This specific text is controlled via the Top Description area of the Edit Performers section of your admin panel. Webb penned Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston,” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” as well as “Up, Up and Away,” made famous by The 5th Dimension. He wrote “MacArthur Park” — a song that tops the seven-minute mark — for the Association, who rejected it. Donna Summer’s disco version of “MacArthur Park” became a multi-million selling vinyl single that stayed at the top of the charts for three weeks in 1978.
Webb has topped the charts from pop to country to disco numerous times with interpretations by some of the industry’s greatest, from Glen Campbell to Art Garfunkel to Linda Ronstadt and covers by everyone from Guns n’ Roses to Josh Groban to Little Big Town. This arguably bizarre song, written about a man who literally only has half of a body, was written while Nelson was still a clean-shaven country crooner. Once you get past the oddity of the song’s premise, the deeper theme of losing part of oneself while losing a loved one makes total sense. Perhaps the most recognizable song ever written about brown liquor, “Whiskey River” is an essential component of any Willie Nelson live performance.
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George Winston Ballads And Blues 1972
In the years following its debut, Elvis Presley, Al Green, George Jones, The Supremes and more artists released their own versions of this somber, sad love song. Gram Parsons didn’t invent country rock, and his Cosmic American Music depended on sizable artistic contributions from collaborators like Chris Hillman, Emmylou Harris, and Chris Ethridge than is generally acknowledged. Her commercial impact may not measure up against other potential Hall of Fame members, but for a bluegrass artist, Alison Krauss had previously unimagined success on the country charts. Her 1995 hit “When You Say Nothing at All” and the runaway success of the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack in 2000 established Krauss as a household name, and her long-time backing band, Union Station, cultivated major bluegrass/Americana talents like Jerry Douglas and Dan Tyminski. Nelson teamed up with fellow Highwayman and lifelong friend Merle Haggard for Django & Jimmie, an album-length tribute to Django Reinhardt and Jimmie Rodgers, as both were instrumental in inspiring Haggard and Nelson to become the country music titans they eventually turned into. Released in 2015, it was the duo’s sixth and final collaboration together before Haggard’s death in 2016.
Genius is the ultimate source of music knowledge, created by scholars like you who share facts and insight about the songs and artists they love. A cover of a Roy Acuff tune, Willie Nelson’s version of “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” is totally unforgettable. It appears on Nelson’s iconic 1975 album Red Headed Stranger, which was responsible for reviving the career of one of country’s most iconic artists. Written by Texas songwriter Townes Van Zandt in the 1970s, Merle Haggard and Nelson made “Pancho and Lefty” a No. 1 hit in 1983. The title track of the country duo’s first album-length collaboration, the storyline of “Pancho and Lefty” follows two Mexican outlaws to the most dramatic of conclusions. There shouldn’t be any question about whether the Canadian pop-country icon deserves a spot.
Cannonball Adderley Music, You All
The Queen of Rockabilly’s hits in the 1950s and early ’60s were as likely to have fiddle and pedal steel as wild rocking rhythms and boogie-woogie piano. His public persona as an easygoing good-time goofball might be the biggest obstacle in Kenny Chesney’s path to the Hall of Fame. He’s released tons of albums and had nearly 30 No. 1 hits, but his signature songs border on novelty, with titles that would fit on a bumper sticker—“She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems.” Hall of Fame voters don’t seem to recognize how hard Chesney works at having fun. Lynn Anderson had as significant a career as just about any other woman in country music, with more than enough accomplishments (12 No. 1 singles, a Grammy, multiple major Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association awards) to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame. But the global success of her decade-defining 1970 crossover hit “Rose Garden” would be enough on its own – in a single three-minute song, Anderson, who died in 2015, wove together feminism, the countrypolitan sound, and world-weary sophistication. Recorded in 1961 by Billy Walker and later a concert staple for Nelson, “Funny How Time Slips Away” continues the tradition of Nelson’s most iconic hits as a songwriter being recorded first (and after!) by other artists.
Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn epitomized the mainstreaming of country music in the 1990s –balancing tradition and pop accessibility, and informed by a new sensitive brand of masculinity, the duo dominated the charts and the country awards shows for the entire decade. And they had considerable chops as songwriters (one or both have at least a co-writing credit on most of their chart-topping singles) and singers, and later hits like 2006’s “Hillbilly Deluxe” predicted the Southern rock sound that has defined much of country radio since. Known as the Red-Headed Stranger, a serious cannabis enthusiast and one of country music’s most iconic songwriters, Willie Nelson has recorded an incredible number of classic songs in his more than 60-year-long career in the industry. Just before the 2019 Grammy Awards, set for Feb. 10, Nelson will be honored by the Recording Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing for his musical achievements across dozens of records, hundreds of songs and at least six decades. Dwight Yoakam’s music hasn’t changed over the years, but the industry has – his hardcore Bakersfield revivalism and rockabilly roots are just too country for Nashville these days. It’s easy to forget that he was once a mainstream country-music star, regularly scoring top 10 singles and No. 1 albums and in constant radio rotation.
