NOVEMBER 16
1873: W.C. Handy was born in Florence, AL. Recognized as the Father of the Blues, he’s referenced in the 2003 Lonestar hit “Walking In Memphis.” Handy entered the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983.
1919: Earl Bolick was born in Hickory, NC. Along with older brother Bill, he created The Blue Sky Boys, whose country ballads and gospel tunes use strong genetic harmonies during the height of their career, from 1935 until semi-retirement in 1951.
1931: Folk artist Bob Gibson was born in New York City. He played a formative role in developing Greenwich Village’s coffeehouse circuit and co-writes one country hit, George Hamilton IV’s “Abilene.”
1938: Songwriter Troy Seals was born in Big Hill, KY. His credits include Eddy Raven’s “Joe Knows How To Live,” Conway Twitty’s “Don’t Take It Away,” George Jones’ “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes” and John Schneider’s “Country Girls,” among others.
1941: Pop songwriter Dan Penn was born in Vernon, AL. He landed songs on the country chart when Barbara Mandrell covered “Do Right Woman – Do Right Man” and Ronnie Milsap recorded “I Hate You.”
1948: Songwriter/producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange was born in Mufilira, Rhodesia. Noted for his work with AC/DC, Foreigner and Def Leppard, he married Shania Twain and helped her write and develop some of the best-selling albums in country music history.
1949: Songwriter and bluegrass musician Larry Cordle was born in Cordell, KY. He penned Ricky Skaggs’ “Highway 40 Blues,” Diamond Rio’s “Mama Don’t Forget To Pray For Me” and George Strait & Alan Jackson’s “Murder On Music Row,” among others.
1955: Johnny Cash made his first chart appearance with the single, “Cry Cry Cry.”
1960: Patsy Cline recorded “I Fall To Pieces” during an afternoon session at the Bradley Film & Recording Studio in Nashville.
1964: Bobby Bare saw Waylon Jennings perform at J.D.s in Phoenix. The next day, on his way to Las Vegas, Bare called Chet Atkins and urged him to sign Jennings.
1967: The Osborne Brothers recorded “Rocky Top” at Bradley’s Barn in Mt. Juliet, TN.
1968: The single, “Witchita Lineman,” by Glen Campbell entered the Top 40 chart. In 1997, Dwight Yoakam did his version of the tune on his album, “Under The Covers.”
1975: “Banjoman,” a full-length movie celebrating the career of Earl Scruggs, premieres at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Also featured: The Byrds, Joan Baez, Doc Watson, Merle Watson, David Bromberg, Tracy Nelson and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott.
1977: Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson recorded “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” at the American Studios in Nashville.
1978: George Jones & Johnny Paycheck recorded “You Can Have Her” during an afternoon session at the Columbia Studios in Nashville.
1981: Loretta Lynn celebrated her 20th anniversary in show business with her first TV special, “Loretta Lynn: The Lady…The Legend.” Guests included Sissy Spacek, The Oak Ridge Boys, Ernest Tubb and Crystal Gayle.
1984: The “Right Or Wrong” album by George Strait was certified gold.
1987: In 1987, George Strait’s “Greatest Hits Volume II” album was certified gold.
1991: Garth Brooks’ interpretation of the Billy Joel song “Shameless” rose to #1 on the Billboard country chart.
1992: Reba’s video, “For My Broken Heart,” was certified platinum.
1993: The album, “Let There Be Peace On Earth,” by Vince Gill was certified gold.
1994: Dwight Yoakam’s album, “Just Lookin’ For A Hit,” was certified platinum.
1994: The album, “Ropin’ The Wind,” by Garth Brooks was certified for sales of 10-million.
1995: Travis Tritt’s album, “Greatest Hits – From The Beginning,” was certified gold.
1995: The “Strait Out Of The Box” set by George Strait was certified gold and platinum simultaneously.
1996: The #1 song on the country charts was George Strait’s “I Can Still Make Cheyenne.”
1998: J.D. Sumner, the bass singer with gospel music’s Stamps Quartet, died of a heart attack in a Myrtle Beach, SC hotel room. He performed on such Elvis Presley hits as “Burning Love,” “Moody Blue” and “Way Down.”
2000: Travis Tritt celebrated his single, “Best of Intentions,” topping the “Radio & Records” country chart for its second week.
2003: Alabama added to its own American Music Awards record by claiming the 23rd victory of its career at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium. The evening’s other country winners included Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Toby Keith.
2005: CBS aired “I Walk The Line: A Night For Johnny Cash” with Brad Paisley, Martina McBride, Dwight Yoakam, Jerry Lee Lewis, Norah Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, Reese Witherspoon, Joaquin Phoenix and Alison Krauss.
