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1961 In Country Music
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 1961. Events *March 17 – September 22 — NBC-TV airs ''Five Star Jubilee'', a weekly show featuring five rotating hosts: Rex Allen, Snooky Lanson, Tex Ritter, Carl Smith and Jimmy Wakely. *June 14 — Patsy Cline is seriously injured after a car accident. While in the hospital, the song "I Fall to Pieces" becomes a huge country-pop crossover hit. No dates *The Country Music Association (CMA) develops and finalizes plans for the new Country Music Hall of Fame, to honor performers and others who were influential in the history of the genre. The first three inductees, honored on November 3, are all posthumous: ** Jimmie Rodgers, a songwriter who – despite poor health – merged hillbilly and blues music into a revolutionary new sound. ** Fred Rose, a pioneering song publisher who formed the Acuff-Rose music publishing company in the 1940s. Also a talented songwriter, and record producer/executive. ** Hank ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Five Star Jubilee
''Five Star Jubilee'' is an American country music variety show carried by NBC-TV from March 17–September 22, 1961. The live program, a spin-off of ABC-TV's '' Jubilee USA'', was the first network color television series to originate outside New York City or Hollywood. From March 17 to May 5, the weekly show aired on Fridays from 8–8:30 p.m. Eastern Time, but moved to 8:30–9 p.m. from May 12 to September 22. The series featured five rotating hosts: Snooky Lanson (first show March 17), Tex Ritter (March 24), Rex Allen (March 31), Jimmy Wakely (April 7) and Carl Smith (April 14). All five appeared on the May 12 show, which was the first in color. Produced from the Landers Theatre in Springfield, Missouri, the program was similar to ''Jubilee USA'' and featured some of the same cast, including Bobby Lord, Cecil Brower, Speedy Haworth and Slim Wilson's Jubilee Band. Barbara Mandrell (who had toured with Red Foley and a ''Jubilee USA'' personal appearance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Horton
John LaGale Horton (April 30, 1925 – November 5, 1960) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Initially performing traditional country, Horton later performed rockabilly songs. He is best known for a series of history-inspired narrative country saga songs that became international hits. His 1959 single "The Battle of New Orleans" was awarded the 1960 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording. The song was awarded the Grammy Hall of Fame Award and in 2001 ranked No. 333 of the Recording Industry Association of America's " Songs of the Century". His first No. 1 country song was in 1959, " When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)". He had two successes in 1960 with both "Sink the Bismarck" and " North to Alaska," the latter used over the opening credits to the John Wayne film of the same name. Horton died in November 1960 at the peak of his fame in a traffic collision, less than two years after his breakthrough. Horton is a member of the Rockabilly H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Dean
Jimmy Ray Dean (August 10, 1928 – June 13, 2010) was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. He was the creator of the Jimmy Dean sausage brand as well as the spokesman for its TV commercials. He became a national television personality starting on CBS in 1957. He rose to fame for his 1961 country music crossover hit into rock and roll with " Big Bad John" and his 1963 television series '' The Jimmy Dean Show'' gave puppeteer Jim Henson his first national exposure with his character, Rowlf. His acting career included appearing in the early seasons in the ''Daniel Boone'' TV series as the sidekick of the famous frontiersman played by star Fess Parker. Later he was on the big screen in a supporting role as billionaire Willard Whyte in the James Bond film '' Diamonds Are Forever'' (1971), starring Sean Connery. He lived near Richmond, Virginia, and was nominated for the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010, but died before his induction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Bad John
"Big Bad John" is a country song originally performed by Jimmy Dean, who wrote and composed it. It was released in September 1961 and by the beginning of November it had gone to number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It won Dean the 1962 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. The song and its sequels tell a story typical of American folklore, reminiscent of Paul Bunyan or John Henry. ''Big Bad John'' was also the title of a 1990 television movie starring Dean. Story The song is about a mysterious and quiet miner who earns the nickname Big John because of his height, weight, and muscular physique – ''"He stood six foot six and weighed 245".'' He apparently hails from New Orleans, where, with "a crashin' blow from a huge right hand", he allegedly killed a man in a fight over a Cajun Queen. One day, a support timber cracks at the mine where John works. The situation looks hopeless until John "grabbed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leroy Van Dyke
Leroy Frank Van Dyke (born October 4, 1929) is an American country music and honky-tonk singer and guitarist, best known for his hits " The Auctioneer" (1956) and " Walk on By" (1961). Biography Van Dyke was born in Mora, Missouri. He lived in Spencer, Wisconsin, and graduated from the University of Missouri majoring in agricultural journalism. He was catapulted into country music fame in 1956 with his composition "The Auctioneer", co-written with Buddy Black, which sold over 2.5 million records. He wrote the song about the life of his cousin, National Auctioneers Association Hall of Famer Ray Sims, also a Missourian. Van Dyke had the lead role of a budding country music performer in the 1967 movie ''What Am I Bid?'' in which Sims played himself as an auctioneer. In his 50 years-plus career, Van Dyke has recorded more than 500 songs, dozens of them making the charts. His record of "Walk on By" (1961) was named by ''Billboard'' magazine in 1994 as the biggest country single of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walk On By (Leroy Van Dyke Song)
