1923
Born on this day in Keithville, Louisiana, was Claude King, singer and songwriter, best known for his million selling 1962 hit, “Wolverton Mountain”. Written with Nashville veteran Merle Kilgore, the song is based on a real character, Clifton Clowers, an uncle of Kilgore’s who lived on Wolverton Mountain north of Morrilton, Arkansas. King died at his home in Shreveport on March 7, 2013, at the age of ninety.
1929
Born on this day, was Hal Blaine, session drummer known for his work with the Wrecking Crew in California. Blaine has played on 50 #1 hits and worked with numerous artists including Glen Campbell, Elvis Presley, John Denver, The Byrds, Simon & Garfunkel, The Carpenters, and The Beach Boys.
1941
Born on this day in Oklahoma, was Henson Cargill country music singer best known for the 1968 #1 hit, “Skip a Rope”. He died on March 24, 2007.
1962
The first days recording sessions for Ray Charles’ Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music took place at Capitol Studios in New York City. Regarded by many critics as Charles’s best studio album, the albums lead single, “I Can’t Stop Loving You”, became a huge hit on country music radio stations and the record has now shipped over 500,000 copies in the United States alone.
1971Born on this day in Boonville, Missouri, was Sara Evans country singer and songwriter who scored the 1999 US #1 Country hit “No Place That Far.” Her fifth #1 hit, “A Little Bit Stronger”, was co-written by Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum.
2016
A new species of black tarantula that lives near Folsom Prison, California, was named after Johnny Cash. Aphonopelma johnnycashi was among 14 new tarantula species from the southern US which were described by biologists in the journal ZooKeys.
