Charlie Daniels, Fred Foster, & Randy Travis Are The 2016 Country Hall of Fame Inductees
Tuesday morning (3-29) found country music dignitaries and CMA executives gathered in the rotunda of the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville to announce the newest members to the storied institution. The event was hosted by the fiery Brenda Lee.
The 2016 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees were:
— Randy Travis in the Modern Era category
— Charlie Daniels in the Veteran’s Era category
— DJ and label executive Fred Foster in the Non-Performer category.
The Country Music Hall of Fame inductees are selected through a committee process appointed by the Country Music Association. Since 2010, the selection process has been split up into three categories. 1) Modern Era (eligible for induction 20 years after they first achieve “national prominence”). 2) Veterans Era (eligible for induction 45 years after they first achieve “national prominence”). 3) Non-Performer, Songwriter, and Recording and/or Touring Musician active prior to 1980 (rotates every 3 years). With a musician, Grady Martin, selected in 2015, and a songwriter, Hank Cochran, selected in 2014, it would be a non-performer’s turn up to bat in 2015. A non-performer could be a record executive, producer, journalist, or someone else behind-the-scenes who had a significant impact on country music according to the committee.
The first announced inductee was DJ and label executive Fred Foster in the Non-Performer category.
“You don’t dream about things like this,” Foster said in his acceptance speech. “If you’re involved in country music in any way, and you’re inducted into the Hall of Fame, you can’t get any higher, or any better than that. You’re at the top of the mountain. And I have to say the view is very good from up here.”
Fred Foster is known for numerous contributions to country music, most notably starting Monument Records in 1958, and helping to launch the careers of artists such as Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson, Tony Joe White, Billy Joe Shaver, and many others. He also worked as a producer.
“Country music is the real deal,” Foster said. “The rest of it, some of it’s good, and some isn’t. But country music has been my life.”
Fred Foster also spilled the beans on what was supposed to be a surprise by announcing that Charlie Daniels and Randy Travis were also set to be honored as new inductees.
Next up was fiddle -playing maestro and Southern rocker Charlie Daniels as the new Veteran Era inductee.
“I’m flabbergasted, I really am,” said Charlie. “This is the one you don’t even dare dream about. You can work toward other goals. There’s no way to work toward this goal. It’s something that either happens or it don’t. And I can’t think of a bigger honor to be given to anybody who loves country music. This is the cherry on top of the icing … I’m very humbled this morning to think about the shoulders that I stand on; the artists who blazed a trail down millions of miles of two lane black top to take this music to the people who loved it: the common man.”
The Hall of Fame rotunda became emotional when Modern Era inductee Randy Travis walked under his own control to the podium. Though he struggled to speak, Randy said simply, “Thank you,” which were the first words he’s spoken in public since suffering a major stroke in 2013. His wife Mary Davis Travis then read a speech on Randy’s behalf.
“I’ve been asked to take on the daunting task to be the voice of this man who so eloquently put words to melody to make beautiful music for the world to enjoy who lived and he loved the songs that he wrote, and the songs that he sang,” said Mary Davis. “He’s a man of great courage as you all know. He’s kind, he’s gentle…”
READ: Randy Travis Announced As Newest Inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame
Though it is a joyous day for fans of these three men, the Hall of Fame has a backlog of artists who many feel should get in, including Alan Jackson and Hank Williams Jr., who are as decorated in country music as any, and more decorated than some already in the Hall of Fame. From there the list grows of artist who many fans feel should be inducted, but the Hall of Fame has stuck to its policy of keeping induction as one of the toughest, and most distinguished honors in country music.
You can watch the entire press conference below, starting at roughly the 18:00-minute mark.
Colter m.
March 29, 2016 @ 10:12 am
Just put Hank in already.
Charlie
March 29, 2016 @ 10:46 am
The good thing is when this current, undeserving crop of ‘stars’ comes of ‘Hall Age’ then more slots should open up for the truly deserving ones.
Of course by then the bar will be even lower, to the extent that Keith Urban will be looked upon as an old school classic.
Which suggests a business opportunity–the Coffin Rotisserie (TM), to make grave spinning easier.
Brian
March 29, 2016 @ 11:17 am
I have to be honest a little about Charlie Daniels. I am a fan, however I think some other artist might have been a little more deserving here, as someone noted in the other article, I feel Tanya Tucker had a much better resume to get into the Hall. If you took away “Devil Went Down To Georgia” from his work, I am not sure he would have even gotten close to getting in. It was his only #1 single and while that should never be the standard, Tanya had years of hits and quality work in my opinion that should have gotten her in first. Tanya is not the only one who had a better resume in my opinion, however she had a very strong one in my opinion.
Jack Williams
March 29, 2016 @ 11:34 am
I largely agree and I’m also a fan, mainly of the first few CDB albums, which really were rock albums with some country on them. It looks like his first album (before CDB) came out in 1970, so he passes the 45 year test, I guess, if just barely. I think Tanya Tucker might fall just short in that respect, but Hank Jr. certainly does not.
