This year’s inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame have been announced:
Tim McGraw
Modern Era
For the second year in a row, the Modern Era inductee is a man who first rose to prominence at the tail end of the 90s, only to go onto commercial dominance in the aughts, followed by hitmaking longevity that’s still going today.
And, for the second year in a row, there are at least some lingering questions about “skipping the line” when the Hall’s backlog of deserving artists just keeps getting longer and longer. There’s no question McGraw is a worthy addition to the Hall, given a career that balanced massive commercial success with (at least some) high-quality work that elevated the genre’s center.
But Dwight and Trisha and Clint and Pam sure do loom large.
The Stanley Brothers
Veteran Era
Another “Wait, how were they not already in?” selection, the timing of The Stanley Brothers’ richly deserved induction is tied to the 25th anniversary of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack, which introduced “Doctor” Ralph Stanley to a whole new generation.
This year’s pick could’ve gone a slew of different directions– The Maddox Brothers & Rose, Johnny Horton, Linda Ronstadt, and Freddy Fender would all have been fine, worthy choices– but it’s always the right time to celebrate the Stanleys. We Stan.
Paul Overstreet
Songwriter
Another unimpeachable pick, what’s encouraging about Overstreet’s selection is that his successes as a recording artist in his own right– both solo and as part of S-K-O– weren’t held against him for consideration for this honor. If I’m Rodney Crowell or Patty Griffin, that’s nice to see. As for Overstreet’s writing credits, contrarians might be quick to cite “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” as disqualifying, but even if he’d only ever written the songs Randy Travis took to #1, he’d be a deserving inductee.
For future picks, here’s hoping for Crowell, Jim Lauderdale, or any of the 90s Women Holy Trinity (Matraca Berg, Gretchen Peters, Kim Richey).
What do you think of this year’s class of inductees?
It seems to me it would make a lot of sense for them to start doing two veterans inductees each year: one living and one dead. That would both help with the backlog and assure an inductee who is still around to receive it.