NOVEMBER 13
1947: J.C. Crowley was born in Houston, TX. A member of the pop group Player, best known for its 1977 hit “Baby Come Back,” he built a short solo career in country music, gaining a minor hit in 1988 with “Paint The Town And Hang The Moon Tonight.”
1947: Southern rock guitarist Toy Caldwell was born in Spartanburg, SC. As a member of The Marshall Tucker Band, he wrote “Can’t You See,” a country hit in 1976 for Waylon Jennings.
1954: Jeannie Kendall was born in St. Louis, MO. With her father, Royce, she took part in the duo The Kendalls, whose gospel-based harmonies and cheatin’ themes were exemplified by their million-selling signature song, 1977’s “Heaven’s Just A Sin Away.”
1967: Tammy Wynette recorded “Take Me To Your World.”
1970: Columbia released Johnny Cash’s “Flesh And Blood.”
1972: Decca released Cal Smith’s “The Lord Knows I’m Drinking,” written by Bill Anderson.
1975: Hank Williams Jr. had four hours of plastic and oral surgery at Nashville’s Baptist Hospital to repair damages from a 500-foot fall in an August mountain accident.
1981: Carl Gorodetzky created The Nashville String Machine, an ensemble of session players that lasted more than 25 years. The group provided strings for hits by George Strait, Lee Ann Womack, Martina McBride and Garth Brooks, among others.
1982: Ricky Skaggs ascended to #1 in Billboard with “Heartbroke,” written by Guy Clark.
1982: The single, “You And I,” by Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle entered the pop chart.
1983: Comedian Junior Samples died at Forsyth County Hospital following a heart attack at his home in Cumming, GA. Samples was best known for his “Hee Haw” role as a used-car salesman, in which he would announce a telephone number, BR5-49.
1985: Vandals broke into Bill Monroe’s house and assaulted his Gibson mandolin, the instrument with which he established bluegrass music. Nothing was stolen.
1995: Jimmy Dean and Charley Pride testified on behalf of fiddler Tommy Williams in a Virginia court as the “Hee Haw” musician’s $20-million lawsuit against the Republican party over a disabling 1992 campaign accident opened. The two sides settled that same night for $725,000.
1996: Trisha Yearwood made her television-acting debut on an episode of ABC-TV’s “Ellen,” playing herself.
1999: Garth Brooks hosted NBC-TV’s “Saturday Night Live,” with musical guest Chris Gaines.
2003: Wynonna was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. According to the police report, Wy was pulled over around 1am for going 47 in a 30 mph zone. Her Breathalyzer test registered a blood alcohol level of .175. The legal limit in Tennessee is .08. Wy was released after posting a $500 bond, which is the standard bail set for a first-offense DUI. In a written statement released later that day. Wynonna pulled no punches over the incident and added, “I know there is never a situation where drinking and driving is acceptable, and I take full responsibility for my error in judgment.”
2010: Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” ranked #1 on CMT debuts “40 Greatest Songs of the Decade.”
2016: Leon Russell died in his sleep at his Nashville home. A member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, he played piano on hits by Glen Campbell, Eric Clapton and The Byrds. He also joined Willie Nelson on the 1979 country duet “Heartbreak Hotel.”
2020: Doug Supernaw died of cancer at his home in Texas. He earned three Top 5 singles in the 1990s, including the broken-family tale “I Don’t Call Him Daddy.”