Trigger
March 29, 2016 @ 11:57 am
Though the math doesn’t line up perfectly, you could make the case that last year they inducted two Veteran’s Era members, and this year they inducted two Modern Era inductees, making these distinctions seem even more nebulous than they were before.
Charlie Daniels is a mover and shaker these days. He appears at a lot of functions, glad handing folks and making the rounds. I’m not saying he’s not deserving of induction, but I’m not surprised he knows how to play the game better than Hank Jr., for example.
Scotty J
March 29, 2016 @ 12:13 pm
If anything can be said about this process going forward it’s that if you rock the boat too much (Hank Jr) or buck the system (Alan Jackson ‘Choices’) too much they will punish you.
Alan Jackson in theory should represent everything that the powers that be would want in a hall of famer (critical success, sales, dozens of hits, influence, awards) yet he seems to be passed over year after year. The gap between Garth’s induction and Jackson’s speaks volumes.
And congrats to Randy Travis who is very deserving and probably should be in ahead of Jackson logically but this whole process seems to lack logic.
Eduardo Vargas
March 29, 2016 @ 12:52 pm
To be honest, I hardly think that Alan Jackson isn’t entering for a controversy at an award show that almost everyone forgot by now. The glut of deserving artists that haven’t entered is quite significant so It may be a year or two before he gets in, but he very likely will soon.
Hank Jr on the other hand, didn’t help himself in the previous elections with those comments
Scotty J
March 29, 2016 @ 2:06 pm
‘It may be a year or two before he gets in, but he very likely will soon’
That’s what people have been saying for about five years now so I don’t know. It’s largely forgotten now but Jackson had a hard time breaking through to win major awards early in his career and it was often attributed to his supposed prickly personality and that he didn’t play the industry games that others like Vince Gill did. Now those same people that were slow rolling him 25 years ago are doing the same again.
My big thing is why does any of this matter. Any objective analysis of history and comparable careers and when those artists were inducted tells us that both Jackson and Williams are long overdue to be inducted therefore it must be something else.
This has happened before also. Webb Pierce was one of the biggest and most successful artists of the 1950s yet he had a reputation as being difficult and lo and behold he didn’t make the Hall until forty years after his prime when they did the mega catch up class of 2001 which was 10 years after Pierce’s death.
Applejack
March 29, 2016 @ 2:53 pm
I’m also kinda skeptical of the idea that the “Choices” incident is keeping Alan Jackson out of the Hall of Fame. It seems to me that it might have ruffled some feathers among the chief organizers of the CMAs that particular year, but honestly, I would think a lot of people actually agreed with him. Is that not the industry crowd standing up and applauding in the video?
Either way, I would think that the incident has been mostly forgotten by now.
As for Alan having a prickly personality, I find that interesting. I don’t necessarily doubt it, though I have mostly always perceived him as being a laid back, soft spoken, gentlemanly guy.
Scotty J
March 29, 2016 @ 3:15 pm
I don’t know if the ‘Choices’ performance is a part of this or not but it did happen in 1999 and for all his huge success in the 1990s he only won CMA Entertainer in 1995 and never won Male Vocalist until after the 9/11 song so he was kind of shut out of the big awards for the first 12-13 years of his career while having massive success and I do remember talk that he wasn’t the schmoozer type that is often needed to win these kind of industry awards (not just in entertainment either but many industries). So maybe prickly was a poor descriptor but we have seen others like Waylon, Hank Jr. and Toby Keith that have been under awarded because of perceived difficult personalities so it wouldn’t be unheard of for some of these voters to hold this kind of stuff against an artist.
I’m not saying he won’t get in it just is starting to look odd that the years are going on with people saying ‘oh he’ll get in next year’ and so on and so on…
nascarfan999
March 29, 2016 @ 4:25 pm
Choices was not Alan’s only awards show run-in. There was also the 1994 ACM awards where he allegedly had the drummer play Gone Country without his drum sticks after learning they would be using a backing track. Of course those are just public incidents, who knows what goes on behind the scenes.
Also, since I know you’ve mentioned Merle’s touring changes a couple times, here is an update I found today that has him sidelined through April: http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/music/kevin-johnson/merle-haggard-drops-off-show-with-willie-nelson-coming-to/article_a925369d-aafa-585c-85fc-11414fa3759a.html
CRay
April 2, 2016 @ 9:15 am
Kind of a back handed complement. Look, no doubt about it, Hank Jr needs to be in the hall and I mean yesterday. I love them both but fact is Charlie is a genuine good guy and Hank can be a royal asshole sometimes and that does probably play a factor. My point is that it is not a matter of Charlie politicking for something, it is not knowing how to play a game, it is just who and what they are.
Andrew
March 29, 2016 @ 12:13 pm
I was excited to see Charlie’s name, I’ve always been a big fan. I definitely think he deserves it, even if he is more southern rock than straight country. It’s about time he was inducted.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
March 29, 2016 @ 1:12 pm
Brian: you know what really grinds my gears? People who say stupid stuff like that. That’s what really grinds my gears.
