October Highlights
10-1-1932 Bonnie Owens 1929-2006, was born Bonnie Campbell in Blanchard, Oklahoma. Bonnie is the former wife of Buck Owens, and Merle Haggard. Bonnie and Buck are “Together Again” in the Owens family Mausoleum at Greenlawn Southwest Cemetery, in Bakersfield, California.
10-2-1971 Bill Anderson and Becky Stegall Davis were married.
10-3-1988 Marty Haggard, recording artist, son of Merle Haggard, was critically injured in a head-on automobile crash while driving to a performance in Arkansas. Marty was thrown through the windshield, and it was four years before he was able to perform again.
10-4-2004 George Hampton, driver of Toby Keith’s band bus, was shot while driving the vehicle through Carrollton, Texas. Hampton was able to stop the vehicle safely, and he was transported to a Dallas hospital. Department of Public Safety investigators believe the shooting was a random drive-by incident. The tour bus had no exterior marking identifying it as Toby’s bus.
10-5-1925 On October, 5, 1925, at 7:00 PM, WSM was born, when Edwin Craig spoke the following words into the microphone; “This is WSM, ‘We Shield Millions.’ The National Life and Accident Insurance Company.”
10-6-1996 Theron Eugene “Ted” Daffan 1912-1996, age 84, singer, songwriter, guitarist, steel guitar player and bandleader, died of cancer in Houston, Texas. Ted was inducted into NSHF in 1970,and the Western Swing Society’s Hall of Fame in 1994. He made his first recordings in San Antonio in 1937. His first #1 as a songwriter was “Truck Drivers Blues” in 1939. A sampling of Ted Daffan penned songs: “Born To Lose,” “I’m A Fool To Care,” “I’ve Got Five Dollars and It’s Saturday Night,” “No Letter Today,” “Worried Mind.”
10-7-1870 Uncle Dave Macon 1870-1952, banjo player, recording artist, singer, and songwriter “The Dixie Dewdrop” was born in Warren County, Tennessee. Uncle Dave Macon was the second person hired by Judge George D. Hay as a cast member of the WSM Barn Dance in 1925. Uncle Jimmy Thompson was the first. Uncle Dave Macon was inducted into the CMHF in 1966.
10-8-2002 Trace Adkins was injured, when the tractor he was riding rolled over, pinning him to the ground. Trace sustained a few other injuries prior to joining the Grand Ole Opry in 2003: His nose was severed in a traffic accident; left finger cut off in the oil fields, shot through the heart and lung by one of his wives. Trace Adkins is a pretty tough cowboy.
10-9-1937 The Belmont Brothers duet made their debut appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. The brothers lived in Nashville, and this would be their only Opry appearance. A young man by the name of Roy Acuff, and his band The Crazy Tennesseans auditioned on this evenings Opry show for George D. Hay. The Judge was not impressed, and sent them back to Knoxville. Roy later admitted that he didn't do a very good job that night. In February the following year, Roy and the band would get another opportunity. Hay was on medical leave from WSM, and Harry Stone, the president of WSM, and manager of the Opry during Hay's absence was impressed with Acuff. Stone hired Roy as a member of the cast, and suggested he change the name of his band. They came up with The Smokey Mountain Boys. The rest is history.
10-10-1940 Vernon Presley, father of Elvis was released from Mississippi’s Parchman prison, after serving almost two and a half years on a forgery conviction. During his incarceration , Elvis and Gladys were on welfare.
10-11-1949 Dottie Marsh a.k.a. Dottie West 1932-1991, (today, on her 17th birthday) told the staff at her school, and later the police, that her father had been forcing her to have sex with him for years. As a result, her father was sentenced to forty years in the Tennessee State Prison.
10-12-1981 The CMA Awards were presented in Nashville. Grant Turner and Vernon Dalhart were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Barbara Mandrell becomes the first artist to be named the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year, two years in a row.
10-13-1942 - Acuff-Rose Publications was founded in 1942. The formal partnership agreement was between Fred Rose, and Roy Acuff’s wife Mildred. Mildred handled all of Roy's business matters. Mr. Roy said many times that Mildred did a lot more for him, than he ever did for her.
10-14-1946 Grandpa Jones and Ramona Riggins were married.
10-15-1952 Hank Williams, and former girl friend Bobbie Jett, signed an agreement stating that Hank, and his mother Lillie, would be responsible for Bobbie’s unborn child. The child was named Cathy, and later “Jett Williams.” Bobbie Jett died in California in 1974.
10-16-1984 Don Reno 1926~1984, age 58, of “Reno & Smiley” died in Charlottesville, Virginia. Don was a singer, songwriter, and banjo player. He recorded for Monument Records. Don Reno was laid to rest in Spring Hill Cemetery, in Lynchburg, Virginia.
10-17-1991 Tennessee Ernie Ford 1919-1991, became ill after attending a state dinner at the White House, and died in Reston, Virginia. Inducted into the CMHF in 1990. Ernie Ford was laid to rest in Alta Mesa Memorial Park, Palo Alto, California.
10-18-1952 Hank Williams married Billie Jean Jones Eshliman, in Minden, Louisiana. The following day they repeated the wedding ceremony in two separate public appearances. Some folks say the last two ceremonies were Hank’s attempt to spite Audrey. After his death, a judge ruled the wedding was not legal due to the fact that Billie Jean’s divorce did not become final until eleven days after she married Hank. A Federal Judge would overrule this decision in 1975.
