Tuesday, August 14th, 2012
100 Greatest Men: The Complete List
A brilliant bluegrass musician that became the unlikeliest of superstars, Ricky Skaggs moved seamlessly into mainstream country music and popularized bluegrass among a wide and willing audience.
Many musicians can claim mastery of their instruments at an early age, but few can compete with Skaggs, who taught himself to play the mandolin at age five and was performing on stage the same year. As early as seven, he made a television appearance on Flatt & Scruggs, and he was a featured player in his family’s band throughout his childhood. As a teenager, he met up with Keith Whitley and joined Ralph Stanley’s supporting band, the Clinch Mountain Boys.
After a few more stints in other bands, he recorded a solo album for an indie label, then formed his own group, Boone Creek. This caught the attention of Emmylou Harris, who invited him to join her Hot Band several times. He finally accepted and replaced outgoing member Rodney Crowell. While influencing Harris’ sound, he also continued to release albums with Boone Creek and on his own. Finally, his Sugar Hill setSweet Temptation caught the attention of Epic Records, and they signed him to their label.
Without any concessions to the Urban Cowboy sound of the time, Skaggs was a surprisingly huge success, and throughout the eighties he dominated the charts. In 1982, he was the first artist to win both the Horizon Award and Male Vocalist of the Year at the CMA’s. His bluegrass sets received huge critical acclaim while selling gold and platinum. He recorded old classics mixed in with new material, with his musicianship front and center. He even innovated on the video front, releasing the eye-popping “Country Boy” music clip, still widely regarded as one of the best country music videos of all time.
Once the Epic hits slowed down in the nineties, Skaggs returned to the bluegrass scene. Amazingly, his work became more prolific than ever, winning him multiple Grammy awards as he collaborated with everyone from the Whites to Bruce Hornsby. He drew heavily on his southern Gospel roots, and became a mainstay at festivals around the world. The award-winning albums have continued ever since, now being released on his own Skaggs Family record label.
Today, he is the symbol of the very bluegrass traditions that he has always honored and preserved, and despite artists like Alison Krauss and Nickel Creek making waves in recent years, he remains the bluegrass star who has had the most mainstream success in country music.
Essential Singles:
- Crying My Heart Out Over You, 1982
- Heartbroke, 1982
- Highway 40 Blues, 1983
- Don’t Cheat in Our Hometown, 1983
- Honey (Open That Door), 1984
- Uncle Pen, 1984
- Country Boy, 1985
Essential Albums:
- Waitin’ for the Sun to Shine, 1981
- Highways & Heartaches, 1982
- Don’t Cheat in Our Hometown, 1983
- Country Boy, 1984
- Live in London, 1985
- Ancient Tones (with Kentucky Thunder), 1999
- Salt of the Earth (with the Whites), 2007
Next: #35. Gene Autry
Previous: #37. The Louvin Brothers
100 Greatest Men: The Complete List
Sunday, November 9th, 2008
For a look back at the other major categories, visit our CMA Awards page.
2010
- Luke Bryan
- Easton Corbin
- Jerrod Neimann
- Chris Young
- Zac Brown Band
Usually there isn’t this much turnover in this race unless most of last year’s nominees are ineligible. This year, only one of the four eligible nominees from last year – Zac Brown Band – earns a nomination. With their massive success and their multiple nominations, they’ve got an excellent shot at winning. Then again, Easton Corbin is elsewhere on the ballot, too. It could be a horse race.
2009
- Randy Houser
- Jamey Johnson
- Jake Owen
- Darius Rucker
- Zac Brown Band
Thirteen years after winning the Best New Artist Grammy as part of Hootie & The Blowfish, Darius Rucker won the country music equivalent, adding an exclamation point to the most successful pop-to-country crossover in a generation.
2008
- Jason Aldean
- Rodney Atkins
- Lady Antebellum
- James Otto
- Kellie Pickler
The industry favorites Lady Antebellum became the fourth band in history to win this award, following Rascal Flatts, Dixie Chicks and Sawyer Brown.
