NOVEMBER 27
1910: Bass player Joel Price was born in Franklin County, GA. He played on Bill Monroe’s “Uncle Pen,” and worked with Little Jimmy Dickens, earning status as the first musician to play an electric bass on the Grand Ole Opry.
1924: Songwriter Werly Fairburn was born at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, LA. He wrote Carl Smith’s “I Feel Like Cryin’” and Jim Reeves’ “I Guess I’m Crazy.”
1926: Guitarist Sammy Pruett was born. The brother-in-law of Jeanne Pruett, he appears on hits by Hank Williams, Carl Smith and Ray Price, including “Cold, Cold Heart,” “Hey, Good Lookin’,” “Loose Talk” and “I’ve Got A New Heartache.”
1941: Eddie Rabbitt was born in Brooklyn, NY. The singer/songwriter became a major link between country music and pop during the 1970s and ’80s, pushing country’s boundaries with such recordings as “I Love A Rainy Night” and “Suspicions.”
1942: Jimi Hendrix was born in Seattle, WA. The innovative rock guitarist inspired Billy Joel to write the Garth Brooks hit “Shameless” and gets namechecked in Wynonna’s “Girls With Guitars.”
1967: Capitol released Glen Campbell’s “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” album.
1972: Jerry Bradley was named to succeed Chet Atkins as the head of RCA Records’ country division in Nashville.
1973: Hank Snow’s guitar player, Jimmy Widener, was shot to death. Widener also played banjo for Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys from 1945-1950, appearing on “Faded Love,” among other recordings.
1978: Kenny Rogers & Dottie West remade the Tammy Wynette hit “‘Til I Can Make It On My Own” during the afternoon at the Jack Clement Studios in Nashville.
1993: Joe Diffie joined the Grand Ole Opry.
1993: In a TV Guide cover story, Dolly Parton denied that she had a sexual relationship with longtime friend and companion Judy Ogle: “We have done everything together, but not that.”
1996: “Sling Blade” opened in American movie theaters. The picture features Dwight Yoakam in a prominent role, along with Billy Bob Thornton, Robert Duvall and Tex Ritter’s son, John Ritter. It also includes an Emmylou Harris performance of “Shenandoah.”
