1918
Born on this day near Mexia east of Waco, Texas, was Cindy Walker the prolific American songwriter, singer who wrote hits such as “Distant Drums”, “Bubbles in My Beer”, “Cherokee Maiden” and “You Don’t Know Me”. Walker who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997 and into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame in March 2011 also had the 1944 hit with “When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again”.
1944
Born on this day in Humboldt, Tennessee, was T. G. Sheppard, (born Billy Neal Browder), country music singer, who had 15 #1 hits during the 1970s and 1980s. Sheppard owned a small chain of now-defunct restaurants under the name of “T.G.’s North of the Border Cafe and Cantina,” in Gatlinburg and Chattanooga, Tennessee.
1945
Born on this day in Los Angeles, California was singer-songwriter Kim Carnes. Successes as a songwriter include co-writing the #1 duet “The Heart Won’t Lie” with Donna Weiss, recorded by Vince Gill and Reba McEntire, and co-writing the songs for Kenny Rogers’ 1980 concept album Gideon.
1959
Born on this day in Del Rio, Texas, was Radney Foster, singer-songwriter and music producer. Initially a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee, Foster made his recording debut as part of the Foster & Lloyd duo, recording three studio albums and with nine singles on the country charts. His songs have been recorded by Gary Allan, Sara Evans, Keith Urban and Jack Ingram.
1968
Johnny Cash was at #1 on the country charts with “Folsom Prison Blues” Cash had performed the song at Folsom Prison itself on January 13, 1968 and this version was eventually released on the At Folsom Prison album.
1988
Born on this day in Orem, Utah, was Julianne Hough, professional ballroom dancer, (she is a two-time professional champion of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars), country music singer, and actress. Her 2008 self-titled debut album debuted at #1 on the Top Country Albums chart.
1992
For the first time in her career, Reba McEntire received a double-platinum album, marking two million units shipped of For My Broken Heart. It was the first album recorded after an airplane crash which killed most of the members of her touring band.
2012
Kenny Chesney was at #1 on the Country album chart with Welcome to the Fishbowl. The album’s title came from a conversation Chesney had with his football-playing friends. Chesney told USA Today that when one said, “I didn’t realize your life was like this,” he replied, “Hey, man, welcome to the fishbowl.”
2015
Country musician, songwriter, and record producer Wayne Carson died aged 72. He wrote “Always on My Mind” (with Mark James and Johnny Christopher), which was first recored by Gwen McCrae (as “You Were Always On My Mind”) and then Brenda Lee in 1972. Over 300 recordings have been made of the song, including; Elvis Presley in 1972; John Wesley Ryles in 1979; Willie Nelson’s Grammy Award winning version in 1982; and Loretta Lynn in 2016.
2015
Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton announced that they were divorcing after four years of marriage.
