 Elvis and Country Music? The year was 1955. A truck driver from Tupelo, MS makes his 1st ever TV appearance. Elvis Aaron Presley is featured on Louisiana Hayride. Following his 1954 Opry appearance, 1955 saw Elvis join Hank Snow's tour orchestrated by his then manager, Colonel Tom Parker, giving Elvis his first wide exposure beyond the Louisiana Hayride.
| This was shared by a TCB reader, T. Tobias:
This is not an experience that happened today or even yesterday, but I think of it very often. Back in 1955-56 I had become acquainted with Elvis, Bill Black and Scotty Moore. I had gotten back stage at the Louisiana Hayride, like I did every Saturday night, and I saw Elvis standing at someone else's dressing room, singing. There was about 10 or 12 other people standing around but I wiggled my way through them until I was right beside Elvis. I looked around the door way to see who he was singing with and it was George Jones. They were singing a gospel song but I cannot remember which song it was. I remember they sounded good together and so did the others that heard them. The others were also performers and tried to get them to sing the song again out on stage, but they wouldn't do it. Thanks for reading this, it has been my honor to share this with people that love music. |
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| On the Charts 
Affectionately nicknamed "The Possum," George Jones had his first top ten country hit in 1955 with "Why Baby Why." on Starday Records.Since then, Jones has compiled a record of over 75 Top Ten hits as a solo singer, in duets with his friends and with his former wife, the late Tammy Wynette. Webb Pierce recorded the #1 single "I Don't Care" for Decca. "RCA Records signed Porter Wagoner to a recording contract. Porter's release, "A Satisfied Mind," reached the No. 1 spot and was followed by a long string of hit records, spanning over 30 years." 
"The Louvin Brothers became members of the Grand Ole Opry in 1955, and were highly sought after for personal appearances. A young Elvis Presley was an opening act for the headlining Louvin's during one of these 1955 tours." Flatt and Scruggs and their band became members of the Grand Ole Opry in 1955, and were winning numerous fan polls and industry awards. RCA signed Jim Reeves in 1955 amid considerable competition. That same year, he joined the Grand Ole Opry at the recommendation of Ernest Tubb and Hank Snow. Jean Shepard was inducted into the Opry on her birthday in 1955 as part of a disc jockey convention. Her 30 hits span three decades, and include "Tip of My Fingers," She was the first female in country music to sell a million records. | "Gambling that country music could attract a national audience NBC ordered a pilot show of the Grand Ole Opry to be broadcast out of the Ryman. While the one-time special didn't result in a series, it did give America a visual insight into what stands today as the longest-running, continuously aired radio program in America. Later that same year, ABC aired its own Opry special sponsored by Purina, which became a 13-show series broadcast live every fourth Saturday night." 
Buddy Emmons first hit Nashville on July 4, 1955, bringing along his steel guitar and a whole lot of talent
Buck Owens: Young Buck "Collection boasts 21 tracks Owens recorded in 1955-56. Unlike the full-throated singer who would soon enchant America with hits like "Foolin' Around" and "Love's Gonna Live Here," the "pre-Capitol Buck" exhibits a more nasalized style, one reminiscent of then-reigning country idols Webb Pierce and Lefty Frizzell. In the tearjerker "The House Down the Block," a hint of Hank Williams' lost and lonely vocal style can be detected. On this collection, what is heard time and again is a restless artist in search of his own voice and sound. Indeed, here are the two rockabilly tunes -- "Hot Dog" and "Rhythm and Booze" -- that Owens first issued under the pseudonym Corky Jones." | Remember... 
I Don't Care, entered the country music charts for Webb Pierce on July 8th, 1955 -- made it to number one, where it stuck for 12 weeks, staying on the charts in total for 32 weeks, while In The Jailhouse Now sat at #1 for 21 weeks  Patsy Cline
1955 - Owen Bradley produced her first recording sessions in Nashville, and she made her first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry on July 1st 1955 with Ernest Tubb on the Ralston-Purina section of the show. 
Johnny Cash
Beginning in 1955 Johnny's Sun recordings would become seminal, American classics like "Folsom Prison Blues," "I Walk the Line," "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" and "Guess Things Happen That Way." In March 1955 JR Cash playing guitar and singing in his deep baritone voice auditioned for Sam Phillips Signed to Sun as Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, their first single, "Cry, Cry, Cry," became a moderate country hit. The group appeared on the Louisiana Hayride in Dec. 1955, becoming regulars, before graduating to the Grand Ole Opry in July 1956. |
