1936 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1936.

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Events

• In Knoxville, Tennessee the emerging media chain Scripps-Howard purchased the WNOX station in 1935, and then in 1936 the station launched its most popular program, the influential Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round, a live noontime performance show which highlighted hillbilly music artists. ^[1]

• Lee Roy "Lasses" White of Wills Point, Texas, who was featured on the Nashville radio station WSM, with "Honey" Wilds, and they were featured in their own Friday night "minstrel show and on The Grand Ole Opry , left for Hollywood in May 1936. He found a career as a character actor in the B-Grade Western "horse operas". ^[2]

Top Hillbilly (Country) Recordings

The following songs were extracted from records included in Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954, ^[3] record sales reported on the "Discography of American Historical Recordings" website, and other sources as specified. Numerical rankings are approximate, they are only used as a frame of reference.

Rank	Artist	Title	Label	Recorded	Released	Chart Positions
1	Gene Autry	"Mexicali Rose" [4]	Melotone 60559	December 24, 1935 (1935-12-24)	February 1936 (1936-02)	US Hillbilly 1936 #1
2	Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys	"Spanish Two Step" [5]	Vocalion 3230	September 23, 1935 (1935-09-23)	June 1936 (1936-06)	US Hillbilly 1936 #2
3	Monroe Brothers (Charles and Bill)	"What Would You Give In Exchange" [6]	Bluebird 6309	February 17, 1936 (1936-02-17)	April 25, 1936 (1936-04-25)	US Hillbilly 1936 #3
4	Rambling Red Foley with The Cumberland Ridge Runners	"Old Shep" [7]	Melotone 60353	December 9, 1935 (1935-12-09)	March 1936 (1936-03)	US Hillbilly 1936 #4
5	Gene Autry	"Nobody's Darling But Mine" [7]	Melotone 60452	September 22, 1935 (1935-09-22)	April 1936 (1936-04)	US Hillbilly 1936 #5
6	Carter Family	"Jealous Hearted Me" [4]	Melotone 13432	May 6, 1936 (1936-05-06)	August 1936 (1936-08)	US Hillbilly 1936 #6
7	Gene Autry	"You're the Only Star in My Blue Heaven" [7]	Melotone 60559	December 5, 1935 (1935-12-05)	April 1936 (1936-04)	US Hillbilly 1936 #7
8	Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys	"Trouble in Mind" [5]	Vocalion 3343	September 29, 1935 (1935-09-29)	June 1936 (1936-06)	US Hillbilly 1936 #8
9	Bing Crosby with Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra	"I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)" [8]	Decca 871	July 17, 1936 (1936-07-17)	August 1936 (1936-08)	US BB 1936 #30, US #2 for 4 weeks, 13 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1936 #9
10	Sweet Violet Boys	"Sweet Violets" [5]	Vocalion 3110	October 30, 1935 (1935-10-30)	January 1936 (1936-01)	US BB 1936 #172, US #12 for 1 weeks, 3 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1936 #10
11	Sons of the Pioneers	"Texas Star" [9]	Decca 5232	May 4, 1936 (1936-05-04)	June 1936 (1936-06)	US Hillbilly 1936 #11
12	Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys	"Osage Stomp (Rukus Juice Shuffle)" [5]	Vocalion 3096	September 23, 1935 (1935-09-23)	December 1935 (1935-12)	US Hillbilly 1936 #12
13	Sons of the Pioneers	"Ride Ranger Ride" [10]	Decca 5243	June 18, 1936 (1936-06-18)	July 1936 (1936-07)	US Hillbilly 1936 #13
14	Blue Sky Boys	"Sunny Side of Life" [11]	Bluebird 6457	June 16, 1936 (1936-06-16)	July 31, 1936 (1936-07-31)	US Hillbilly 1936 #14
15	Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies	"The Hesitation Blues" [12]	Decca 5266	January 1, 1936 (1936-01-01)	February 1936 (1936-02)	US Hillbilly 1936 #15
16	Jimmie Davis	"Mama's Getting Hot and Papa's Getting Cold" [13]	Decca 5249	June 1, 1936 (1936-06-01)	August 1936 (1936-08)	US Hillbilly 1936 #16
17	Sweet Violet Boys	"Sweet Violets No. 2" [5]	Vocalion 3256	March 23, 1936 (1936-03-23)	July 1936 (1936-07)	US BB 1936 #236, US #16 for 1 weeks, 2 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1936 #17
18	Bill Boyd And His Cowboy Ramblers	"When The Sun Sets On My Swiss Chalet" [14]	Bluebird 6599	February 24, 1936 (1936-02-24)	October 1936 (1936-10)	US Hillbilly 1936 #18
19	Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys	"Sitting on Top of the World" [5]	Vocalion 3139	September 24, 1935 (1935-09-24)	January 1936 (1936-01)	US Hillbilly 1936 #19
20	Jimmie Rodgers & Carter Family	"Why There’s a Tear in My Eye" [15]	Bluebird 6698	June 10, 1931 (1931-06-10)	November 23, 1936 (1936-11-23)	US Hillbilly 1936 #20

