This day in 1995: Charlie Rich died in his sleep in a Hammond, Louisiana motel. The cause of death was listed as a blood clot in a lung. He was 62.

In the later part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname the Silver Fox. He is perhaps best remembered for a pair of 1973 hits, “Behind Closed Doors” and “The Most Beautiful Girl”. “The Most Beautiful Girl” topped the U.S. country singles charts, as well as the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles charts and earned him two Grammy Awards. Rich was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2015.

Epic Records signed Rich in 1967, mainly on the recommendation of producer Billy Sherrill. Sherrill helped Rich refashion himself as a Nashville Sound balladeer during an era when old rock ‘n’ roll artists like Jerry Lee Lewis and Conway Twitty were finding a new musical home in the country and western format. This new “countrypolitan” Rich sound paid off in the summer of 1972, when “I Take It on Home” went to number six on the country charts. The title track from his 1973 album Behind Closed Doors became a number-one country hit early in that year, then crossing over into the top 20 on the pop charts. This time, his follow-up single did not disappoint, as “The Most Beautiful Girl” spent three weeks at the top of the country charts and two weeks at the top of the pop charts. Now that he was established as a country music star, Behind Closed Doors won three awards from the Country Music Association that year: Best Male Vocalist, Album of the Year, and Single of the Year. The album was also certified gold. Rich won a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, and he took home four Academy of Country Music awards. One of RCA Records several resident songwriters, Marvin Walters, co-wrote for three years with Charlie, producing four recordings including the very popular “Set Me Free”.

After “The Most Beautiful Girl,” number-one hits came quickly, as five songs topped the country charts in 1974 and crossed over to the pop charts. The songs were “There Won’t Be Anymore” (pop number 18), “A Very Special Love Song” (pop number 11), “I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore” (pop number 47), “I Love My Friend” (pop number 24), and “She Called Me Baby” (pop number 47). Both RCA Records and Mercury Records (Smash was a subsidiary of Mercury which was absorbed into the main company in 1970) re-released his previously recorded material from the mid-1960s, as well. All of this success led the CMA to name him Entertainer of the Year in 1974. In the same year he performed the Academy Award-nominated theme song “I Feel Love (Benji’s Theme)” from the film Benji. Rich had three more top-five hits in 1975.

In 1995, Rich and his wife were driving to Florida for a vacation after seeing their son Allan perform with Freddy Fender at Lady Luck Casino in Natchez, Mississippi, when he experienced a bout of severe coughing. After visiting a doctor in St. Francisville, Louisiana, and receiving antibiotics, he continued traveling until he stopped to rest for the night. Rich died in his sleep on July 25, 1995, in a Hammond, Louisiana, motel; he was 62 years old. The cause of death was a pulmonary embolism. He was buried in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee.

At the time of his death, Rich was survived by his wife of 43 years, Margaret, two sons and two daughters, and three grandchildren. Margaret Rich died in Germantown, Tennessee, on July 22, 2010, and was buried alongside her husband.

This day in 1948, Opry legend Roy Acuff announced his intent to run for governor of Tennessee. He did eventually run for office against the incumbent and lost. He also campaigned for the job twice more and was unsuccessful.

Image: Wikicommons

This day in 1977, Alabama debuted on the charts with their first single, “I Wanna Be With You Tonight.”

The group (while still known as ‘Wild Country’) sent out demo tapes to record companies but received few responses until executives at GRT Records signed the band to a one-record contract, issuing their debut single, “I Want to Be with You Tonight”, in 1977. GRT was more interested in the band as songwriters, and convinced the group to change their name to the Alabama Band, later shortened to Alabama. The song reached number 78 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and GRT declared bankruptcy the following year. Due to a hidden clause in their contract, Alabama was forbidden from recording with another label. For the next two years, the band raised money to buy out their contract and they began recording again in 1979. Following self-recorded efforts Wild Country (1976) and Deuces Wild (1977), Alabama Band No. 3 became the band’s third album, and the band performed over 300 shows on the road that year.

The group signed with RCA in 1980.

Alabama amassed over 40 number one hit singles (on a variety of industry charts) and 12 top-10 albums, including ten that peaked at number one on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. The group also had 33 number ones on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.

Hear “I Wanna Be With You Tonight” here.

This day in 1999, Faith Hill’s album, “Faith,” was certified triple platinum.

“Faith” was the third studio album by country artist Faith Hill, released in 1998. Due to the success of the single “This Kiss” in Australia and the UK, the album was released under the title Love Will Always Win, featuring the title track, a new version of “Piece of My Heart” and two new versions of “Let Me Let Go”, which replace “You Give Me Love”, “My Wild Frontier”, “Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me” and the original version of “Let Me Let Go”. In some countries, “It Matters to Me”, the title track and hit single from Hill’s second album, is also included as a bonus track. “Better Days” was previously recorded by Bekka & Billy on their debut album. “Love Will Always Win” was later issued as a single by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood from Brooks’ album The Lost Sessions. “I Love You” was originally recorded by Celine Dion for her album, Falling into You. The album was released on April 21, 1998 and was certified six-times Platinum by the RIAA for shipments of over six million copies in the United States.

This day in 1960, Loretta Lynn made her debut on the charts with her first single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl.”

The song was among the first to not only be recorded by Lynn, but also to be penned by her. She composed the song while living in the state of Washington, maintaining her role as a housewife and occasional member of a local country music band. The composition was later recorded in California after Lynn was given money by a local businessman, who was impressed by her singing. “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl” was then issued as a single under the newly founded and independent Zero Records label in March 1960.

“I’m a Honky Tonk Girl” was self-promoted by Lynn and her husband, driving from one radio station to another. The effort paid off by that summer when it peaked at number fourteen on the Billboard country songs chart. The story behind the song’s promotion became one of the trademarks of Lynn’s career. Its story was profiled in the 1980 film about her life Coal Miner’s Daughter and has been covered by other artists. “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl” has since received positive praise from music critics and writers alike, who have credited the song as being one of her signature tunes.

Listen to “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl” here.