Country GOLD NEWS

🌟 Remembering Jim Ed Brown

June 11, 2015

Today we pause to remember Jim Ed Brown — a true gentleman of country music whose voice, kindness, and steady presence became part of the fabric of the Grand Ole Opry and the lives of countless listeners.

From his early days with The Browns, to his solo hits, to his warm and welcoming years behind the microphone, Jim Ed carried himself with a grace that never faded. He had a way of making every song feel personal and every story feel like it was meant just for you.

On this day, we honor his legacy, his music, and the gentle spirit he shared with the world.

Gone, but never forgotten.

  The Mother Road Route 66 is Celebrating 100 Years Old,  Chicago to LA 

1936
American harmonica player and string band leader Humphrey Bate died of a heart attack. He was the first musician to play old-time music on Nashville-area radio. Bate and his band, which had been given the name "Dr. Humphrey Bate & His Possum Hunters" by Opry founder George D. Hay, were regulars on the Grand Ole Opry until Bate's death in 1936.

1937
Born on this day, was Chips Moman, American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. As a record producer, Moman is known for recording Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Gary Stewart, Tammy Wynette and Ronnie Milsap. Moman died on 13 June 2016, the day after his 79th birthday.

1952
Born on this day in Kirksville, Indiana, was Junior Brown, country guitarist and singer. Brown's signature instrument is the "guit-steel" double neck guitar, a hybrid of electric guitar and lap steel guitar. In 1996 he won the CMA Country Music Video of the Year for his video, "My Wife Thinks You're Dead," which featured 6-foot-7-inch Gwendolyn Gillingham.

1954
Ferlin Husky was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. In the 1950s and '60s, his hits included "Gone" and "Wings of a Dove", each reaching #1 on the country charts. Between 1953 and 1975, he had 11 top 10 hits, two dozen top 20 hits and a total of 50 songs in Billboard magazine's top 100 country songs.

1973
Dolly Parton recorded "I Will Always Love You" during sessions at RCA's Studio B in Nashville. Parton wrote the song for her one-time partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, from whom she was separating professionally after a seven-year partnership. When released in March 1974 the song reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Whitney Houston's version of the song for the 1992 film The Bodyguard holds the record for being the best-selling single by a woman in music history.

1977
Waylon Jennings was at #1 on the US country album charts with Ol' Waylon. The album features one of his signature songs, a track featuring Willie Nelson called "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)", as well as the Neil Diamond song "Sweet Caroline", a version of Kenny Rogers' "Lucille" and a medley of the two Arthur Crudup songs previous recorded by Elvis.

1978
Johnny Bond died aged 63. Best known for his 1947 hit "Divorce Me C.O.D.", one of his seven top ten hits on the Billboard country charts. In 1965 at the age of 50, he scored the biggest hit of his career with the comic "Ten Little Bottles", which spent four weeks at #2. Bond's other hits include "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed" (1947), "Oklahoma Waltz" (1948), "Love Song in 32 Bars" (1950), "Sick Sober and Sorry" (1951) and "Hot Rod Lincoln" (1960).

1985
Born on this day, was Chris Young, country music artist who in 2006 was declared the winner of the television program Nashville Star, a singing competition which aired on the USA Network. His self-titled debut album produced two singles: "Drinkin' Me Lonely" and "You're Gonna Love Me". From his second album, "Voices", "Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)", and "The Man I Want to Be"; reached #1 on the country singles chart. He scored another #1 with "Tomorrow" off his Neon album and in February 2012 he had his fifth straight #1 with "You".

1988
Randy Travis was at #1 on the US Country charts with, "I Told You So", taken from his 1988 album Always & Forever. Carrie Underwood released a cover version of the song on her 2007 album Carnival Ride.

2002
The inaugural 2002 CMT Flameworthy Awards (now known as the CMT Music Awards) took place in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Video of the Year went to Kenny Chesney for "Young", Martina McBride won Female Video of the Year for "Blessed". Chris Cagle won Breakthrough Video of the Year for "I Breathe In, I Breathe Out". Hottest Video of the Year went to Tim McGraw for "The Cowboy in Me" and the Laugh out Loud Video of the Year was won by Toby Keith for "I Wanna Talk About Me".

2004
Canadian country music singer Terri Clark was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. She was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2018 and became a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2023.

2007
Toby Keith released his eleventh studio album Big Dog Daddy which became his fifth #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. This was also the first album of Keith's career that he produced entirely on his own.

2017
Dolly Parton made the Forbes Rich list for the first time thanks to a 63 date tour and income from her Dollywood theme park. Forbes listed the Country singers earrings at $37m over the previous year.

2019
John A. Hobbs, a key figure in the development of Nashville's Music Valley district, died age 91. He helped develop the former Rudy's Farm site into what's now known as Music Valley, the shopping, entertainment and hotel district surrounding the Grand Ole Opry.

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