Talk about getting it right!
This year’s inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame are:
Patty Loveless, Bob McDill, and Tanya Tucker
Variety reports:
Tanya Tucker, Patty Loveless and Bob McDill will be the Country Music Hall of Fame’s three 2023 inductees, it was announced in a news conference at the hall’s museum in Nashville Monday morning.
Tucker will be inducted into the hall in the “Veterans Era Artist” category, while Loveless will get her entree in the “Modern Era Artist” category.
McDill is to be inducted in the “Songwriter” category, which is in rotation with the “Recording and/or Touring Musician” and “Songwriter” categories, each coming up every three years.
Cheers went up at the announcement ceremony as well as around Nashville, as all three have long been favored for induction, and Tucker and Loveless particularly talked up as should-be shoo-ins for their historical importance as leading women in the genre.
Good job, Hall of Fame. No notes!
I have to say, with as many classic songs as Bob McDill has written, I’m surprised he wasn’t inducted a good 20 years ago.
They need to induct more people every year. There should be one songwriter slot, one musician slot, and five artist slots every year. It’s insane that it took this long to get Bob and Tanya in.
Considering the backlog of artists they’ve had there for decades, which makes even a traffic jam on the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles look like the Indy 500, they need to get on the shtick and look at how many artists, some living, many more deceased, are still on the outside looking in, many of them having long since proven themselves HoF-worthy.
Still, inducting two of the womenfolk in the personage of Tanya Tucker and Patty Loveless is a pretty good start (IMHO).
…one cannot argue with those choices. with regard to timing, they are ok too – all of the honorees are still alive enough to enjoy the great honor and the recognition of their most remarkable and very enjoyable contributions to country music. this has not always been quite the case in the past, sadly.
on the other hand, hall of fame inductions have to be selective by definition. the fact that by now there is such a big number of potential inductees in waiting may seem to be somewhat annoying. however, looking at it from a quality point of view, such quantity could also be seen in a positive light: so many deserving artists out there that must have done something right. well, at least,as long as it does not lead to situations, where the recipients have passed away beforehand.
In one sense, I think it’s a valid point, that the CMHoF has to be selective about how they choose and who they choose. But I don’t think they would be compromising on quality or integrity in any way if they expanded it to at least five per year for the next five or six years, given the huge number of worthy artists out there who are still on the outside looking in, many of them no longer alive, and many more getting up there in years or in poor states of health.
…all things considered – at least our two cents on the issue – the situation seems to be really calling out for some intelligent compromise that would not diminish the value of a hof induction, yet at the same time allowed a higher rate of entries per year. let’s hope the issue is going to be addressed at some point and a solution will be found before too many deceased are eventually among those making it in there.
off topic, but since i am coming across you here directly, mr. north, i just wanted to reflect to you that your not so small admiration for linda ronstadt, which did not go unnoticed over the years, was beautifully confirmed recently by a great documentary on her, which the bbc showed late (also due to the one hour time difference between the continent and the uk) on a friday night some weeks ago. it ended at a truly ungodly hour but was well worth losing some sleep. what a vocalist, artist, influential star and personality she had been – almost unbelievably versatile, yet so real. keep on spilling the beans, a younger generation might pick them up and find out – like with kate bush last year – how great and influencial she had been in her prime. just as us hormons flushed high school seniors that we danced to “it’s so easy” every night at the disco of that skiing resort in the swiss alps back in 1978.
I am beyond thrilled that Tanya Tucker FINALLY made it into the HOF. She should have been inducted years ago. So deserving of this honor.
Bob McDill is probably my favorite country songwriter. He’s written some amazing songs for Don Williams, Crystal Gayle, and my favorite song Don’t Close Your Eyes by the late Keith Whitley.
Love Patty Lovelace and very glad she got in – although I’m shocked that she made it in before her cousin Crystal Gayle. Lovelace got in before some of her contemporaries but she’s such a talented singer.
Great news all around for this year’s inductees.
I Love all these selections. All very well deserved. I do ask, is the process limited to 3 each year? It seems 5 , perhaps, could be better for a time. Especially with so many 90’s artists deserving. BUT, Dwight Yoakam MUST get in next year!
It is: every year we get one Veteran Era and one Modern Era artist. The third slot rotates over three years – songwriter, musician, industry professional. Musician is up next.
Should have been Clint Black and Johnny Horton.
All three are great choices. I understand the backlog issues, but I get why the CMA keeps it at three a year. It’s an exclusive club for a reason. The cream always rises to the top.
Clint Black will be in eventually. I think his career petered out too quickly – and he never regained his footing with a series of critically-lauded indie albums – for him to be a lock anytime soon. I see Dwight Yoakam, Shania Twain, and possibly even Travis Tritt, beating Black to the bronze.
Can’t argue with any of the choices. I’m not as familiar with Patty as I am with Tanya, but I absolutely adore Tanya, she’s in my top ten favourite artists. I had no idea I loved so many of Bob McDill’s songs, especially those he wrote for Juice Newton and Pam Tillis (one of my favourite songs).
I knew Tanya was a shoe in this year but Patty caught me by surprise! She is so deserving and the timing is right but I figured it would be another 10 years before she got in. Glad to see that quality and artistry won over popularity on this choice. Those classic Patty songs from the mid 90s still sound fresh today!
I don’t know if anybody else was surprised by Patty Loveless induction as me not because she doesn’t deserve it (IMO she’s one of the greatest female vocalists of all time) but just thought due to the number of artists with bigger hits and sales #’s that she would be waiting a while. I think this is a case where Quality beats out quantity. Patty got better as the years went on and made arguably her best albums when the hits stopped coming. She always held onto tradition but pushed the music forward to a new era but never sacrificed her artistry for the sake of just getting a hit song. I think all 3 inductees if I had to give a grade would get A’s. Tanya has been a legend since she was 13 and Bob McDill is one of those songwriter’s where when you look at song credits and you see his name you get excited for that song because of his track record of high quality songs.
I couldn’t be happier with these choices this year! It’s about time for Tanya Tucker and I was pleasantly surprised by Patty Loveless.
Yes, I have been a firm advocate of Linda Ronstadt, because I’ve also been a fan of hers since 1978. And come to think of it, many of the female artists who came to prominence in country music starting in 1989 and continuing to this day, count Linda as an influence, including Patty Loveless herself. They are probably the better advocates for her, especially her two Trio pals Dolly and Emmylou, when it comes to the public either becoming more aware or reacquainting themselves with this legendary lady.
And even more so, Tanya has a song on her next album (to be released at the start of June) entitled “Dearest Linda” that pays homage to the Queen of Country-Rock.
Now that Tanya Tucker is being inducted, Linda Ronstadt and Crystal Gayle are the most glaring omissions among the pre-80’s women.