The Musician’s Hall of Fame and Museum has had a rough few years. First, they lost their space after the building in which they were housed was marked for demolition for a new convention center. Then, the Nashville flood of 2010 damaged or destroyed much of their collection of memorabilia and rare instruments that they had placed in storage.
Today, the Hall has a new home in the first floor of the Nashville Municipal Auditorium with many of their exhibits restored and, for the first time in three years, they have named a new class of musicians. The twelve inductees is twice the normal number as they are attempting to make up for the lost time.
Joining the Musicians Hall of Fame are (text courtesy of the Hall):
Barbara Mandrell – The first artist to win the CMA Entertainer Of The Year for two consecutive years and has won multiple awards from the CMA, ACM, American Music Awards, Grammys, People’s Choice Awards and a Dove Award. Her variety show, Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters, on NBC drew millions of viewers weekly. Along with being a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame, her repertoire of instruments include: saxophone, banjo, guitar, dobro, mandolin, and bass, in addition to the accordion and the pedal steel guitar
Peter Frampton – Grammy Award winner Peter Frampton remains one of the most celebrated artists and guitarists in rock history. At 16, he was lead singer and guitarist for British band The Herd. At 18, he co-founded one of the first super groups, seminal rock act Humble Pie. His fifth solo album, Frampton Comes Alive! is one of the top selling live records of all time.
Ben Keith (posthumously) – Known primarily for his work as a pedal steel guitarist with Neil Young, Keith was a fixture of the Nashville country music community in the 1950s and 1960s. He later worked with numerous successful rock, country and pop artists as both a producer and a multi-instrumentalist sideman for over four decades. The very first song Ben recorded as a Nashville session player was Patsy Cline’s timeless standard I Fall To Pieces.
Velma Smith – A self-taught musician, Smith learned to sing and play guitar at an early age. Velma was the first female to perform a solo on the NBC Network portion of the Grand Ole Opry. Velma was also the first female rhythm guitar player to play on records, recorded in Nashville. Some of the artists Velma recorded with during her musical career were Eddy Arnold, Hank Locklin, Jim Reeves, Skeeter Davis, Roy Orbison, Waylon Jennings, Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Willie Nelson, Charlie Rich and Don Gibson.
Randy Bachman – A legendary figure in the rock and roll world through his talents as a guitarist with The Guess Who and Bachman Turner Overdrive, Randy is equally known for being a songwriter, session musician and producer. He has earned over 110 gold and platinum awards around the world for performing and producing. His songs have been recorded by numerous other artists and placed in dozens of television, movie and commercial soundtracks. His melodic guitar riffs have provided a veritable soundtrack of the last 40+ years of popular music.
Corki Casey O’Dell – In Phoenix, Ariz., in the mid-’50s, a small group of musicians were making groundbreaking recordings that would help to define the sound of Rock and Roll. Corki Casey O’Dell was the lone woman musician in this group. In 1956, she played rhythm guitar on Sanford Clark’s The Fool, a Top Ten hit record. In 1957 and ‘58, she played rhythm guitar on Duane Eddy’s Moovin’ ‘n Groovin’ and Ramrod. She played on most of Eddy’s recordings in Phoenix, including Peter Gunn, Forty Miles of Bad Road, and his signature tune, Rebel Rouser, which would be featured years later in the film Forrest Gump. Corki’s rhythm guitar playing on so many pioneering hit records earned her the title of The First Rock and Roll Sidechick.
Jimmy Capps – As one of Country Music’s finest guitar players, Jimmy Capps is a ‘master of smoothness’. He is known in the studio for his ability to move flawlessly from ‘electric to acoustic’ with a polished and refined touch that he brings to every recording or performance he is part of. Some of the classics’ that Jimmy has played on are Stand By Your Man, He Stopped Loving Her Today, and The Gambler. Jimmy can also be seen performing on the Opry stage as a staff musician, which he has done since the 1960’s.
Will Lee – Best known for his work as the bass guitarist on the CBS television program Late Show with David Letterman as part of the CBS Orchestra. As a studio musician, Lee has played on more than 1700 albums, working with artists as diverse as Carly Simon, Barry Manilow, Mariah Carey, and Dave Matthews. Will is also a founding member of the world famous Beatles tribute band, The Fab Faux.
Stevie Ray Vaughan (posthumously) & Double Trouble – With Stevie on guitar, Chris Layton on drums, Tommy Shannon on bass guitar and Reese Wynans on keyboards, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble are credited with igniting the Blues Revival in the 80’s with sold out concerts and gold records. They played together from 1978 until Stevie’s death in a helicopter crash after a concert August 27, 1990. Since then, Chris, Tommy, and Reese have continued playing in other bands as well as session musicians for other artists.
Buddy Guy – Guy is a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation, including Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Known for his showmanship on stage, he would play his guitar with drumsticks or stroll into the audience while playing solos.
2014 Iconic Riff Award: Roy Orbison (posthumously) Pretty Woman – Grammy winner Roy Orbison’s induction as a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are well documented, but not as well known, is that as a guitarist, Roy created one of the most covered and iconic guitar riffs of all time, Pretty Woman. Roy is the first recipient of this award.
Non-Performing Award: Mike Curb – Mike Curb started out writing music for TV and film before creating his first record label in 1963. Later, he merged his company with MGM and became president of MGM Records and Verve Records. In the 70s, Curb wrote for and produced Roy Orbison, the Osmond Family, Lou Rawls, and Sammy Davis, Jr. In 1994, the former Lieutenant Governor of California moved to Nashville and formed Curb Records with country recording artists including Wynonna Judd, LeAnn Rimes, Hank Williams, Jr. Rodney Atkins, and Tim McGraw. Along with running Curb Records, Mike is also a civic leader and benefactor for many organizations including higher learning institutions that have helped ensure the entertainment industry will survive in perpetuity.
Read more at vvnmusic.com
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