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Country Music History – October 17

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OCTOBER 17

1919: The Radio Corporation of America is formed. RCA became one of the most-storied labels in country’s history, representing such acts as Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Alabama, Clint Black, Waylon Jennings, Chet Atkins and The Carter Family.

1941: Earl Thomas Conley was born in Portsmouth, OH. After writing hits for Conway Twitty and Mel Street, he fashioned a string of his own tuneful singles in the 1980s, including “Fire & Smoke,” “That Was A Close One” and “Your Love’s On The Line.”

1955: Capitol released Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons.”

1955: Jerry Reed held his first recording session, for Capitol Records, at the Castle Recording Studio in Nashville.

1958: Alan Jackson was born in Newnan, GA. The first artist signed to Arista Records’ country division in 1989, he became a traditional icon thanks to such hits as “Don’t Rock The Jukebox,” “Chattahoochee,” “Gone Country” and “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning).”

1967: Bob Dylan began recording the “John Wesley Harding” album, the second of three he recorded in Nashville, at the Columbia Recording Studios, with local musicians Kenny Buttrey, Charlie McCoy and Pete Drake.

1968: Glen Campbell’s albums, “By The Time I Get To Phoenix,” and “Gentle On My Mind” were certified gold.

1974: The first episode of PBS-TV’s “Austin City Limits” was filmed, with Willie Nelson on board as the inaugural guest.

1977: MCA released the Merle Haggard album “My Farewell To Elvis.”

1977: RCA released Dolly Parton’s album “Here You Come Again.”

1978: RCA released the Charley Pride album “Burgers And Fries/When I Stop Leaving (I’ll Be Gone).”

1979: Tom Selleck starred in the CBS movie “The Concrete Cowboys,” with Barbara Mandrell, Jerry Reed, Seidena Reed, Roy Acuff, Ray Stevens and Red West.

1981: Eddie Rabbitt’s “Step By Step” climbed to #1 on the Billboard country chart.

1988: Dolly Parton recorded “Why’d You Come In Here Lookin’ Like That” with co-producer Ricky Skaggs in Nashville.

1989: Mercury releases The Kentucky HeadHunters’ “Pickin’ On Nashville” album.

1990: Naomi Judd told reporters she had hepatitis and would have to give up performing. She and Wynonna held the press conference in the same room in which they auditioned for RCA in 1983.

1991: Tennessee Ernie Ford died of liver disease in Reston, VA. Mixing country and gospel recordings during a lengthy career, he was best known for “Sixteen Tons.” He joined the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1990, bless his little pea-pickin’ heart.

1997: More than 2,000 people jammed an Aurora, CO church for John Denver’s funeral service. The singer died October 12th in a plane crash at the age of 53.

2000: The albums “Southern Rain” by Billy Ray Cyrus, “Lost In The Feeling” by Mark Chesnutt and “Classic Christmas” from Billy Gilman arrived in stores. The compilation project, “Believe — A Christmas Collection,” which featured Clay Walker, Neal McCoy and others was also released. That same day American released the Johnny Cash album “American III: Solitary Man.” The title track won a Grammy award.

2006: Tim McGraw received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His honor is located right in front of the Virgin Records store.

2006: Vince Gill’s boxed set, “These Days,” was released. It was considered unprecedented, as it featured four discs of entirely new material.

2015: Charlie Rich and Elvis Presley guitarist Scotty Moore joined the Memphis Music Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Cannon Center. Other inductees included Sam & Dave, Justin Timberlake and drummer Al Jackson Jr.