NOVEMBER 29

1917: Merle Travis was born in Rosewood, KY. He became an influential guitarist, recorded several late-1940s hits, and wrote “Sixteen Tons” and “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette),” earning membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

1941: Myrna Joy Brooks was born in Phoenix, AZ. Under the name Jody Miller, she gained her widest recognition for the Grammy-winning “Queen Of The House,” a 1965 answer to Roger Miller’s “King Of The Road.”

1953: In his fourth attempt at the song, Webb Pierce recorded “Slowly” during an evening session at Nashville’s Castle Studio. He also cut “Even Tho.”

1959: “The Battle Of New Orleans” won Song of the Year for composer Jimmy Driftwood and Best Country & Western Performance for Johnny Horton during the second annual Grammy Awards.

1965: Johnny Cash recorded the political satire “The One On The Right Is On The Left” in Nashville at the Columbia Recording Studios.

1983: Webb Pierce put his Nashville home on the market for $1.2 million. The house is recognized for its guitar-shaped pool and for the stream of tour buses that visit.

1994: Joe Diffie recorded “So Help Me Girl.”

1994: Brooks & Dunn’s “Brand New Man” became the first album by a country duo certified quadruple-platinum, while their “Hard Workin’ Man” album went triple-platinum.

1994: Alan Jackson’s “Don’t Rock The Jukebox” album went triple-platinum.

2001: Ex-Beatle George Harrison died in Los Angeles from cancer. The Fab Four influenced numerous country artists, and several songs became country hits: “Something,” “I Feel Fine” and “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party.”