 1990s and acted in the Tom Hanks movie “Cast Away.” She also became the first woman to produce an album by a major male star: Toby Keith’s “White Trash With Money.”

1967: Merle Haggard made his Grand Ole Opry debut.

1972: 13-year-old Tanya Tucker made her debut on the country charts with the single, “Delta Dawn.”

1975: Bob Wills died from heart complications, caused by a stroke. The bandleader was the best-known western-swing performer, with recordings such as “Faded Love” and “San Antonio Rose” landing him in the Country Music Hall of Fame. He was lovingly referred to as the King of Texas.

1975: A week after he first recorded them, Ronnie Milsap re-recorded “Daydreams About Night Things“ and “Just In Case” during an afternoon session in Nashville.

1988: Trisha Yearwood competed on TNN’s talent search, “You Can Be A Star.” She lost to a cab driver from Atlanta.

1990: Pam Tillis guest starred on the TV series, “L.A. Law.”

1995: The Judds popped up on the cover of TV Guide.

1997: Lee Ann Womack’s self-titled debut album was released.

2000: Kenny Rogers’ “Buy Me A Rose” sprouts at #1 on the Billboard country chart with vocal assistance from Alison Krauss and Billy Dean.

2003: Joe Nichols scored his first gold album, for his debut, “Man With A Memory.”

2011: Tim McGraw was sued for breach of contract by Curb Records, which claimed that he recorded his “Emotional Traffic” album too soon after the previous release. Tim had also filed a countersuit, saying Curb had kept him in an ongoing state of “involuntary servitude” by forcing him to wait so long to record new albums. His filing claimed that was a way to stretch out his contract indefinitely. McGraw’s suit also alleged that Curb’s decision to release a total of seven greatest hits albums was a ploy to extend his contract against his will.

2014: The Band Perry is inducted into the Junior Achievement Tri-Cities Tennessee/Virginia Business Hall of Fame.