January 22 — Ozark Jubilee debuts on ABC-TV, the first popular country music show on network TV. It would run through September 1960.
July 15 — Slim Whitman's "Rose Marie" becomes an international smash, debuting on the British charts and quickly rising to No. 1; its 11-week run will stand as one of the longest runs for many years.[1]
July 27 — Billboard magazine claims that Webb Pierce is one of only two singing stars that "can be considered guaranteed hitmakers these days"; pop and R&B singer Nat King Cole is the other.[2]
November 12 — Elvis Presley is voted the most promising country and western artist, according to Billboard magazine's annual disc jockey poll.
No dates
1955 was one of the most prolific years for new artists, many of whom would revolutionize country music. Some of the more prominent names were Johnny Cash, George Jones, Elvis Presley and Porter Wagoner; it was also the year one of the best-known duos ever — the Louvin Brothers (Charlie and Ira) — would join the Grand Ole Opry. Many of them would go on to record and popularize the best known songs in the genre, and have recording careers that lasted for decades. It would be more than 30 years before another gifted group this prominent would rise to fame and create a revolution in country music in a single year.
Country artists Red Foley (with wife Betty) and Jean Shepard both recorded versions of the song that reached the Top 5 on the Billboard country chart in 1955.
Note: Several songs were simultaneous No. 1 hits on the separate "Most Played in Juke Boxes," "Most Played by Jockeys" and "Best Sellers in Stores" charts.
March 17 — Paul Overstreet, singer-songwriter who penned hit singles for artists such as Randy Travis and Tanya Tucker, and also had a career as a recording artist as well.
March 26 — Dean Dillon, songwriter whose works were instrumental in the new traditionalist movement of the 1980s.
March 28 — Reba McEntire, singer and actress who has enjoyed fame since the early 1980s.
November 1 — Keith Stegall, record producer who enjoyed a string of hits in the mid-1980s.
Deaths
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References
^Rolling Stone Rock Almanac: The Chronicles of Rock & Roll," Collier Books, MacMillan Publishing Co., New York and London, 1983, p. 15. ISBN0-02-081320-1
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