Who Should Step Aside for Hall of Fame Inductees?
The Eagles and Jamie Foxx are appearing on the CMA Awards show -- and this year’s Country Music Hall of Fame inductees are not. That decision has angered a lot of country music fans, and I agree that the new inductees should be given priority over the Eagles and Foxx. On the other hand, I also feel that the new inductees should be given priority over all of the acts appearing on the awards show. It’s important to honor Vince Gill, Mel Tillis and Ralph Emery on their phenomenal achievements.
The CMA Awards show is essentially a TV broadcast, and having Foxx perform with Rascal Flatts should widen the viewing audience and boost ratings. It’s hard to imagine younger viewers anxiously awaiting the Eagles but the band will attract some older rock fans who might not otherwise watch the show. If you think about it, the Eagles are likely to be remembered as one of the most influential acts in the history of country music. No, they didn’t cater to a country audience, and only four singles made it to the country chart. (The most successful, “Lyin’ Eyes,” reached No. 8 in 1975.) But their vocal harmonies and unique blend of country and rock created a distinctive sound that country singers, songwriters and musicians have emulated ever since “Take It Easy” hit the airwaves. In 1993, the band’s contributions were honored in Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, an album featuring Gill, Travis Tritt, Alan Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, Brooks & Dunn and several others. And if you’ve seen a Little Big Town concerts during the past couple of years, you’ve probably heard their great cover of “Heartache Tonight.”
Instead of cutting the Eagles performance to allow the Hall of Fame members to be acknowledged, maybe the heads of the record labels in Nashville should toss a coin to decide which one of their newer acts they’re willing to delete from the CMA Awards show. If the deleted act is good and/or successful, they’ll be guaranteed a slot on the show the next year. And if they prove to be truly significant, maybe they’ll one day be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. If that happens, I’ve got a feeling they’d appreciate being recognized for receiving country music’s highest honor.
©2008 Country Music Television, Inc., a Viacom company. A division of
Joseph says:
Why doesn’t someone (knock-knock, CMT) produce an hour-long program honoring Vince, Mel and Ralph and include it in the loop of CMA Award show reruns that we’ll see on CMT from mid-November undoubtedly through Christmas?
Isn’t there already a TV program in the works for the official “induction” early next year?
In the recent past, the Hall of Fame inductees were offered nothing more than a quick camera shot as the show went to commercial, them waving from the audience while we all run to the fridge and/or bathroom. LONG gone are the days when the award show managed to fit a five-minute mini-documentary covering their careers in the telecast.
Again, for this fan, something like this is worthy of its own program, not the one or two minutes squeezed out of a new artist’s sacrificed performance.
Floozy&Bluesy says:
I’ll never understand why they quit showcasing the artists’ inductions. What stands out more in one’s memory, watching a giddy Loretta Lynn run up to the stage? Or seeing yet *another* performance by the same people who performed at the CMT awards, the ACMs and last year’s CMA awards?
Quick– without looking– somebody rattle off from memory 3 songs that were performed during last year’s CMA show. Betcha can’t because they’re always the same schtick.
OutlawSteph says:
It is criminal that the Stanley Brothers have not yet been inducted.
hotelmotel says:
Anytime a show gets poor ratings, it gets canceled. The HOF inductions have long gotten the lowest ratings of the CMA show, and they are finally being dropped. Why should the HOF inductions be any different than any other Network programing? Why is it generally ok for low rated TV shows to get cancelled, but not for the low rated HOF inductions to get the boot?
The post says the Hall of Fame inductees “deserve” to be on TV but it doesnt explain WHY. The standard for “desert” on ABC is high ratings, not contributions to the history of country music.
If Jaime Foxx can bring in better ratings than Mel Tillis, than Foxx “deserves” to be shown, not Tillis. If Foxx can bring in more fans, it suggests that country fans actually prefer Foxx to Mel Tillis.
Betty Beck says:
I think it’s a shame the Hall of Fame Inductees for 2007 are not being shown or mentioned during the CMA Awards. How quickly we forget who to thank for Country Music being as popular as it is today … TRUE Country music, that is. Some of these new artists have no idea what it took for some of the country musicians of days gone by to get their music to the people. They had no fancy tour buses or “Road Managers”.
hotelmotel says:
I love the old stars, but as to “how quickly we forget who to thank for Country Music being as popular as it is today” I think the credit for today’s popularity goes mostly to today’s stars.
Having said that, I think Vince is better than 80% of whats on the radio today. He is one of the greatest. But he is not the reason why Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and Rascall Flatts or whomever is the flavor of the week is selling so well.
FPDavid22 says:
OK, OK, OK. So today is about today’s stars. And in 10 years when we want to induct Alan Jackson, Brooks and Dunn, Reba, etc. they will also be not shown or documented. I think it is a sad day when you don’t recognize the lifetime achievement of the artists that made the industry what it is (or isn’t) today!
rpjohnson says:
Last week, I read the CMA Awards show will not feature the three inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Instead, they will be inducted during a private ceremony at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Not only is this a slap in the face to Vince Gill, Mel Tillis and Ralph Emery, but it shows how much that sought-after ratings for an awards show is dictating what we see during the broadcast. With the show scheduled to be three hours, giving 10 minutes to this presentation would probably be more interesting than watching Rascal Flatts perform two songs, one of them with none other than Jamie Foxx.
