If ever the word "genius" applied to any pop artist, it is surely not misused in reference to Ray Charles.

In 1960, Sam Cooke signed with RCA Records where he continued to write and record such Number 1 hits as "Chain Gang", "Twisting The Night Away", "Bring It On Home To Me", "Having A Party" and "Cupid".

Brenda Lee sang her way out of an impoverished childhood and into the hearts of the world.  Before turning twenty, Brenda had recorded a phenomenal 256 sides--a musical odyssey that even at this early stage included classic million sellers like "I'm Sorry," "Fool Number 1," "Emotions," "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree," and "That's All You Gotta Do." 

Having lent his harmonica skills to Bruce Channel's "Hey! Baby," which topped the pop charts in 1962, Delbert McClinton toured Europe with Channel.  While in England, McClinton tutored the leader of a then unknown band on mouth harp, the results of which subsequently were heard around the world on the Beatles hit "Love Me Do."

In 1965, James Brown, "The Godfather of Soul," hit No. 1 on the R & B charts with "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag."

By the mid-sixties, Loretta Lynn was the most popular female country singer in America.

In 1966, Otis Redding created the intense, Gospel-oriented Dictionary Of Soul.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Aretha Franklin, "Lady Soul," recorded her first Atlantic disk, "I Never Loved A Man," in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in 1967 at Fame Recording Studios.

At the Monterey Pop Festival in June of 1967, Janis Joplin from Port Arthur, Texas, distinguished herself with her energetic performance and quickly rose to stardom.

In 1967, Dolly Parton began singing on the Porter Wagner Show.

On East McLemore Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, stood the old Satellite Recording Studio, which Jim Stewart, with help from his sister Estelle Axton, and Jerry Wexler, forged into the legendary powerhouse of soul music, Stax Recording Studio.

In 1969, Bill Lowery was Broadcast Music's number one publisher.

Steve Martin, banjo player extraordinaire and one of the funniest people on the planet was born in Waco, Texas on August 14, 1945.

1900s  / 1910s  / 1920s  / 1930s / 1940s
1950s / 1960s  / 1970s  / 1980s  / 1990s

www.southernmusic.net

-
WELCOME TO
THE HOUSE OF KARDS

Follow the adventures of 52 lovable characters from the Heart, Club, Spade and Diamond Families as they play the hand of fate. CLICK HERE

---

But for a few twists of fate, Atlanta could easily have grown to be the recording center that Nashville is today.Pickin' on Peachtree traces Atlanta's emergence in the 1920s as a major force in country recording and radio broadcasting, a position of dominance it enjoyed for some forty years. From the Old Time Fiddlers' Conventions and barn dances through the rise of station WSB and other key radio outlets, Wayne W. Daniel thoroughly documents the consolidation of country music as big business in Atlanta. He also profiles a vast array of performers, radio personalities, and recording moguls who transformed the Peachtree city into the nerve center of early country music. More...

MY MUSICAL LIFE
By Carl P. McConnell

Mabel McConnell talks about the Carter Family, Doc & Carl,
The Original Virginia Boys and the early days of radio.