The Gospel Music Association has inducted Amy Grant, the Blind Boys of Alabama and Pat Boone into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. The three music legends will be honored during the 34th Annual Dove Awards on April 10 in Nashville.
"This is a particularly exciting class of inductees for the Gospel Music Hall of Fame," said Frank Breeden, president of the GMA. "Here are represented three distinct exceptional artists who have been incredibly influential in gospel music's history and yet continue to have a musical impact today. We are thrilled to include them in the distinguished Gospel Music Hall of Fame." The Gospel Music Hall of Fame was established in 1971 and has inducted 122 members since its inception, including Elvis Presley, Mahalia Jackson, Andrae Crouch, Tennessee Ernie Ford, The Oak Ridge Boys, Petra, Bill and Gloria Gaither, the Rambos, Thomas A. Dorsey, the Fairfield Four, Billy Graham and the Jordanaires.
"I am moved by the GMA's invitation to be a part of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame," said Grant. "Being a part of the Hall of Fame feels like a handing down to the next generation, a celebration of roots. Being part of the root system of Christian music is something I'm very proud of."
"This is one of the greatest honors of our lives and proves that God works in His time, not in ours," said Clarence Fountain of the Blind Boys of Alabama. "We are grateful to the Gospel Music Association and its members for recognizing the Blind Boys for our many years of singing gospel music."
"There is no other recognition or award in this world that means more to me than this invitation to the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, said Pat Boone. "It would only be second to having my name in the Lamb's Book of Life."
A&E To Air Nobel Peace Prize Concert
A&E 
will air the two-hour "Nobel Peace Prize Concert" on January 10 at 9 p.m. ET with performances by Jennifer Lopez, Santana, Willie Nelson, Hall & Oates, Suede, Josh Groban, Angelique Kidjo, Jessye Norman, Sissel and Michelle Branch.
The concert, honoring Nobel Peace Prize winner and former US president Jimmy Carter, took place on December 11 at the Spektrum in Oslo, Norway. Jessica Lange and Anthony Hopkins hosted.
Country Band Alabama Getting AMA Award
LOS ANGELES (AP) — 
The country music band Alabama will be presented the special Award of Merit during this month's 30th annual American Music Awards.
Reba McEntire will present the award during the Jan. 13 presentations on ABC-TV. Twenty other awards will be handed out during the three-hour ceremony, hosted by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, from the Shrine Auditorium.
Previous recipients of the Award of Merit, given in recognition of "outstanding contributions to the musical entertainment of the American public," include Bing Crosby, Irving Berlin, Johnny Cash, Ella Fitzgerald, Perry Como, Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Garth Brooks and the Beach Boys.
The inscription on the Award of Merit will read: "For over a quarter of a century, the energy and excitement of this band's music has brought them millions of fans, an amazing 42 No. 1 hits and the most awards in any category on the American Music Awards."
Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry, Jeff Cook and Mark Herndon launched Alabama in 1980. The group has sold more than 65 million albums and was chosen to receive the Academy of Country Music's Artist of the Decade in 1989 and was named Country Group of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1999.
