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Loretta Lynn was born on 14 April 1932 in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, USA. She was a music artist and actress, known for The New Mutants (2020), High Crimes (2002) and Logan Lucky (2017). She was married to Oliver Lynn. She died on 4 October 2022 in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, USA.VERY NICE LADY- Soundtrack
Singer Billy "Crash" Craddock was Columbia Records' attempt to have its own Elvis Presley in the late 1950s; however, he only managed a couple of very low-charting singles. Craddock left show business in the 1960s but returned in 1971 to make his mark as a successful country singer, and some 15 years after his first recordings he had his biggest pop/rock successes when his country hits "Rub it In" and "Ruby Baby" crossed over into the pop top 40.- Music Artist
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George Jones was born on 12 September 1931 in Saratoga, Texas, USA. He was a music artist and actor, known for Ad Astra (2019), Only the Brave (2017) and Crazy Heart (2009). He was married to Nancy Sepulveda, Tammy Wynette, Shirley Ann Corley and Dorothy Bonvillion. He died on 26 April 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.- Music Artist
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Tammy once said: "I spent 15 minutes writing ["Stand by Your Man"], and a lifetime defending it". She was born Virginia Wynette Pugh on May 5, 1942, on her grandfather's cotton farm in Itawamba County, Mississippi. Tammy picked cotton as a child, and as a young woman worked as a waitress, a doctor's receptionist, a barmaid and a shoe factory worker. Shortly before graduating high school, Tammy married high school sweetheart Euple Byrd, an itinerant construction worker who was unemployed more often than not. They were finally forced to live in an abandoned, 60-year-old, 3-room log cabin on a Mississippi farm with no indoor plumbing, no stove and only a wood-burning fireplace for cooking and heat. "Not even the poorest sharecropper would have paid to live there," Tammy noted, but it was rent-free. They had 3 daughters, Gwendolyn ("Gwen"), Jacquelyn ("Jackie"), and Tina. The marriage ended in divorce. Tammy still dreamed of becoming a singer. Then, after a short marriage to singer Don Chapel which ended in annulment, Tammy headed to Nashville to pursue a career as a singer in earnest. As a teenager, her fantasy had been to appear on stage with her singing idol, George Jones. In 1968, she married George Jones, creating a union that captured the imaginations of country music fans everywhere. For the next 7 years they lived, sang, wrote, recorded and performed in a romantic, stormy, much-publicized relationship. They had one daughter, Tamala Georgette, born in 1970. Many of Tammy's hits dealt with classic themes of loneliness, divorce and the difficulties of relationships, especially her signature song "Stand by Your Man," which she co-wrote with her producer Billy Sherrill. The beautiful, deeply-moving lyrics of the song go: "Stand by your man / And show the world you love him / Keep giving' all the love you can / Stand by your man". This song has sometimes been misinterpreted, by misinformed people, as meaning a woman should tolerate anything, even abuse, from her man. What it really is, is an affirmation of the vows to love and honor a spouse. Tammy defended the song, in her own words, as "an expression of triumph over adversity". Her recording of "Stand by Your Man" was the biggest selling single in the history of country music. Tammy's releases have made the #1 position in the charts 35 times. Tammy received awards far too numerous to list here, some highlights were being named Country Music Association "Female Vocalist of the Year" for 3 years straight, 1968-1970; (she would be inducted into CMA Hall of Fame in 1998). After her divorce in 1975, Tammy was briefly married to Nashville real estate executive Michael Tomlin. Finally, with singer-songwriter George Richey, she achieved a long-lasting marriage; they were married for 20 years, from 1978 until her death in 1998. "I've had a wonderful life", she said in a 1991 Associated Press interview. "I absolutely feel I've been blessed tremendously. I can't complain at all". In all, she had 5 daughters and one son. Tammy passed away in her sleep on Monday, April 6, 1998, in her beloved Nashville; she was 55. Tammy will be missed greatly by her fans all around the world.- Music Artist
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Johnny Cash was born February 26, 1932, in Kingsland, Arkansas, to Carrie Cash (Rivers) and Raymond Cash. He made his first single, "Hey Porter", for Sun Records in 1955. In 1958 he moved to Columbia Records. He had long periods of drug abuse during the 1960s, but later that decade he successfully fought his addiction with the help of singer June Carter Cash, whom he married in 1968. In 1971 he appeared in the western A Gunfight (1971) with 'Kirk Douglas (I)'. Cash made only a few films, but quite a few appearances on television, both in series and made-for-TV films, and was especially effective as a rural Southern sheriff in the 1930s determined to bring to justice a wealthy landowner who committed murder because he believed he was above the law in Murder in Coweta County (1983), a drama based on a true story. In 1975 Cash wrote his autobiography, "Man In Black", which is now out of print. In the late 1980s he moved from Columbia Records to Mercury, then in the next decade moved again to American Recordings. Amongst his biggest hit records were "I Walk the Line", "Ring of Fire" and "A Boy Named Sue". After several years of ill health, he died of complications from diabetes on 12 September 2003, only a few months after the death of his beloved wife.- Actress
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June Carter Cash was born on 23 June 1929 in Maces Springs, Scott County, Virginia, USA. She was an actress and producer, known for The Johnny Cash Show (1969), The Apostle (1997) and Man of Steel (2013). She was married to Johnny Cash, Edwin Lee (Rip) Nix and Carl Smith. She died on 15 May 2003 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.A SWEET LADY- Actor
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Jerry Lee Lewis was born on September 29, 1935 into a very religious family . His family, though not very wealthy, sold their house when he was a child to get their son a piano. He loved to play piano. He was sent to a religious school, but was soon thrown out shortly thereafter -- he did a boogie version of a song about Jesus, something the school could not accept. At 16, he married for the first time, but it only lasted seven months. He married a second time three weeks before his divorce from his first wife was final. His second marriage lasted about four years and produced his first child.
In November 1956 he moved in with a cousin, J. W. Brown, in Memphis. They started a band together, with Jerry as singer. They sold a copy of their first song, "Crazy Arms", to the legendary Sam Phillips, president of Sun Records. Phillips had become famous because of his discovery of Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. Phillips liked the song, and Jerry Lee Lewis began to establish his name in Memphis in late 1956.
In January 1957, he recorded a new song, the self-penned "End of the Road." It was unusual in that singers did not write their own songs at that time. Jerry was fresh in other ways, too. He not only wrote some of his own songs, he played piano. Other rock singer of that era played guitar, such as Elvis Presley, Tommy Steele, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, etc. The piano wasn't considered a rock and roll instrument - Jerry Lee Lewis changed all that.
Jerry got his big break in April 1957, when he went to New York and appeared on The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956) with the "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On". A couple of #1 hits would soon follow -- "Great Balls of Fire" (which became his signature song), "Breathless" and "High School Confidential". Many people predicted that Jerry Lee would be bigger than the King of Rock-n-Roll - Elvis Presley. In late 1957 the audiences at one of his shows stormed the stage when he set a piano on fire. Chuck Berry was supposed to have ended the evening's show, but he refused to go on, wisely understanding that he could never top what Jerry just did. Elvis went into the army in the late winter of 1958, so Jerry Lee was now virtually alone at the top of the rock heap. All was not rosy, however. Problems did arise--very serious problems. In 1957, he married for a third time, secretly, to the 13-year-old daughter of his cousin and partner J. W. Brown, Myra Gale Brown (Myra Lewis). Her parents were deeply hurt when they found out, but after a discussion with Sam Phillips, they forgave Jerry. The marriage was unknown to the press and fans until Jerry's arrival in England for a tour in the spring of 1958. Fans again stormed the stage -- but this time to express their disgust. The marriage was front-page news around the world. His career was in shambles. He had just signed a five-year contract with Sun Records, and he did continue to record songs until 1963. During the last years of the contract, however, he made very few rock songs. Most of his compositions were ballads, possibly due to his depression at the direction his career had taken.
