Hall of Fame Names 2009 Class

L-R: Roy Clark, Barbara Mandrell, Charlie McCoy; Photo: John Russell

The Country Music Association announced today that Roy Clark, Barbara Mandrell, and Charlie McCoy will become the newest members of the coveted Country Music Hall of Fame. They will be officially inducted at the Medallion Ceremony, which takes place during an annual springtime reunion of the Hall of Fame membership.

Clark, being inducted in the “Career Achieved National Prominence Between World War II and 1975” category, was host of Hee Haw from its 1969 debut until its final broadcast in 1992, and never missed an episode. During the early ’70s, he achieved a string of Top 10 Country singles. He was recognized by his peers with seven CMA Awards, including Entertainer of the Year in 1973, and earned a 1982 Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance for “Alabama Jubilee.”

Mandrell will be the fifth artist inducted in the “Career Achieved National Prominence Between 1975 and the Present” category, which was created in 2005. Her professional music career began at age 11 and by 24 she had her first No.1 single with “The Midnight Oil.” Throughout the ‘70s and ’80s, she continued to achieve success with hit singles including the song that would become her signature hit, “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.” Mandrell received four CMA Awards. She took home the CMA Female Vocalist of the Year Award in 1979 and 1981, and became the third female artist to be named CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1980. One year later, she made history as the first artist to win the CMA Entertainer of the Year Award two years in a row.

McCoy will be inducted in the “Recording and/or Touring Musician Active Prior to 1980” category, which is awarded every third year in a rotation with the “Non-Performer” and “Career Achieved National Prominence Prior to World War II” categories. He was a regular performer on Elvis Presley‘s Nashville and Los Angeles sessions in the mid ’60s, while also working with Bob Dylan on such legendary albums as Highway 61 Revisited, and Blonde on Blonde. At his peak, McCoy was performing on more than 400 sessions a year. He was the first musician to use the “Nashville Number System” in the recording studio. Among the most famous tracks featuring McCoy: George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today”, and Mandrell’s “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.”

The inductees were revealed this morning at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum during a press conference hosted by CMA Chief Executive Officer Tammy Genovese. Clark was introduced by his friend, Country Music Hall of Fame member Carl Smith; Mandrell was introduced by her sister Louise Mandrell; and McCoy was introduced by his friend, Country Music Hall of Fame member Mel Tillis.