Oak Ridge Boys inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame

Other performers at the event included Brooks and his wife Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill and Marty Stuart.

Two of country music’s top vocal harmony groups, the Oak Ridge Boys and the late Jim Ed Brown and his sisters Maxine and Bonnie, have been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

One famous story about Martin was how he created his signature guitar lick on Marty Robbins’ hit, “Don’t Worry“. We hired a band and had a rock n roll drummer. He was joined by Buddy Miller for a poignant version of Conway Twitty’s “Fifteen Years Ago“. I always wanted to be just like him. “And so often, he did it best”.

“They have made music that endures through decades”, Williams continued. Singer Brenda Lee presented the medallion to his son, Joshua Martin. “It’s the crowning glory of anybody that has ever been in the country music business and for our fellow country musicians and industry people to say that they want to put us in the hall of fame, to me that’s an overwhelming experience”.

The group still performs about 150 dates each year across the U.S. and Canada. “I had just seen them the week before on the Ed Sullivan Show”.

“As time goes by you kind of get a little more custom to who that creature is that you’re faced with in the middle of the night”, William Lee Golden said. She’s going to give you the full answer. “After next year, Kenny won’t be doing it and there will be a void”. “He felt so blessed every day”.

“I toured Europe once with Jim Ed”, he notes.

The next act to hit the stage was a surprise for the group. They’re also the group that did “Callin’ Baton Rouge’ first”.

Late guitarist Grady Martin, who worked with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline, was also inducted into the hall of fame.

But don’t expect the four-part vocal group to follow Rogers’ lead anytime soon. You have to do what your friends ask you.

“In a lifetime and in a career of incredible things, this is the most incredible thing that’s ever happened to the Oak Ridge Boys”, Joe Bonsall reflects. “It’s a big thing for the Oak Ridge Boys”, Duane Allen said. Family is what’s most important.

“I called him back, but he was already starting to be pretty ill”, Wariner adds.

The audience at the private celebration was packed with Hall of Fame members, who welcomed the new inductees into their exclusive club. Before his death on June 11, Jim Ed Brown was visited in the hospital by Bill Anderson to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.