Oak Ridge Boys Lead 2015 Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees
The Country Music Association has announced the 2015 inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The announcement took place Wednesday morning (March 25) at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. The Oak Ridge Boys, Jim Ed Brown and the Browns and Grady Martin are this year's inductees.
Martin is being inducted in the category of Recording and/or Touring Musician active prior to 1980. The late guitarist was a top studio session player and a member of the Nashville A Team, playing on iconic recordings including Marty Robbins' "El Paso, " Loretta Lynn's "Coal Miner's Daughter" and Sammi Smith's "Help Me Make It Through the Night." He recorded with a Who's Who of artists too numerous to list.
His son, Josh Martin, called his father "one of the greatest guitar players to ever walk the Earth" during Wednesday morning's press conference.
Jim Ed Brown and the Browns are being inducted in the Veteran's Era category. The trio began their career in the 1950s, scoring hits including "I Take the Chance," "I Heard the Bluebirds Sing" and "The Three Bells." They disbanded in 1967, and Jim Ed Brown went on to a successful solo career with hits including "Pop a Top," as well as a string of hit duets with Helen Cornelius.
"I'm as nervous as a mosquito in a nudist colony," Brown says of the honor. "I know what to do, but I don't know where to start."
The Oak Ridge Boys are one of the most successful vocal groups in country music history. They will be inducted in the Modern Era category for their decades-long string of hits, which includes "You're the One," "Come on In," "Elvira," "(I'm Settin') Fancy Free" and many more.
Singer Duane Allen says the Oaks' induction "completes my wish list."
The Country Music Hall of Fame class of 2015 will be formally inducted during an official Medallion Ceremony at the Hall's CMA Theater later this year.