2007
- Jason Aldean
- Rodney Atkins
- Little Big Town
- Kellie Pickler
- Taylor Swift
In the year since winning the Horizon Award, Swift has solidified her position as the genre’s most successful rising star. While her debut album hasn’t reached the sales heights of the first discs by previous winners Carire Underwood and Gretchen Wilson, Swift is still one of the genre’s only significant sellers.
2006
- Miranda Lambert
- Little Big Town
- Sugarland
- Josh Turner
- Carrie Underwood
I had a sneaking suspicion that Josh Turner was going to take this home, but as I’ve said before, Carrie’s got the best pipes since Trisha Yearwood. That she’ was acknowledged for that at such an early stage of her career is pretty amazing. Somehow I think the thrill of winning Horizon was short-lived, as winning Female Vocalist the same night left that memory in the dust.
2005
- Dierks Bentley
- Big & Rich
- Miranda Lambert
- Julie Roberts
- Sugarland
Four of these five were nominees again the following year, and all in categories besides just Horizon, though Lambert got another shot at that as well. I think Big & Rich and Sugarland are making the most interesting music, and they’re moving more units than Bentley, though he’s no slouch himself. The CMA showed good judgment this year.
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Category CMA Awards
Tags: Alan Jackson, Alison Krauss, Big & Rich, Billy Dean, Blake Shelton, Boxcar Willie, Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Bryan White, Buddy Jewel, Caroline Dawn Johnson, Carrie Underwod, Chely Wright, Clint Black, Dan Seals, Darryl Worley, David Ball, David Frizell, Deana Carter, Deborah Allen, Desert Rose Band, Dierks Bentley, Dixie Chicks, Doug Stone, Dwight Yoakam, Earl Thomas Conley, Eddy Raven, Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, Gary Allan, George Strait, Gretchen Wilson, Highway 101, Holly Dunn, James Otto, Jamie O’Neal, Jason Aldean, Jessica Andrews, Jo Dee Messina, Joe Nichols, John Anderson, John Berry, John Michael Montgomery, John Schneider, Josh Turner, Julie Roberts, K.T. Oslin, Kathy Mattea, Keith Urban, Keith Whitley, Kellie Pickler, Kenny Chesney, Kentucky Headhunters, Lady Antebellum, LeAnn Rimes, Lee Ann Womack, Lee Greenwood, Lee Roy Parnell, Little Big Town, Lorrie Morgan, Mark Chesnutt, Martina McBride, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mel McDaniel, Michael Martin Murphey, Michael Peterson, Miranda Lambert, Montgomery Gentry, Nickel Creek, Pam Tillis, Patty Loveless, Phil Vassar, Randy Travis, Rascal Flatts, Ray Charles, Reba McEntire, Restless Heart, Ricky Skaggs, Ricky Van Shelton, Rodney Atkins, Rosanne Cash, Sammy Kershaw, Sara Evans, Sawyer Brown, Shania Twain, SHeDaisy, Shelly West, Shenandoah, Sugarland, Suzy Boggus, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, T. Graham Brown, T.G. Sheppard, Taylor Swift, Terri Clark, Terri Gibbs, The Forrester Sisters, The Judds, The O’Kanes, The Whites, The Wilkinsons, Tim McGraw, Trace Adkins, Tracy Lawrence, Travis Tritt, Trisha Yearwood, Vern Gosdin, Wade Hayes
Saturday, April 19th, 2008
100 Greatest Women
#75
Sharon and Cheryl White (The Whites)
One of the coolest success stories of the eighties. The Whites are a family bluegrass group made up of father Buck and daughters Sharon and Cheryl. Dad had been playing bluegrass in Arkansas in the sixties with his wife Pat, and his young daughters both caught the bug. Finally, they convinced him to sell their home and move to Nashville for their shot at the big time.
Back in Arkansas, they had been performing with another family as the Down Home Folks, and even had recorded some bluegrass albums. But in the early seventies, when they started making the rounds in Nashville, mom retired from the group. The act became a dad and daughter one named The Whites.
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