This Day in Country Music

[Spiritinthesky]

18th Oct 1952, Hank Williams married Billie Jean Jones Eshlimar in Minden, Louisiana. The next day two public ceremonies were held at the New Orleans Civic Auditorium, where 14,000 seats were sold for each. After Williams's death, a judge ruled that the wedding was not legal because Jones Eshlimar's divorce had not become final until eleven days after she married Williams. More on Hank: http://www.thisdayincountrymusic.com/pa ... k_williams

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19th Oct 1945, Born on this day in Anson, Texas, was Jeannie C. Riley (born Jeanne Carolyn Stephenson, country music and gospel singer who is best known for her 1968 country #1 and pop hit "Harper Valley PTA". In 1980, she published her autobiography, From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top

[Spiritinthesky]

20th Oct 1983, Merle Travis died a heart attack. The American country and Western singer, songwriter who was best known for his hit "Sixteen Tons", often discussed the life and exploitation of coal miners in the lyrics. Travis was was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1977.

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21st Oct 1915, Born on this day, was American record producer Owen Bradley, who, along with Chet Atkins and Bob Ferguson, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sound in country music and rockabilly, working with artists such as such as Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, Loretta Lynn, and Conway Twitty.

[Spiritinthesky]

22nd Oct 1973, John Denver released "Sunshine on My Shoulders" which hit #1 early in 1974. It was originally the B-side of one of his earlier songs, "I'd Rather Be a Cowboy". As the Vietnam War came to an end, the song took on a new significance and began to receive airplay. It was also his first of four #1's between 1974-1975, the other three being: "Annie's Song", "Thank God I'm a Country Boy", and "I'm Sorry."

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23rd Oct 1956, Born on this day in Pikeville, Kentucky, was Dwight Yoakam. The country singer, actor and film director, who is most famous for his pioneering country music has sold over 25 million records with 5 Billboard # 1 Albums, 12 Gold Albums, and 9 Platinum Albums. Yoakam is the most frequent musical guest in the history of The Tonight Show and has also starred in many films, most notably in critically acclaimed performances as an ill-tempered, abusive, live-in boyfriend in Sling Blade.

[Spiritinthesky]

24th Oct 1984, Willie Nelson was at #1 on the Country music album chart with City Of New Orleans. The album spent 12 weeks at the top of the charts. The title track is a folk song written by Steve Goodman (and first recorded for Goodman's self-titled 1971 album), describing a train ride from Chicago to New Orleans on the Illinois Central Railroad's City of New Orleans in bittersweet and nostalgic terms. More on Willie: http://www.thisdayincountrymusic.com/pa ... lie_nelson

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25th Oct 1992, Roger Miller the singer, songwriter, musician and actor, died. Best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs including the chart-topping country/pop hits "King of the Road", "Dang Me" and "England Swings", from the mid-1960s. A lifelong cigarette smoker Miller died of lung and throat cancer at the age of 56.

[Spiritinthesky]

26th Oct 1967, Born on this day in Whangarei, New Zealand, was Keith Urban, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. In 1991, he released a self-titled debut album, and charted four singles in Australia before moving to the United States in 1992. Eventually, Urban found work as a session guitarist before starting a band known as The Ranch. Since 2006, he has been married to actress Nicole Kidman.

[Spiritinthesky]

27th Oct 1997, A press release from Johnny Cash’s management read; “Johnny Cash announced today that he has developed Parkinson’s Disease. Although Johnny was able to perform his recent concerts, he is cancelling his book promotion tour for Cash: The Autobiography because the Parkinson’s Disease has progressed. Johnny and his wife June Carter Cash are sorry to have to postpone their personal appearances but Cash’s manager Lou Robin states ‘Johnny feels confident that once the Parkinson’s is medically stabilised, he can resume his normal work schedule’”. More on Johnny: http://www.thisdayincountrymusic.com/pages/johnny_cash