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NEWS Two star-studded events inducted many deserving
Country Music Hall of Fame 2019
Local 257 members Jerry Bradley, Ray Stevens, and Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn were welcomed into the Country Music Hall of Fame last Oct. 20 at a star-studded event held in the CMA Theater.
Stevens’ legendary career as an arranger, multi-instrumentalist, publisher, producer, singer, and songwriter has spanned several decades and gained the artist notoriety across genres with songs from the sweetly sentimental (“Everything Is Beautiful”) to the sublimely silly (“Mississippi Squirrel Revival”). Ricky Skaggs paid tribute to Stevens with a performance of “Misty,” and Ralph Emery inducted Stevens, saying “He is really overdue for the award we are going to give him this evening.” Stevens said that if the induction had come
Inductees Jerry Bradley, Ray Stevens, Ronnie Dunn, Kix Brooks
sooner, he could have upped his price for dates. “All joking aside,” he continued, “it’s a long way from the sock hop at a South Georgia high school when I played piano with a little four-piece band to this here place tonight. Think about it. Ray Stevens in the Country Music Hall of Fame — no hat, no guitar. My jeans aren’t even ripped. How did that happen? The answer is simple, really. This is Nashville. Anything can happen in Nashville.”
Jerry Bradley, the son of Music Row founder Owen Bradley, was inducted in the nonperformer category by Bud Wendell. At RCA Records Bradley cultivated Dolly Parton’s career, and signed Alabama to the band’s first major recording contract. He also produced Charley Pride, Dottie West, Eddy Arnold, Dave & Sugar, and signed Ronnie Milsap and Sylvia. “This business has given me a wonderful life. I’m grateful for the people I’ve met, the songs I’ve heard and the part I played,” Bradley said. Marty Stuart and Travis Tritt, who performed “Good Hearted Woman,” were among the musicians who paid tribute to the songs and artists Bradley had a hand in bringing to popularity.
Brooks & Dunn, the modern era inductees, each had a solo career before being brought together by Arista executive Tim DuBois for a long string of hit records and awards. Trisha Yearwood was part of the musical tribute to the duo, singing their hit “Believe.”
Reba McEntire inducted Brooks & Dunn, who toured with her in the ‘90s. She said she convinced them to reunite for a series of coheadline concerts in Las Vegas — a series that has become a residency. She said the two are “wonderful people” and like brothers to her. Brooks talked about the duo’s reunion. “We realize how much we love this music, how fun it was to get back to singing those songs again,” he said. “You know, we had every intention of quitting, and we did for a few minutes, but I think we realize now how lucky we are.”
The evening concluded with McEntire and the McCrary Sisters leading a performance of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” New inductees and other members of the Country Music Hall of Fame joined with guest performers and the audience to sing the 100-year-old hymn that has become synonymous with the end of the annual ceremony. The all-star house band for the event included Local 257 members Biff Watson, Eddie Bayers, Brent Mason, Bruce Bouton, Mike Rojas, Alison Prestwood, and Deanie Richardson. New members of the Country Music Hall of Fame are elected annually by an anonymous panel of industry leaders chosen by the Country Music Association. The first members — Jimmie Rodgers, Fred Rose and Hank Williams — were inducted in 1961.
Jerry Bradley and his wife Connie NEWS
Trisha Yearwood backed by Deanie Richardson, fiddle/mando; Alison Prestwood, bass; Mike Rojas, keys; Biff Watson, acoustic guitar; Eddie Bayers, drums; Brent Mason, guitar; Bruce Bouton, steel guitar
Ray Stevens and Penny Jackson
Ray Stevens, Connie Bradley, Jerry Bradley
All photos by Jason Kempin and Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Musicians Hall of Fame 2019 Induction
Vince Gill performs with The Players while the house band looks on.
