NOVEMBER 15
1929: William Fries was born in Audobon, IA. Under the name C.W. McCall, he gained a million-selling novelty hit in 1975 with “Convoy,” using the lingo of the trendy CB radio to relate a cross-country trucker caravan.
1937: R&B artist Little Willie John was born in Cullendale, AR. A colorful figure with a street image, he earned a hit in 1958 with “Talk To Me,” remade for country music by both Freddy Fender and Mickey Gilley.
1943: Sydney Nathan’s King Records released its first two singles, with the artists using pseudonyms: Merle Travis and Grandpa Jones are billed as The Sheppard Brothers, and a Travis solo disc is credited to Bob McCarthy.
1956: Bobby Helms recorded “Fraulein” in an afternoon session at the Bradley Film & Recording Studio in Nashville.
1965: Decca released Loretta Lynn’s gospel album “Hymns.”
1969: “We don’t burn our draft cards down on Main Street”: Merle Haggard hit #1 in Billboard with “Okie From Muskogee.”
1974: Capitol released Linda Ronstadt’s “Heart Like A Wheel” album. In addition to her hits “When Will I Be Loved” and “I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You),” it features her version of J.D. Souther’s “Faithless Love,” a future Glen Campbell hit.
1975: Waylon Jennings picked up a #1 country single in Billboard with “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way.”
1976: Johnny Duncan recorded “It Couldn’t Have Been Any Better” in the evening at Nashville’s Columbia Recording Studios.
1980: Anne Murray waltzed to #1 on the Billboard country chart with “Could I Have This Dance.”
1980: Kenny Rogers topped the pop singles chart with “Lady.”
1987: The “Best Of Reba McEntire” album was released.
1995: The “Beyond The Season” album by Garth Brooks was certified triple-platinum.
1999: Trisha Yearwood’s album, “Where Your Road Leads,” was certified platinum.
2001: It was revealed that Brad Paisley was dubbed the “Sexiest Country Singer” in “People” magazine’s annual “Sexiest Man Alive” issue.
2003: Toby Keith’s song “I Love This Bar” went to #1 on the Billboard charts.
2004: Shania Twain’s “Come On Over” became the first country album in history certified for shipments of 20-million units.
2005: Wind-Up released the “Walk The Line” soundtrack, featuring Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Shooter Jennings and Waylon Payne on such Johnny Cash classics as “Jackson,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Ring Of Fire” and “Get Rhythm.”
2005: Glen Campbell, Alabama and DeFord Bailey were officially inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame during the Country Music Association awards at New York’s Madison Square Garden, telecast by CBS.
2016: Crystal Gayle received a surprise invitation from Carrie Underwood to join the Grand Ole Opry during a broadcast from the Opry House in Nashville. The invite came moments after the pair teamed up on “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.”
2018: Roy Clark died of complications from pneumonia at his home in Tulsa, OK. A Country Music Hall of Fame member and former CMA Entertainer of the Year, he was an impressive guitarist, a hitmaker, a skilled comic and the longtime co-host of the syndicated TV show “Hee Haw.”
2022: Vince Gill, Ray Stevens and Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives are inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, along with Don McLean, producer James William Guercio and engineer George Massenburg.
