Musicians Hall of Fame announces
2019 inductees
Alabama, Steve Wariner, Don
Everly and more to be honored
By Preshias Harris for Country Music News International Magazine & Radio Show
Some famous names – and some
not-so-well-known names—were announced this afternoon, Tuesday,
July 16, at the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum. A group of
musicians, media and fans gathered to hear guitar wizard Joe
Bonamassa announce the 2019 inductees to the Musicians Hall of Fame &
Museum. The inductees will be honored with a concert on October 22,
2019 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
Noting that he had recently moved to
Nashville, Bonamassa wryly said, “I guess I’m part of the
problem, not the solution.”
This year’s inductees at the October
ceremony will be:
Felix Cavaliere – keyboardist
with the (Young) Rascals
Steve Wariner – guitarist and
singer-songwriter
The Surfaris – for the song
“Wipe Out”
Don Everly – of the Everly
Brothers, who will receive the Iconic Riff Award
ALABAMA – the band will
receive the first ever Life Time Achievement Award
The Original Muscle Shoals Rhythm
Section – who started it all at Fame Studios
The Nashville A-Team – the
iconic session musicians
The Muscle Shoals Horn Section
Owen Bradley – this year’s
Musicians Hall of Fame Producer
Billy Sherrill – recipient of
this year’s Engineer Award
Bob Taylor – Taylor Guitars
founder will receive the Industry Icon Award
(Scroll down for more details on all of
the 2019 Musicians Hall of Fame honorees)
Pre-sale tickets will be available
August 2, 2019 for Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum members (to
become a member go to www.musicianshalloffame.com). Tickets will be
on sale to the public on August 5, 2019 through the Schermerhorn
Symphony Center box office.
More Information on the inductees:
Felix Cavaliere – One of the best Rock
n Roll and R&B Keyboardists ever, not to mention
Songwriters Hall of Famer, Rock n Roll
Hall of Famer, soulful singer and original member of The (Young)
Rascals charting 18 top 40 hits, 5 top 10 hits, and 3 #1 mega hits.
Steve Wariner – Being honored in 2019
by Gretsch Guitars with his own Steve Wariner Signature Model
Nashville Gentleman guitar, Steve is not only a fabulous guitar
player, but also singer, multi-GRAMMY Award winning Songwriter and
named, by Chet Atkins, as one of the only 5 guitarists to receive the
CGP (certified guitar player) title.
The Surfaris (Bob Berryhill, Pat
Connolly*, Jim Fuller*, Ron Wilson*) – In 1963, surf music was ruling
the airwaves from coast to coast. Millions of young musicians were
starting garage bands in every neighborhood, in every city and the
song most every young drummer and guitarist first learned to play was
by this Southern California band. That song is the very first
Musicians Hall of Fame Instrumental Song Award Winner…“Wipe Out”.
Don Everly – The Everly Brothers are
one of the most iconic vocal duos in recording history, influencing
everyone from Simon & Garfunkel to The Rolling Stones and The
Beatles. They’ve been recognized for their angelic harmonies and
their incredible songwriting. The GRAMMY Award winning duo has been
inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock n Roll
Hall of Fame, but Don is also a great
arranger and rhythm guitarist and his ground breaking rhythm guitar
opening for “Wake Up Little Susie” is this year’s winner of the
Iconic Riff Award.
Celebrating 50 years in 2019, ALABAMA
has sold more than 80 million records, charted 43 #1 singles,
including 21 #1 singles in a row, and have won dozens of CMA,
GRAMMY®, and ACM Awards. They are members of the Country Music Hall
of Fame and have their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They
are world-class philanthropists who have raised millions of dollars
for various charities. ALABAMA is currently on the road celebrating
five decades of music on its historic “50th
Anniversary Tour.” In addition to their induction, Cook, Gentry
and Owen will receive the first ever Life Time Achievement Award from
the Musicians Hall of Fame.
The Original Muscle Shoals Rhythm
Section (David Briggs, Jerry Carrigan*, Norbert Putnam, Terry
Thompson, and friends Earl “Peanutt” Montgomery, Joe South*,
Reggie Young*) – Speaking of Alabama, who would have ever thought
that a little town in North Alabama would have become, at one time,
one of the most famous recording centers in the world? Muscle Shoals,
AL produced some of the best music ever recorded and it all started
with the original Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, at Rick Hall’s Fame
Studios.
Nashville A-Team – The Players (Eddie
Bayers, Paul Franklin, John Hobbs, Brent Mason, Michael Rhodes) –
Nashville is now the undisputed center of the music business, but
since its inception, it has always been one of the top music cities
anywhere in the world. When the recording business got rolling in
Nashville originally, we had the Nashville A-Team Musicians and that
tradition has carried on with these great musicians. Our next group
of A-Team studio musicians have recorded on thousands of sessions and
performed on countless hit recordings.
The Muscle Shoals Horn Section (Aaron
Brown, Harrison Calloway, Ronnie Eades, Charles Rose, Harvey
Thompson) – Every good rhythm section needs a good horn section, and
in Muscle Shoals, during the 60’s and 70’s, the original Fame
Studio “Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section”, along with “The
Swampers”, at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio were lucky enough to have
these talented musicians.
Owen Bradley* – Nashville would not be
the magical place where dreams come true, and the world renowned city
it is today without our incredible music industry. There wouldn’t
be that music industry without this visionary and musical genius.
Besides creating Music Row, the songs he produced in the 50’s and
60’s sound as timeless today as they did then. Owen Bradley is this
year’s Musicians Hall of Fame Producer.
Billy Sherrill – Every great record has
a great engineer, and there are a lot of good songs that became great
records because of our next Musicians Hall of Fame Inductee.
Recipient of this year’s Engineer Award goes to Billy Sherrill.
Bob Taylor – The Industry Icon Award is
presented to someone for not only making a difference in the world of
music, but also in the world itself. Taylor Guitars co-founder Bob
Taylor is a pioneering acoustic guitar maker whose modern innovations
have transformed the company from a small shop into a world-class
manufacturer. Bob was 19 years old when he and co- founder Kurt
Listug started the company that bears his name in 1974. Bob’s
slim-profile guitar necks and easy playability helped put Taylor on
the map, and in the decades that followed, Bob introduced many
groundbreaking refinements to the guitar-making process, establishing
new standards of quality and consistency, and making the acoustic
guitar more inspiring to players at every level. Today, Taylor is an
industry leader and the top-selling acoustic guitar brand in North
America. In recent years, Bob has turned his attention to forest
conservation and sustainability initiatives, including several
pioneering reforestation programs that are planting thousands of
trees for the benefit of future generations of guitar makers and
musicians.
*Being honored posthumously
Photo credit: Mike Harris
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