Jerry and Myra had one son, Steve Allen Lewis, who drowned at age three. The couple divorced in 1970, after 13 years of bad treatment in the press. However, Jerry's career was not completely finished. In 1968 he made his great comeback, as a country singer. During the next few years, he performed more and more rock 'n' roll.
He married a fourth time in October 1971 but the marriage ended two years later, after producing one child. That same year, Jerry's son from his first marriage died in an auto accident. The combination of divorce, personal tragedies and his career stagnation contributed to his turning to the bottle, and for the next 15 years Jerry had a severe drinking problem. His drinking also contributed to a rash of health problems, and he almost died of a ruptured stomach in 1981. People thought that The Killer was finished. But he wasn't.
Jerry Lee Lewis continued putting on brilliant concerts even in his 70s, and with his wild life behind him. He divorced his sixth wife in the summer of 2005, after over 20 years of marriage. He remained a wild man to the end!- Actor
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Country western star Mickey Gilley was born on March 9, 1936 in Natchez, Mississippi, the cousin of future rockabilly legend Jerry Lee Lewis, and raised in Ferriday, Louisiana. In his childhood, Mickey, Jerry, and Jerry's cousin, future Pentecostal televangelist Jimmy Swaggart would all play the piano when they got together and sing gospel and boogie-woogie songs. After Lewis became a chart-topper in the 1950s, Mickey turned professional himself and cut some singles before becoming a session player in the Big Easy.
First married at age 17, Gilley had a minor hit, "Call Me Shorty", in 1958, but it would be years before he came out from under Jerry lee's shadow and established himself as a star. He didn't release his first album, "Down the Line", until 1967. The album yielded a minor hit, "Now I Can Live Again". Three years later, he became a nightclub owner when he opened Gilley's Club in Pasadena, Texas in 1971. The club, billed as the "world's biggest honky tonk", became famous when it was used as the setting for Urban Cowboy (1980), which boosted Gilley's national exposure. By the 1980s, Gilley was experiencing crossover success when he mellowed his C+W with a more pop orientation. He managed to put songs on the charts in each of 15 years, enjoying 17 #1 country hits.
Gilley and partner Sherwood Cryer had a falling out after Cryer became increasingly hostile about changes made to the club. Gilley eventually had to sue Cryer over their "50-50" deal, which Gilley argued favored Cryer much more heavily. Gilley won $17 million from Cryer, but it completely shattered their relationship and forced the closing of the club in 1989. Gilley opened another club in Dallas under the same name in 2006. There's a Gilley's in Las Vegas, and the town of LaPorte, Texas, approved a new Gilley's, not far from the original.- Visual Effects
Bill Anderson is known for The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002).- Animation Department
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Chet Atkins was an A&R (artist and repertoire) executive for RCA Victor Records from 1958 until 1974, producing recordings for such artists as Elvis Presley, Bobby Bare, Eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves, Skeeter Davis, Waylon Jennings, Duane Eddy, The Browns, Charley Pride, Hank Snow and The Everly Brothers, to name just a few. In the early 1960s, at the peak of his production activity, he supervised as many as 300 recording sessions a year - each session lasting at most three hours and yielding three or four arranged and completed tracks. At his disposal were the cream of Nashville session musicians, the so-called "A-list", including pianists Floyd Cramer and Hargus Robbins, saxophonist Boots Randolph, guitarists Grady Martin, Harold Bradley and Hank Garland, legendary bassist Bob Moore, drummer Buddy Harman and renowned harmonica artist Charlie McCoy, backed up by superb vocalists such as Anita Kerr, Millie Kirkham and The Jordanaires. A superb talent with an amazing sense of musical creativity, Chet Atkins wrote the "book" for much of what we consider good popular music today.- Actor
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Hoyt Axton was born on 25 March 1938 in Duncan, Oklahoma, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Gremlins (1984), Forrest Gump (1994) and The Big Chill (1983). He was married to Deborah Hawkins, Donna "Bambi" Roberts, Kathryn Roberts and Mary Sanino. He died on 26 October 1999 in Victor, Montana, USA.- Actor
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Bobby Bare was born on 7 April 1935 in Ironton, Ohio, USA. He is an actor, known for Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Cruel Intentions (1999) and Tremors (1990). He has been married to Jean Sterling since 1964. They have two children.- Actor
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Boxcar Willie was born on 1 September 1931 in Sterrett, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for A Place to Grow (1995), Sweet Dreams (1985) and The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll (2009). He was married to Lloene Sue Johnson, Elsie Veleta Gee and Patsy Jeaniene Marshall. He died on 12 April 1999 in Branson, Missouri, USA.- Actress
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Rosanne Cash was born on 24 May 1955 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. She is an actress and composer, known for The Little Rascals (1994), Rosanne Cash feat. Chely Wright: Sister, Oh Sister (2012) and Angie (1994). She has been married to John Leventhal since 30 April 1995. They have one child. She was previously married to Rodney Crowell.- Music Artist
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A tragic fate may have given this visionary a heightened sensitivity, perception, awareness, even expansion to his obvious musical gifts that he may have never touched upon had he not suffered from his physical affliction. Whatever it was, Ray Charles revolutionized American music and was catapulted to legendary status by the time he died in Beverly Hills at age 73.
Born on September 23, 1930, to Aretha and Baily Robinson, an impoverished Albany, Georgia, family that moved to Greenville, Florida while he was still an infant. It was not a cause for joy and celebration. His father soon abandoned the family and his baby brother, George Robinson, drowned in a freak washtub accident. Ray himself developed glaucoma at the age of five and within two years had lost his sight completely. A singer in a Baptist choir, he developed a love and feel for rhythms and studied music at the State School for Deaf and Blind Children, showing which brought out his talent and ear for playing various instruments, including the piano and clarinet.
An orphan by his early teens, Ray joined a country band at age 16 called The Florida Playboys. He moved to Seattle in 1948 where he and Southern guitarist Gossady McGee formed the McSon Trio. With an emphasis on easy-styled jazz, Ray also played in bebop sessions on the sly. He departed from the McSon Trio and signed with Los Angeles-based Swing Time Records, becoming the pianist for rhythm and blues great Lowell Fulson and his band. Atlantic Records eventually picked him up. Along the road he would add composer, writer and arranger to his formidable list of talents.
Ray's first R&B hit was "Confession Blues" in Los Angeles in 1949. In 1951, he had his first solo chart buster with "Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand". His amazing versatility and raw, soulful delivery quickly caught on with audiences and helped put Atlantic Records on the map. Hits like "Mess Around", "Things I Used to Do", "A Fool for You", "I've Got a Woman", "Drown in My Own Tears", and especially "What'd I Say" in 1959, pushed gospel and R&B to a wider crossover audience. He made a move into the country music arena--unheard of for a black singer--in the 1960s, doing soulful spins on Hank Williams and Eddy Arnold tunes. In 1960, he left Atlantic and signed with ABC-Paramount. Under ABC-Paramount, hits poured out during this peak time with "I Can't Stop Loving You", "Hit the Road Jack", "Busted" and his beloved signature song "Georgia On My Mind".
His landmark 1962 album "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" brought a new swinging style to country music. From there, he traveled a mainstream route--from interpreting songs from The Beatles ("Eleanor Rigby") to appearing in "Diet Pepsi" ads ("You Got the Right One, Baby, Uh-huh!"). He also showed up sporadically in films, playing himself in the movie Ballad in Blue (1965) and guest-starring in The Blues Brothers (1980) with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. A television musical variety favorite with his trademark dark sunglasses and dry humor, he worked alongside such musical legends as Ella Fitzgerald and Barbra Streisand on their very special evenings of song.
