Bluegrass Is Born – Today In Country Music History [VIDEO]
1946 And Bluegrass Was Born
Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs record for the first time with Bill Monroe in Columbia Records' Chicago studio. The day yields the original version of "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" and the chart hit "Toy Heart."
Scruggs joined Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in late 1945, and quickly popularized his syncopated, three-finger picking style. Scruggs joined a highly accomplished group that included singer/guitarist Lester Flatt, and would soon include fiddler Chubby Wise, and bassist Howard Watts. This make-up of the Bluegrass Boys is often considered to be the first bluegrass band.
In 1948 Scruggs and Flatt left Monroe's band and formed the Foggy Mountain Boys, also later known simply as Flatt and Scruggs. Flatt and Scruggs became members of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1950s.
Bill Monroe was made an honorary Kentucky colonel in 1966. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as an "early influence") in 1997. Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills, Hank Williams Sr., and Johnny Cash are the only other performers honored in all three.
2010
Carrie Underwood appeared on the Grand Ole Opry at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Her performance of "Temporary Home" was filmed for ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
2004
Alan Jackson and Martina McBride were forced to cancel a couple of shows due to the winds of Hurricane Ivan, which battered the Gulf Coast.
1992
Tanya Tucker’s album What Do I Do With Me was certified platinum. The album contained the singles "(Without You) What Do I Do with Me" (#2), "Down to My Last Teardrop" (#2), "Some Kind of Trouble" (#3), and "If Your Heart Ain't Busy Tonight" (#4).
1991
Willie Nelson marries Annie D'Angelo at St. Alouin Church in Nashville.
1986
After two decades with the Columbia Records label, Johnny Cash signed with Polygram Records.
Birthdays
Bass player Sonny Lemaire (Exile) is 67
Singer David Bellamy (The Bellamy Brothers) is 64.
Singer/songwriter Terry McBride (McBride & the Ride) is 56.