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Country Music History – October 21

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OCTOBER 21

1915: Record producer Owen Bradley WAs born in Westmoreland, Tn. He established the first recording studio on what became Music Row, heads Decca, and produced Patsy Cline, Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, among others, joining the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1974.

1916: Fiddler Tommy Magness was born in Mineral Bluff, GA. He supported Little Jimmy Dickens in the singer’s first recording session, playing on “Take An Old Cold ‘Tater (And Wait).” During his tenure with Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, Magness also played on “Mule Skinner Blues.”

1932: Guitarist Roy Nichols was born in Chandler, AZ. He performed with Merle Haggard’s Strangers from 1965-1987 and wrote Haggard’s “Street Singer.”

1933: Mel Street was born in Grundy, VA. He netted a steady stream of major and minor hits on independent labels from 1972-1978, but took his own life on his 45th birthday.

1936: Roy Acuff and his Crazy Tennesseans record “Wabash Cannonball” at the Furniture Mart Building in Chicago, IL. Sam “Dynamite” Hatcher sings lead while Acuff whistles in the background.

1963: Lefty Frizzell recorded “Saginaw, Michigan” at Nashville’s Columbia Recording Studios after actor George Hamilton left the control room. Hamilton had come to watch the session, but his presence intimidated Frizzell.

1965: Former Elvis Presley bass player Bill Black died at Memphis’ Baptist Memorial Hospital during an operation for a brain tumor at age 39. He played on Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Hound Dog” and “Heartbreak Hotel,” eventually forming his own combo.

1967: The Browns made their final appearance on the Grand Ole Opry as a trio, as Maxine and Bonnie Brown retired, leaving Jim Ed Brown to a solo career.

1967: The Music City News presented its first annual awards at Ernest Tubb’s Record Shop in Nashville. Merle Haggard won Favorite Male Artist, and Loretta Lynn is named Favorite Female Artist.

1968: Nashville’s top Country Music Awards go to Jeannie C. Riley’s “Harper Valley P.T.A.” for best song and to “Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison” for best album.

1970: Dolly Parton recorded “Joshua” in an afternoon at RCA Studio B in Nashville.

1970: Mel Street recorded “Borrowed Angel.”

1976: The Statler Brothers recorded “(I’ll Even Love You) Better Than I Did Then” at Nashville’s US Recording Studio.

1978: Mel Street committed suicide with a self-inflicted gunshot on his 45th birthday at home in Hendersonville, TN. He scored a number of hits on independent labels from 1972-1978, and influenced later country singers Ricky Van Shelton and Marty Raybon, of Shenandoah.

1984: Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale engaged in a presidential debate in Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium. At the same time, the facility’s music hall featured a concert with Ricky Skaggs, George Strait, Ronnie Milsap and Merle Haggard.

1997: Rounder released Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder’s album “Bluegrass Rules!”

1999: The “Wide Open Spaces” album by the Dixie Chicks was certified for multi-platinum sales of 8-million.

2001: Alan Jackson was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

2011: “The Last Ride,” a movie about the final days of Hank Williams’ life, opens in a handful of southeastern markets.

2012: Garth Brooks, Connie Smith and session keyboard player Hargus “Pig” Robbins officially joined the Country Music Hall of Fame during a medallion ceremony in Nashville.

2018: Ricky Skaggs, Dottie West and fiddler Johnny Gimble were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame during an official medallion ceremony.

2020: Garth Brooks was injured in a saw accident after working on his deck at home in Tennessee. Fortunately, the damage is relatively minor: he lost the fingernail on his left ring finger.