August 27th:
1926
Born on this day in Butcher Holler, KY was Oliver Lynn, an American talent manager and country music figure, best known as the husband of country music legend Loretta Lynn. Doolittle was instrumental in developing Lynn’s musical talent and country music career, purchasing her first guitar, getting her first radio appearances, and serving as her de facto talent manager for many years. He died on August 22, 1996.
1927
Born on this day near Big Mamou, Louisiana was Jimmy Yves Newman, better known as Jimmy C. Newman (the C stands for Cajun), the American singer and a long time star of the Grand Ole Opry.
1949
Born on this day in Fort Payne, Alabama, was Jeff Cook guitarist and singer, songwriter best known as one of the founding members of Alabama who have scored over 30 US Country #1 hits.
1960
The last ever Louisiana Hayride show was broadcast. What started as a country music radio show and later became a television show was broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of the greatest names in American country & western music. The creators of the show took the name from the 1941 book with that title by Harnett Thomas Kane.
1961
Born on this day in Burbank, California, was Jeffrey Steele, country music singer and songwriter who formed the band Boy Howdy, and along with recording his own material, Steele has become a prolific Nashville songwriter, having co-written more than sixty hit songs for such artists as Montgomery Gentry, Tim McGraw, (“The Cowboy in Me”), Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, Rascal Flatts, (“These Days” and “What Hurts the Most”), Billy Ray Cyrus, and others.
1970
Born on this day in Barrie, Ontario, was Jason McCoy, who has won many awards including the 2001 Male Vocalist of the Year at the Canadian Country Music Awards. McCoy was a member of the country-rock group The Road Hammers from 2005–2010.
1990
Garth Brooks released his second studio album, No Fences which reached #3 on the Billboard 200, and #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. The album remains Brooks’ best-seller to date with 17 million copies sold in the US alone.
2002
Dixie Chicks released their sixth studio album Home, which is dominated by up-tempo bluegrass and pensive ballads. In addition, the text of the opening track and first single, “Long Time Gone”, was a pointed criticism of contemporary country music radio, accusing it of ignoring the soul of the genre as exemplified by Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, and Hank Williams.