It is hard to believe that with everything he accomplished, Ray also had to deal with a longstanding heroin problem. In the mid-1960s, he was arrested for possession of heroin and marijuana and revealed that he had been addicted for nearly two decades. By 1965, he had completely recovered. The man who lived life on the edge was divorced twice and had 12 children both in and outside his marriages.
At the time of his death from liver disease on June 10, 2004, he was working on a recording project of duets with such performers as Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Elton John and Norah Jones. This collaboration entitled "Genius Loves Company" led to an incisive win at the Grammy Awards--eight posthumous trophies including "Album of the Year" and "Record of the Year".
A few months after his death, the critically-acclaimed feature film biography Ray (2004) was released starring Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx.- Actor
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Roy Clark was born on 15 April 1933 in Meherrin, Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for Hee Haw (1969), Uphill All the Way (1986) and The Kallikaks (1977). He was married to Barbara Joyce Rupard. He died on 15 November 2018 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.- Actress
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Jessi Colter was born on 25 May 1943 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper (1981), Scotland, Pa. (2001) and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976). She was previously married to Waylon Jennings and Duane Eddy.- Music Artist
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Jennings, a singer, songwriter and guitarist, recorded 60 albums and had 16 No. 1 country singles in a career that spanned five decades. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October 2001. With pal Willie Nelson, Jennings performed duets like "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys", "Luckenbach" and "Good Hearted Woman". Those 1970s songs nurtured a progressive sound and restless spirit embraced later by Travis Tritt, Charlie Daniels, Steve Earle and others. His resonant, authoritative voice also was used to narrate the popular TV show The Dukes of Hazzard (1979). He sang its theme song, which was a million seller. "I aimed the narration at children and it made it work," he said in a 1987 AP interview. He traditionally wore a black cowboy hat and ebony attire that accented his black beard and mustache. Often reclusive when not on stage, he played earthy music with a spirited, hard edge. Combined, Jennings had a well-defined image that matched well with his history of battling record producers to do music his way. About his independence, he said: "There's always one more way to do something-- your way." Some of his album titles nourished his brash persona: "Lonesome, On'ry and Mean," "I've Always Been Crazy," "Nashville Rebel," "Ladies Love Outlaws" and "Wanted: The Outlaws." He often refused to attend music awards shows on grounds performers should not compete against each other. Despite those sentiments, Jennings won two Grammy awards and four Country Music Association awards. He did not attend his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame last year. In 1959, his career was nearly cut short by tragedy. He was scheduled to fly on the light plane that crashed and killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. Jennings gave up his seat on the plane to The Big Bopper, who was ill and wanted to fly rather than travel by bus with those left behind. He and Holly were teen-age friends in Lubbock, Texas, and Jennings was in Holly's band. "Mainly what I learned from Buddy was an attitude," Jennings said. "He loved music, and he taught me that it shouldn't have any barriers to it." Born in Littlefield, Texas, Jennings became a radio disc jockey at 14 and formed his own band not long afterward. By the early 1960s Jennings was playing regularly at a nightclub in Phoenix. In 1963, he was signed by 'Herb Alpert''s A&M Records, then was signed by RCA in Nashville shortly thereafter by Chet Atkins. Once in Nashville, he and Cash became friends and roommates. His hit records began in the mid-1960s and his heyday was the mid-1970s. About his outlaw image, he said: "It was a good marketing tool. In a way, I am that way. You start messing with my music, I get mean. As long was you are honest and up front with me, I will be the same with you. But I still do things my way."- Actress
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Skeeter Davis was one of the first female vocalists to become a top level star in the country music field. Born Mary Frances Penick on December 30, 1931, Davis began performing in her native Kentucky as part of a duet with high school friend Betty Jack Davis in 1949. The teenagers, dubbed The Davis Sisters, quickly became a popular regional act and frequently performed on local radio. Their fan base began to grow outside the state and the girls were signed to RCA Records in 1952. They were on tour just as their first record was being released when tragedy struck and they were in a car accident in which Betty Jack was killed and Skeeter seriously injured. After she recovered Skeeter briefly attempted to revived The Davis Sisters' act with Betty's sister Georgia but ended up quitting the business in 1957. Skeeter later had second thoughts and returned to the music industry in 1958 as a solo singer. RCA again signed her and Skeeter became an immediate success with her first solo single, "Lost To A Geisha Girl" which was a top 15 record and the first of many hits for her over the next eighteen years.
Skeeter Davis quickly became one of country music's biggest female stars, a major rival to Kitty Wells and Patsy Cline. Like Cline, Davis' records crossed over frequently to the pop music charts. Skeeter's 1963 release "The End of the World" was a multi-chart number one international smash for her and remains one of the best remembered pop songs of the era. Davis' major hits began to become less frequent by the early 1970's but she remained a regular chart presence up to 1976. During the 1980's and 1990's she widely toured internationally as her records continued to sell in many foreign markets. Davis had been a Grand Ole Opry member for 45 years when she passed away in 2004.- Actor
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Jimmy Dean, the musician, actor and entrepreneur, was instrumental in the mainstreaming of country music, a genre that now enjoys popularity in some regions of the United States but which, back in the 1960s, was accorded little respect by mass media. Jimmy Dean had a #1 hit in the US and England with his song "Big Bad John," which established his fame, fame that continues to this day due to his long stint as a spokesman for "Jimmy Dean Pure Pork Sausage," a company he founded and then sold to Consolidated Foods in 1984. He continued as the pitchman for the eponymous brand for 20 years.
Jimmy Dean, a distant cousin of the actor James Dean, was born Jimmy Ray Dean on August 10, 1928 in Plainview, Texas. He took to the life of a professional singer after serving in the U.S. Air Force during the late 1940s. Dean began building his reputation as a musician touring with his band, The Texas Wildcats, which featured Roy Clark as lead guitarist. In 1953, he scored his first hit, "Bummin' Around."
Dean landed a gig as the host of a TV program in the Washington D.C. market, "Town and Country Time." (The District of Columbia has in many ways always been a Southern town.) Dean was a promoter of rising country acts, and such top country singers as Clark and Patsy Cline got their starts with Dean. (He eventually fired Clark but later promoted his career.) Dean subsequently moved to New York after signing with Columbia Records, where he hosted a TV variety show for the CBS network.
In 1961, his song "Big Bad John" went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts and won him the 1962 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording. Several of his subsequent songs charted in the Top 40, and he scored a Top 10 hit in 1962 with a song commemorating President John F. Kennedy's patrol torpedo boat, "PT 109." Because of his affability and his burgeoning popularity, he occasionally was booked to guest-host "The Tonight Show." ABC offered him a variety show in the mid-1960s, and Dean used it as a forum to present country music on his terms, as a mainstream entertainment. His show offered the first major TV exposure to a number of country singers, including George Jones, Charlie Rich, and Buck Owens. His show also introduced the first Muppet, Jim Henson's Rowlf the Dog.
Aside from a featured part as a Howard Hughes-like billionaire in the James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever (1971) (Dean said he was offered the role on the basis of his having had a #1 hit with "Big John" in Britain, which surprised him as it had been a decade before), Dean has mostly stuck to his music and the business he founded in 1969, "Jimmy Dean Pure Pork Sausage." The TV commercials featuring the very likable Dean were the best advertising the new brand could have had, and it became #1 in its product category.
In the fall of 2004, Jimmy Dean published his autobiography, "30 Years of Sausage, 50 Years of Ham." He semi-retired and lived with his second wife, the former singer Donna Meade Dean until his death in 2010.- Actor
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Little Jimmy Dickens was born on 19 December 1920 in Bolt, West Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for Northern Exposure (1990), More American Graffiti (1979) and Last Night's Party (2014). He was married to Mona Evans, Anne Ernestine Jones and Dorothy (Connie) Chapman. He died on 2 January 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.- Actor
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Roy Drusky was born on 22 June 1930 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He was an actor, known for The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), Lean on Pete (2017) and The Gold Guitar (1966). He died on 23 September 2004 in Portland, Tennessee, USA.- Music Department
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Dave Dudley reigns supreme as the one and only king of trucker's country music. The tremendous success of his hit single "Six Days on the Road" in turn beget a whole new genre of country music. Other trucker's country songs Dave did are "Truck Drivin' Son of a Gun," "Trucker's Prayer," "Anything Leaving Town Today," "There Ain't No Easy Road," and "Two Six Packs Away." Moreover, "Six Days on the Road" has been covered by such artists as Steve Earle, Sawyer Brown, Red Sovine and George Thorogood & The Destroyers.
