Opry member Charley Pride photo by Chris Hollo, courtesy of Schmidt Relations.

Opry Country Classics returns to the Ryman Auditorium for a four-week run beginning October 6. Each show will feature a Spotlight Artist performing several of their biggest hits plus more favorite artists. The fall’s season Spotlight Artists together have 100 Top 10 hits, have won more than 100 industry awards and sold millions of albums.

Charley Pride will take the spotlight for the October 6 show. Lorrie Morgan is scheduled as the spotlight artist on October 13, Ray Price on October 20 and Ricky Skaggs on October 27. Of note, the October 13 show will move from the Ryman to the Grand Ole Opry. Continue Reading

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New Country Music Hall of Fame Members Jimmy Dean (l) and Don Williams.

Don Williams and Jimmy Dean, two vocalists who approached their public presence from very different angles, were officially inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame Sunday night in front of family, friends and a rather elite set of peers.

A singer, comic and television pioneer, Jimmy built his career as a multi-faceted entertainer. Don worked several detail-oriented jobs before his breakthrough — he was a co-partner in a furniture store and an office administrator — and he made his public mark in a workman-like manner, eschewing the party circuit and putting his efforts into finding and delivering well-constructed songs.

Neither singer was able to claim his medallion in person. Jimmy died in June, just a few months after he was told in a phone call that he would have a bronze plaque enshrined with his likeness in the Hall of Fame’s Rotunda alongside such fellow performers as Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Jimmy’s childhood idol, Gene Autry.

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The 2010 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees, clockwise from upper right: Don Williams, Ferlin Husky, Billy Sherrill and Jimmy Dean. Photos courtesy of the CMA.

Some of music’s finest talents — Ronnie Milsap, Shelby Lynne, Craig Morgan, Ricky Skaggs and Vince Gill — were among a bevy of significant artists and Music Row executives who witnessed Sunday’s induction of two new members to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum: Ferlin Husky and songwriter-producer Billy Sherrill.

In a here-today-gone-tomorrow culture, the names might not ring familiar to everyone. A girl in her 20s outside the Hall asked at the end of the night about Sunday’s soiree, then shrugged her shoulders in a “Who?” sort of manner when told the names of the inductees. But both men provided important building blocks to get the genre to the mainstream idiom it is today.

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George Strait photo by Danny Clinch, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Some of the biggest stars in country music history — George Strait, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson and Tammy Wynette — are among a slew of Country Music Hall of Fame members who’ve made their way into the headlines of late.

George set an unprecedented mark on the country charts, Hank earned a prestigious honor and Willie went to a Texas courtroom, where he could have been called on to testify in a trial involving a shooting outside a bar.

Here’s a roundup of Hall of Famers who continue to make an impact in a variety of ways:

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Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Charlie McCoy, Barbara Mandrell and Roy Clark gather at a reception before the Medallion Ceremony at the Hall of Fame in Downtown Nashville on May 17, 2009. Photo credit: John Russell / CMA.

Vocal ability, good songs, a little bit of showmanship — some of the traits that can be important for a career as a country artist are obvious.

One that’s not so apparent goes back to the old adage “loose lips sink ships.” The ability to maintain a secret has some important ramifications, and it’s a challenge to artists at every range of a career, whether you’re a newcomer like Tyler Dickerson or a well-established star like Roy Clark.

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Elvis Presley image used by permission, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.

In a bittersweet ceremony the day before a make-or-break court proceeding, four sets of session musicians received new awards Thursday at the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville. The players — who collectively backed such artists as Patsy Cline, Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys and Johnny Cash — are among those recognized in the structure, which is likely to be demolished to make way for a new convention center.

“To have it all torn down,” said Elvis’ drummer D.J. Fontana, “is a damn shame.”

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Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Charlie McCoy, Barbara Mandrell and Roy Clark gather at a reception before the Medallion Ceremony at the Hall of Fame in Downtown Nashville on May 17, 2009. Photo credit: John Russell / CMA.

By Bob Doerschuk

© 2009 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

It was the kind of day that invites lingering outside: abundant sun, just enough breeze to keep the air fresh. But on this late afternoon of May 17, the place to be was past the red carpet that stretched from Demonbreun Street up the steps and inside its destination: the lobby of Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, where an Olympian assembly of music industry notables had gathered for the inductions of Roy Clark, Barbara Mandrell and Charlie McCoy as members of the Hall.

No greater distinction exists in the world of Country Music than membership in the Hall, founded by CMA in 1961 to honor the artists, songwriters and industry executives who had done the most to preserve and further this beloved genre. Continue Reading

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