December 19th: On this day

1908
Born on this day in Wakefield, Kentucky southeast of Louisville, was Bill Carlisle, country music singer, songwriter, comedian and guitarist popular in the late 1940s and 1950s but who influenced the genre for more than 50 years. Carlisle was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in September 2002. He died on March 17th 2003.

1920
Born on this day in Bolt, West Virginia, was Little James Dickens, famous for his humorous novelty songs, his small size, 4'11" (150 cm), and his rhinestone-studded outfits. He scored the 1965 #1 “May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose”, and has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry for 60 years and is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. He died on Jan 2nd 2015 at the age of 94.

1945
Born on this day, was John McEuen, multi-instrumentalist (banjo, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, piano), and one of the earliest members of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band as well as a solo perfomer who has also worked with various artists including Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Alison Krauss.

1947
Born on this day in South Whitley, Indiana, was Janie Fricke, country music singer, best remembered for a series of country music hits in the early to mid 1980s. She won the Country Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year awards in 1982 and 1983.

1980
The film Nine to Five, with Dolly Parton in one of the leading roles opened across America grossing over $3.9 million in its opening weekend. The movie's theme song, "9 to 5", became one of Parton's biggest hits of the decade and went to #1 for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.

1984
Born on this day was Canadian country music artist Codie Prevost. He is a three-time Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) nominee and a five time Saskatchewan Country Music Association (SCMA) Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year winner.

1988
Johnny Cash was admitted to Baptist Hospital in Nashville where he underwent open heart surgery. Following the double bypass operation he was hit with a serious bout of pneumonia and put on a life support system.

2006
The Kern County Board of Supervisors approved a citizen-led resolution to rename a portion of 7th Standard Road in Oildale as Merle Haggard Drive, which will stretch from North Chester Avenue west to US Route 99. The first street travelers would turn onto when they leave the new airport terminal will be Merle Haggard Drive.

2016
Songwriter Andrew Dorff, whose hits included Kenny Chesney’s “Save It for a Rainy Day” and Hunter Hayes “Somebody’s Heartbreak,” died at the age of 40. Dorff’s other major cuts were Martina McBride’s “Ride,” Blake Shelton’s “My Eyes” and “Neon Light,” Ronnie Dunn’s “Bleed Red,” Old Dominion’s “Shut Me Up,” Gary Allan’s “Kiss Me When I’m Down” and William Michael Morgan’s “Missing.”