This Day in Country Music

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28th Nov 1972, Charlie Rich recorded "Behind Closed Doors" which went on to give Rich his first #1 hit on the country charts. Written by Kenny O'Dell, some radio stations banned the record initially as being too racy. More on Charlie: http://www.thisdayincountrymusic.com/pages/charlie_rich

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29th Nov 1917, Born on this day in Rosewood, Kentucky was Merle Travis. The American country and Western singer, songwriter known for his hit "Sixteen Tons". Travis’ guitar style became known as "Travis picking", and his songs often discussed the life and exploitation of coal miners in the lyrics. Travis who was was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1977 died on October 20, 1983.

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30th Nov 1968, Glen Campbell started a five-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Wichita Lineman.' Jimmy Webb's inspiration for the lyrics to 'Wichita Lineman' came while driving through Washita County in northern Oklahoma. Webb was driving through an endless litany of telephone poles, each looking exactly the same as the last. Then, in the distance, he noticed the silouette of a solitary lineman atop a pole. Webb then "put himself atop that pole and put that phone in his hand" as he considered what the lineman was saying into the receiver. More on Glen Campbell here: http://www.thisdayincountrymusic.com/pa ... n_campbell

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1st Dec 1954, Fred Rose an American Hall of Fame songwriter and music publishing executive died. Along with Hank Williams and the "Father of Country Music", Jimmie Rodgers, Fred Rose was one of the three charter members of the Country Music Hall of Fame when it opened in 1961. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985.

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2nd Dec 1975, Willie Nelson was at the top of the US Country charts with Red Headed Stranger. The album was inspired by the "Tale of the Red Headed Stranger", a song that Nelson used to play as a DJ on his program in Fort Worth, Texas. More on Willie: http://www.thisdayincountrymusic.com/pa ... lie_nelson

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3rd Dec 1916, Born on this day in Elkmont, Alabama, was Rabon Delmore from The Delmore Brothers, the country music pioneers and stars of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1930s. The Delmore Brothers, together with other brother duos such as the Louvin Brothers, the Blue Sky Boys, the Monroe Brothers (Birch, Charlie and Bill Monroe), the McGee Brothers, and The Stanley Brothers, had a profound impact on the history of country music and American popular music. Delmore died on Dec 4th 1952.

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4th Dec 1944 Eddy Arnold held his first recording session at the WSM radio studios in Nashville, where he recorded his first hit, "Each Minute Seems A Million Years," which went on to become a #5 hit.

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5th Dec 1978, The Charlie Daniels Band recorded "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" at Nashville's Woodland Sound Studios. The track was later released on their 1979 album Million Mile Reflections and the song was the band's biggest pop hit, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also featured in the 1980 movie Urban Cowboy.

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6th Dec 1976, Willie Nelson was at #1 with The Troublemaker. The gospel album was recorded in 1973, but Nelson's label Atlantic Records refused to release the record at the time. After Nelson signed a contract with Columbia Records, that gave him total creative control, the album was released in Sept 1976. More on Willie: http://www.thisdayincountrymusic.com/pa ... lie_nelson

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7th Dec 2008, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts honored George Jones for his lifetime contributions to the arts. For the last 20 years of his life, Jones was frequently referred to as the greatest living country singer. More on George Jones: http://www.thisdayincountrymusic.com/pages/george_jones