Alan Jackson Part of Country Music Hall of Fame Class of 2017
The Country Music Hall of Fame revealed its Class of 2017 inductees on Wednesday (April 5). The three-member class includes Alan Jackson in the Modern Era category.
Jackson took the stage and humbly shared parts of his ascent, including the story of his first radio and early moments from his career. At the end the 2017 WE Fest performer said this was a dream come true, even if he never admitted it. He felt doing so would be pretentious.
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The late Jerry Reed was inducted in the Veterans category and Songwriter Don Schlitz was also named as part of the Hall's newest class in the Songwriter category. Schlitz's many hits include "The Gambler" for Kenny Rogers, "Forever and Ever, Amen" for Randy Travis and "When You Say Nothing at All" for Keith Whitley. He gave an emotional speech in which he thanked everyone who helped with his journey, mentioning that he couldn't share the secret for a month as part of the framework.
The Country Music Association created the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961 to honor artists who have significantly impacted country music. Currently there are 130 members on the Hall of Fame roster, including icons such as Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks, George Jones, Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire. The official induction ceremony for the new members will take place later this year. 2007 HOF inductee Vince Gill was the host, mixing personal stories and jokes in between the speeches.
The new members will be inducted into three different categories: Veterans Era Artist, Modern Era Artist and Songwriter. A Veterans Era and Modern Era artist are both inducted into the Hall of Fame each year, while the Songwriter category rotates with the Recording and/or Touring Musician Active Prior to 1980 and Non-Performer categories. The Class of 2017 will be the 57th group of country music artists to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Charlie Daniels, Randy Travis and Fred Foster, were most recently added to the Hall of Fame list in 2016, with Daniels receiving a spot via the Veterans Era category, Travis earning his honor in the Modern Era category and Foster, a storied songwriter and producer, received his honor in the Non-Performer category.
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