Today in 1967, Charley Pride became the first African-American solo singer to perform on the Grand Ole Opry.

Pride’s greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis Presley. During the peak years of his recording career (1966–87), he garnered 52 top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, 30 of which made it to number one.

Pride is one of the few African-Americans to have enjoyed considerable success in the country music industry and one of only three (along with DeFord Bailey and Darius Rucker) to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.

In 2010, Pride became a special investor and minority owner of the Texas Rangers Major League Baseball club.

Source: Wikipedia

Today in 1950, Sam Phillips opened the Sun Recording Studio, originally known as the Memphis Recording Service, at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis.

It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label business. Reputedly the first rock and roll single, Jackie Brenton and his Delta Cats’ “Rocket 88” was recorded there in 1951 with song composer Ike Turner on keyboards, leading the studio to claim status as the birthplace of rock & roll. Blues and R&B artists like Howlin’ Wolf, Junior Parker, Little Milton, B.B. King, James Cotton, Rufus Thomas, and Rosco Gordon recorded there in the early 1950s.

Rock and roll, country music, and rockabilly artists, including Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Charlie Feathers, Ray Harris, Warren Smith, Charlie Rich, and Jerry Lee Lewis, recorded there throughout the mid-to-late 1950s until the studio outgrew its Union Avenue location. Sam Phillips opened the larger Sam C. Phillips Recording Studio, better known as Phillips Recording, in 1959 to replace the older facility. Since Phillips had invested in the Holiday Inn Hotel chain earlier, he also recorded artists starting in 1963 on the label Holiday Inn Records for Kemmons Wilson. In 1957, Bill Justis recorded his Grammy Hall of Fame song “Raunchy” for Sam Phillips and worked as a musical director at Sun Records.

In 1969, Sam Phillips sold the label to Shelby Singleton, and there was no recording-related or label-related activity again in the building until the September 1985 Class of ’55 recording sessions with Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, produced by Chips Moman.

In 1987, the original building housing the Sun Records label and Memphis Recording Service was reopened, by Gary Hardy as “Sun Studio,” a recording label and tourist attraction that has attracted many notable artists, such as U2, Def Leppard, Bonnie Raitt, and Ringo Starr.

In 2005, Brian Setzer (of Stray Cats fame) released his Rockabilly Riot Vol. 1: A Tribute To Sun Records album. Although not recorded at Sun it did feature various Sun Records recordings including some hits and other more obscure songs. In 2007, Canadian rockabilly band the Kingmakers recorded a selection of originals and classics such as Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right” at Sun Studio, released as their first CD “Live at SUN Studio”. In May 2009, Canadian blues artist JW-Jones recorded with blues legend Hubert Sumlin, Larry Taylor and Richard Innes for his 2010 release at the studio. In July 2009, John Mellencamp recorded nine songs for his album No Better Than This at the studio. In 2011, Chris Isaak released “Beyond the Sun,” a collection of songs recorded at Sun Studio, most of which are cover versions of songs originally released on Sun Records.

Source: Wikipedia

Born on this day in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1936:  Roger Miller the singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs. His best known songs included the chart-topping country/pop hits “King of the Road”, “Dang Me” and “England Swings”, all from the mid-1960s. A lifelong cigarette smoker Miller died on October 25, 1992 of lung and throat cancer at the age of 56.

Today in 2002, Big Kenny (of Big & Rich) already $140,000 in debt, lost most of his last $200 while playing black jack in a Las Vegas casino. He gave the dealer a $20 tip, which left himself with just one buck. This event inspired him to write a future Tim McGraw hit, “Last Dollar (Fly Away).”

Today in 2001, Neal McCoy joined Wayne Newton and comedian Drew Carey to entertain American troops at the Kandahar Airport in Afghanistan as a part of the USO’s Deliver America Tour.