Unlike Merle Haggard and David Allan Coe, who built public myths around the fact that they’d served time in jail before finding success in music, Johnny Paycheck went to prison – for shooting a man in the head – during the peak years of his career. But being an authentic outlaw isn’t enough to qualify Paycheck for the Hall of Fame – it’s the hardcore honky-tonk hits “11 Months and 29 Days,” “She’s All I Got,” “I’m the Only Hell ,” Me and the I.R.S.,” and “Take This Job and Shove It” that ought to make him a shoo-in. By any single criterion, June Carter Cash might not merit a Hall of Fame nod – she had just one charting solo single and spent most of her performing career supporting her mother’s group act or her husband, Johnny Cash. But considering just how high her highlights were –co-writing “Ring of Fire,” her fiery performance on “Jackson,” the late-career album Wildwood Flower – and the web of family influence she was part of, there shouldn’t be any question about Carter Cash deserving a spot in the Hall.
Lonesome Christmas songs are much more common than they used to be, but none could ever approach the simple sadness of “Pretty Paper,” which tells the true tale of a street vendor with a spinal disorder known for selling pencils and paper outside a Texas department store. Roy Orbison first recorded the song in 1963, but Nelson released his own version the following year, creating a classic that belongs on any holiday playlist. Hank Williams Jr. is better known lately for his extremely conservative political views – and his willingness to share them on Fox News– than for his music. But Bocephus is genuine country-music royalty, and for a period in the 1970s and early ’80s he was among the best songwriters and singers in Nashville and laid the foundation for much of the next two decades of country music. Albums like “Hank Williams Jr. and Friends,” “Family Tradition,” and “Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound” (and “Hank Williams Jr.’s Greatest Hits,” if you’re looking for a shortcut) kickstarted the neotraditional movement before it had a name, bridging the gap between Merle Haggard and George Strait. Freddy Fender may not have the resume of a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but the mellifluous Texas pioneer made some of the best country music of the 1970s (his ’80s and ’90s work with the Texas Tornados and Los Super Seven merits consideration, too) and broke through some major barriers.
Eddie Palmieri Recorded Live At Sing Sing, Vol 1
His first and most memorable hit, “Before the Next Teardrop Falls,” was the first No.1 country single with lyrics in English and Spanish. With songs like “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” and “Take Me Home, Country Songs” , and 33 million in album sales to go along with being the Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year in 1975, one would think Denver would be an easy addition to the Country Music Hall of Fame’s roster. Perhaps it’s his long association with folk music holding the Hall back, but with the addition of Ricky Skaggs this year, it’s time to acknowledge Denver did just as much for country in 1970s as most. Johnny Christopher and Elvis Presley recorded “You Were Always On My Mind” before, but it wasn’t a massive, record-shattering hit until Nelson recorded this classic ballad in 1982.
Nelson leads off on the first verse, setting the tone for one of the most legendary outlaw country tracks in history. Was released in 1962, though, Nelson’s trajectory changed dramatically — he got a deal with Liberty Records and soon became one of Music City’s most prominent songwriters. Flip through the gallery for an essential playlist of Nelson’s finest songs, from his cover of “Georgia On My Mind” to the quintessential “Whiskey River.” It’s not easy to get into the Country Music Hall of Fame – there are only 136 members in the Nashville institution, compared to more than 300 inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which was established more than 20 years later. That means that the artists in the Country Music Hall of Fame clearly deserve to be there, but it also means that a lot of worthy artists are still waiting to get in. This specific text is controlled via the Bottom Description area of the Edit Performers section of your admin panel.
His commercial success isn’t the only reason he should be in the Hall of Fame, though – for 30 years, he’s maintained a consistent artistic vision and stayed committed to country music’s best legacies. Perhaps the Hall of Fame’s most significant oversight is the lack of recognition for the Stanley Brothers, one of bluegrass music’s foundational acts. Besides the dozens of classic singles the duo recorded between 1947 and 1966 – “I’m a Man of Constant Sorrow,” “Little Maggie,” “Rank Stranger,” “Angel Band” – Ralph Stanley exercised enormous influence as a banjo player, singer, and band leader. His version of the Clinch Mountain Boys in the 1970s and ’80s nurtured the careers of Keith Whitley, Larry Sparks, and 2018 Country Hall of Fame inductee Ricky Skaggs. Oklahoma native Wanda Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009, but her music was every bit as much country as it was rock ’n’ roll.
The title track of his seventh album, Nelson propelled the song to the top of the Billboard Hot Country and Adult Contemporary charts. Nelson teamed up with legendary blues man Ray Charles for “Seven Spanish Angels,” released in 1984. A favorite of serious Nelson and Charles fans alike, the song tracks the story of an American outlaw and his lover, which ends tragically for both. Originally sold to a Houston guitar picker named Paul Buskirk for just $150, the first recording of “Night Life” was rejected by Nelson’s label for not being “country” enough.
It’s frequently found at the beginning of Nelson’s live set list and is all but guaranteed to get the party started. This Patsy Cline classic was penned by Nelson in 1961, when he wasn’t yet a country superstar, and his own version of “Crazy” was included on his debut album, “… The mother-daughter duo of Naomi and Wynonna Judd wasn’t just a launching pad for Wynonna’s chart-topping solo career– their polished ’80s pop-crossover act set the stage for country’s foray into America’s suburban heartland in the 1990s. For a significant chunk of the mainstream country radio audience, the group’s onstage criticism of the Iraq War in 2003 has eclipsed the Chicks’ platinum-level success and their string of crossover hit singles. They’ve done more than enough to earn a place in the Hall of Fame, but it will probably be a long time before they make it in. Written by Jimmy Webb, “Highwayman” inspired the country supergroup Highwaymen, which brought together the incredible talents of Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson.
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