In 1979, The Eagles’ Joe Walsh announced his plans to run in the 1980 Presidential election as a write-in candidate. He was only 33 at the time, so even if he was elected, he wouldn’t have been able to serve as the Constitution states the president has to be at least 35. His major campaign platform was “Free Gas For Everyone.”
We lost electric guitarist Jimmy Bryant to lung cancer in 1980. Teamed with steel player Speedy West, they were jointly known as the Flaming Guitars for their lightning-quick facility. Bryant also wrote the Waylon Jennings hit “Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line”
That same day in 1980, Liberty releases Kenny Rogers’ “Lady,” written and produced by Lionel Richie. Here’s a video of Kenny performing the song live not too long after its release.
In 1981, Conway Twitty was scheduled for two separate sessions at the Sound Stage in Nashville. Those sessions would produce “The Clown” and “Slow Hand” which would go on to reach the number one position on June 19, 1982.
Willie Nelson sponsors the first Farm Aid concert in Champaign, Illinois in 1985. Performers included Merle Haggard, John Cougar Mellencamp, Roger Miller, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Alabama, George Jones, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, B.B. King, Judy Rodman and Waylon Jennings.
George Strait records “Ocean Front Property” at Sound Stage in Nashville in 1986
Columbia releases “Tribute To Tradition” in 1998. The album features “Same Old Train,” a Grammy-winner with 13 artists, including Clint Black, Joe Diffie, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Patty Loveless, Earl Scruggs and Marty Stuart
Dolly Parton, Johnny Bond and Conway Twitty were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999. The ceremony, during the 33rd Country Music Association awards, was held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.
In 2010, Del McCoury was honored with the National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowship at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Debby Boone is born in Hackensack, New Jersey in 1956. The daughter of Pat Boone and granddaughter of Red Foley, she earns a million-selling pop/country hit in 1977 with “You Light Up My Life,” then scores a 1980 country hit, “Are You On The Road To Lovin’ Me Again”
June Forester was born in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia in 1956. As part of The Forester Sisters, she sees success in the 1980s. The group’s tight-harmonied songs with positive messages bring them hits like “I Fell In Love Again Last Night,” “You Again” and “Letter Home”
