August 7th: On this day

1925
Born on this day, was Felice Bryant, songwriter with her husband Boudleaux. They wrote the Everly Brothers hits, “All I Have To Do Is Dream”, “Bye Bye Love”, “Wake Up Little Susie” and “Raining In My Heart” a hit for Buddy Holly. Many other artists have recorded their songs including Charley Pride, Gram Parsons, Ray Charles, Jim Reeves, and Red Foley.

1942
Born on this day in Hugo, Oklahoma, B. J. Thomas. His 1966, album with The Triumphs I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry sold over one million copies. He is best known for his version of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David song “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”, which was featured in the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. In 1975 he scored the US Country #1 “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song.”

1945
Born on this day in Vancouver, British Columbia was musician and songwriter Kerry Chater, best known as a member of Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, but also a successful Nashville songwriter for many years penning such #1 hits as “You’re the First Time I’ve Thought About Leaving” for Reba McEntire, “If I Had You” for Alabama and “You Look So Good in Love” for George Strait.

1948
Hank Williams made his debut on Louisiana Hayride broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, performing “Move It On Over,” and “I want to Live and Love.”

1950
Born on this day in Crosby, Texas, was Rodney Crowell, Grammy Award-winning guitarist and producer who played guitar and sang for three years in Emmylou Harris’ “Hot Band”. He was married to Rosanne Cash (daughter of Johnny Cash); from 1979 to 1992 who together had the 1988 Country #1 hit “It’s Such a Small World.”

1954
Johnny Cash married Vivian Liberto at St Ann’s Catholic Church in Memphis. The couple had four daughters: Rosanne (born May 24, 1955); Kathleen (born April 16, 1956); Cindy (born July 29, 1958); and Tara (born August 24, 1961). The couple divorced in late 1967. During their courtship, Cash and Liberto wrote each other over 10,000 pages of love letters, forming the basis of her autobiography, titled I Walked the Line: My Life with Johnny, which was published in 2007.

1959
Born on this day in Tucson, Arizona, was Michael Peterson, country music singer, songwriter. His 1997 self-titled debut album, produced five Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot Country charts, including the #1 hit “From Here to Eternity”.

1962
Patsy Cline released her third studio album Sentimentally Yours, the final album Cline recorded before her death in a plane crash less than a year later. Also on this day Patsy Cline appeared on Pet Milk Grand Ole Opry performing “A Church, A Courtroom, Then Goodbye”, “You’re Stronger Than Me,” and “So Wrong.”

1965
Born on this day Miami, Florida, was Raul Malo lead singer of country music group The Mavericks and the co-writer of many of their singles, as well as Rick Trevino’s 2003 single “In My Dreams”.

1982
“Yesterday’s Wine” a duet by George Jones and Merle Haggard was released which peaked at #1 on the Country charts. Written by Willie Nelson (and the title track of the 1971 album of the same name by Nelson), the song inspired the title of their first duet LP by Jones and Haggard, A Taste of Yesterday’s Wine.

2011
Marshall Grant, upright bassist and electric bassist with Johnny Cash’s original backing duo, the Tennessee Two, died at the age of 83. Grant was in Jonesboro, Arkansas attending a festival to restore the childhood home of Johnny Cash when he became ill. The group became known as The Tennessee Three in 1960, with the addition of drummer W. S. Holland. Grant also served as road manager for Cash and his touring show company.

2012
Randy Travis was arrested after being found naked, smelling apparently of alcohol and lying on a remote stretch of roadway in northern Texas just before midnight. He was charged with driving while intoxicated and felony retaliation, after allegedly threatening to fatally shoot highway patrol troopers who responded to a concerned caller who notified authorities of “a man lying in the roadway”.