In 1919, Tennessee Ernie Ford was born in Bristol, Tennessee. He was a singer, songwriter, radio and TV personality and comedian who will be best remembered for his biggest hit, "Sixteen Tons", written by Merle Travis.
In 1920, songwriter Boudleaux Bryant was born in Shellman, Georgia, He and his wife, Felice, were excellent songwriters who will always be remembered for their work on many of the Everly Brothers tunes,as well as "Rocky Top".
In 1927, Jim McReynolds, of Jim and Jesse and the Virginia Boys, was born in Carfax, Virginia. Though known as members of the Grand Ole Opry, these master musicians and singers were some of the most famous and most revered bluegrass performers. They did score ten tunes on the country charts with the biggest of them being "Diesel On My Tail".
In 1971, "Help Me Make It Through The Night", penned by Kris Kristofferson and sung by Sammi Smith, became the Number One song on the country charts. It remained there for three weeks.
In 1982, Eddie Rabbitt owned the top spot on the charts with "Someone Could Lose A Heart Tonight".
In 1988, Roseanne Cash was atop the charts with "Tennessee Flat Top Box", Though written and recorded previously by her father, Roseanne claimed that she did not know the history of the song until after she had recorded it.
In 1993, Travis Tritt was on top of the charts as he sang the question, "Can I Trust You With My Heart"?, and it remained at the top for two weeks.
In 1998, booking agent and promoter Buddy Lee, who founded Buddy Lee Attractions, passed away. Though he worked in other genres of music, he was impressed with Country from the time he saw his first Faron Young concert, and moved to Nashville to handle Hank Jr.'s bookings on a request from Audrey Williams. Buddy said that it was the best thing he ever did, as he became one of the true superpowers in artist bookings in Nashville. I was working with an artist who he represented when he passed, and they had just visited a concert booking fair for the Plains states when Buddy passed.
In 2002, Waylon Jennings passed away at his home in
Chandler, Arizona. There are not enough words to express how much we
"outlaws" miss him. He was a pioneer who did it his way.
