George Morgan once performed at Bristol's Paramount 4 times in a day

Forty-nine years before he was inducted as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, country singer George Morgan rode the waves of his signature song to downtown Bristol.Morgan's "Candy Kisses" hit No. 1 in April 1949. Issued on Columbia Records, his first and only chart-topping single formulated his pathway to country music immortality as a hall of fame member.George Morgan was born 100 years ago on June 28, 1924 in Waverly, Tennessee. That's about 75 miles from Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. Morgan performed on the widely ballyhooed stage as a member of the Grand Ole Opry from 1948 until his death at 51 in 1975.The silken smooth balladeer fathered Lorrie Morgan, who also became a country singing sensation. One of but a handful of country singers actually born in Music City USA, Morgan was born in Nashville 65 years ago on June 27, 1959. Her birth name bear nods to two members of the Country Music Hall of Fame.The "Five Minutes" singer's full name? Loretta Lynn Morgan.She awaits what she hopes, according to what she said to me during a sit-down interview in Nashville about 10 years ago, to be her eventual induction alongside her father in the hallowed ranks of the country hall of fame.Ten years before her birth, her father appeared at the Paramount in Bristol, Tennessee. The date was Friday, Oct. 7, 1949. Zeb Turner, a native of Lynchburg, Virginia, opened the shows for Morgan. Turner penned "It's a Sin," a monster hit for Eddy Arnold in 1947. Turner's peppy "Tennessee Boogie" was on the radio at the time of his turn in Bristol.Well, Eddy Arnold, one of the most profoundly superstar acts in country music history, left the Grand Ole Opry in September 1948. Morgan, who had not yet experienced a hit, joined the Opry on Sept. 25, 1948. Columbia had signed him 11 days earlier. So, with the cache of mighty Columbia Records behind him — and the Opry's desire for a smooth-voiced crooner in the vein of Arnold to replace him, they broke from protocol to welcome Morgan aboard.The next spring, Morgan's "Candy Kisses," which was recorded during his first session for Columbia, made him a star.So, "Candy Kisses" sold the tickets to see Morgan at the Paramount. He and Turner performed four times each at the Paramount on that day in 1949. That may seem unusual, four shows in a day. During the 1940s and '50s, it was entirely commonplace for multiple appearances in one venue to occur in the course of one day. Roy Acuff did that numerous times at the Paramount. So did Little Jimmy Dickens. And more.Well, from afternoon and into the night George Morgan performed "Candy Kisses" four times in Bristol on Oct. 7, 1949. At least another couple of encores of the song occurred, too. Adult admission was priced at less than two dollars. Children could hear Morgan woo the audiences for less than fifty cents per show.Nearly 10 years later, Morgan's daughter was born. As a little girl and well into her teenage years, Lorrie Morgan became a fixture backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. During interviews with me and others, she intimated her desire to follow her father. She wanted to become a country star.Mission accomplished. But that prize took time. She made her debut on the Opry stage in 1973 at the age of 13. She sang Marie Osmond's "Paper Roses" for which she earned a standing ovation.Alas, George Morgan died after open-heart surgery on July 7, 1975 at the age of 51. His daughter was 16. For a few years afterward, she toured with members of her father's band, but to little avail. Record deals came but soon fizzled for her. In 1979, her posthumous duet with her father, "I'm Completely Satisfied with You," peaked at number 93.Thereafter for several years, she found day job work as a receptionist for Acuff-Rose Music in Nashville. She also wrote songs and worked as a demo singer for Acuff-Rose, which was founded by her father's friends Roy Acuff and Fred Rose.Lorrie Morgan's biggest break came in 1988. She signed with RCA Records. By then married for two years with Keith Whitley, Morgan first hit with 1988's "Trainwreck of Emotion." A year later came her first top 10 record, "Dear Me."Since then, Lorrie Morgan's struck country gold with three number one singles and 14 top 10s. Each of those numbers top her father's turnout of hits.But, get this:Lorrie Morgan performed at the Paramount in Bristol, Tennessee, almost exactly 70 years after her father's concert in 1949. His name appeared on the Paramount's glittery marquee on Oct. 7, 1949. Her name emblazoned that same marquee on Oct. 6, 2019.Now, George Morgan along with opening act Anita Carter staged a concert in the auditorium of Bristol's Tennessee High School in February 1957. To date, Lorrie Morgan has yet to sing a song inside Tennessee High. But hey, there's always someday.