In 1922, Jim Fogelsong was born in Lundale, West Virginia. He was one of the top music executives in Nashville, especially during the seventies and eighties, and he was president of ABC, Capitol,Dot, and MCA records during his career. He signed popular artists, among them Barbara Mandrell, Don Williams, Garth Brooks, Donna Fargo, Reba McEntire, the Oak Ridge Boys, Con Hunley, George Strait, Tanya Tucker, Sawyer Brown, and Suzy Boggus to his labels, ensuring himself a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame, to which he was inducted in 2004. If Hall of Fame signings mean anything, Fogelsong has Williams, Strait, and Mandrell joining him in the hall already, indicating he was very good at spotting talent.
In 1931, Fred Foster was born in North Carolina. Foster is probably most famous for being the founder of Monument Records, though he produced many great hits for some of the biggest artists in the world. He produced almost all of Roy Orbison's greatest hits, and also produced Billy Grammer, Ray Stevens, Kris Kristofferson, Tony Joe White, Larry Gatlin, Charlie McCoy, Al Hirt, Boots Randolph, Jerry Byrd, Billy Joe Shaver, Grandpa Jones, The Velvets and Robert Mitchum. He was the first Nashville producer to work with Dolly Parton, and he worked with Willie Nelson on a Cindy Walker tribute album as well as a Merle Haggard/Ray Price collaboration entitled "Last of the Breed". Off the Haggard/Price album, he won a Grammy for the cut "Lost Highway".
In 1956, Scott Hendricks was born in Clinton, Oklahoma. He produced many of the top Arista artists during the 90s as well as many of the Capitol artists in the late 90s, including Trace Adkins. Later, he managed Virgin records, but now is back doing what he does best, production. He has produced albums for Alan Jackson, Brooks and Dunn, Trace Adkins, Faith Hill, John Michael Montgomery, Steve Wariner, Suzy Bogguss and Blake Shelton. During the 1990s, Hendricks co-produced over 30 Number One country hits.
In 1969, Buck Owens was at the top of the charts with "Johnny B. Goode".
In 1980, Clint Eastwood and Merle Haggard were "Barroom Buddies" and doing fine with a Number One record from the Eastwood flick "Bronco Billy".
In 1986, Randy Travis scored his first of many Number One hits with "On The Other Hand". When this happened I went to a Walmart in Houston and bought this album, along with the Keith Whitley album with his first major hit, "Miami, My Amy". On this album was Keith's version of "On The Other Hand".