"Walk on By" is a song written by Kendall Hayes and performed by American country music artist Leroy Van Dyke. It was released in June 1961 as the first single and title track from the album ''Walk On By''. The song was Van Dyke's most successful single, spending 37 weeks on the country chart and a record-breaking 19 at the number-one position. "Walk on By" crossed over to the pop chart peaking at number five, and was named by ''Billboard'' magazine, in its 100th anniversary issue (1994), as the biggest country music record in history. The 19-week run of "Walk On By" is a record that stood for 51 years until " Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line reached its 19th week at No. 1 on July 20, 2013; the following week, "Cruise" surpassed the standard when it recorded its 20th week at No. 1. Until Florida Georgia Line surpassed it in total weeks at No. 1, "Walk On By" held the record for most weeks at No. 1 since the introduction of the all-encompassing Hot Country Songs (then called Hot C& ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Lightning (George Jones Song)
"White Lightning" is a song written by the rockabilly artist J. P. Richardson, best known by his stage name, the Big Bopper. The song was recorded by American country music artist George Jones and released as a single in February 1959. On April 13, 1959, Jones' version was the first number-one single of his career. The song has since been covered by numerous artists. Richardson never got to see the success of the record, as he had been killed in an airplane accident 6 days before its release. Recording and composition In his 1997 autobiography, ''I Lived To Tell It All'', Jones recalls arriving for the recording session under the influence of a great deal of alcohol and the track took approximately 80 takes. To compound matters, bassist Buddy Killen was reported to have developed blisters from replaying his part dozens of times. As a result, Killen not only threatened to quit the session, but also threatened to physically harm Jones for the painful consequences of Jones' drinki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Jones
George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", as well as his distinctive voice and phrasing. For the last two decades of his life, Jones was frequently referred to as the greatest living country singer. Country music scholar Bill Malone writes, "For the two or three minutes consumed by a song, Jones immerses himself so completely in its lyrics, and in the mood it conveys, that the listener can scarcely avoid becoming similarly involved." The shape of his nose and facial features earned Jones the nickname "The Possum". Jones has been called and had more than 160 chart singles to his name from 1955 until his death in 2013. Born in Texas, Jones first heard country music when he was seven, and was given a guitar at the age of nine. His earliest influences were Roy Acuff and Bill Monro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tender Years
"Tender Years" is a song written by American country music artist George Jones and Darrell Edwards. It became Jones' second #1 country hit. Background "Tender Years" spent seven non consecutive weeks at #1 and a total of 32 weeks on the country chart. "Tender Years" also made it to the Hot 100, peaking at number 76. Like his previous singles "Family Bible" and "Window Up Above," the recording displayed a more mature, restrained vocal approach from the one that had established him on earlier honky tonk hits such as "Why Baby Why" and "White Lightning". In the liner notes to the 1994 Mercury compilation ''Cup of Loneliness: The Classic Mercury Years'', country music historian Colin Escott argues that "Tender Years" "just about defined the territory he carved out as his own in the years ahead. 'Window Up Above,' ' Color of the Blues,' and 'Accidentally on Purpose' had all hinted at the same direction, but on 'Tender Years' the song, the production, and the performance came toget ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kitty Wells
Ellen Muriel Deason (August 30, 1919 – July 16, 2012), known professionally as Kitty Wells, was an American pioneering female country music singer. She broke down a barrier to women in country music with her 1952 hit recording "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", which also made her the first female country singer to top the U.S. country charts and turned her into the first female country superstar. “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” would also be her first of several pop crossover hits. Wells is the only artist to be awarded top female vocalist awards for 14 consecutive years. Her chart-topping hits continued until the mid 1960s, paving the way for and inspiring a long list of female country singers who came to prominence in the 1960s. Wells ranks as the sixth most successful female vocalist in the history of the ''Billboard'' country charts, according to historian Joel Whitburn's book ''The Top 40 Country Hits''. In 1976, she was inducted into the Country ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heartbreak U
Heartbreak often refers to the state of having a broken heart, a metaphor for a feeling of rejection by a loved one or of emotional devastation (as in mourning). Heartbreak or heart break may also refer to: Film & television * ''Heartbreak'' (1931 film), a film starring Charles Farrell * ''Heartbreak'' (1979 film), a Canadian drama film *“Heartbreak”, an episode of The Good Doctor Music *Heartbreak (band), an italo/electro band from the UK * ''Heart Break'' (Lady Antebellum album), 2017 ** "Heart Break" (Lady Antebellum song), 2017 *''Heart Break'', 1988 album by New Edition * ''Heartbreak'' (Bert Jansch album), 1982 * ''Heartbreak'' (Shalamar album), 1984 * "Heartbreak" (M'Black song), 2009 *"Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer)", a 2009 song by Freemasons feat. Sophie Ellis-Bextor *"Heartbreak Song", a 2016 song by Mickey Guyton *"Heartbreak", a 2012 song by Age of Consent *"Heartbreak", a song by Hunter Hayes from his 2019 album ''Wild Blue (Part I)'' * "Heartbreak" (Minho song) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faron Young
Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including " If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young" marked him as a honky-tonk singer in sound and personal style; and his chart-topping singles " Hello Walls" and " It's Four in the Morning" showed his versatility as a vocalist. Known as the Hillbilly Heartthrob, and following a singing cowboy film role as the Young Sheriff, Young's singles charted for more than 30 years. In failing health, he died by suicide at 64 in 1996. Young is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Early years Young was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, the youngest of six children of Harlan and Doris Young. He grew up on a dairy farm that his family operated outside the city. Young began singing at an early age, imagining a career as a pop singer. However, after he joined some friends watching Hank ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
