Where are the females in the Country Music Hall of Fame?

Country Music Hall of Fame Rotunda - Photo by Jessica Bray

Yesterday the Country Music Hall of Fame announced their 2016 inductee class.  The newest members include Charlie Daniels, Randy Travis, and Fred Foster.  While all three are deserving of the honor, there are some that many feel are left out.  Most importantly, there has been a serious lack of females inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

If you counted each and every member, including those in a group/duo, there are 158 members of the Country Music Hall of Fame.  Out of that 158, only 21 are females, as in only 13.29% of the membership are females.

Here are the Country Music Hall of Fame Female Members and when they were inducted:

Connie Smith 2012

Reba McEntire 2011

Jean Shephard 2011

Barbara Mandrell 2009

Emmylou Harris 2008

Dolly Parton 1999

Tammy Wynette 1998

Brenda Lee 1997

Cindy Walker 1997

Patsy Montana 1996

Jo Walker-Meador 1995

Frances Preston 1992

Felice Bryant 1991 (with husband Boudleaux)

Loretta Lynn 1988

Kitty Wells 1976

Minnie Pearl 1975

Patsy Cline 1973

Carter Family 1970 (Sara and Mother Maybelle)

It has been 4 years since a female was inducted and that was Connie Smith.  There have been very long stretches in between female inductees.  Kitty Wells was inducted in 1976 and then in 1988, Loretta Lynn was included 12 years later.  Another long stretch was 1999 when Dolly Parton was inducted until 2008 when Emmylou Harris was included.  The first members were inducted in 1961, but the first female didn't appear until 1970 with Sara and Mother Maybelle as part of the Carter Family.

Why are women suppressed when it comes to Country Music Hall of Fame inductions?  Why are the following not members yet? 

Alison Krauss

Crystal Gayle

Dottie Rambo

Dottie West

Faith Hill

Janie Fricke

Jeanie C. Riley

Jean Ritchie

Kathy Mattea

Lynn Anderson

Martina McBride

Molly O'Day

Patsi Bale Cox

Patty Loveless

Sammi Smith 

Shania Twain 

Skeeter Davis

Tanya Tucker

The Coon Creek Girls

The Judds 

Trisha Yearwood

Wanda Jackson

Many have blazed a trail doing things their own way, not minding what others may think or say.  Many have done a lot of charity work off the stage within their own communities.  They have stood strong, singing songs that they have written, and made a name for themselves, as well as gaining recognition around the world.  Look at the instance of Shania Twain as compared to Garth Brooks, who is a member.  Both have sold millions of records, performed sold out concerts, and went across genres, as well as across the pond internationally with their music.  Yet, Garth was inducted many years prior to other deserving males who are still not inducted - Keith Whitley, Vern Gosdin, Dwight Yoakam, Marty Stuart, Hank Williams, Jr. and more.

When will we see another female inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame?  It is long overdue for many of these women.  Who do you feel should be in the Hall of Fame?

Remembering a Kentucky country music pioneer

Velma Williams Smith

Often times in country music, we only think of legendary singers and not much on the musicians, especially with females.  One of those legendary performers was Velma Williams Smith.  She was born in 1927 and raised at Epley Station in Logan County, Kentucky.

Bill Monroe discovered Velma and her sister, Mildred, in 1941 when they appeared on WHOP out of Hopkinsville.  They were invited to play on the Grand Ole Opry and soon Velma began playing in the bands with Ernest Tubb, Carl Smith, Porter Waggoner, and Roy Acuff.  She was the first female to play a solo on the portion of the Grand Ole Opry broadcast nationally on NBC radio network.

During 1950s through the 1970s, Velma Williams Smith was the only female member of the RCA Studio B "A-Team" of studio musicians.  She would play the guitar licks on albums for fellow Kentuckian, Skeeter Davis ("The End of the World"), as well as Eddy Arnold ("Make the World Go Away"), Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Hank Snow, Jim Reeves, Dottie West, and more.  She played on Hank Locklin's hit, "Please Help Me, I'm Falling," that landed number one on the Billboard country singles chart for 14 weeks.  According to the Musicians Hall of Fame, she was the first female rhythm guitar player to play on records cut in Nashville.

The late Patsy Cline recorded one of Smith's songs, "Shoes," that was co-written with Hank Cochran.

In 2014, Velma was inducted into the Musician's Hall of Fame in Nashville alongside Barbara Mandrell, Jimmy Capps, Peter Frampton, Randy Bachman, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Buddy Guy, Will Lee, Mike Curb and Roy Orbison. Now that is some pretty good company to be inducted with.

Velma Williams Smith passed away in 2014 at the age of 87 in Madison, Tennessee.

Kentucky honors musical heritage with 2013 Hall of Fame class

KY Music Hall of Fame 2013 Class - photo by Jessica Bray

The sun was shining bright on the home of those inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame over the weekend. The induction ceremony was held in the Bluegrass Ballroom in the Lexington Center. Inducted were The Kentucky Headhunters, Exile, Linda Lou Martin and her late husband Emory Martin, Steven Curtis Chapman, The Hilltoppers, the late Skeeter Davis, and the late Old Joe Clark.

Chad Warrix and David Tolliver of Halfway to Hazard, along with Josh Bliedt, received the Danny R. Ford Distinguished Service Award for their work with Kentucky charities. Jackie DeShannon was honored with the Governor’s Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Highlights of the evening included performances by Halfway to Hazard, The Kentucky Headhunters, Exile, the WKU Hilltoppers Choir, and special performance by the granddaughter of Linda Lou Martin and son of Old Joe Clark.

Also in attendance were 2011 inductee Steve Wariner, 2006 inductee Sam Bush, and 2004 inductee Jerry Chestnut.

More information on this year's inductees, as well as the Hall of Fame can be found at www.kentuckymusicmuseum.com.

Happy Birthday to Skeeter Davis

Today would have been Skeeter Davis's birthday.  The Dry Ridge, Kentucky native was born back in 1931 and left a mark on country music.  Skeeter Davis was the first country music female artist to be nominated for a Grammy award.

In 1973, Skeeter Davis was banned from being a Grand Ole Opry complaining about arrests of a Christian group's members.  She was later allowed to come back to the Opry in 1975.  In those days, and even today, it was hard for a woman to speak her mind without getting into trouble.  Word was that Roy Acuff made a plea on stage of the Opry to reinstate the death penalty after the murder of another Kentucky native, Stringbean Akemon.  He didn't receive a fallout, yet Skeeter Davis did.

Sadly we lost the legend in 2004 due to breast cancer.  Below is one of her many performances of the hit song, "End of the World."