Born David Darwin Pedruska on May 3, 1928, in Spencer, Wisconsin, he grew up in Stevens Point. He received a guitar as a present from his father at age 11, but originally wanted to be a baseball pitcher. He played for the minor-league baseball team the Gainesville Owls. His budding baseball career was unfortunately cut short by an injury to his arm. Dave then decided to pursue a career as a country music singer. He worked briefly as a disc jockey at a Texas radio station and first began recording music for the National Recording Corporation. He had a few minor hit singles in the early 1960s prior to striking it big with his breakthrough smash "Six Days on the Road," which peaked at #2 on the country charts and cracked the Top 40 pop charts at #32.
Dave enjoyed a steady stream of hits throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He recorded more than 70 albums throughout his career. Although his songs failed to chart in the 1980s, he still remained a popular concert performer in that period. He received an honorary solid gold membership card from the Teamsters Union local in Nashville (the Teamsters Union is composed mainly of truck drivers). His songs are featured on the soundtracks to the films Four Friends (1981) and Dominick and Eugene (1988). In addition, Dudley--along with fellow country music singer/songwriter Tom T. Hall--composed the score for the road movie comedy Deadhead Miles (1972) (Dudley and Hall also sang a duet on the song "Day Drinking").
Dave Dudley died from a heart attack at age 75 on December 22, 2003. Although he's sadly no longer with us, Dave Dudley's deep, rich, booming baritone voice and excellent and exciting trucker's country songs shall forever live on as long as there are 18-wheelers hauling freight all over the world.- Johnny Duncan lived well into his 90's, with his wife Susan, enjoying life not far from where it began.
He started out on a small farm near Kansas City in 1923. As a child growing up during the Great Depression, Johnny danced up a storm in local towns, and with the money he saved he was able to pay out his parent's overdue mortgage to the banks. Not long after, he ran a little dance school with his little girl pal, Lou, teaching locals kids how to tap dance.
Not long after, an agent helped him make it to L.A. on a $50-a-month contract. He got roles playing juveniles with the East Side Kids/Bowery Boys and other movie roles. You can see him working the radio in the Bogart classic Action in the North Atlantic (1943). During the war he met Lana Turner and taught her the Lindy Hop (Jitterbug). At the age of 26, he became the second Boy Wonder, in the 15-part serial Batman and Robin.
Off the set, you could find Johnny out on his Triumph 600 on the weekend in the canyons around Calabasas with mates like Lee Marvin, Larry Parks, Keenan Wynn and Clark Gable, or at dinner parties held by Jimmy Cagney. During the '50s, Johnny made fewer films after The Caine Mutiny (1954) (also with Bogart), but he did play another sailor in a film with Rita Hayworth, whom he described as the most beautiful woman in Hollywood. You can also spot him in the legendary Ed Wood flick Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957) and getting his head chopped off in Spartacus (1960). Nowadays, you can still spot him at the occasional movie convention, signing photos from Batman and Robin and The East Side Kids. - Actress
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American leading lady of musical westerns of the 1940s. Born Frances Octavia Smith in Uvalde, Texas. She was raised in Texas and Arkansas. Married at 14 and a mother at 15, she was divorced at 17 (some sources say widowed). Intent on a singing career, she moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and worked in an insurance company while taking occasional radio singing jobs. After another unhappy marriage, she went to Louisville, Kentucky, and became a popular singer on a local radio station. There she took the stage name Dale Evans (from her third husband, Robert Dale Butts, and actress Madge Evans). Divorced in 1936, she moved to Dallas, Texas, and again found local success as a radio singer. She married Butts and they moved to Chicago, where she began to attract increasing attention from both radio audiences and film industry executives. She signed with Fox Pictures and made a few small film appearances, then was cast as leading lady to rising cowboy star Roy Rogers. She and Rogers clicked and she became his steady on-screen companion. In 1946, Rogers' wife died and Evans' marriage to Butts ended about the same time. Rogers and Evans had been close onscreen in a string of successful westerns, and now became close off-screen as well. A year later she married Rogers and the two become icons of American pop culture. Their marriage was dogged by tragedy, including the loss of three children before adulthood, but Evans was able not only to find inspiration in the midst of tragedy but to provide inspiration as well, authoring several books on her life and spiritual growth through difficulty. She and Rogers starred during the 1950s on the popular TV program bearing his name, and even after retirement continued to make occasional appearances and to run their Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum in Victorville, California. Following Dale's death, the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum moved to Branson, Missouri.- Actor
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Roy Rogers (born Leonard Slye) moved to California in 1930, aged 18. He played in such musical groups as The Hollywood Hillbillies, Rocky Mountaineers, Texas Outlaws, and his own group, the International Cowboys. In 1934 he formed a group with Bob Nolan called Sons of the Pioneers. While in that group he was known as Leonard Slye, then Dick Weston. Their songs included "Cool Water" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds". They first appeared in the western Rhythm on the Range (1936), starring Bing Crosby and Martha Raye. In 1936 he appeared as a bandit opposite Gene Autry in "The Old Coral". In 1937 Rogers went solo from "The Sons Of The Pioneeres", and made his first starring film in 1938, Under Western Stars (1938). He made almost 100 films. The Roy Rogers Show (1951) ran on NBC from October 1951 through 1957 and on CBS from 1961 to September 1964. In 1955, 67 of his feature films were released to television.- Soundtrack
Country singer/songwriter Donna Fargo was born as Yvonne Vaughan on November 10, 1945 in Mount Airy, North Carolina. Donna began singing in her early teens. She attended both High Point College and the University of Southern California. Following graduation from college, Fargo began working as a high school teacher in Covina, California and eventually became head of the English Department. She met her future husband and manager Stan Silver in California; they got married in 1968. Fargo initially began performing in various clubs in California. In 1966 Donna went to Phoenix, Arizona, adopted her stage name Donna Fargo, and recorded her first single. Her first major stage show was with Ray Price. In 1969 Fargo was named the Top New Female Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music Awards. In 1972 Donna scored her first big country hit with the infectiously upbeat "The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A." the song peaked at #1 on the country charts and went all the way to #11 on the Billboard pop charts. Fargo subsequently won a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A." and was named the Top Female Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music Awards. The equally charming follow-up song "Funny Face" did ever better: it was another #1 country hit and cracked the Top 5 on the Billboard pop charts. Donna had two more #1 country hits with the songs "Superman" and "You Were Always There." She scored additional #1 country hits with "You Can't Be a Beacon If Your Light Don't Shine" and "That Was Yesterday." Fargo's other 70's country hits include such songs as ""Little Girl Gone," "I'll Try a Little Bit Harder," "It Do Feel Good," "Mr. Doodles," "Mockingbird Hill," and "Daddy." She hosted her own short-lived TV series in the late 70's. In 1978 Donna was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis; she took some time off to recover and bounced back in 1979. Although her career waned a bit in the 80's, Fargo continued to record albums and singles throughout that particular decade. She had a Top 30 country hit with "Me and You" and "Members Only," a duet with Billy Joe Royal, peaked at #23 on the country charts in 1987. Outside of music, Donna has her own successful line of greeting cards and has written several books of poetry. She still continues to tour and perform in concert in both the United States and other countries. In 2008 Donna Fargo released the CD single "We Can Do Better in America."- Actor
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Freddy Fender was born on 4 June 1937 in San Benito, Texas, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005), Hancock (2008) and The Forever Purge (2021). He was married to Evangelina (Vangie) Muniz. He died on 14 October 2006 in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA.- Music Department
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Lester Flatt was born on 19 June 1914 in Overton County, Tennessee, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for A Prairie Home Companion (2006), Dutch (1991) and Finding North (1998). He was married to Gladys Flatt. He died on 11 May 1979 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.- Music Department
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Earl Scruggs was born on 6 January 1924 in near Shelby, North Carolina, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Love Guru (2008) and Penguins of Madagascar (2014). He was married to Louise Scruggs. He died on 28 March 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.- Tennessee Ernie Fords lifetime: Thursday, February 13th, 1919 to Thursday, October 17th, 1991, was 26,544 days, equaling 3,792 weeks exactly. Composer, singer and author, educated at the Cincinnati Conservatory. He appeared at the London Palladium, and made many records. He also owned a cattle ranch in California. Joining ASCAP in 1958, his popular-song compositions include "Softly and Tenderly" (Christian). Three others, 2 country "Hogtied Over You" and "Kiss Me Big" + 1 rock 'n roll, "Sixteen Tons".
