SEPTEMBER 11
1899: Jimmie Davis WAs born in Beech Springs, La. The two-time governor of the Bayou State is best known for writing “You Are My Sunshine,” which helped him gain entry into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1972.
1928: Randy Hughes was born in Gum, TN. He managed Patsy Cline and played guitar on many of her hits, including “Crazy,” “I Fall To Pieces” and “She’s Got You.” He also piloted the plane that crashed in 1963, claiming their lives, as well as Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins.
1941: R&B songwriter Raymond Jackson was born. A major contributor to artists on the Stax label, he landed songs on the country chart as the author of Barbara Mandrell’s “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right” and The Oak Ridge Boys’ “Touch A Hand, Make A Friend.”
1954: Porter Wagoner recorded “A Satisfied Mind” and “Eat, Drink And Be Merry (Tomorrow You’ll Cry)” at the KWTO Radio studio in Springfield, MO, at a cost of $40, two days after RCA let his contract lapse.
1969: Songwriter Leon Payne died in San Antonio, TX. His credits include Hank Williams’ “Lost Highway,” Jim Reeves’ “Blue Side Of Lonesome” and his own recording of “I Love You Because.”
1970: The Statler Brothers recorded “Bed Of Rose’s” at the Mercury Custom Recording Studio in Nashville.
1971: Freddie Hart netted a #1 country single in Billboard with “Easy Loving.”
1972: Johnny Rodriguez recorded “Pass Me By (If You’re Only Passing Through)” in his first Nashville session.
1973: The Oak Ridge Boys recorded “The Baptism Of Jesse Taylor” at the Columbia Studios in Nashville. The performance earned them a gospel Grammy nomination.
1976: “Dolly,” a syndicated half-hour television show hosted by Dolly Parton, debuted with guest Jim Stafford.
1981: Columbia released Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers Band’s “Not Guilty” album.
1982: Jerry Reed hit the mother lode on Billboard’s country chart, going to #1 with “She Got The Goldmine (I Got The Shaft).”
1984: Barbara Mandrell was involved in an auto accident in Hendersonville, TN, that killed the other driver and nearly took her life.
1990: Warner Bros. released Randy Travis’ “Heroes And Friends” album.
1990: RCA released The Judds’ “Love Can Build A Bridge” album.
2001: A terrorist attack leveled both towers at the World Trade Center in New York. In Manhattan during the chaos, though they weren’t hurt: Garth Brooks, Billy Gilman, Rosanne Cash and Mary Chapin Carpenter.
2008: The Oak Ridge Boys became the first act to put a concert up for auction on eBay, offering a New Year’s Eve show to the highest bidder.
