1903
Born on this day in Maynardville, Tennessee, was Roy Acuff, who became synonymous with the Grand Ole Opry following his 1938 debut. In 1962, he became the first living inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and “hoedown” format to the star singer-based format that helped make it internationally successful. He died in Nashville on November 23, 1992 of congestive heart failure.
1957
Patsy Cline married her second husband Charlie Dick. The pair met in 1956 while Cline was performing with a local Virginia band. Following Cline’s death in 1963, Dick married country artist Jamey Ryan in 1965.
1960
Johnny Cash Sings Hank Williams was released in the US, the singer, songwriters seventh studio. Contrary to what the title might suggest, only the first four out of the twelve tracks on the album were written by Williams himself, with most of the others being versions of Cash’s self-penned songs.
1975
Glen Campbell was at #1 on the US Country album chart with Rhinestone Cowboy, the singer, guitarists 30th album. Campbell had heard the song (written by Larry Weiss) on the radio during a tour of Australia and once back in the US decided to record a version.
1975
Dolly Parton released her sixteenth solo studio Dolly. The album’s first single, “The Seeker”, peaked at #2 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.
2003Miranda Lambert signed with Epic Records. She gained fame as a finalist on the 2003 season of Nashville Star, where she finished in third place and made her debut with the release of “Me and Charlie Talking”, the first single from her 2005 debut album Kerosene.
2007
Garth Brooks’ song, “More Than a Memory” became the first song to debut at #1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Songs chart, since the start of the magazine’s all encompassing country chart in 1958. It was released as his 51st single and first single from his 2007 compilation The Ultimate Hits.
