Feb
23

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.
Don Williams, Jimmy Dean, Ferlin Husky and record producer Billy Sherrill are the latest additions to the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Country Music Association announced the honor Tuesday via press release, with a formal induction ceremony promised later this year.
“I thought I was already in there!” Jimmy joked. “Seriously, it brought a huge grin to my face. I am honored.”
Each of the four has contributed significantly to the genre. Jimmy, whose name is synonymous with a line of sausage, gave country music plenty of TV exposure as the host of several different programs, most notably “The Jimmy Dean Show,” a 1960s ABC variety series. He often featured the likes of Roger Miller, Buck Owens or Faron Young. One 1964 episode aired live from the Grand Ole Opry, while a 1965 installment captured Eddy Arnold’s recording session for “Make The World Go Away.” The CMA also used “The Jimmy Dean Show” as a vehicle to announce the Hall of Fame inductees in 1966. As a recording artist, Jimmy is best known for “Big Bad John,” a recitation about a coal-mining accident that sold a million copies after crossing into the pop charts.
Continue Reading
Feb
15

Vince Gill photo courtesy of UMG Nashville.
Dwight Yoakam sang about “guitars, Cadillacs and hillbilly music,” and the guitar is central to current stories involving three different Halls of Fame — one of which contains a Cadillac owned by the late Elvis Presley.
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, previously known as the Cowboy Hall of Fame, has a new guitar exhibit at its home in Oklahoma City, where instruments used by the likes of Vince Gill, Garth Brooks, Toby Keith and Marty Robbins are on display.
A guitar Taylor Swift used during a fundraiser to raise money for the Country Music Hall of Fame in the fall is now being sold at auction to raise even more money for the facility. And the Musicians Hall of Fame, located just blocks from the Country Hall in downtown Nashville, has to put guitars owned by some classic figures — including Charlie Daniels and Elvis musician Scotty Moore — into storage by the end of the week.
Continue Reading
Nov
4

Dolly Parton photo courtesy of Dolly Parton Management.
Dolly Parton, Ernest Tubb, Charlie Daniels and the founder of Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge join Kid Rock as the newest members of the Music City Walk of Fame when the latest round of markers are added in a downtown Nashville ceremony this Sunday.
Sponsored by GAC, the induction brings the total number of Walk of Fame markers to 42, including Hank Williams, Reba McEntire, Emmylou Harris and Steve Wariner.
Continue Reading
Sep
1

Tammy Wynette photo courtesy of tammywynette.com.
Eleven years after her death, Tammy Wynette — whose “Stand By Your Man” ranks among the best-known country songs in history — will finally enter the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame during a ceremony Oct. 18 at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel.
Tammy will be inducted alongside two full-time songwriters who wrote their own iconic pieces: Kye Fleming was responsible for Barbara Mandrell’s theme song, “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool”; and Mark D. Sanders authored Lee Ann Womack’s mega-hit “I Hope You Dance.” Continue Reading