Gold Country NEWS

1915
Born on this day was American musical arranger, trumpeter, band leader, and musical director Bill McElhiney. As a performer, his most notable contribution was the signature trumpet parts on Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire". He was one of the most prominent musical arrangers in Nashville during the 1960s and 1970s, doing arrangements for Brenda Lee ("I'm Sorry"), Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison, Danny Davis, Marty Robbins, and Dolly Parton. He died on 9 February 2002.

1921
Lawyers for Texan Tyler Pride announced he had filed suit to share in the estate of country music legend Charley Pride. In the process, the public became aware that Charley Pride had fathered a child outside his marriage in the 1970s. According to Tyler, his mother met Pride when she was a flight attendant, and their affair went on for ten years.

1950
George Jones married his first wife Dorothy Bonvillion, the couple divorced slightly more than a year later.

1957
Don Gibson was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. Gibson wrote such country standards as "Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjoyed a string of country hits ("Oh Lonesome Me") from 1957 into the mid-1970s. Gibson was nicknamed "The Sad Poet" because he frequently wrote songs that told of loneliness and lost love.

1968
Charley Pride was at #1 on the Country album charts with The Country Way. Pride went on to score thirty-nine #1 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His greatest success came in the early-to mid-1970s, when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis Presley.

1974
Freddy Fender was at #1 on the Country music album chart with his first album Before The Next Teardrop Falls. The album includes the #1 hits "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights."

1976
CBS aired Glen Campbell... Down Home--Down Under pairing Campbell with guest Olivia Newton-John on "Happy Together." The two join Australian pop band Sherbet for "Let Me Be There," and Campbell sings a medley of "Country Boy (You Got Your Feet In L.A.)" and "Rhinestone Cowboy" with Aussie duo Bill & Boyd.

1983
The Oak Ridge Boys were at #1 on the US country album chart with Deliver, their tenth studio release. The album included two hit singles: "Ozark Mountain Jubilee" and "I Guess It Never Hurts to Hurt Sometimes", the latter of which reached #1 on Hot Country Songs.

1985
Born on this day, was Jon Pardi, American country music singer/songwriter who in April 2012 released his debut single, "Missin' You Crazy." His second single, released in April 2013 became his first Top 20 hit on the US Billboard Country Airplay chart.

1990
Clint Black was at #1 on the country chart with his debut album Killin' Time. The album with the success of its first four singles, ("A Better Man", "Walking Away", "Nobody's Home", and "Killin' Time"), was a huge hit upon release, and established Black as one of the biggest new stars in country music.

1993
The long runnung TV show Cheers made its final prime-time appearance. Sam Malone's bar includes a Wurlitzer jukebox that plays Patsy Cline's "I Fall To Pieces".

2000
Faith Hill's "The Way You Love Me" started a four-week run at #1 on the Billboard country chart. It was her second #1 country single from her album Breathe and her 8th #1 country single overall.

2008
American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman Jimmy Dean donated $1 million to Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas. It was the largest donation the college has ever received.

2011
Sara Evans was at #1 on the Country chart with "A Little Bit Stronger" the lead-off single from her album Stronger. The song was also included on the soundtrack for the 2010 movie Country Strong and released as the second single from the film's soundtrack album.

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