Road to the Hall of Fame: Rite of Remembrance and Salute honors inductees from 1961-2018

On Sunday, October 20th, the Country Music Hall of Fame will welcome its newest members, Jerry Bradley, Brooks & Dunn and Ray Stevens. For the two weeks prior to their induction, the museum will recognize the full Hall of Fame membership (136 members) with a special ritual, Road to the Hall of Fame: Rite of Remembrance and Salute.

The ceremony will take place daily at 1 pm, from Sunday, October 6th, through Saturday, October 19th, to honor the members of the Country Music Hall of Fame, inducted from 1961 to 2018. The museum’s Circle Guard will oversee the ritual, reading biographies of each Hall of Fame member in the museum’s Rotunda. Different members will be recognized each day; a complete schedule is below.

During the daily presentation, a Circle Guard member — David Conrad, Bill Denny, Mary Ann McCready, Seab Tuck, Steve Turner or Kyle Young — will wear a special stole, designed by couturier Sandi Spika Borchetta, who also serves as SVP Creative, Big Machine Label Group.

The front of the stole features several symbolic connections to country music. The Latin phrase Musica Rustica Movet, translating loosely as “country music rocks,” is embroidered along the right side of the stole. Below the lettering, elaborately beaded forget-me-nots flank musical notes that suggest the melody of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” a song sung frequently at museum events and country music rites of passage. The song’s title is inscribed around the interior of the Hall of Fame Rotunda.

On the left side of the stole, entwined roots transform, as they rise, into guitar strings, evoking connections between country music and its stylistically varied roots. The decoration on the left side ends in the Circle Guard logo, the top of the logo forming a point resembling the WSM radio tower that has carried country music far and wide for almost 100 years over its 50,000-watt signal.

The reverse side of the ceremonial stole incorporates colorful fabric swatches and ornate beadwork that recall the humble, distinctive beauty of Dolly Parton’s patchwork “Coat of Many Colors.” Each piece of fabric is a swatch from a garment created by Sandi Spika Borchetta, ranging from Taylor Swift’s dress worn in the 2008 music video for “Love Story” and Reba McEntire’s revealing red dress worn by McEntire at the 1993 CMA Awards, to Ricky Van Shelton’s jacket and Trisha Yearwood’s wedding dress.

The ceremonial stole will be on display outside of the museum’s Rotunda beginning Sunday, October 6th. During the month-long rite of remembrance, Circle Guard members daily remove the stole from its case, and the master of ceremonies wears it while conducting that day’s ceremony.

“This ritual brings together and celebrates those who created the country music story,” states Steve Turner, chairman of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s board of officers and trustees. “Each day of the Road to the Hall of Fame, the Circle Guard members, who have made a commitment of time, talent and treasure to the museum, honor those in the country music world who have served and continue to serve as an inspiration for millions of fans around the world.”

Schedule for Road to the Hall of Fame Readings:

Sunday, Oct 6th

  • Class of 1961: Jimmie Rodgers, Fred Rose and Hank Williams
  • Class of 1962: Roy Acuff
  • Class of 1963: None elected
  • Class of 1964: Tex Ritter
  • Class of 1965: Ernest Tubb
  • Class of 1966: Eddy Arnold, Jim Denny, George D. Hay and Uncle Dave Macon

Monday, Oct 7th

  • Class of 1967: Red Foley, J.L. “Joe” Frank, Jim Reeves and Steve Sholes
  • Class of 1968: Bob Wills
  • Class of 1969: Gene Autry
  • Class of 1970: Bill Monroe and the original Carter Family
  • Class of 1971: Art Satherly
  • Class of 1972: Jimmie Davis

Tuesday, Oct 8th

  • Class of 1973: Chet Atkins and Patsy Cline
  • Class of 1974: Owen Bradley and Pee Wee King
  • Class of 1975: Minnie Pearl
  • Class of 1976: Paul Cohen and Kitty Wells
  • Class of 1977: Merle Travis
  • Class of 1978: Grandpa Jones

Wednesday, Oct 9th

  • Class of 1979: Hubert Long and Hank Snow
  • Class of 1980: Johnny Cash, Connie B. Gay and the original Sons of the Pioneers
  • Class of 1981: Vernon Dalhart and Grant Turner
  • Class of 1982: Lefty Frizzell, Roy Horton and Marty Robbins

Thursday, Oct 10th

  • Class of 1983: Little Jimmy Dickens
  • Class of 1984: Ralph Peer and Floyd Tillman
  • Class of 1985: Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs
  • Class of 1986: Whitey Ford (The Duke of Paducah) and Wesley H. Rose
  • Class of 1987: Rod Brasfield
  • Class of 1988: Loretta Lynn and Roy Rogers

Friday, Oct 11th

  • Class of 1989: Jack Stapp, Cliffie Stone and Hank Thompson
  • Class of 1990: Tennessee Ernie Ford
  • Class of 1991: Boudleaux and Felice Bryant
  • Class of 1992: George Jones and Frances Preston
  • Class of 1993: Willie Nelson

Saturday, Oct 12th

  • Class of 1994: Merle Haggard
  • Class of 1995: Roger Miller and Jo Walker-Meador
  • Class of 1996: Patsy Montana, Buck Owens and Ray Price
  • Class of 1997: Harlan Howard, Brenda Lee and Cindy Walker

Sunday, Oct 13th

  • Class of 1998: George Morgan, Elvis Presley, E.W. “Bud” Wendell and Tammy Wynette
  • Class of 1999: Johnny Bond, Dolly Parton and Conway Twitty
  • Class of 2000: Charley Pride and Faron Young

Monday, Oct 14th

  • Class of 2001: Bill Anderson, the Delmore Brothers, the Everly Brothers, Don Gibson, Homer & Jethro, Waylon Jennings, the Jordanaires, Don Law, the Louvin Brothers, Ken Nelson, Sam Phillips and Webb Pierce

Tuesday, Oct 15th

  • Class of 2002: Bill Carlisle and Porter Wagoner
  • Class of 2003: Floyd Cramer and Carl Smith
  • Class of 2004: Jim Foglesong and Kris Kristofferson
  • Class of 2005: Alabama, DeFord Bailey and Glen Campbell

Wednesday, Oct 16th

  • Class of 2006: Harold Bradley, Sonny James and George Strait
  • Class of 2007: Ralph Emery, Vince Gill and Mel Tillis
  • Class of 2008: Tom T. Hall, Emmylou Harris, the Statler Brothers and Ernest V. “Pop” Stoneman

Thursday, Oct 17th

  • Class of 2009: Roy Clark, Barbara Mandrell and Charlie McCoy
  • Class of 2010: Jimmy Dean, Ferlin Husky, Billy Sherrill and Don Williams
  • Class of 2011: Bobby Braddock, Reba McEntire and Jean Shepard

Friday, Oct 18th

  • Class of 2012: Garth Brooks, Hargus “Pig” Robbins and Connie Smith
  • Class of 2013: Bobby Bare, Cowboy Jack Clement and Kenny Rogers
  • Class of 2014: Hank Cochran, Ronnie Milsap and Mac Wiseman
  • Class of 2015: Jim Ed Brown & the Browns, Grady Martin and the Oak Ridge Boys

Saturday, Oct 19th

  • Class of 2016: Charlie Daniels, Fred Foster and Randy Travis
  • Class of 2017: Alan Jackson, Jerry Reed and Don Schlitz
  • Class of 2018: Johnny Gimble, Ricky Skaggs and Dottie West