1923
Born on this day in Seattle, Washington, was Bonnie Guitar, Country-Pop Singer. She is best remembered for her 1957 Country-Pop crossover hit “Dark Moon”. She became one of the first female Country Music singers to have songs crossover from the Country charts to the Pop charts.
1938
Born on this day, Hoyt Axton, US singer, songwriter and actor who wrote songs for Elvis Presley, Three Dog Night, John Denver, Ringo Starr and Glen Campbell. Had his own hits with “When The Morning Comes” and “Flash Of Fire”. Acting roles included Bionic Woman and McCloud. Axton died of a heart attack on October 26th 1999, aged 61.
1948
Born on this day in McCamey, Texas, was Dan Seals, (the younger brother of Seals & Crofts member Jim Seals), who first gained fame as the “England Dan” half of the soft rock duo England Dan and John Ford Coley. After the duo disbanded, Seals began a solo career in country music and throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s, released 16 studio albums and charted more than 20 singles on the country charts, eleven of which reached #1, including: “Meet Me in Montana” (with Marie Osmond), “Bop”, “You Still Move Me”, “I Will Be There”, “Three Time Loser”, and “Good Times”.
1950
Born on this day, was Ronald Dean “Ronnie” McDowell, country music artist who had the 1977 hit “The King Is Gone”, a tribute to Elvis Presley, who had died not long before the single’s release. McDowell has charted more than thirty Top 40 hits on the Billboard country music charts. Two of his singles, “Older Women” and “You’re Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation” peaked at #1 on the country charts.
1963
Born on this day in York, Pennsylvania, was Robbie Fulks, alternative country singer-songwriter who has released 12 albums over a career spanning more than 25 years.
1963
Johnny Cash recorded the June Carter/Merle Kilgore song �Ring Of Fire.� The song was originally recorded by June’s sister Anita Carter, on her 1963 album Folk Songs Old and New as “(Love’s) Ring of Fire”. Cash claimed he had a dream where he heard the song accompanied by “Mexican trumpets”. It became the biggest hit of Johnny Cash’s career, staying at #1 on the charts for seven weeks.
1974
Winners at the 9th Academy of Country Music Awards hosted by Roger Miller, and Charlie Rich included: Top Female Vocalist of the Year – Loretta Lynn, Top Male Vocalist of the Year – Charlie Rich, Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year – Olivia Newton John, Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year – Dorsey Burnette, and Album of the Year Charlie Rich – Behind Closed Doors.
1978
“Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson became the last song for 12 years to spend four weeks at #1 on Billboard’sHot Country Singles chart. There wouldn’t be another four-week #1 until “Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart” by Randy Travis in April 1990.
1999
73-year-old country music singer Ray Price was arrested in his Texas home for possession of marijuana. He was fined $200 after pleading no contest to the charges. According to Price in a 2008 interview, old friend Willie Nelson – no stranger to marijuana arrests – phoned and told him he’d just earned $5 million in free publicity with the drug bust.
2006
Buck Owens Jr. American singer and guitarist died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack. He pioneered the Bakersfield sound, a reference to Bakersfield, California. He scored twenty #1 hits on the Billboard country music charts, his first being the 1963 hit �Act Naturally�.
2009
Dan Seals died aged 61. He first gained fame as the “England Dan” half of the soft rock duo England Dan and John Ford Coley. After the duo disbanded, Seals began a solo career in country music and throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s, released 16 studio albums and charted more than 20 singles on the country charts, eleven of which reached #1, including: “Meet Me in Montana” (with Marie Osmond), “Bop”, “You Still Move Me”, “I Will Be There”, “Three Time Loser”, and “Good Times”.
2013
During a visit to the doctor, Charlie Daniels was diagnosed with a mild case of pneumonia and admitted to a Nashville hospital for a series of routine tests. The tests revealed that a pacemaker was needed to regulate his heart rate. Daniels had one fitted a few days later.
2015
“Sixteen Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford was one of 25 recordings to be preserved by the US Library of Congress. The song was written and first recorded by Merle Travis at the Radio Recorders Studio B in Hollywood, California on August 8, 1946.