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Lefty Frizzell was born on 31 March 1928 in Corsicana, Texas, USA. He was married to Alice Harper. He died on 19 July 1975 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.- Actor
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Andy Griffith is best known for his starring roles in two very popular television series, The Andy Griffith Show (1960) and Matlock (1986). Griffith earned a degree in music from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the 1950s, he became a regular on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) and The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956). He was featured in the Broadway play "No Time for Sergeants" (1955) for which he received a Tony nomination, and he later appeared in the film version. His film debut was in the provocative and prophetic A Face in the Crowd (1957), in which Griffith gave a performance that has been described as stunning.
On The Andy Griffith Show (1960), Griffith portrayed a folksy small-town sheriff who shared simple heartfelt wisdom. The series was one of the most popular television series in history. It generated some successful spin-offs, and the original is still seen in reruns to this day. Griffith created his own production company in 1972, which produced several movies and television series. In 1981, he was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal in Murder in Texas (1981). In 1983, Griffith was stricken with Guillain-Barre syndrome, but he recovered after rehabilitation. In 1986, he produced and starred in the very successful television series Matlock (1986). The series spawned numerous television movies as well. When he accepted the People's Choice Award for this series, he said this was his favorite role. Andy Griffith died at age 86 of a heart attack in his home in Dare County, North Carolina on July 3, 2012.- Music Artist
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Merle Haggard was born on 6 April 1937 in Bakersfield, California, USA. He was a music artist and actor, known for Wag the Dog (1997), The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981) and Jack Reacher (2012). He was married to Theresa Ann Lane, Debora J Parret, Leona Bell Williams, Bonnie Owens and Billie Leona Hobbs. He died on 6 April 2016 in Redding, California, USA.- Music Department
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Tom T. Hall was born on 25 May 1936 in Olive Hill, Kentucky, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Keeping Up with the Joneses (2016), Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Scary Movie 3 (2003). He was married to Dixie Hall and Opal Inez McKinney. He died on 20 August 2021 in Franklin, Tennessee, USA.- Actor
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Freddie Hart was born on 21 December 1926 in Lochapoka, Alabama, USA. He was an actor, known for When the Legends Die (1972), The Perfect Game (2009) and The Road to Nashville (1967). He was married to Virginia Lee (Ginger) Trendall. He died on 27 October 2018 in Burbank, California, USA.- Actor
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Ferlin Husky was born on 3 December 1925 in Cantwell, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for Hillbillys in a Haunted House (1967), The Devil All the Time (2020) and Las Vegas Hillbillys (1966). He died on 17 March 2011 in Westmoreland, Tennessee, USA.- Actor
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Stonewall Jackson was born on 6 November 1932 in Tabor City, North Carolina, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Love and a .45 (1994), A West Texas Children's Story (2007) and Breaking Bad (2008). He was married to Juanita Wair Jackson. He died on 4 December 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.- Actor
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Grandpa Jones was born on 20 October 1913 in Niagara, Kentucky, USA. He was an actor, known for The Marty Stuart Show (2008), Hee Haw (1969) and Country Boy (1966). He was married to Ramona Jones and Eulalia Marie Losher. He died on 19 February 1998 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.- Music Artist
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Kris Kristofferson was born in Brownsville, Texas, to Mary Ann (Ashbrook) and Lars Henry Kristofferson. His paternal grandparents were Swedish, and his father was a United States Air Force general who pushed his son to a military career. Kris was a Golden Gloves boxer and went to Pomona College in California. From there, he earned a Rhodes scholarship to study literature at Oxford University. He ultimately joined the United States Army and achieved the rank of captain. He became a helicopter pilot, which served him well later. In 1965, he resigned his commission to pursue songwriting. He had just been assigned to become a teacher at USMA West Point. He got a job sweeping floors in Nashville studios. There he met Johnny Cash, who initially took some of his songs but ignored them. He was also working as a commercial helicopter pilot at the time. He got Cash's attention when he landed his helicopter in Cash's yard and gave him some more tapes. Cash then recorded Kristofferson's "Sunday Morning Coming Down", which was voted the 1970 Song of the Year by the Country Music Association. Kris was noted for his heavy boozing. He lost his helicopter pilot job when he passed out at the controls, and his drinking ruined his marriage to singer Rita Coolidge, when he was reaching a bottle and half of Jack Daniels daily. He gave up alcohol in 1976. His acting career nose-dived after making Heaven's Gate (1980). In recent years, he has made a comeback with his musical and acting careers. He does say that he prefers his music, but says his children are his true legacy.- Actor
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Hank Locklin was born on 15 February 1918 in McLellan, Florida, USA. He was an actor, known for Vice (2018), A Perfect World (1993) and Young Ones (2014). He was married to Anita Crooks and Willa Jean Murphy. He died on 8 March 2009 in Brewton, Alabama, USA.- Actor
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Roger Miller was born on 2 January 1936 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Robin Hood (1973), Superman III (1983) and Into the Wild (2007). He was married to Mary Miller, Leah Kendrick and Barbara Louise Crow. He died on 25 October 1992 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Music Artist
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This versatile, eclectic, rather wanderlust country crossover star known for his classic ballads ("Always On My Mind"), autobiographical road songs ("On the Road Again") and catchy rhythms ("Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys") started out life as Willie Hugh Nelson on April 30, 1933, in Depression-era Abbot, Texas. He is the son of Myrle Marie (Greenhaw) and Ira Doyle Nelson, a mechanic. After his parents got divorced, in which his mother moved to Oregon and his father remarried, he and sister Bobbie Lee were raised by their gospel-singing paternal grandparents, who introduced them to music. Working in the cotton fields, Willie was handed his first guitar at age six and within a short time was writing woeful country songs and playing in polka bands.
During his teenage years he played at high school dances and honky-tonks. He also worked for a local radio station and by graduation time he had become a DJ with his own radio show. Briefly serving a stint with the Air Force (discharged because of a bad back, which would plague him throughout his life), he sold his first song called "No Place For Me" while getting by with menial jobs as a janitor and door-to-door Bible salesman. Married in 1952 to a full-blooded Cherokee, he and first wife Martha had two children.
Willie initially came to be known in Nashville for selling his songs to well-established country artists such as Patsy Cline ("Crazy"), Faron Young ("Hello Walls") and Ray Price ("Night Life"). In 1962 he recorded a successful duet with singer Shirley Collie, whom he would later take as his second wife, but his career didn't progress despite joining the Grand 'Ol Opry. In the early 1970s, after extensive touring with his band (which included sister Bobbie on the piano) and experiencing a number of career downswings, he started performing and recording his own songs instead of selling them to others. Two of his albums, "Shotgun Willie" and "Phases and Stages", helped him gain some stature. In 1975 it all came together with the album "Red-Headed Stranger", which would become the top-selling country music album in history and propel him into the country music stratosphere. His offbeat phrasing, distinctive nasal tones and leathery, bewhiskered hippie-styled looks set a new standard for "outlaw" country music.
