1919
Born on this day in Nashville, Tennessee was Ellen Muriel Deason who became known as Kitty Wells. Her 1952 hit “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels”, made her the first female country singer to top the US country charts, and turned her into the first female country star. In 1976, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame; she died July 16, 2012 at age 92.
1949
Hank Williams went into Herzog Studio in Cincinnati to record “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”. Williams wrote the song originally intending that the words be spoken, rather than sung. The song about loneliness was largely inspired by his troubled relationship with wife Audrey Sheppard and was released as the B side to “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It” which was a #2 hit in 1949.
1950
Hank Snow was at #1 on the Country music singles charts with “I’m Moving On”. The song, stayed at the top of the charts for 21 weeks and was the first of seven #1 Billboard country hits Snow scored throughout his career.
1971
Lynn Anderson was at #1 on the country music album chart with You’re My Man, Anderson’s fourth studio album. The record was a #1 hit on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart for seven weeks, Anderson’s third (and to date, last) #1 on the chart. Produced by Anderson’s husband Glenn Sutton, the title song was Anderson’s second #1 record.
1993
Alabama released “Reckless” the first single from their album Cheap Seats. which went to #1 on the Country chart. It became the groups thirty-second #1 Country hit.
2004Kris Kristofferson and former record executive Jim Foglesong were named the 2004 inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
2005
Brooks & Dunn released their the ninth studio album Hillbilly Deluxe which went to #1 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums, their fifth chart topper. The first single from the album “Play Something Country” became a #1 Country hit.
2007
Reba McEntire received two CMA nominations: Female Vocalist of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year. With those two nominations plus another in 2008 and two more in 2009, McEntire became the female artist with the most nominations (forty-eight) in the forty-three year history of the CMA Awards, surpassing Dolly Parton, who has forty-three
2011
Jake Owen released his third album Barefoot Blue Jean Night. The album’s title track and first single, became his first #1 Country hit and the album also hit #1.
2011
Ghost on the Canvas the sixty-first album by Glen Campbell was released. It was intended to be Campbell’s farewell studio recording following him being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The album peaked at #6 on the US Country chart.
2016
Fiddle player, multi-instrumentalist, and country music and bluegrass artist Hoot Hester died age 65. Hester had played backup for a number of country music artists, among them Alabama, Hank Williams Jr., Conway Twitty, Randy Travis, Bill Monroe, Vern Gosdin, and Ricky Van Shelton as well as a longtime member of the Grand Ole Opry’s staff band.
