SEPTEMBER 2
1945: The Japanese surrendered World War II on the U.S.S. Missouri. Watching nearby from the deck of the U.S.S. Bennington was a teenager named Jerry Clower.
1948: Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Terry Bradshaw was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. He appeared in four Super Bowls, but also netted a recording contract with Mercury in 1975, recording a minor country hit with “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.”
1959: Drummer Paul Deakin was born in Miami, FL. He helped found The Mavericks, whose eclectic brand of country netted two awards apiece from the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music as Vocal Group of the Year in the 1990s.
1969: Capitol releases the album “A Portrait Of Merle Haggard.”
1974: Waylon Jennings recorded “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” at the Jack Clement Studios in Nashville. He also cut “The Door Is Always Open,” destined to become a 1976 hit for Dave & Sugar.
1978: Willie Nelson’s version of the Irving Berlin song “Blue Skies” reached #1 on the Billboard country chart.
1980: Songwriter Bill Boling died in a car accident, 18 months after Johnny Rodriguez had a hit with his song “Down On The Rio Grande.”
1983: Mercury released Kathy Mattea’s debut single, “Street Talk.”
1991: Capitol released Garth Brooks’ “Ropin’ The Wind” album.
1992: George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today” ranked #1 as Country America magazine lists the Top 100 Country Songs Of All-Time. Also charting for the Possum: “She Thinks I Still Care,” #74; and “The Grand Tour,” #90
1993: Johnny Cash recorded with guitarist Mike Campbell, of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers; and Red Hot Chili Peppers Flea and Chad Smith at the Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles while working on his “American Recordings” album.
1994: Liberty released “The Garth Brooks Collection,” a new compilation of mostly non-hits, available only through McDonald’s.
2005: Josh Turner recorded a gospel song, “Me And God,” with one of his idols, Ralph Stanley, in Nashville.
2014: Berkley Hardcover published “Elvis & Ginger: Elvis Presley’s Fiancee And Last Love Finally Tells Her Story.”
