1950
On January 3, Sam Phillips opened the Memphis Recording Service in Memphis, Tennessee. The Memphis Recording Service let amateurs perform, which drew performers such as B.B. King, Junior Parker, and Howlin’ Wolf. Phillips then would sell their performances to larger record labels. In addition to musical performances, Phillips recorded events such as weddings and funerals, selling the recordings. The Memphis Recording Service also served as the studio for Phillips’ own label,which he would launch in 1952 as Sun Records.
RCA Victor announced that it will begin manufacturing 33 1/3 records. Columbia Records had introduced the 12 inch “album” size records two years earlier. In 1949 RCA had introduced the 7 inch 45 RPM.
1952
BBC television launched “Hit Parade”, its first pop musics show. The American version, “Your Hit Parade” started on television in 1950.
1953
Hank Williams died in the back seat of a car being driven by Charles Carr. Williams was scheduled to perform at the Municipal Auditorium in Charleston, West Virginia. Because of an ice storm in the Nashville area, Williams could not fly, so he hired Carr, a college student, to drive him to the concerts. Carr called the Charleston auditorium from Knoxville to say that Williams would not arrive on time because of an ice storm and was ordered to drive Williams to Canton, Ohio for the New Year’s Day concert there.
While at the Andrew Johnson Hotel in Knoxville, Carr requested a doctor for Williams, as he was feeling the combination of the chloral hydrate and alcohol he had drunk on the way to Knoxville. A Doctor injected Williams with two shots of vitamin B12 that also contained a quarter-grain of morphine. When Carr and Williams checked out of the hotel, the porters had to carry Williams to the car, as he was coughing and hiccupping. At around midnight on January 1, Carr stopped for fuel at a gas station in Oak Hill, West Virginia, where he realized that Williams was dead. The autopsy found hemorrhages in the heart and neck and the cause of death was listed as “insufficiency of the right ventricle of the heart”.
His body was transported to Montgomery, Alabama, on January 2 and placed in a silver coffin that was first shown at his mother’s boarding house for two days. His funeral took place on January 4 at the Montgomery Auditorium, with his coffin placed on the flower-covered stage. An estimated 15,000 to 25,000 people passed by the silver coffin, and the auditorium was filled with 2,750 mourners. His funeral was said to have been far larger than any ever held for any other citizen of Alabama and the largest event ever held in Montgomery.
1954
Elvis Presley returned to the Memphis Recording Studio’s of Sam Phillips to cut his second recording. This time Sam asked for his address and phone number, promising to contact him soon about trying something in the studio together.
1955
Johnny Ace’s funeral is held in Memphis. There are 5,000 there including Little Junior Parker, B.B. King and Willie Mae Thornton.
1957
Fats Domino cut “I’m Walkin’” in New Orleans. It would go on to be the 4th of 9 top 10 hits for Fats. He never reached #1 with any of his records.
Elvis Presley passed his pre-induction medical checkup. The Army’s Memphis recruiting station said Elvis’ test scores placed him in the 1-A Class. Elvis didn’t actually join the Army until March, 1958.
1958
In only its 4th week after release, “At The Hop” by Danny and the Juniors reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would stay there for 7 weeks. Had Dick Clark not suggested the new title, the song would have been “Do The Bop” and might not have been as catchy. Who knows, it might not have been at hit at all.
The Flying V electric guitar was patented by the Gibson Guitar Company. They did not sell well. After the initial launch in 1958, the line was discontinued by 1959. Later, in the mid-late 1960′s, such guitarists as Dave Davies and Jimi Hendrix, in search of a distinctive looking guitar with a powerful sound, also started using Flying V’s. The renewed interest created a demand for Gibson to reissue the model.
Gibson reissued the guitar in mahogany in 1967, updating its design with a bigger, more stylish pickguard, and ditching the original bridge, which had the strings inserted through the back, in favor of the stopbar tail piece more commonly associated with Gibson models. This 1967 model is now the standard for the Flying V.
The 1958-59 korina Flying V is one of the most valuable production-model guitars on the market, ranked at No. 5 on the 2011 Top 25 published by Vintage Guitar, and worth between $200,000 and $250,000.
Always enjoy reading these posts…learn something new every week. Did not know this was how Hank Williams died. Hope you and all your readers have a Happy New Year! And please keep us learning new…old things…each week!
Ya Man