Around 1978 Willie showed himself to be a loose and natural presence in front of the camera, thus launching a film career. He had roles in several movies, his first opposite Robert Redford and Jane Fonda in The Electric Horseman (1979). His took to leading roles as a country music star in Honeysuckle Rose (1980), which would include a number of his songs on the soundtrack. He played opposite James Caan and Tuesday Weld in Thief (1981) and a legendary outlaw in the western Barbarosa (1982). In the movie Red Headed Stranger (1986), which was adapted from his hit 1975 album, he played a preacher, and he teamed up with pal Kris Kristofferson as a pair of country singers in Songwriter (1984).
Willie and pal Kristofferson went on to form The Highwaymen with the late Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings and he successfully recorded and toured with the group for a number of years. They also teamed up to remake the classic western Stagecoach (1939) as a TV movie (Stagecoach (1986)). As a unique song stylist, the bearded, braided-haired, bandanna-wearing non-conformist took a number of non-country standards and made them his own, including Elvis Presley's "You Were Always on My Mind" and Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind."
Broaching the millennium, Willie continued to be active with film credits that would include roles in the westerns Dust to Dust (1994) and The Journeyman (2001), in addition to roles in such non-westerns as the sci-fi drama Starlight (1996); the comedy capers Gone Fishin' (1997), The Big Bounce (2004) and The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) (an updated screen version of the popular TV show); the action thriller Fighting with Anger (2007); the comedy Surfer, Dude (2008); the family dramedy Angels Sing (2013); the music fantasy Paradox (2018) which starred Neil Young and his sons Lukas Nelson and Micah Nelson; the dramatic fantasy Waiting for the Miracle to Come (2018); and Willie and Me (2023), a comedy chronicling the misadventures of a young German girl coming to America to see her idol Willie.
Willie happily married fourth wife Ann-Marie in 1991 and has survived more hard times in recent years, including a $16.7-million debt to the IRS and the suicide of one of his sons, Billy. Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993, Nelson received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998.- Actor
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Buck Owens is a true legend in country music. Along with fellow performers Merle Haggard and Wynn Stewart, Buck helped popularize the Bakersfield Sound, or honky-tonk infused with electric instrumentation and rock influences. Growing up in Arizona, Buck picked cotton and learned to play the mandolin, the guitar and horns. He had his first radio program at age 16 and a year later, worked with the Mac's Skillet Lickers, whose lead singer was Bonnie Campbell. Bonnie soon became the first Mrs. Buck Owens; together, they had a son, Buddy. Buck and his young family moved to Bakersfield, California, in the early 1950s, where he worked as a session guitarist and played for a band called the Orange Blossom Playboys. After a few years of recording rockabilly songs (as "Corky Jones"), Buck signed a contract with Capitol Records in 1957. His first recordings floundered, and it wasn't until the spring of 1959 when he hit with "Second Fiddle." That song only reached No. 24 on Billboard magazine's country singles chart, but it was the follow-up, "Under Your Spell Again" (which reached No. 4 in the fall of 1959) that Buck's future in country music was assured--and was it ever. After several top-five songs that flirted with the No. 1 spot (among them, "Above and Beyond," "Under the Influence of Love" and "Foolin' Around"), he finally hit the top of the charts in June 1963 with "Act Naturally." That song's four-week stay at No. 1 paled in comparison, though, to his incredible 16-week stay that fall with "Love's Gonna Live Here." Eighteen more No. 1 hits, all in the Bakersfield tradition, followed during the next nine years. Many of them featured Buck's chief guitarist, right-hand man and close confidant, Don Rich. Together, Owens and Rich (the leader of Buck's backing band, the Buckaroos) polished their sound, which graced AM radio throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Buck parlayed his popularity on two country music TV shows: the syndicated "Buck Owens Ranch Show" and CBS' (and later syndicated) Hee Haw (1969). Through it all, he was an astute businessman, keeping control of his publishing rights and master tapes, purchasing several radio stations and forming a booking agency among them. He also recorded a live album in 1969 in London. Then, in 1974, Rich was killed in a motorcycle accident and Buck's life faltered. He recorded for Warner Bros. for a time in the mid- to late-1970s, but only one song, 1979's "Play Together Again, Again" (a duet with Emmylou Harris) was a substantial hit. Then, in 1988, he found renewed popularity when new country star Dwight Yoakam (whose own Bakersfield Sound was strongly influenced by Owens) asked him to duet on "Streets of Bakersfield," which soared to No. 1. He still performs occasional shows at his Crystal Palace, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996. Buck Owens remains one of country music's most respected (if not underrated) legends.- Music Artist
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Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on January 19, 1946 in Pittman Center, Tennessee and raised in Sevierville, Tennessee to Avie Lee Parton, a housewife & Robert Lee Parton, a tobacco farmer. At 12, she was appearing on Knoxville TV and at 13, she was already recording on a small label and appearing at the Grand Ole Opry. After graduating from high school in 1964, she moved to Nashville to launch her country-singing career. She fell in love with Carl Dean, who ran an asphalt-paving business; they married on May 30, 1966 and are still together. In 1967 her singing caught the attention of Porter Wagoner, who hired her to appear on his program, The Porter Wagoner Show (1961). She stayed with the show for 7 years, their duets became famous, and she appeared with his group at the Grand Ole Opry; she also toured and sold records. By the time her hit "Joshua" reached #1 in 1970, her fame had overshadowed his, and she struck out on her own, though still recording duets with him. She left him for good to become a solo artist in 1974. Dolly gained immense popularity as a singer/songwriter. Dolly won numerous Country Music Association awards (1968, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1976). This petite (5'0") beauty was a natural for television, and by the mid-1970s she was appearing frequently on TV specials and talk shows before getting her own, Dolly (1976). In 1977, Dolly got her first Grammy award: Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her song "Here You Come Again." Dolly's movie debut was in 9 to 5 (1980), where she got an Oscar nomination for writing the title tune, and also Grammy awards 2 and 3: Best Country Song, and Best Female Country Vocal Performance for the song "Nine to Five." She got more fame for appearing in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), and in Rhinestone (1984) with the song "Tennessee Homesick Blues". She is the head of Dolly Parton Enterprises, a $100 million media empire, and in 1986 she founded Dollywood, a theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, celebrating her Smoky-Mountain upbringing. She appeared as herself in the Dolly (1987) TV series. In 1988, she won another Grammy: Best Country Performance Duo or Group with Vocals, for "Trio". Dolly was in the acclaimed picture Steel Magnolias (1989) with Julia Roberts, and went on to appear in 15 movies and TV-movies for the 1990s, and garnered more more Country Music Association awards. In 2000, Dolly received her 5th Grammy award: Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. She also released a Bluegrass Album. Dolly is known for beautiful songs such as "Coat of Many Colors," "Jolene," and "I Will Always Love You". Dolly said in an interview, "My music is what took me everywhere I've been and everywhere I will go. It's my greatest love. I can't abandon it. I'll always keep making records."- Actress
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Sarah Colley studied dramatics in Belmont College in Nashville, intending to be a serious actress, but while touring with an Atlanta company, she created the Minnie Pearl character that became her life's work. Her first Grand Old Opry appearance was on the radio show in 1940, followed by 27 years of touring. She was diagnosed with cancer in 1985, and recovered after a double mastectomy. A mild stroke in June 1991 forced her to give up performing.- Composer
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Carl Lee Perkins was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who recorded at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, beginning in 1954. Among his best-known songs are "Blue Suede Shoes", "Honey Don't", "Matchbox" and "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby".
