Used with permission of CMA Closeup News Service
By Scott Stem
The Country Music Association has announced that groundbreaking musical group Alabama, legendary singer/musician/television host Glen Campbell and pioneering Grand Ole Opry star DeFord Bailey will become the newest members of the coveted Country Music Hall of Fame. Formal induction for the artists will take place during "The 39th Annual CMA Awards," which will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network, Tuesday, Nov. 15 (8:00-11:00 PM/EST) from Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Bailey will be inducted in the "Career Achieved National Prominence Prior to World War II" category, which is awarded every third year in a rotation with the "Recording and/or Touring Musician Active Prior to 1980" and "Non-Performer" categories. Campbell will be inducted in the "Career Achieved National Prominence Between World War II and 1975" category and Alabama will be the first artist inducted in the new "Career Achieved National Prominence Between 1975 and the Present" category created earlier this year.
All inductees are chosen by CMA's Hall of Fame panel of electors, consisting of more than 300 anonymous voters appointed by the CMA Board of Directors. Alabama, Bailey and Campbell and will increase the Hall of Fame membership from 92 to 95.
"A Country Music artist's highest aspiration is to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame," said Ed Benson, CMA Executive Director. "The late DeFord Bailey was a star of the Grand Ole Opry during the Great Depression, lifting America's spirits with his harmonica. Glen Campbell brought Country Music to millions of fans in the late '60s and '70s with his numerous classic crossover hits as well as his successful television variety series. Alabama brought a new energy and a broader audience to Country Music in the '80s, becoming the most successful band in our format's history. CMA is proud to induct all three artists into the Country Music Hall of Fame where they will join an elite group of performers and industry veterans who have significantly shaped Country Music over the last century."
