This Day in Country Music

[Spiritinthesky]

8th Nov 1956, During recording sessions, Patsy Cline laid down four songs including Walkin' After Midnight, which was written for and rejected by singer Kay Starr. Originally Cline was not fond of Walkin' After Midnight, but after making a compromise with her label, she recorded it and it became Cline's first major hit single. More on Patsy: http://www.thisdayincountrymusic.com/pages/patsy_cline

[Spiritinthesky]

9th Nov 1895, Born on this day in Attica, Indiana, George D. Hay, the founder of the original Grand Ole Opry radio program on WSM-AM in Nashville, Tennessee, from which the country music stage show of the same name evolved. The show was originally named WSM Barn Dance, and Hay billed himself as "The Solemn Old Judge."

[Spiritinthesky]

10th Nov 1955 Elvis Presley attended the fourth Country Music Disc Jockey Convention in Nashville Tennessee. Back at his hotel Mae Boren Axton played him a demo of a new song she had written with Tommy Durden called "Heartbreak Hotel." Presley released the track as a single on January 27, 1956, his first on his new record label RCA Victor. The song gave him his his first #1 pop record. More here: http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/pages/heartbreak_hotel

[Spiritinthesky]

11th Nov 1930, Born on this day in Cowpens, South Carolina, was Hank Garland a Nashville studio guitarist who performed with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison and many others. At the age of 19, Garland recorded his million-selling hit "Sugarfoot Rag." He died on 27 December 2004.

[Spiritinthesky]

12th Nov 1950, Born on this day was Barbara Fairchild, Country Music, Gospel Music Singer, who is best known for her 1973 Country #1 hit "The Teddy Bear Song". The track was the first in a series of Fairchild songs where childhood themes were used to express dismay over broken relationships, her follow-up hit was"Kid Stuff."

[Spiritinthesky]

13th Nov 1974, "Love Is Like a Butterfly" by Dolly Parton was at #1 on the Country chart, her fourth #1 as a solo artist. Parton used the song as the opening theme for her 1976–77 TV variety show Dolly!. She also uses a butterfly as the "W" in the trade dress for her Dollywood theme park. More on Dolly: http://www.thisdayincountrymusic.com/pages/dolly_parton

[Spiritinthesky]

14th Nov 1951, Hank Williams made his first national TV appearance, on CBS-TV's The Perry Como Show, performing "Hey, Good Lookin'". The following week, Perry Como opened his show by doing his own version of "Hey Good Lookin'" and then apologized to Hank for doing so. More on Hank Williams: http://www.thisdayincountrymusic.com/pa ... k_williams

[Spiritinthesky]

15th Nov 1969, Earl Scruggs played his Grammy winning "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" on an open-air stage in Washington, D.C., at the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, becoming one of the very few bluegrass or country-western artists to give support to the anti-war movement. The march attracted over 500,000 demonstrators against the war, including many performers and activists.

[Spiritinthesky]

16th Nov 1938, Born on this day in Bighill, Madison County, Kentucky, was Troy Seals, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is a member of the prominent Seals family of musicians that includes, Jim Seals (of Seals and Crofts) and Dan Seals (of England Dan & John Ford Coley) and Brady Seals (Little Texas and Hot Apple Pie). Seals has played guitar on numerous sessions and has collaborated on compositions with Waylon Jennings, Vince Gill, Will Jennings and others. He has had three co-written compositions nominated for the Country Music Association 'Song of the Year' award: "Seven Spanish Angels" (1985), "Lost in the Fifties Tonight" (1986), and "If You Ever Have Forever In Mind" (1999).

[Spiritinthesky]

17th Nov 2003, American country music legend Don Gibson died of natural causes aged 75. He Scored the 1958 US #7 single 'Oh Lonesome Me', (covered by Neil Young on his After The Gold Rush album). His song "I Can't Stop Loving You", has been recorded by over 700 artists, most notably by Ray Charles in 1962.