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Country Modern (25)

The Country Music Hall Of Fame began simply as a way to record and remember the history of country music, but has grown into one of the world’s most extensive musical collections for one of America’s oldest recorded music genres. The first country music recording was in 1922. Country music is a distinctly Southern American sound; a genre that combined blues, ranchera, Cajun, Appalachian, African-American music, folk, Celtic and many other styles into an important musical tradition. But what country music sounds like has changed throughout it’s over 100 year history. From the cowboy westerns of the 1930’s, to the rockabilly of the 1950’s, to the countrypolitan of the 1960’s into the outlaw movement of the 1970’s, even to the bro-country of the 2010’s, with various other sounds, styles and subgenres in between. It can get very difficult to pinpoint exactly what country music is (though the common expression “three chords and the truth” is what most people seem to lean on). The Hall Of Fame came along in the 1960’s to make sure every bit of that sprawling genre history is marked and preserved.

So with that large history, it can be extremely tough trying to determine who is going to be picked each year, since Country’s Hall Of Fame is notoriously one of the hardest to get inducted into. And unlike the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, the country genre is a lot more focused on being a part of the Nashville machine to judge achievements (like radio career length, charting hit singles, awards from the industry, etc.). For the most part they only induct 3 people per year: one in the “Modern” category, one in the “Veteran” category, and one in a rotating group (either “Musician”, “Songwriter”, or “Non-Performer”, which rotate every year). A performer is eligible for the “Modern” category 20-40 years after they achieved ‘national prominence’ and a performer is eligible for the “Veteran” category 40 years after they achieve ‘national prominence’. For this list of predictions I am putting together, I will only be focused on the “Modern” and “Veteran” categories. One additional rule: nobody can be inducted for a stretch of 12 months after they die.

On that note, let’s get started with the predictions. Here are 25 predictions for the “Modern” category:

Sincerely,

 

The Not in Hall of Fame Rock and Roll Committee.

 Starting his radio career in the mid-1980’s, Dwight was a superstar with audiences for most of his career but he didn’t start out that way. . Trying to get a recording contract in Nashville didn’t seem to be working for him, as he was playing traditional honky-tonk music instead of the pop-country that was all the rage at that point…
Clint Black is another artist who got his start singing in a band with his brothers as a child. Eventually, he went solo and got a record contract with RCA. His first single was released in 1989, placing him in country music’s legendary “Class Of ‘89” which also included Garth Brooks (2012 Hall Of Fame inductee), Alan Jackson (2017 inductee),…
This angelic voiced bluegrass prodigy may not have charted huge hits, but she has become a legend all her own. With her mother being a banjo player, Alison grew up around bluegrass music. She learned the style well enough that she was winning contests by the time she was 10 and recording her first album at the age of 14…
Being raised in a small Canadian town doesn’t give off the idea that someone will become a worldwide country music star, but that is exactly what happened. Not only one of the biggest country stars of all time, but one of the biggest stars of any genre, Shania helped change the game for country music in the 1990s. Her album…
Kenny started out getting a couple hits, but not really separating himself from the pack. Then after a few years he found his beach bum persona, and that allowed him the huge success that he has achieved to this date. So much success, that he has sold over 30 million albums and still has a radio career to this date…
Being born in Georgia to a schoolteacher and a banker doesn’t help you get a foot in the door to the music business, but Trisha knew from a young age that she wanted to pursue music. After spending a childhood singing everywhere she could, she eventually moved to Nashville and earned an internship at a record label. At the label,…
Chasing your dreams can be intimidating, but sometimes they can work out better than you ever dreamed. On the day that his hero (2022 Hall Of Fame inductee Keith Whitley) died in 1989, Tim made the decision to drop everything and move to Nashville to see if he could make it as a country star. In 1994, Tim began a…
After graduating high school, Toby worked jobs in the oil field and as a football player until he made the decision to move to Nashville and try his hand at music. He tried for a while to make it, but he just couldn’t get any traction so he packed up and went home. But thanks to a demo that he…
One of the biggest female country voices of the 1990s, Martina used her star power to sing songs dealing with female empowerment and other topics including abuse (“Independence Day”), disabilities (“God’s Will”), and cancer (“I’m Gonna Love You Through It”). The journey to her career started out in 1988 when she married her husband John, who was a sound engineer.…
With the Hall having already added Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson, Travis Tritt is another member of the legendary “Class Of ‘89” in country music, having released his debut single in 1989. 1989 was an important year in country music where a brand new class of artists debuted, which while they faded out some of the older singers, this was…
When Ted and Edna Perry adopted a small infant girl in 1967, they probably did not guess that she would grow up to be one of the most successful country artists of all time. Her singing talent was noticed early on, and she was up on stage by the time she was 7 years old. At 19, she quit her…
Here we are with another husband and wife couple in the country music industry. This is Lorrie Morgan, former wife of the late Keith Whitley (2022 Hall Of Fame inductee). And in another family connection, Lorrie is the daughter of country legend (and 1998 Hall Of Fame inductee) George Morgan. George had her singing on the Grand Ole Opry stage…
As with a lot of other people on this list, Kathy began singing by being a part of her parents’ church choir. She joined a bluegrass band while in University, which she says helped to shape her sound and roots as an artist. After dropping out of school, she moved to Nashville. She took odd jobs while trying to make…
As with a few others on these lists, Pam Tillis already had a connection to the industry before she even started singing: Pam was the daughter of country hit-maker Mel Tillis (who himself is a 2007 inductee). From the age of 8 through all of young-adulthood, she performed shows, was in various bands, joined and left a label, and released…
Some people take a while to learn their musical skills, but it comes a bit easier when you are the son of a guitar playing father and a singing mother. Claiming to be able to sing harmony at three years old, Joe tried his hand at a music career beginning in the late 1970’s. After a number of setbacks, he…
Brad was just your average little boy growing up in West Virginia until his grandfather gave him a guitar one day. At 8 years old, he was being taught how to play it. By 9, he was performing in events around town. By 13, he was writing songs and playing in adult bands. After that he got asked to join…
Amusement parks are a great place to eat some food, hang out with family or just ride a roller coaster. But they are not normally the place where you find the next country music superstars. But that is what happened for Diamond Rio. Started in 1982, they were the main band at Opryland U.S.A., a country music themed amusement park.…
Laura Lynch, Robin Lynn Macy, and sisters Martie and Emily Erwin came together in 1989 to form a bluegrass band named the “Dixie Chicks”. From 1989-1995, they released three independent albums, got awards at bluegrass festivals and gathered a small fan base together. Also in that time, Lynch and Macy departed the group. Their steel guitar player Lloyd introduced Martie…
Since beginning to sing in his local church choir, being a part of the music industry was all Tracy wanted to do. Performing in local clubs and the honky-tonk circuit during his teenage years, he headed off to Nashville as soon as he finished college. He was signed to a record label just a few months after arriving. He had…
With a mother who owned a beauty salon and a father who was a car salesman, becoming a successful country music singer wasn’t exactly in the cards for Blake Shelton. But after learning to play the guitar in his early teens, he began writing songs and traveling around the local bar circuit around his county. As soon as he graduated…