NOVEMBER 10
1908: Record producer Paul Cohen was born in Chicago. In 1934, he joined Decca Records, where the label signed such acts as Ernest Tubb, Webb Pierce and Patsy Cline, earning him a 1976 entry into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
1909: Pop songwriter Johnny Marks was born in Mount Vernon, NY. Specializing in holiday songs, he wrote Gene Autry’s “Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” and Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas.”
1947: Songwriter Dave Loggins was born in Mountain City, TN. He joined Anne Murray as an artist on “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do.” His writing credits include Alabama’s “Forty Hour Week (For A Livin’),” Wynonna’s “She Is His Only Need,” Gary Morris’ “I’ll Never Stop Loving You” and Restless Heart’s “Fast Movin’ Train.”
1949: Yvonne Vaughn was born in Mount Airy, NC. Under the name Donna Fargo, she became a significant singer/songwriter during the 1970s, earning back-to-back million-sellers with “The Happiest Girl In The Whole U.S.A.” and “Funny Face.”
1955: During the Disc Jockey Convention in Nashville, Elvis Presley promised Mae Boren Axton that he’d record “Heartbreak Hotel.”
1956: Stonewall Jackson and The Wilburn Brothers joined the Grand Ole Opry.
1956: “Billboard’s” annual DJ’s Poll found that Elvis Presley was the most-played country artist and male artist overall.
1956: Marty Robbins took over the #1 position on Billboard’s country singles chart with “Singing The Blues.”
1961: Jim Reeves recorded “When Two Worlds Collide,” “I Won’t Forget You” and “Blue Side Of Lonesome” during the evening at RCA’s Nashville studio.
1962: Hank Snow reached #1 on the Billboard country singles chart with “I’ve Been Everywhere.”
1968: Chris Cagle was born in De Ridder, LA. Following his national arrival in 2000, he fashioned a number of hits around a tumultuous personal life, earning a Top New Artist nomination from the Academy of Country Music.
1969: Merle Haggard recorded his live album “Okie From Muskogee” in an appropriate location: Muskogee, Oklahoma, U.S.A.
1973: David “Stringbean” Akeman and his wife, Estelle, are murdered in their Ridgetop, TN, home when they surprised burglars after his Grand Ole Opry performance. Their bodies were discovered by Grandpa Jones.
1973: Fourteen-year-old Marie Osmond plucked a #1 country single with “Paper Roses.”
1976: Bonnie Owens filed for divorce from Merle Haggard.
1981: Reba McEntire recorded “Can’t Even Get The Blues” in Nashville.
1983: Alabama records “Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler).”
1983: Miranda Lambert was born in Longview, TX. Introduced on TV’s “Nashville Star,” she combines a feisty attitude and deep sensitivity while winning the Country Music Association’s Female Vocalist of the Year five times in a row from 2010-2014.
1984: John Schneider earned a #1 country single with “I’ve Been Around Enough To Know.”
1990: Joe Diffie realized his first #1 country single with “Home.”
2003: Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, George Jones and Hank Williams Jr. performed “Highwayman” at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville during a massive memorial tribute to Johnny Cash.
2005: Dolly Parton was awarded a National Medal of Arts by president George W. Bush at the White House in Washington, D.C. Among others honored at the same event are Wynton Marsalis and Robert Duvall.
