Memo to all "Country Music Classics" subscribers

2013 Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

The Country Music Association announced today that Bobby Bare, "Cowboy" Jack Clement, and Kenny Rogers will become the newest members of the  Country Music Hall of Fame.

Rogers will be inducted in the "Modern Era Artist" category, while Bare will be inducted in the "Veterans Era Artist" category. Clement will be inducted in the "Non-Performer" category, which is awarded every third year in a rotation with the "Recording and/or Touring Musician Active Prior to 1980," and "Songwriter" categories. Bare, Clement, and Rogers will increase membership in the coveted Country Music Hall of Fame from 118 to 121 members.

Bobby Bare   For more than fifty years, singer-songwriter Bobby Bare has been one of Country Music's most respected performers and recording artists. He was born Robert Joseph Bare in Lawrence County, Ohio, and began his career in Springfield, Ohio. In 1953 he moved to Los Angeles, where he recorded briefly for Capitol and Challenge in the mid-1950s and signed as a writer with Opal Music. Bare had recently been drafted into the Army when he recorded a demo of his song "All American Boy" for friend Bill Parsons, who was hoping to land a record deal. Cincinnati's Fraternity Records released Bare's unfinished demo with a label crediting Parsons as artist and writer due to Bare's preexisting contracts, but it reached #2 on the Pop charts, proving Bare's selling power as a vocalist.

 

 

Cowboy Jack Clement

Jack Henderson Clement became one of the most respected and influential figures in the Country Music industry.  He has gained success not only as a songwriter, but also as a studio engineer, producer, recording studio owner, music publisher, and artist. A native of Whitehaven, Tennessee, he was born April 5, 1931. After four years in the Marine Corps, Clement toured with a bluegrass band before settling temporarily in Memphis in 1954.

 

Kenny Rogers   Kenny Rogers parlayed a distinctive, husky voice and laid-back sex appeal into durable superstardom. Between 1977 and 1987 he logged twenty #1 country hits, many of which climbed the pop charts. During his lengthy career the international star has sold more than 50 million albums in the United States alone.