Births

• January 2 – Roger Miller, singer-songwriter best known for honky-tonk novelty songs, and the non-novelty "King of the Road" (died 1992).
• February 27 – Chuck Glaser, 83, member of Tompall and the Glaser Brothers (died 2019). ^[16]
• March 9 – Mickey Gilley, pianist and nightclub owner who enjoyed success throughout the 1970s and 1980s; cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmy Swaggart (died 2022).
• April 22 – Glen Campbell, pop-country singer and guitarist, host of The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour (died 2017).
• May 25 – Tom T. Hall, singer-songwriter who became known as "The Storyteller" (died 2021).
• June 22 – Kris Kristofferson, singer-songwriter and actor who grew to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s (died 2024).
• July 24 – Max D. Barnes, songwriter and record producer whose peak came in the 1980s and early 1990s (died 2004).
• November 5 – Billy Sherrill, record producer for numerous acts in the 1960s through 1980s, most famously Tammy Wynette (died 2015).
• December 12 – Reggie Young, session guitarist (died 2019). ^[17]

References

1. Cook, Hollie. "Country Music in Knoxville" (PDF). Knox Heritage & Junior League of Knoxville. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
2. Carlin, Richard (2003). Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary. New York and London: Rutledge. p. 224. ISBN   0-415-93802-3.
3. Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research.
4. "MELOTONE 78rpm numerical listing discography: 13000 to end". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
5. "Vocalion 78rpm numerical listing discography: 3000 - 3500". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
6. "Victor matrix BS-99195. What would you give in exchange? / Monroe Brothers - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
7. "MELOTONE 1936 78rpm numerical listing discography". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
8. "Decca matrix DLA 442. I'm an old cowhand / Bing Crosby - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
9. "Decca matrix DLA 361. Texas star / Sons of the Pioneers - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
10. "Decca matrix DLA 383. Ride, ranger, ride / Sons of the Pioneers - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
11. "Victor matrix BS-102641. Sunny side of life / Blue Sky Boys - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
12. "Decca matrix 60634. The hesitation blues / Brownies [Milton Brown] - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
13. "Decca matrix DLA 379. Mama's getting hot and Papa's getting cold / Jimmie Davis - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
14. "Victor matrix BS-99326. When the sun sets on my Swiss chalet / Bill Boyd ; Jim Boyd ; Cowboy Ramblers - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
15. "Victor matrix BVE-69412. Why there's a tear in my eye / Sara Carter ; Jimmie Rodgers - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
16. Whitaker, Sterling. "RIP: Country Legend Dead at 83". Tasteofcountry.com. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
17. "Legendary guitarist Reggie Young — key sideman to Elvis, Waylon, Willie and more — dead at age 82". Commercial Appeal. January 18, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.

Further reading

• Kingsbury, Paul, "Vinyl Hayride: Country Music Album Covers 1947–1989," Country Music Foundation, 2003 ( ISBN   0-8118-3572-3)
• Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993 ( ISBN   0-06-273244-7)
• Whitburn, Joel. "Top Country Songs 1944–2005 – 6th Edition." 2005.