Charlie Daniels has a discography comparable to anyone in Country Music, from both “Uneasy Riders” to “South’s Gonna Do it Again” to “Simple Man.” He’s been behind some of the most iconic Country rock/Southern rock anybody ever recorded and he’s been performing for decades, and let’s not forget his Volunteer Jam, which is one of the most exciting evenings in music, beating out any awards show except maybe Ameripolitan Awards.
He is an icon with enough quality original material to put most of his peers to shame, and he’s never sat back on his laurels like Bocephus, he’s still out there performing and wowing audiences at almost eighty.
Brian
March 29, 2016 @ 5:16 pm
Listen, I love Charlie, have seen him between 10-15 times. I am just saying that commercial success does play some role in these things and an artist like Tanya has had a lot more. His southern rock/country sound is iconic, but I look at his early stuff as very southern rock and less country. He will still blow the doors off most performers. I just made an observation, primarily between two very legendary artists.
Tom
March 29, 2016 @ 12:15 pm
From an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air:
Will Smith: I don’t have a date for the concert tonight.
Will’s grandma: Who’s playin’?
Will: Heavy D.
Grandma: Oooh, I love him!
Will: You do?
Grandma: Who doesn’t like Charlie Daniels?
Reason enough for Charlie’s induction, as far as I’m concerned.
Adam
March 29, 2016 @ 12:28 pm
I can’t complain about the quality of these inductees, each are deserving. I certainly think Hank Jr is more deserving in terms of accomplishment and impact on music (although Randy Travis had significant impact on the genre too). Unfortunately, each year that goes by pushes Hank Jr more firmly into the crowded and complicated Veteran’s category. More work to do…
#BocephusBelongs
I miss Steve Gaines
March 29, 2016 @ 2:31 pm
Call up Trudy!!
Applejack
March 29, 2016 @ 2:34 pm
Congratulations to Charlie Daniels and Randy Travis. Both definitley deserve this honor. Well done.
I have to confess, up to this point I haven’t been familiar with Fred Foster’s work, but congratulations to him too. I’ll have to do some further research on him. He seems like a nice fellow who sincerely loves country music. I can’t say much for his ability to keep secrets, though… heh heh.
Personally, I’d like to see Ricky Skaggs go in next in the Modern Category, though I strongly suspect next year will be Alan Jackson’s turn, which is also cool with me.
I’d also really love to see Dwight Yoakam go in, somewhere down the line.
Erik North
March 29, 2016 @ 4:14 pm
It should also be said of Charlie Daniels that, even well before his own success with “Uneasy Rider” (let alone “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”), he was a heavily in-demand session player in Nashville in the 1960s, playing on, among other things, Bob Dylan’s seminal 1969 C&W/rock album NASHVILLE SKYLINE; and he co-wrote, with Bob Johnston, one of Elvis’ 115 Top 40 pop hits, the R&B flavored 1964 ballad “It Hurts Me.”
dave
March 29, 2016 @ 4:53 pm
I am a fan of both Charlie and randy and I am happy for both of them…… But lets face it Charlie and randys album sales combined don’t even match Hank Jr’s…. its just like back in the 80s when the cma would not acknowledge Hank Jr and they awarded ricky skaggs the entertainer of the year award and so we had our cma entertainer of the year as hank jrs opening act…. what a joke
PETE MARSHALL
March 29, 2016 @ 5:14 pm
COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Robert Keenan
March 29, 2016 @ 5:53 pm
Hat trick for the state of North Carolina
Dusty
March 29, 2016 @ 8:42 pm
These are all excellent choices!
Jacob Hatcher
March 29, 2016 @ 9:12 pm
Of course I can’t be unbiased because I’m a die hard Charlie Daniels fan, but I think if we look at not only his own commercial output, but also his contributions to recordings that were not his own, you see that he’s more than qualified.
His instrumental work for Bob Dylan speaks for itself and added significant support to
the idea that Nashville was a place that serious music could be made. It was the work of Charlie Daniels and others like him that showed the outside world that Nashville was doing more than hillbilly stuff.
Add to that Daniels’ being one of the “friends” on Hank Jrs record that really marked his change in direction, I think there’s no reason to think it’s not fair for Daniels to be inducted.
scott
March 30, 2016 @ 6:11 am
Well said, Jacob. Charlie Daniels is, was, and always will be, the real deal. Add all the tours of entertaining the service men and women to what you mentioned, his choice is beyond reproach. God bless Charlie Daniels, and the whole damn CDB.
CRay
April 2, 2016 @ 8:23 am
Absolutely, he is as deserving as anyone in the Hall. The Godfather of country rock. As Ronnie Van Zant once wrote, Nashville has a million and one guitar pickers but I guess my favorite would be the CDB!
RHP-997
March 30, 2016 @ 5:22 pm
Does Charlie Daniels still hate Mexicans?
luckyoldsun
April 2, 2016 @ 7:52 pm
Probably not. He probably never did hate Mexicans–He just made records that pandered to whatever group he was trying to appeal to.
Grady Shades
March 31, 2016 @ 12:08 pm
I wonder if the town of Marshville, NC will put Randy’s name back on the sign now? Used to welcome you to the hometown of Randy Travis. Then it disappeared when Randy had his issuses.