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1957
"Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley was at #1 on the Billboard magazine country charts. The Leiber and Stoller song which was from his third motion picture of the same name featured Mike Stoller as a piano player. "Jailhouse Rock" later became the first song to debut at #1 in Great Britain.
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December 3
Big Country News Flash
1925
Born on this day in Cantwell, Missouri was Ferlin Husky, an early American country music singer. He had two dozen Top 20 hits in the Billboard country charts between 1953 and 1975 including his version of "Wings of a Dove". He died on 17th March 2011.
1944
Born on this day in Leslie County, Kentucky, was Roger Bowling, Nashville based songwriter. His best known songs included "Lucille" (co-written with Hal Bynum), and "Coward of the County" (co-written with Billy Ed Wheeler), both recorded by Kenny Rogers, and "Blanket on the Ground", "What I've Got In Mind", and "57 Chevrolet", which were recorded by Billie Jo Spears. He died on December 26, 1982 in Georgia.
1954
Born on this day was Paul Gregg, bass guitar, background vocals with Restless Heart. 26 of their singles have entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including six that reached #1.
1967
Tammy Wynette was at #1 on the US Country singles chart with "Stand By Your Man". It proved to be the most successful record of Wynette's career and is one of the most covered songs in the history of country music. The song was placed at #1 on CMT's list of the Top 100 Country Music Songs.
1989
Connie B. Gay renowned as a "founding father" and "major force" in country music died aged 75. He is credited for coining the country music genre, which had previously been called hillbilly music. Gay was the founding president of the Country Music Association (CMA) and co-founder of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
2001
American session guitarist Grady Martin died aged 72. Member of the legendary Nashville A-Team, he played guitar on hits ranging from Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman", Marty Robbins' "El Paso" and Loretta Lynn's "Coal Miner's Daughter". During a 50-year career, Martin backed such names as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Joan Baez and J. J. Cale.
2006
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts honored Dolly Parton for her lifetime contributions to the arts. Dolly is the most honored female country performer of all time. Achieving 25 RIAA certified gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards, she has had 25 songs reach #1 on the Billboard Country charts, a record for a female artist.
2023
Scotty McCreery is invited by Garth Brooks to become the next Opry member, with his induction set for early 2024m.
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