10-19-1991 Grant Turner 1912-1991, age 79, a favorite son of the state of Texas, and The Dean of WSM Announcers died in Nashville. Grant was loved by everyone who ever met him. His career at WSM began on D Day, June 6, 1944. Inducted into the CMDJHF in 1975., and the CMHF in 1981. Grant was laid to rest in Williamson Memorial Gardens in Nashville.
10-20-1949 Vernon, Gladys, and Elvis Presley moved to a federally funded housing project in Memphis, after Vernon was caught hauling illegal whiskey for a bootlegger in Tupelo.
10-21-1933 Mel Street 1933-1978, was born King Malachi “Mel" Street in Grundy, Virginia. The singer, songwriter, and guitarist placed 19 singles on the country charts during his lifetime, and 5 more after his death. Mel took his own life on his 45th birthday at his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Later that same day his 19th chart record hit the Billboard Country chart. Mel was laid to rest in Woodlawn Memorial Park, in Nashville.
10-22-1975 A Federal Judge ruled in Atlanta, that Billie Jean’s marriage to Hank Williams was valid, and 50% of Hank’s future royalties belonged to her. A few days after the judge’s decision Audrey Williams died in her sleep, one day before the IRS was scheduled to seize her home. I have not read the death certificate, but I’m pretty sure in Nashville it would read “death by natural causes.”
10-23-1992 Roy Acuff the King of Country Music, made his final appearance on his beloved Grand Ole Opry. One month later Mr. Roy passed away.
10-24-2003 Rosey Nix Carter Adams 1958-2003, age 45, daughter of June Carter Cash and Edwin “Rip” Nix, was found dead, along with bluegrass musician Jimmy Campbell, in a converted School Bus. Cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning. Rosey was Johnny Cash’s step-daughter; Mother Maybelle’s granddaughter; John Carter Cash and Carlene Carter’s half-sister; and step-sister of Rosanne, Cindy, Tara and Kathy Cash. Rosey was laid to rest in Hendersonville Memory Gardens, Hendersonville, Tennessee, next to Johnny and June Carter Cash.
10-25-1992 Roger Miller 1936-1992, age 56, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and TV host died from lung cancer at the Century City Hospital in Los Angeles. Roger was inducted into the NSHF in 1973 and won a Tony Award in 1985 for the music he wrote for the Broadway production of "Big River." Induction into the CMHF came posthumously in 1995. Roger Miller was cremated in California. Shortly before his death, Roger told a visitor in his hospital room; “You know that’s just my luck. I finally reach a point in my life when I could use some spare parts, and California passes a helmet law.” Roger Miller was a genius, and is missed by everyone who knew him.
10-26-1969 Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter were married.
10-27-1934 The Grand Ole Opry moved from WSM’s Studio C, to Nashville’s Hillsboro Theatre. The Hillsboro seated 2,400 people, and for the first time the stars would have dressing rooms. At this time the artists were instructed to wear costumes on the show. The opening night at the Hillsboro Theatre was Vito Pellettiere’s debut as the Opry’s first stage manager. Mr. Pellettiere’s contribution to the success of the Opry over the next forty years (1934~1974) cannot be overstated.
10-28-1936 Charlie Daniels American patriot, singer, songwriter, guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and banjo player was born in Wilmington, North Carolina. Charlie was the CMA Musician of the Year in 1979. He charted thirty-four country singles on Billboard’s country charts between 1973~2003, and fourteen albums, including the #1 Epic Album “Million Mile Reflections.” Charlie Daniels loves his country, and the brave men and women who protect it. After Stonewall Jackson filed a lawsuit against the Grand Ole Opry charging them with age discrimination, the Opry invited Charlie to become a member. Could it be possible that this very talented artist was invited to join the Opry at the suggestion of one of the Opry's lawyers? Charlie Daniels should have been an Opry member years ago, but the timing of this invitation smells to high heaven…almost as bad as the music now being played on it's stage.
10-29-1931 Gene Autry recorded “That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine."
10-30-1941 Ernest Tubb, age 27, recorded six songs today at Biggs Studio in Dallas, Texas. “Walking The Floor Over You” was the first song recorded, and became The Texas Troubadour’s first big hit. Dave Kapp produced the session, which included Ernest Tubb on Vocals, & Rhythm guitar; Fay Smith on Steel & Lead guitar. The names of any other session players have been lost to the ages. Twenty-four years and eleven months later, Decca Records honored E.T. at a party in New York City. The occasion celebrated Ernest’s twenty-fifth anniversary as a Decca recording artist, and finally, E.T. was presented a gold record for “Walking The Floor Over You.”
10-31-1990 Carl Belew 1931~1990, age 59, died from cancer in Salina, Oklahoma. Cast member of the “Louisiana Hayride” and inducted into the NSHF in 1976. Carl wrote, or co-wrote the following songs. Am I That Easy to Forget; What's He Doing in My World; Stop the World and Let Me Off; Help Stamp Out Loneliness; Lonely Street; Don't Squeeze My Sharmon, and more. Carl recorded for Four Star Records.
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Sujet: October Highlights