According to Charlie Daniels, "Carl Perkins' songs personified the rockabilly era, and Carl Perkins' sound personifies the rockabilly sound more so than anybody involved in it, because he never changed." Perkins's songs were recorded by artists (and friends) as influential as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash and Eric Clapton, which further established his place in the history of popular music. Paul McCartney said "if there were no Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles."
Called "the King of Rockabilly", he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He also received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.- Actor
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Charley Pride was born on 18 March 1934 in Sledge, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor, known for Breakdown (1997), Sometimes a Great Notion (1971) and Supernatural (2005). He was married to Rozene Pride. He died on 12 December 2020 in Dallas, Texas, USA.- Actor
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Country singer, songwriter & guitarist Edward Thomas Rabbitt was born on a holiday, of Thanksgiving, on Thursday, November 27th, 1941, {the fourth Thursday,of November}, to Irish immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York. Rabbitt was raised in East Orange, New Jersey. Eddie recorded songs for the labels 20th Century Records and Columbia Records in the 1960 decade. In 1968, Eddie Rabbitt moved to Nashville, Tennessee and initially established himself in the country music scene as a songwriter (he wrote Elvis Presley's "Kentucky Rain" and Ronnie Milsap's "Pure Love"). In 1974, he began recording songs & started his very own musical career, with the recording label/name, Elektra Records. Eddie scored his first Top 40 country radio hit list, with "You Get to Me" (later in the year). In 1976, Rabbitt had his first number 1 country hit, with "Drinkin' My Baby (Off My Mind)." Eddie went on to enjoy a steady succession of 26 number 1 country hits from 1976 to 1989, (averaging two a year, approximately). His most popular & successful songs include such terrific tunes as "You Don't Love Me Anymore," "Every Which Way But Loose," "Drivin' My Life Away," "I Love a Rainy Night," "Step by Step," "You and I" (a lovely duet, he teamed with Crystal Gayle, to successfully perform). "The Best Year of My Life," "I Wanna Dance With You," & "On Second Thought." Moreover, a majority of these songs were substantial crossover hits on the Billboard pop radio charts. Although his career weakened in the later 1980 decade, Rabbitt nonetheless still continued to record albums and perform musical concerts, in nightclubs throughout that era. Following the tragic & untimely death of his infant son (& first offspring) was approximately one month from being two years (23 months), Timmy in 1985. When Timmy was born, he became a father. Following the death his first son, Timmy, Eddie became very active in raising money for organizations that aid ill children, of all ages: He not only served as honorary chairman of the American Council on Transplantation, but also was a celebrity spokesman for both the Muscular Dystrophy Association, (much like as if he was following the footsteps of Jerry Lewis's marathons) & United Cerebral Palsy Organization. Eddie Rabbitt died from lung cancer, just under 56 & a half, on Thursday, May 7th, 1998, in Nashville, Tennessee. (following his birth on holiday, Thanksgiving Thursday, November 27th, 1941), (he was ten days young, when Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, by Japanese bombardiers, forcing the United States of America, to enter World War II)! Eddie Rabbitt's life-time: Thursday, November 27th, 1941, to Thursday, May 7th, 1998, was 20,615 days, equaling 2,945 weeks, exactly.- Music Artist
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Tall, blond haired country & western singer / songwriter from Atlanta Georgia, who usually appears in films portraying good humored Southern type characters. Reed was already writing and singing music in high school, and was signed by Capitol Records to a three-year contract in 1955. However, in 1958, he signed over to NRC Records, and appeared alongside Ray Stevens and Joe South, plus he met his future wife, singer Priscilla Mitchell.
Reed is well known by music fans for his C & W hits including "She Got The Goldmine (I Got The Shaft)", "Lord, Mr. Ford", "When You're Hot, You're Hot" and "East Bound and Down". After striking up a friendship with Burt Reynolds, Reed was cast in small roles in W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975), and Gator (1976). He had a natural on-screen charm, and Reynolds picked him to play trucker "Cledus Snow" in the hugely popular Smokey and the Bandit (1977), plus he returned to the role in Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983).
More recently, Reed has been seen in Bat*21 (1988) and The Waterboy (1998).- Actress
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Country singer Jeannie C. Riley, was born as Jeanne Carolyn Stephenson on October 19, 1945 in rural Anson, Texas. Her father was an automobile mechanic and her mother was a nurse. Jeannie fell in love with country music while growing up in Texas and made her public debut as a teenager on her guitarist uncle Johnny Moore's local jamboree show. She married husband Mickey Riley while still in high school. Her daughter, Kim Michelle Riley, was born on January 11, 1966.
The Riley family moved to Nashville, Tennessee later in the year. Jeannie worked as a secretary at Passkey Records while recording demos on the side. Her debut single "What About Them" was a flop. However, Riley scored a massive smash in 1968 with the marvelously sharp comical, sassy, embarrassing & exasperating (others see it different, in their own eyes, ways & personalities), Tom T. Hall's composition of "Harper Valley PTA". The song was a huge crossover success. It peaked on both the pop and country charts, on the Nielsen Top 40, that Casey Kasem counted down, on radio stations all across North America, alike at #1, thus making Riley the first female country singer to have a hit single simultaneously soar to the #1 spot on both the Nielsen pop & country charts.
Riley not only won the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance (she was also nominated for Grammys as "Best New Artist" & "Record of the Year"), Harper Valley P.T.A. also won the Single of the Year from the Country Music Association. In addition, the song inspired a 1969 TV musical variety program with Riley as the host, a 1978 film adaptation starring Barbara Eden, and an early 1980s spin-off sitcom that also starred Eden. Riley's follow-up singles "The Girl Most Likely", "Country Girl", "Oh, Singer", and "Good Enough to be Your Wife", were all Top 10 country hits.
At the height of her popularity in the early 1970s, Riley made guest appearances on numerous TV shows. In the mid-1970 decade, Jeannie became a born-again Christian and formed the Red River Symphony band, which had a minor hit in 1976 with "The Best I Ever Had". She continued to remain a popular contemporary Christian music singer throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Following a taxing six year battle with clinical depression, Riley has bounced back and hosts her own weekly radio show, "Inside Nashville Country".- Music Artist
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Born in Houston, Texas on August 21, 1938, Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, actor, record producer and entrepreneur Kenneth Ray Rogers was the fourth of eight children born to a carpenter father who worked in a shipyard and a mother who was a hospital nurse's assistant. Of humble Irish and Native American heritage, the boy grew up in the poorer section of Houston, but would become the first member of his family to graduate from high school.
Kenny took an early interest in singing and, as a teenager, joined a doo-wop recording group called "The Scholars". The group recorded the song "Poor Little Doggie," and Kenny, age 19, recorded his first solo song, "That Crazy Feeling," for a small Houston label, Carlton Records, and his career was off and running. He subsequently joined the "New Christy Minstrels" 1966 as a singer and double bass/bass guitar player, then splintered off with others from the popular folk music group a year later to form the rock group "The First Edition," an eclectic-styled rock band whose repertoire included rock and roll, R&B, folk and country.
The First Edition's first Billboard hit, "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" (1968) was a psychedelic rock song which peaked at #5, and was followed by the more popular soft-rock hit "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" (1969) which hit #6 on the US charts and made them a star attraction. Other successes would include "Reuben James" (1969, #26), "Something's Burning" (1970, #11) and "Tell It All Brother" (1970, #17). By this time, the dark-haired, husky-framed, ear-pierced singer's ingratiating personality and sensual gravel tones, affectionately dubbed "Hippie Kenny," had taken center stage and the group changed their name to "Kenny Rogers and the First Edition" in 1969. The First Edition enjoyed worldwide success, appeared on such popular shows as "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," had featured roles in the TV movie The Dream Makers (1975) and went on to host the syndicated TV variety series Rollin' on the River (1971).