What I find even more puzzling is that instead of the audience seeing the induction, we will be treated to a performance by the Eagles and Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow will be among the presenters. As big of a fan as I am of the Eagles, what qualifies the group to perform on what is supposed to be country’s biggest night? Furthermore, Rock and Crow recorded Picture, a country duet a few years ago, but wouldn’t their presenter slots be better suited for a breaking artist who would benefit from the exposure?
As far as the HOF debacle, I find it inexcusable three men who have done so much to spread the word of country music in the past is being overlooked by an organization they have so strongly represented. Gill hosted the awards for several years and has won more CMAs than his mantle could ever display. Tillis is a former Entertainer of the Year and was the one of country’s biggest stars in the 1970s. Emery can be best described as being the Dick Clark of Nashville, an ambassador who has provided more than 40 years of exposure to new and established artists on radio and his nightly variety show.
This decision is another bone-headed move from an organization who took the awards show from Nashville to New York City two years ago. As a member of the CMA, my decision not attend that year was not due to the awards being held on “foreign turf.” It was that I refused to pay a minimum of $350 per night for a Days Inn hotel room in Manhattan. In addition, the CMA believed the awards would receive more media attention by having the show in the country’s number one media outlet. But, if you are a fan of country music, would having the show live from NYC instead of Nashville make a difference if you wanted to watch it? Besides, at the time, New York did not even have a country station, and to my knowledge, still doesn’t.
The CMA is supposed to represent an entire genre of music and appreciate its heritage. If the organization is receiving pressure from ABC to showcase only young or established artists and performances from legendary rock groups, maybe they should rethink their association with the network and seek a new home.
OutlawSteph says:
>Emery can be best described as being the Dick Clark of >Nashville, an ambassador who has provided more than 40 >years of exposure to new and established artists on radio >and his nightly variety show.
Not exactly. He was more like Dick Clark’s surly grandfather. Emery badmouthed the Byrds for no reason, and refused to play songs from Sweetheart of the Rodeo simply because he thought their hair was too long. That’s a part of his history too. You can forgive but you can’t forget.
hotelmotel says:
Maybe the CMAs deserve praise for dropping the HOF inductions. After all, the HOF inductions are the lowest rated part of the show, suggesting that viewers don’t much care for them.
Perhaps the CMAs should be lauded for listening to viewers and dropping the parts of the show that sends the viewers running.
The CMAs are giving the people what they want, and that’s the job of any entertainer.
All this outrage seems so wied to me — many of the people complaining probably havent bought a Mel Tillis album in over 20 years. They’ve neglected Tillis, and now get mad at the CMAs for doing the same thing.
Caroline Davis says:
I really like music videos but here the past few years C.M.T. has stopped most of it’s music and put stuff like cheerleaders, and other stuff thats not anything about music. I thought CMT stood for COUNTRY MUSIC TELEVISION not crap television.
hotelmotel says:
It stands for both
OutlawSteph says:
I the past year I’ve bought albums by Charlie Louvin, Merle Haggard, the Stanley Brothers and Bob Wills.. to name a few.
hotelmotel says:
OutlawSteph — Ive bought several Haggard albums the last few years, and one Bob Wills album.
What I mean is this: country fans aren’t exactly showing Mel Tillis much respect lately. He isn’t selling well at all; his records are hardly even in the stores.
When country fans havent been buying his CDs in any significant number, we can understand why the CMAs/ABC thinks that country fans don’t want to see Tillis get inducted into the HOF.
Believe me, I think this is a sad state of affairs. I wish fans watched the HOF part of the show as much as they watch the flavor-of-the-week perform. But they don’t. Vince Gill and Mel Tillis are both far better performers than most of those who will perform.
Hopefully, some suitable tv broadcast can be created so that the HOF inductees get their due. They deserve recognition. Perhaps the CMAs could do something to make this part of the show more interesting to more fans.
Sometimes artistic values and commercial values collide; I hope there is a way to honor the artistic accomplishments of the HOF inductees and still run a commercially viable program.
B.W. LaRoy says:
The Eagles are such a tool. Let them stay, but dress the Hall of Fame Inductees in Ultimate Fighting/Wrestling type gear and let them have it out in front of The Eagles performance. Maybe even get Tennessee Titans’ outed punk PacMan Jones to wear a TuTu and hurdle Don Henley during a trite, droning guitar lead break. I mean really…if it is about the ratings.!?. B.W. LaRoy
Diane says:
I think the country music singers should boycott the CMAs I am not sure who makes up this group but they obviously do not care what the fans think You can almost pick the winners based upon past shows. To not show Vince, Ralph, and Mel are a real blow to coutry music and again shows how much we really matter as fans
Also I was out of town last week and everytime I turned on CMT I saw who wants to look like a cheerleader, Blazing Saddles etc What do either of these have to do with country music I now look for GAC if I want to listen to good country music
Jimmy says:
It’s sad that we dn’t honor the guys who brought us here. They probably call it progress, but I think anyone who has influenced the music deserves some praise on nat’l tv.
James Lee says:
How about asking CMT to step UP? Like its sister network’s popular broadcasts of the “Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction”, CMT should also produce a special celebrating each year’s inductees! CMT can even include IBMA’s Hall of Honor inductees.
sockmunkey1969 says:
Did Gary Levox from Rascal Flatts have a cold or something last night at the CMAs? I tuned in late and he sounded like he was really struggling. I saw RF in concert recently and he was great. I was just wondering if he was ill.