NASHVILLE, TN (CelebrityAccess) — Country rock legends Alabama were among the artists formally inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame during a commemorative Medallion Ceremony held at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
The group, which is currently comprised of Jeff Cook, Teddy Gentry, and Randy Owen, were also presented with a lifetime achievement award by the Musicians Hall.
“From a band standpoint, I’ve had to play my own music since we got started. I remember me and Randy when we were growing up, running across the cotton field in the afternoon, to pick out a new Beatles chord on guitar,” said Gentry during the ceremony. “Music was about all we had to lean on and hope for and live for. Our families were so poor and music was that magic thing that held us together.”
“This makes all the hours I spent trying to work up the intro to ‘Mountain Music’ and ‘Lady Down on Love’ and ‘Tennessee River’ and ‘Face to Face’ and those songs that I worked on so long to get the lick, it makes it seem all worthwhile,” added Owen. “I don’t know how long I spent on the sound of the guitar in ‘My Home’s in Alabama,’ so it would sound like the whole room was full. Still today when you kick into ‘Mountain Music,’ the audience knows the song. It came from a lot of work and a lot of thought.”
Additional 2019 inductees included Felix Cavaliere, Steve Wariner, The Surfaris (Bob Berryhill, Pat Connolly, Jim Fuller*, Ron Wilson*), Don Everly, The Original Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (David Briggs, Jerry Carrigan*, Norbert Putnam, Terry Thompson, Earl “Peanutt” Montgomery, Joe South*, Reggie Young*), the Nashville A-Team – The Players (Eddie Bayers, Paul Franklin, John Hobbs, Brent Mason, Michael Rhodes), The Muscle Shoals Horns (Harrison Calloway, Ronnie Eades, Charles Rose, Harvey Thompson), noted producer Owen Bradley*, audio engineer Billy Sherrill and Bob Taylor, co-founder of Taylor Guitars. (*awarded posthumously)
“Tonight, you are experiencing what Music City is all about,” said Dave Pomeroy, president of the Nashville Musicians Association. “Let’s respect each other and take care of the musicians. The Musicians Hall of Fame may be located in Nashville, but it’s way bigger than Nashville. It honors musicians from all over the world.”
The Medallion Ceremony, which was hosted by Paul Shaffer, featured performances by Steve Wariner and Garth Brooks, Jason Aldean, Vince Gill, Ronnie Dunn, Mandy Barnett, and Felix Cavaliere among others.
Paul Simon was scheduled to pay tribute to Don Everly of The Everly Brothers but was forced to bow out of the event due to illness. Ricky Skaggs took up the slack and presented the Riff Award for his guitar work in “Wake Up Lil Susie.”
