SEPTEMBER 8
1897: Jimmie Rodgers was born in Meridian, MS. Hailed as the Singing Brakeman, he emerged as the father of country music, best known for his “Blue Yodel (T For Texas).” He was the first performer added to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961.
1903: Milton Brown was born in Stephenville, TX. Along with Bob Wills, he originated western swing, leading the Musical Brownies, which he formed in 1932.
1927: Songwriter Harlan Howard was born in Detroit. Added to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997, his long list of credits includes Patsy Cline’s “I Fall To Pieces,” The Judds’ “Why Not Me” and Buck Owens’ “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail.”
1932: Virginia Hensley was born in Winchester, VA. As Patsy Cline, she became one of country’s definitive female vocalists behind such pop-tinged hits such as “Crazy” and “I Fall To Pieces.” She enters the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973.
1958: Donny Young held his first recording session, for Decca Records in Nashville. Young came to prominence under the name of Johnny Paycheck.
1961: “A-Team” guitarist Hank Garland went into a coma after a car accident near Springfield, TN. Noted for his work with such acts as Elvis Presley, Faron Young and The Everly Brothers, Garland never played on another recording session.
1963: Songwriter Gary Baker was born in Niagara Falls, NY. His successes include John Michael Montgomery’s “I Swear,” Reba McEntire’s “One Honest Heart,” Lonestar’s “I’m Already There” and Alabama’s “Once Upon A Lifetime.”
1965: The movie “Forty-Acre Feud” opened in Nashville. The cast includes: Bill Anderson, Loretta Lynn, Skeeter Davis, Roy Drusky, Ferlin Husky, George Jones, Minnie Pearl, Ray Price, Del Reeves, Hugh X. Lewis and guitarist Eddie Hill.
1971: Bass player Junior Huskey died of a heart attack in Nashville. His credits include work with The Everly Brothers, George Jones, Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn.
1971: The Tennessee State Prison held a country show for the first time with performances by Faron Young, Tommy Overstreet, Brian Collins and David Allan Coe.
1973: He’s been this far several times: Conway Twitty reaches #1 in Billboard with “You’ve Never Been This Far Before.”
1981: Earl Scruggs duplicated the efforts of Lester Flatt’s estate when he filed a suit against Coors for using the likeness of Flatt & Scruggs in a beer commercial. Coors settles out of court in April 1984.
1986: MCA releases George Strait’s “Merry Christmas Strait To You” album.
1990: Alabama’s “Jukebox In My Mind” began a three-week run at #1 on the Billboard country singles list.
1994: Terri Clark, Chris Waters and Tom Shapiro wrote Clark’s debut single, “Better Things To Do,” in Nashville.
1997: George Strait records “True.”
1998: Songwriter Dick Heard died of cancer in Little Rock, AR. He co-wrote Elvis Presley’s “Kentucky Rain” and Mel Street’s “Smokey Mountain Memories,” and worked at GRT Records, which released records by Alabama and Ronnie McDowell.
2005: Alabama came out of retirement to perform a benefit for Hurricane Katrina victims at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, AL.
