Of all the honors bestowed in Nashville, few rival induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Visitors to the museum end their tour in the rotunda, where Thomas Hart Benton’s last mural graces the wall where the plaques hang in recognition of those who have been selected.
This year’s Gold Medallion ceremony, held in the Country Music Hall of Fame Theater, honored The Stanley Brothers–the late Carter and Ralph–along with singer-songwriter Paul Overstreet and Tim McGraw.
After a welcome by Chairman of the Museum board Jody Williams, CMA executive director Sarah Trahern described the pleasure of being able to tell the recipients they had been selected for their “indelible impact” on country music. With the recent announcement of her plans to retire, the evening was bittersweet. She noted the “collective sigh across the industry” as the Stanley Brothers were finally (a word repeated several times during the evening) admitted to the circle. She also said that Overstreet and his wife were in the South China Sea when she reached out with the news.
Several living Hall of Fame members were present for the occasion, and the loss this year of two members of the group, Don Schlitz and Dolly Parton, was also acknowledged.
An overview of the life and career of the Virginia-based Stanley Brothers, with video footage included, recognized their music as training ground for artists from Dwight Yoakam to Bob Dylan. Their sound, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO Kyle Young pointed out, is the mountain sound, music Ralph was reluctant to label as bluegrass. Young recalled Carter’s early death—at just 41—and his funeral where Bill Monroe, with his hand on the casket, sang “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”
Ralph Stanley was described as “the young man with the hundred-year-old voice,” who continued to perform after losing his brother, going on to play on broader stages, moving from schoolhouse shows to Ash Grove, NYU, and the Newport Folk Festival. He continued to expand the national awareness of bluegrass and old-time music through his part in the iconic movie and soundtrack O Brother, Where Art Thou? until his death in 2016.
To kick off the celebration of the Stanley Brothers, Billy Strings and his band performed “How Mountain Girls Can Love.” Introducing the next performance, Young noted that he was known as Doctor Ralph Stanley in part because he was a professor. Two of his “students,” Vince Gill and Ricky Skaggs, performed “Rank Stranger” with Jeff White accompanying.
During the evening, Carter was acknowledged as “the Hank Williams of bluegrass music,” with 112 copyrighted songs to his credit; Stanley served as the folklorist.
The First Ladies of Bluegrass, the first women to win the award in their instrument category from the International Bluegrass Music Association, performed the Stanleys’ upbeat “Bound to Ride,” recorded with Dolly Parton singing lead, the first posthumous release by the country music legend.
The Stanley family had requested that Vince Gill present the medallion as the plaque was unveiled. Acceptance speeches were made by Ralph II and Lisa Stanley Marshall, children of Ralph, and Jeannie Stanley Allinder, who called herself “Carter’s baby girl.” Regarding the recognition, she noted that “they earned it,” calling her father “the engine” behind the band and noting that they “should have come in with Flatt and Scruggs.”
Paul Overstreet, who grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast was next recognized, with an attribution to William Faulkner of the quote, “To understand the world you must first understand a place like Mississippi. The tribute highlighted Overstreet’s time with the S-K-O trio, his collaboration with Tanya Tucker and Paul Davis, and his stellar songwriting track record. With such songs as George Jones’ “Same Old Me,” Randy Travis’ “On the Other Hand, and “the Judds’ “Love Can Build a Bridge,” co-written with Naomi Judd, Overstreet is the only individual named BMI Songwriter of the Year for 5 years.
Dean Dillon performed “If I Could Bottle This Up,” an early hit for Shelby Lynne, backed by the house band, including Deanie Richardson on fiddle, Mark Becket on drums, Charlie Worsham on Guitar, and Jen Gunderman on keys.
Jamey Johnson, commenting, “I get to honor three of my heroes all at the same time,” performed “Forever and Ever Amen,” and Blake Shelton performed his Overstreet hit, “Some Beach.”
Tanya Tucker was on hand to present Overstreet’s medallion, revealing that as soon as the program was over, she was heading to the ER after a recent fall down stairs. Accepting the medallion and its accompanying honor, Overstreet said, “You don’t get here by yourself.”
Country superstar Tim McGraw was the third recipient recognized for such hits as “Indian Outlaw,” which songwriter Tommy Barnes played for him when he first arrived in Nashville. He said his first album was not the success he wanted but that things turned around when he began recording what he called “songs I believed in,” leading to hits including “It’s Your Love,” the duet with his wife Faith Hill and super hit “Humble and Kind.” In his acceptance speech, he acknowledged the huge impact of his mother, present for the ceremony.
Parker McCollum performed “Don’t Take the Girl,” followed by the story of McGraw’s discovery at 11 that his birth father was baseball player Tug McGraw. Lady A performed the Craig Wiseman/Tim Nichols penned hit “Live Like You Were Dying,” a tribute to McGraw’s late-in-life relationship with his father.
Lainey Wilson performed “Just to See You Smile,” after the revelation that as a young girl from Texas, she had written a letter to McGraw as a role model—a letter he never knew about until it appeared in Wilson’s exhibit at the Hall of Fame. She told McGraw, “People say ‘Don’t meet your heroes,’ but you’re everything you say you are.”
Randy Owen of Alabama, himself a member of the Hall of Fame, presented McGraw’s medallion.
While the 159th, 160th, and 161st members of the Hall of Fame may not seem connected on the surface, Young noted that the late Keith Whitley had begun his career playing the songs of the Stanley Brothers before he and Ricky Skaggs began playing with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys. Before his untimely death, he had a number one hit with “When You Say Nothing at All,” written by Overstreet and the late Schlitz. Later McGraw revealed that he arrived in Nashville with a pawn shop guitar on the day Whitley died.
The evening closed with the traditional grand finale “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” led by Patty Loveless, who added a verse referencing the loss of “Sister Dolly.”
