This Day In Country Music: July 26, 2023!

Jul 26, 1954

Sonny James records "She Done Give Her Heart To Me"

Jul 26, 1954 Elvis Presley signs his first official recording contract with Sun Records, calling for eight tracks over the next two years

Jul 26, 1956 "Hound Dog" songwriter Mike Stoller and his wife Meryl are safely off the S.S. Andrea Doria as it sinks into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The vacationing Stoller will also write "Stand By Me" and "Jailhouse Rock"

Jul 26, 1963 Location filming in Nevada concludes for Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas"

Jul 26, 1964 Johnny Cash meets Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, where the Man In Black performs Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright." At a later hotel party, Dylan introduces Cash to "It Ain't Me, Babe"

Jul 26, 1965 Capitol releases the Buck Owens albums "Before You Go/No One But You"and "The Instrumental Hits Of Buck Owens And His Buckaroos"

Jul 26, 1965 "Seven Spanish Angels" singer Ray Charles enters a rehab center in Los Angeles to battle a heroin addiction

Jul 26, 1967 With her first hit, "Ode To Billie Joe," in release, Bobbie Gentry cuts the final five songs for her debut album at the Capitol Recording Studios in Los Angeles. The project is rather inventively titled: "Ode To Billie Joe"

Jul 26, 1968 Jeannie C. Riley records "Harper Valley P.T.A."

Jul 26, 1968 WKYR in Cumberland, Maryland, debuts a country format with three solid days of Buck Owens records

Jul 26, 1969 Buck Owens rides to #1 on the Billboard country singles chart with a live cover of "Johnny B. Goode"

ul 26, 1969 Songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart receive keys to the city at Woodrow Wilson Park in Birmingham. Their song "Come A Little Bit Closer" is destined to become a country hit for Johnny Duncan and Janie Fricke

Jul 26, 1969 "The Johnny Cash Show" brings guests Marty Robbins and Dale Robertson to the ABC-TV airwaves along with regular cast members The Statler Brothers and The Carter Family. Robbins and Cash team up on "Streets Of Laredo"

Jul 26, 1969 Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash announce they're expecting a son in the spring. Asked if they'll name him after his new single, Johnny replies, "I'll name him Bill or George...anything but Sue." At birth, he's named John Carter

Jul 26, 1972 Johnny Cash testifies before a Senate subcommittee in Washington, D.C., on prison reform, saying he's experienced things during his concerts at penitentiaries that "would chill the blood of average citizens"

Jul 26, 1972 Columbia releases the Lynn Anderson album "Listen To A Country Song"

Jul 26, 1972 Priscilla Presley's separation from Elvis Presley becomes official, seven months after she moved out of Graceland

Jul 26, 1973 Johnny Cash, June Carter and Kris Kristofferson appear on the first installment of the NBC summer replacement series "Dean Martin Presents: Music Country" with Loretta Lynn, Lynn Anderson and Tom T. Hall

Jul 26, 1973 "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" songwriter Bobby Russell and wife Vicki Lawrence appear on the NBC variety series "The Helen Reddy Show." The episode also features Billy Preston and "I Honestly Love You" songwriter Peter Allen

Jul 26, 1974 You fill up my resume: John Denver gleans a gold single from the Recording Industry Association of America for "Annie's Song"

Jul 26, 1974 Bill Anderson records "Every Time I Turn The Radio On" in the evening at Bradley's Barn in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee

Jul 26, 1976 MCA releases Olivia Newton-John's "Don't Stop Believin'"

Jul 26, 1976 MCA releases Bill Anderson's "Peanuts And Diamonds"

Jul 26, 1977

Faron Young files suit against Capitol Records, claiming the label owes him more than $150,000 in royalties over the past 20 years

Jul 26, 1977 Elektra releases Eddie Rabbitt's "We Can't Go On Living Like This"

Jul 26, 1978 Charlie Rich records "Standing Tall" at the Jack Clement Studios in Nashville. The song becomes a hit in 1980 after it's re-recorded by Billie Jo Spears

Jul 26, 1979 Sara Evans is discharged from Cooper County Memorial Hospital in Boonville, Missouri, five weeks after a car accident that broke both her legs. The family is left with a $10,000 hospital bill

Jul 26, 1980 Merle Haggard & Clint Eastwood ride to #1 on the Billboard country singles chart with "Bar Room Buddies," from the movie "Bronco Billy"

Jul 26, 1980 Michael Martin Murphey marries Mary Maciukas in New Mexico. The couple met when he opened for Jonathan Edwards at The Bottom Line in New York

Jul 26, 1980 Ronnie Milsap performs at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium, following the Phillies' 6-3 win over the Atlanta Braves

Jul 26, 1984

Tammy Wynette sings "Stand By Your Man" on the ABC special "The Olympic Gala," hosted by Jane Fonda and Richard Wagner. Also appearing: Olivia Newton-John, Neil Diamond, The Beach Boys, Lalo Schifrin and Andy Williams

Jul 26, 1986

Randy Travis scores his first #1 country single in Billboard with "On The Other Hand"

Jul 26, 1990 The Alabama Music Hall of Fame opens in Tuscumbia. Its membership includes Hank Williams, Sonny James, Tammy Wynette, Jimmie Rodgers, Freddie Hart and The Delmore Brothers, among others

Jul 26, 1990 Alabama receives a gold album from the RIAA for "Pass It On Down"

Jul 26, 1993 Columbia releases Mary Chapin Carpenter's "The Bug"

Jul 26, 1994 Epic releases Joe Diffie's album "Third Rock From The Sun"

Jul 26, 1995 Sometimes-country singer Linda Ronstadt performs in the last of three nights celebrating Frank Sinatra's music at Carnegie Hall in New York. Also on the bill are Rosemary Clooney and songwriters Alan & Marilyn Bergman

Jul 26, 1997 Rick Trevino serves up the national anthem during an NFL preseason game at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. The Dallas Cowboys topple the San Diego Chargers, 9-3

Jul 26, 1999 Heard on FOX-TV's "That '70s Show": Freddy Fender's "Wasted Days And Wasted Nights" and The Bellamy Brothers' "Let Your Love Flow"

Jul 26, 1999 Shania Twain's "Come On Over" is certified by the RIAA for shipping 12 million units, passing her own "The Woman In Me" as the best-selling country album by a female

Jul 26, 1999 Terri Clark earns a gold album from the RIAA for "How I Feel"

Jul 26, 1999 Kenny Chesney receives a gold album from the RIAA for "Everywhere We Go"

Jul 26, 2001 Lonestar's album "I'm Already There" is certified gold by the RIAA

Jul 26, 2001 Faith Hill's album "Breathe" is certified by the RIAA for shipments of 7 million units