In 1894, three time Oscar winner Walter Brennan was born in Swampscott, Massachussetts. He was known also for his Number Three hit recording, "Ole Rivers", and was one of the best at spoken word recordings, especially Christmas records.
In
1903, Jack Grant of the Grant Brothers, also known as the Tenneva
Ramblers, was born in Bristol, Tenneva. He and his group became a part
of the Jimmie Rodgers Entertainers for a brief time, and then went back
to recording on their own.
In 1927, Ralph Peer's famous Bristol Sessions began on State Street on the line between Tennessee and Virginia. The two biggest acts to come out of these recording sessions would be Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family.
In 1948, songwriter Steve Goodman was born in Chicago, Illinois. He is well remembered for two songs, "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" and "City Of New Orleans". Not well known is that he was a songwriting and singing protege of Kris Kristofferson and Paul Anka. He died at a young age due to leukemia, and some of his ashes were scattered at Wrigley Field.
In 1965, Marty Brown was born in Maceo, Kentucky. He had one charted hit, and seemed stardom bound. Though his albums were critically acclaimed, he didn't achieve much commercial success.
In 1967, Tommy Duncan passed away in San Diego, California after a performance. Duncan was a great singer in Bob Wills Texas Playboys, and was the lead singer on all their hits except "Faded Love". It was said that he knew all the words to at least 3,000 songs, and he also helped write many of the songs that he sung. Many consider him to be a hillbilly "Bing Crosby" with a golden voice, and an uncompromising style of his own.
In 1970, Charlie Pride was at the top of the charts with "Wonder Could I Live There Anymore". The Pride of America had twenty nine Number One hits, and twenty three more Top Tens. This golden voiced wonder from Sledge, Mississippi was also a good baseball player in his time.
In 1978, Hank Newman of the Georgia Crackers passed away.
In 1987, Steve Wariner was happy with his new Number One, "The Weekend". Steve, like Larry Gatlin, received his start in country music with Dottie West.
In 1990, Harold Weakley passed away. Though known for his long stint as
the drummer on the Grand Ole Opry, he was also a great singer.
In 1992, Garth Brooks was at Number One with "The River".
In 1994, songwriter Artie Glenn passed away. He is most famous for writing "Crying In The Chapel", which was a hit for his own son, Darrell, and Rex Allen, which sold two million copies, and Elvis, which sold untold numbers, and was a Number One. Eddy Arnold was among the many others who recorded this song.
In 1995, the Silver Fox, Charlie Rich, passed away from a blood clot in the lung at Hammond, Louisiana. He was a jazz lover, and the love of jazz brought him and producer Billy Sherrill together as a team. The singer and pianist became a major force on not only the Country charts in the seventies, but also the pop charts. He had nine Number One Country Hits, and also had a Number One Pop Hit. His career hit was "The Most Beautiful Girl", and it topped all charts.
In 2001, The Ryman Auditorium was officially named a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service.