Sadly, the pressures of taping a weekly show caused extreme friction within the group and eventually took its toll. After a couple more years of producing songs that couldn't reach the "Top 20," the group decided to disband in 1976 and, inevitable as it was, Kenny went solo. It didn't take long before he started chalking up a string of country-tinged 'Top 20' pop hits with "Lucille" (#5), "Don't Fall in Love With a Dreamer" (#4, with Kim Carnes), "Through the Years" (#13), "We've Got Tonight" (#6, with Sheena Easton) and his two #1 hit sellers "Islands in the Stream" (with Dolly Parton) and "Lady." By the late 1970s, the (now) silver fox had sold over $100 million worth of records. He also made popular hit duets with both country female stars (Parton and Dottie West) as well as the distaff pop elite (Kim Carnes and Sheena Easton).
Into the 1980's Kenny began to feel a downswing in his singing career. After charting lower and lower, he wisely branched off into other successful areas. In 1980, he touched off a modest, lightweight, but highly appealing acting career starting with the Southern-styled TV-movie The Gambler (1980), based on his #1 1979 Grammy-winning song hit. The feature had Kenny starring as poker-playing card shark Brady Hawkes, who attempts to unite with a son he never knew. This led to four equally popular sequels -- Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues (1983), Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues (1987), The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (1991) and Gambler V: Playing for Keeps (1994). Two other old-fashioned western TV movies followed. The first was also based on a hit Kenny Rogers song, Coward of the County (1981), (Country, #3) in which he played a town preacher who tries to mentor his young "cowardly" nephew. The second, Wild Horses (1985), had him starring as a has-been rodeo champion looking for personal fulfillment herding wild mustangs.
Kenny also tried to parlay his popularity as a major country singer into a conservative film career. There would only be one starring role. In Six Pack (1982), Kenny stars as a race car driver who tangles with six roughhouse orphans. Instead, he was back to TV-movies where he went on to appear as himself in two TV country-flavored biopics -- Big Dreams & Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story (1995) and Get to the Heart: The Barbara Mandrell Story (1997). He also put out the folksy yuletide offering Christmas in America (1990) which had his real-life son Kenneth Rogers co-starring in a father-son strained relationship; and the western Rio Diablo (1993) in which he he essays the role of a nice-guy bounty hunter assisting a revengeful groom country singer Travis Tritt in a search for of kidnapped bride. Another then-reigning country star, Naomi Judd, was featured as a colorful madam.
In addition to a few acting appearances on TV with "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," "Touched by an Angel" and "How I Met Your Mother," Kenny also became a perennial star or guest of TV specials and seasonal events over the years, including Kenny Rogers and the First Edition: Rollin' on the River (1971), A Christmas Special... With Love, Mac Davis (1979), Kenny Rogers Live in Concert (1983), Kenny & Dolly: A Christmas to Remember (1984), Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton Together (1985), Kenny, Dolly and Willie: Something Inside So Strong (1989), Kenny Rogers Going Home (1995), Live by Request: Kenny Rogers (1999) and Consequence (2007). He also hosted two TV documentary series: The Real West (1992) and High Point Casinos of the World (2003).
In addition, Kenny published several books on photography and opened a rotisserie-chicken fast-food franchise (Kenny Rogers Roasters). Less and less visible in the ensuing years, Kenny produced the 1999 album "She Rides Wild Horses", which peaked at #6 on the country charts, his highest in 15 years, and included the #1 single "Buy Me a Rose."
Spending much of his free time over the years breeding Arabian horses and cattle on a 1,200-acre Georgia farm, Kenny's seemed to settle with his fifth wife Wanda Miller, whom he married in 1997. He had five children altogether and his namesake, son, Kenneth Rogers, left acting and briefly launched his own singing career in 1989 with "Take Another Step Closer". He now is on the business end of entertainment providing music for TV and movies.
Kenny made one last concert tour, "The Gambler's Last Deal," in 2015 and it was running worldwide, with visits including Australia, Scotland, Ireland, England, The Netherlands and Switzerland, as well as the U.S., until his health, plagued by bouts of bladder cancer and hepatitis C, failed him and he was forced to retire in 2018. The 81-year-old legend died on March 20, 2020, under hospice care at his home in Sandy Springs, Georgia.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Widely regarded as one of country music's finest female vocalists, Connie Smith had a blockbuster smash right off the bat with her first record release in 1964, "Once A Day", a song that remained at number one on the charts for several months. Virtually every other record Smith released for the next decade was a top ten smash for her and she also racked up numerous Grammy award nominations. Smith remained one of country's top female stars into the late 1970's when she decided to step back a bit from the limelight. Her personal life has been less smooth than her career at times with three failed marriages although she has been happily married to country star Marty Stuart, seventeen years her junior, since 1997. Her powerhouse vocals thrill audiences as much as ever as she enters her seventies and moves toward 50th anniversary of career in music.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Ray Stevens was born on 24 January 1939 in Clarkdale, Georgia, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Cannonball Run (1981), 28 Days (2000) and Cannonball Run II (1984).- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Hank Thompson was born on 3 September 1925 in Waco, Texas, USA. He is known for Every Which Way But Loose (1978), Slither (2006) and The Last Picture Show (1971). He was married to Ann Williams and Dorothy Ray. He died on 6 November 2007 in Keller, Texas, USA.- Actor
- Composer
- Producer
Mel Tillis was born on 8 August 1932 in Tampa, Florida, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for The Cannonball Run (1981), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) and Every Which Way But Loose (1978). He was married to Julia Ann Edwards and Doris Yvonne Duckworth. He died on 19 November 2017 in Ocala, Florida, USA.- The Texas Troubadours is known for Hollywood Barn Dance (1947), Jingle, Jangle, Jingle (1948) and The Jimmy Dean Show (1963).
- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Conway Twitty was born on 1 September 1933 in Friars Point, Mississippi, USA. He was a music artist and actor, known for Limitless (2011), Punch-Drunk Love (2002) and Hollywoodland (2006). He was married to Dolores Virginia Henry, Temple Medley and Ellen Matthews. He died on 5 June 1993 in Springfield, Missouri, USA.- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Leroy VanDyke was born on 4 October 1929 in Spring Fork, Missouri, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for What Am I Bid? (1967), Opry Video Classics: Songs That Topped the Charts (2007) and Michal Tucný: Prodavac (1975).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Kitty Wells was born on 30 August 1919 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. She was an actress, known for The Blues Brothers (1980), Mississippi Burning (1988) and Crazy Heart (2009). She was married to Johnny Wright. She died on 16 July 2012 in Madison, Tennessee, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Dottie West was one of country music's greatest female stars for 30 years. Her career began in 1959 when she made her first recording for Starday Records. She first made the national charts in 1963 and the following year had a blockbuster country hit with "Here Comes My Baby Back Again" which would earn her the Best Country Female Vocal Grammy Award. Her hits continued through the rest of the 1960's and into the 1970's, a highpoint being her song "Country Sunshine" in 1973 which earned her two more Grammy nominations and was used in an iconic Coca-Cola commercial.
In 1978 she recorded a duet album with pop/country superstar Kenny Rogers that brought her even greater fame and many awards, and launched Dottie's solo career to even new heights including three number records and her hits crossing over to chart on the pop/rock charts as well. This new music super-stardom for Dottie led to multiple appearances on all the major variety and talk shows of the era as well as acting gigs on "The Dukes of Hazard", "The Fall Guy" and "The Love Boat".
Dottie's career began to recede by 1985 with the last of her hits and fewer television appearances. She died in 1991 from injuries in a car accident at age 58 but will always be remembered as one of the great queens of country music.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Faron Young was born on 25 February 1932 in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Country Style, U.S.A. (1957), The Spectacular Now (2013) and Walk the Line (2005). He was married to Hilda Margo Macon. He died on 10 December 1996 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.