2019 Musicians Hall of Fame Inductees announced

Eleven new inductees will join the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2019 and will be honored with a special concert in October.

Alabama, Steve Wariner, The Surfaris and Don Everly are among the eleven new inductees into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2019. Last week, multi-GRAMMY nominated guitar virtuoso Joe Bonamassa announced the 2019 inductees in Nashville. They will be honored with a concert on October 22nd at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Downtown Nashville. This year’s inductees are:

Alabama (Jeff Cook, Teddy Gentry, Randy Owen) are celebrating 50 years in 2019. The group has sold more than 80 million records, charted 43 No. 1 singles, including 21 No. 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, but had to cancel a few dates over the weekend due to singer Randy Owen becoming ill.

In addition to their induction, Cook, Gentry and Owen will receive the first ever Life Time Achievement Award from the Musicians Hall of Fame.

“Getting the first Lifetime Achievement Award and going in the Musicians Hall of Fame is very humbling,” Owen says of the induction. “I am thankful to be a musician, a singer, a songwriter and for being able to make a living through touring and recording for the last 50 years.”

Steve Wariner is adding to a big 2019 after being honored by Gretsch Guitars with his own Steve Wariner Signature Model Nashville Gentleman guitar. Wariner 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 five guitarists to receive the CGP (certified guitar player) title.

The Surfaris (Bob Berryhill, Pat Connolly*, Jim Fuller*, Ron Wilson*) ruled surf music from coast to coast in the 1960’s. 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.”

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 Everly 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.

Felix Cavaliere is one of the best rock and R&B keyboardists ever, not to mention Songwriters Hall of Famer, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, soulful singer and original member of The (Young) Rascals charting 18 top 40 hits, five Top 10 hits and three No. 1 mega hits.

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, Charlie Rhodes, 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 cofounder 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.

Pre-sale tickets will be available August 2nd for Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum members. Tickets will be on sale to the public on August 5th through the Schermerhorn Symphony Center Box Office.

*Being honored posthumously

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn