May 15 in Country Music History

In 1918, Eddy Arnold was born in Henderson, Tennessee.  What more can we say about this Hall of Fame singer.  He owned the charts for close to twenty years, and has had one song spend more time at Number One than many "stars" ever have with ALL of their hits.  

In 1929, Eddy Arnold's father passed away, leaving the family destitute. Later the family would lose the farm and Eddie would spend the remainder of his youth in poverty. After he got into the music business, he became one of the richest, and most frugal, people in the U.S.  He is the highest rated Billboard star of all time.

In 1942, K.T.Oslin was born in Crossett, Arkansas.  She is a singer, songwriter, pianist, and actress who placed a total of eighteen hits on the country charts, five of them being Number One hits.  She was a major force until she started doing things that weren't like her original hits, which really had a lot of meaning to many folks, especially women.

In 1948, Eddy Arnold celebrated his birthday at Number One on the charts with "Bouquet of Roses", which held the top spot for a total of nineteen weeks. 

In 1954, Eddy Arnold celebrated his birthday by going to the top of the charts with "I Really Don't Want To Know".

In 1965, the late and great entertainer Del Reeves went to Number One with "Girl on the Billboard". It retained that position for two weeks.

In 1971, Ray Price added to his collection of classic country Number Ones with "I Won't Mention It Again", where it stayed for three weeks. 

In 1976, Ronnie Milsap went to Number One with "What Goes On When The Sun Goes Down".

In 1982, Ricky Skaggs joined the Grand Ole Opry.

In 1993, John Michael Montgomery went to Number One with "I Love The Way You Love Me". 

In 2003, June Carter Cash died in Nashville, Tennessee.  She was a member of the Carter Sisters who performed with Mother MaeBelle Carter, their real mother.  Not only was she a great singer, as evidenced by her hits with her third husband Johnny Cash, but she was a great comedian, and an actress who received a lot of notice.   Her work, along with the Carter Sisters, as a backup group, was some of the best, and I have often said that if I  could sing with the Carter Sisters as backup, it would probably sound good, due to their musical abilities.