OCTOBER 20

1908: Stuart Hamblen is born in Kellyville, Tx. Recording country and gospel songs, he became a pioneering western singer on Los Angeles radio. With a career stretching from 1925 to the 1970s, his most familiar legacy is the hymn “It Is No Secret.”

1913: Banjo-playing comic Louis Marshall Jones was born in Niagara, KY. Under the stage name Grandpa Jones, he amassed 50 years as a Grand Ole Opry member and became a longtime cast member on the satirical TV show “Hee Haw.”

1937: Wanda Jackson was born in Maud, OK. Veering between country and rockabilly, she appeared on both the pop and country charts in the 1950s and ’60s, making waves with “Right Or Wrong,” “Let’s Have A Party” and “In The Middle Of A Heartache.”

1951: Hank Williams signed a movie deal with MGM Pictures.

1953: Rocker Tom Petty was born in Gainesville, FL. He wrote “Thing About You,” by Southern Pacific; “Never Be You,” by Rosanne Cash; and “You Got It,” by Roy Orbison. He also appears on Hank Williams Jr.’s “Mind Your Own Business.”

1955: A little known singer, Elvis Presley, played at a sock hop at Brooklyn High School (a Cleveland suburb) in his first appearance outside his native South (along with Pat Boone and Bill Haley and the Comets).

1958: Ray Price’s “City Lights” became the first song written by Bill Anderson to hit #1 on the Billboard country singles chart.

1967: Red Foley, Jim Reeves, artist manager J.L. Frank and record producer Steve Sholes joined the Country Music Hall of Fame during the first Country Music Association awards ceremony in Nashville.

1967: Jack Greene was a triple-winner in the inaugural Country Music Association awards in Nashville, taking Male Vocalist and Album of the Year, for “There Goes My Everything.” The title track claims Single of the Year and wins Song of the Year for songwriter Dallas Frazier.

1975: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw signed with Mercury Records. He gained a minor country hit the following year with his version of Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.”

1977: Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and backup vocalist Cassie Gaines died in a plane crash in Gillsburg, MS. Their Southern rock influences many future country artists, leading to a 1994 tribute album, “Skynyrd Frynds.”

1979: Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers Band parked at #1 on the Billboard country chart with “All The Gold In California.”

1980: Bradley’s Barn burned in suburban Nashville. Built by record producer Owen Bradley in 1965, the recording studio had provided the setting for influential recordings by Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn and Jack Greene, among others.

1983: Merle Travis died following a massive coronary in Tahlequah, OK. Peaking as an artist during the 1940s, he also wrote Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons,” was recognized as a stellar guitarist, and joined the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1977.

1991: Clint and Lisa Hartman Black were married on a farm outside of Houston. In his vows, Clint told Lisa, “Our two lives will become one life and together the two of us will overcome what would overcome one.”

1992: “Pure Country” had its Nashville premiere, attended by Garth Brooks, Joe Diffie and Randy Travis, plus the movie’s star, George Strait.

2002: Johnny Cash told The Los Angeles Times he’s mellowed significantly: “We’ll go to Wal-Mart and I’ll get one of those electric carts and just race through the aisles. Imagine that being the highlight of your day.” 

2012: Brad Paisley headlined the historic Hollywood Bowl for the first time. The bill also included The Band Perry and Scotty McCreery.

2019:  Brooks & Dunn, Ray Stevens and record producer Owen Bradley were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.