March 13 in Country Music History

In 1927, Liz Anderson was born in Minnesota. Mrs. Anderson was a top forty artist, married to Casey Anderson, and the mother of Liz Anderson. But her greatest success came as a writer, and she penned three of the biggest hits that Merle Haggard has recorded. "I'm A Lonesome Fugitive", "All My Friends Are Gonna Be Strangers", and "Just Between The Two Of Us" are her three biggest hits, and her song is the reason Merle Haggard's group is called the Strangers. I might add that she and her husband are some of the nicest people in the music business.

In 1931, Jan Howard was born in West Plains, Missouri, just a skip and a hop from where Billy Yates was born and raised, and the same town that our hero Porter Wagoner called home.

In 1963, Billy Yates was born in Doniphan, Missouri. A writer of "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair", "Choices", "Flowers", "If I Ever Get Her Back", and my favorite: "Turn For The Worse", Billy is also a great singer and entertainer. If you have not seen him in person, you have missed one of the best with a guitar in his hand and a song in his heart.

In 1976, Merle Haggard went to Number One with "Roots Of My Raising".

In 1980, Ralph Sloan, founder of the dance troupe, The Tennessee Travelers, passed away.  

In 1982, Roseanne Cash made it to the top spot on the charts with "Blue Moon With Heartache".

In 2002, the great fiddler Benny Martin, known for his untied shoes, passed away.