11/28/2025
ON THIS DAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY
Several days in history scraped up off the Internet.
1914: Cecil Brower was born in Bellevue, TX. One of the architects of Western swing, Brower was considered one of the greatest swing fiddlers of his generation. Throughout his career, he played in many Western bands, including his own, and later became a renowned Nashville session musician. Brower ended his career playing with Jimmy Dean's band, and died of a perforated ulcer on November 21, 1965, one week before his 51st birthday. He is a member of the Texas Music, Cowtown Society of Western Music, and Texas Western Swing Halls of Fame, the latter as a member of the Light Crust Doughboys.
1925: The Grand Ole Opry began life as the WSM Barn Dance via the new fifth-floor radio studio of the National Life & Accident Insurance Company in downtown Nashville.
1930: A.L. “Doodle” Owens was born in Waco, TX. The singer-songwriter was known for his longstanding partnership with Dallas Frazier. Together, the two scored such classics as "All I Have to Offer You (Is Me)" (1969), "(I'm So) Afraid of Losing You Again" (1969), I Can't Believe That You've Stopped Loving Me" (1970) and "Then Who Am I" (1974), all No. 1 hits for Charley Pride. In the 1980s, Owens teamed up with Dennis Knutson to write a string of memorable songs for George Jones and many other artists. Owens died on October 4, 1999, one month before his 69th birthday.
1964: Connie Smith’s “Once a Day” began an 8-week run at No. 1 on the country charts. To date, it is the longest-running chart topper by a female artist and was the first debut single by a female artist in the country genre to reach #1. It was surpassed by Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" in December 2012.
1972: Charlie Rich recorded “Behind Closed Doors”, which was released five months later. The song became Rich's first No. 1 hit.
1992: Marty Stuart joined the Grand Ole Opry.
2020: Chris Stapleton was at number one on the country album chart with his fourth release, Starting Over.