OCTOBER 1
1893: Songwriter Cliff Friend was born on a farm outside Cincinnati, OH. He wrote “Lovesick Blues,” then sold the rights to the song for $500. It went on to launch Hank Williams to prominence in 1949.
1915: Skeets McDonald was born in Greenway, AR. He notched a #1 single in 1952 with “Don’t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes.”
1932: Bonnie Owens was born in Blanchard, OK. She married Buck Owens in 1948 and then married Merle Haggard in 1965, providing female harmonies for many of his recordings during the rest of his career.
1951: Songwriter Chip Hardy was born in Scott City, KS. He wrote three early-’80s hits for The Whites: “Hangin’ Around,” “Pins And Needles” and “You Put The Blue In Me.”
1953: Kitty Wells and Red Foley recorded “One By One” in an afternoon session at the Castle Studio in Nashville.
1955: George Jones made his debut on “The Louisiana Hayride.”
1956: Capitol released Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Hymns” album.
1969: Loretta Lynn recorded “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and two additional hits, “You Wanna Give Me A Lift” and “Wings Upon Your Horns,” during a productive evening at Bradley’s Barn in Mt. Juliet, TN.
1977: Kenny Rogers collected a #1 country single in Billboard with “Daytime Friends.”
1978: The 25-hour TV mini-series “Centennial” made its debut on NBC, an adaptation of a James Michener novel starring Raymond Burr, Richard Chamberlain and Andy Griffith. Merle Haggard had a role as well.
1982: Elektra released Eddie Rabbitt’s album “Radio Romance.”
1984: RCA released Earl Thomas Conley’s “Treadin’ Water” album.
1986: Merle Haggard recorded “Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star” in Palo Cedro, CA.
1986: RCA released Restless Heart’s “Wheels” album.
1986: MCA released Patty Loveless’ self-titled debut album.
1991: MCA released Reba McEntire’s “For My Broken Heart” album and the single of the same name.
1995: Waylon Jennings, Dickey Lee and Dave Loggins were added to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame during an induction ceremony at Loews Vanderbilt Plaza Hotel in Nashville.
2002: “Will The Circle Be Unbroken III” album by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, LeAnn Rimes’ “Twisted Angel” CD and Randy Travis’ “Rise & Shine” project arrived in stores.
2002: Brad Paisley announced that he was officially engaged to his actress/screenwriter girlfriend, Kimberly Williams. The couple exchanged vows the following May.
2014: Peggy Sue Evers, a 53-year-old woman who looks nothing like Alison Krauss, is jailed in the Bernalillo Metropolitan Detention Center in New Mexico for parading as the bluegrass singer and defrauding a senior citizen of his home and $40-grand.
2017: Loretta Lynn performed publicly for the first time since suffering a stroke the previous May. Her set – during the Tennessee Motorcycles and Music Revival on her ranch in Hurricane Mills – included “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and “You Ain’t Woman Enough.”