Ricky Skaggs inducts Don Everly. (r)
Jeff Cook, Teddy Gentry, and Randy Owens of Alabama
(2nd from l-r)Local 257 members Norbert Putnam, David Briggs, and widow of Reggie Young, Jenny Young All photos: Pete Collins and Roy DeGrie for the Musicians Hall of Fame
Local 257’s Steve Wariner, Felix Cavaliere, Don Everly, the band Alabama, plus members of the Original Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, and a group of session musicians known as The Players, became part of the class of 2019 inductees to the Musicians Hall of Fame Oct. 22 in a ceremony held at the Schermerhorn Symphony Hall in Nashville.
Local 257 members in the Original Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section include David Briggs, Norbert Putnam, and the late Reggie Young. Terry Thompson and Earl “Peanutt” Montgomery were also inducted, as well as Jerry Carrigan and Joe South, posthumously. Local 257 trombonist Charlie Rose was inducted as part of the Muscle Shoals Horn Section. These session musicians brought their creativity to some of the most highly regarded records of the ‘60s and ‘70s including songs by Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Duane Allman, Jerry Reed and many more.
The Players consist of Eddie Bayers, Paul Franklin, John Hobbs, Brent Mason, and Michael Rhodes. This newer iteration of highly sought after Nashville Cats has played on untold numbers of country hits, and continue to bring their skills and professionalism to Music Row studios every day.
Also inducted posthumously was legendary Music Row founder, producer Owen Bradley. Bradley’s contributions to what would become the recording music business of Nashville are incalculable. He worked with iconic artists like Chet Atkins, Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, Kitty Wells, Loretta Lynn, Buddy Holly and many more.
Wariner, one of only five musicians named “CGP” (Certified Guitar Player) by
Chet Atkins, has performed in several past tributes to other inductees. Regarding his own induction, Wariner said, “You dream about these kind of moments. I came to Nashville to be a musician. People ask me about the singing and the writing…but the roots, for me, is the playing.”
Cavaliere was songwriter, keyboardist and vocalist for The Rascals — his cowrite credits include “Groovin’,” and “People Got to be Free.” “I know a lot of the other people that are in there, and I admire all of them,” he said.
Don Everly, half of the legendary duo the Everly Brothers, received the Iconic Riff Award for his unforgettable rhythm guitar opening to “Wake Up, Little Susie.” The Everly Brothers are past inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Felix Cavaliere
Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry, and Jeff Cook of the band Alabama, have won dozens of awards over the group’s 50-year history. The storied band has sold over 80 million records and charted 43 No. 1 singles, including 21 in a row. In addition to their induction into the MHOF, they received the organization’s first ever Lifetime Achievement Award.
Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Brooks & Dunn, Keb’ Mo’, and many other musicians performed during the sold-out induction ceremony. The show was hosted by AFM Local 802 member Paul Shaffer. Local 257 members in the house band included leader Shane Keister, Mark Beckett, Bruce Bouton, Bruce Dees, Larry Franklin, Steve Gibson, Gordon Kennedy, Craig Krampf, Chris Leuzinger, Dave Pomeroy, and John Willis. Other AFM 257 members who performed were Vinnie Ciesielski, John Howard, Randy Leago, Paul Leim, Vince Santoro, and Mike Severs. "Tonight, you are experiencing what Music City is all about," said Pomeroy, president of the Nashville Musicians Association. "Let's respect each other and take care of the musicians. The Musicians Hall of Fame may be located in Nashville, but it's way bigger than Nashville. It honors musicians from all over the world."
The Musicians Hall of Fame recognizes studio musicians, session players, producers, engineers and others who contributed to hit recordings in a wide variety of genres. “It’s not a yearly popularity contest. It is a lifetime of work,” said museum founder Joe Chambers. The museum opened in 2006, and inducted its first group of musicians into the hall of fame in 2007. TNM
John Hobbs, Brent Mason, Paul Franklin, Michael Rhodes, Eddie Bayers
Steve Wariner
Tom Shed songs about something
