Country Hall of Fame Adds Category By: JEANNE ANNE NAUJECK Staff Writer Contemporary country artists will be considered for induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, beginning this year. The Country Music Association, which inducts country stars into the hall at the rate of two a year, is raising that to three by adding a category for those artists who achieved stardom from 1975 to the present. That means artists such as Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Shania Twain, Reba McEntire and Alan Jackson could become members of the exclusive club while they are still performing. It could also reduce the backlog of artists waiting to be considered for induction. This year, two people were to be selected — one whose career "achieved national prominence before World War II" and one for the period between World War II and 1975. The new category will add a performer who achieved stardom anytime from 1975 to the present. The pre-WWII category will rotate every three years. Next year, that category will shift to honor a recording and/or touring musician active before 1980. In 2007 it will be reserved for a non-performer, and in 2008 it will revert to a pre-WWII artist. In making the changes, the CMA acknowledged that some inductees have died before getting picked; Webb Pierce, who had 13 No. 1 hits in the 1950s, died 10 years before his induction in 2001. In 2002 inductee Bill Carlisle lived to see his induction at the November CMA Awards and saw his plaque mounted in the Hall of Fame Rotunda. But he died before the Hall's spring Medallion Ceremony, where fellow inductee Porter Wagoner, who is 77, was honored without him. “We had reached a point where we were falling behind,” CMA Executive Director Ed Benson said. Since 1961 the Hall has inducted 92 acts, music industry leaders and others who advanced the format. The CMA noted that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has already inducted 209 members since its inaugural ceremonies in 1986. Last year's country inductees were Kris Kristofferson, the singer and songwriter, and Jim Foglesong, a talented performer who is best known in Nashville for his contributions to the business, including signing Garth Brooks to a recording contract. This year's new members will be announced in the summer and will be inducted during the CMA Awards show, which will be held in New York on Nov. 15.

Originally Published In The Tennessean On February 23, 2005







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