Sunday, June 15, 2008

Danny Davis, Country Horns Pioneer, Dies

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 13) - Grammy award winner Danny Davis, who pioneered the use of horns in country music, has died aged 83, his publicist Betty Hofer said Friday.Davis died of a heart attack at Nashville's St. Thomas Hospital, she said.
The Nashville Brass instrumental group Davis founded in 1968 produced a brassy version of Hank Williams' "Kaw-liga" which won him a Grammy.His only Top 20 hit was a 1980 version of Willie Nelson's "Night Life," featuring Nelson with the Nashville Brass.Davis, who was born George Nolan, began his career in his teens playing with Gene Krupa, Bob Crosby and Art Mooney, and he later became popular draw in the country music resort town of Branson, Missouri, and in Las Vegas.He often flew his own plane to performances, appearing at the inaugurations of Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.A top producer behind the scenes, Davis recorded Connie Francis and brought Herman's Hermits to the MGM label. He also produced Waylon Jennings' Grammy winning "MacArthur Park" and Don Gibson's smash hit "Rings of Gold" for RCA.This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30

Nov. 6, 2006: Cameras catch what appears to be a look of outrage on the face of Faith Hill upon learning that she's lost out on the Female Vocalist of the Year award to Carrie Underwood at the Country Music Awards. Amid a firestorm of backlash in the days that follow, Hill will insist she was kidding. (Frank Micelotta/Getty Images for CMT)

This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30

Nov. 11, 1974: Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is born in Los Angeles, Calif. After his big break as a homeless kid on 'Growing Pains,' he will be nominated for an Oscar for his work in 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape?' He will become absurdly, irrevocably famouswith the release of 'Titanic' in 1997 and later becomes Martin Scorsese's favorite leading man. (Warner Bros. Pictures)

This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30

Nov. 8, 2006: While in Canada filming 'Blonde and Blonder' with co-star Pamela Anderson, Denise Richards throws two photographers' laptops off a hotel balcony, striking two elderly, wheelchair-bound women. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30

Nov. 11, 1984: Diminutive TV star Gary Coleman undergoes his second kidney transplant in an effort to combat his nephritis, the disease that stunts his growth.(WireImage)

This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30

Nov. 8, 1965: Viewers are introduced to the Horton family of Salem in the debut episode of 'Days of our Lives.' (NBC Photo)

This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30

Nov. 10, 1975: The freighter the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald goes down in Lake Superior, taking with it all 29 crew members. Later that month Gordon Lightfoot will commemorate the tragedy in the song 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,' which will go to No. 2 on the charts the following summer. (AP Photo/Lake Superior Maritime Collection, University of Wisconsin-Superior / George Pimentel/WireImage.com)

This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30

Nov. 6, 1972: Rebecca Romijn is born in Berkeley, Calif. After a successful career as a swimsuit and lingerie model, she will make the leap to acting. Along the way she will marry first John "Full House" Stamos and later Jerry "the fat kid from 'Stand ByMe'" O'Connell. (ABC/Bob D'Amico)

This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30

Nov. 9, 1967: Armed with a Rolodex stolen from a San Francisco radio station and a $7,500 loan, Jann Wenner and Ralph J. Gleason publish the first issue of Rolling Stone magazine. Beatle John Lennon graced the cover. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30

Nov. 10, 1969: The greatest kids' show of all time, 'Sesame Street,' makes its debut. It will go on to win more than 100 Emmy Awards, 11 Grammys and change children's television forever. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30

Nov. 5, 1930: 'All Quiet on the Western Front' wins Best Picture and earns Lewis Milestone the prize for Best Director at the fourth annual Academy Awards.




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