The Country Music Association announced its 2022 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees on Tuesday, May 17. Keith Whitley honored In the modern era category, Jerry Lee Lewis honored In the Veterans Era category, longtime RCA executive Joe Galante was selected in the non-performer category, which rotates with songwriters and musicians every three years.
You must be satisfied with this class.Of course, you can view the elongated list other potential candidates Because of the Hall of Fame’s rigorous onboarding methodology, and growing every year, there’s a healthy level of second-guessing. But if Jerry Lee Lewis ends up getting in (and he does), it’s better to join while he’s still around. Unfortunately, we’ve seen too many inductees and potential inductees pass before they can enjoy the distinction in person.
Of course, Keith Wheatley isn’t as flashy as many other Hall of Famer performers. But as Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn, who hosted the news conference, said, it was what Keith Wheatley did in the four years before his death in 1989, and the influence he left behind that made him a Hall of Famer member. It’s also important to remember his career in bluegrass, where he served Ralph Stanley and JD Crowe for his entire career before he became a solo performer.
Regarding the non-performer category, you know it’s going to be some record company executives with strong ties to the Country Music Association who are leaving that distinction, not guys like clothing dealer Nudie Cohn or journalist Chet Flippo, who’ll have a big impact on country music as a whole. It means more to the public.
Not that Joe Gallant doesn’t have a pretty stellar list of accomplishments in his executive career. At RCA, he helped create and nurture the careers of Hall of Famers such as Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, Alabama, Vince Gill, The Judds, and future Hall of Famers Clint Black and Miranda Lambert. But as Joe Gallant admitted in his acceptance speech, “I came here without a country music background. I was lucky to have a lot of people who helped me along the way. They showed me how a small town works and what country music is all about.”
One of the people Joe Gallant mentioned to help him is Irving Waugh, who has been speculated to be an underperforming inductee this year. Unlike Galant, Owen Waugh knew country music well from the start. It was in his blood. He started working on WSM radio in the ’40s, eventually transitioning to CMA, where he played a major role in bringing country music to television. Waugh was the executive producer of the CMA Awards until 1993, and although he was not inducted into the Hall of Fame, there was a special CMA award named in his honor.
But there could be worse options than Joe Gallant. Mike Curb of Curb Records is another rumored name.with his criminal record form Against the artist, it would be a disaster.Joe Gallant may not be an exciting name for many country fans, but the story of his conflict with the artist or artist put foot in mouth Slim as Sony Nashville’s Gary Overton. Waylon talks about Galant in his autobiography, “…he was one of the only executives at RCA who spoke out to me.”
Still, when people trek to the Hall of Fame and look at the plaque on the wall, wondering why Tanya Tucker, Dwight Yoakam, Trisha Yearwood, Clint Black, The Stanley Brothers, Linda Ronstadt and many others are still not there, but they watch It’s sure to be a headache when it comes to a plaque from an industry insider they’ve probably never heard of, named Joe Gallant.
It wasn’t Joe Gallant who caused the controversy, though. This is the election of Jerry Lee Lewis. It might be worth some. The characters of these candidates should be scrutinized, and we should speak out about transgressions and present these flaws with the praise of these artists, as Save Country Music and many other media did when discussing the Jerry Lee Lewis legacy .
Still, inducting Jerry Lee Lewis into the Hall of Fame was an easy target.
“The fact that many of Jerry Lee Lewis’ troubling misgivings were ignored, leading to him receiving Country Music’s top honor, speaks to the CMA voting hurdles behind this decision,” Reporters and professors say Amanda Marie Martinezwho taught a national history class. “These people would rather die in the mountains supporting [Jerry Lee Lewis] than any black/brown artist or woman. “
But no one “ignored” the disturbing behavior of Jerry Lee Lewis. Completely free from his importance to country music, Jerry Lee Lewis should have been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame 25 years ago.The only reason he’s not is because His disturbing behavior.
The Hall of Fame basically waited until the last minute to induct the 86-year-old while he was still alive. To be fair, Jerry Lee Lewis also paid a price for his popularity and his prominence in music at a time when he engaged in questionable behavior. Now he’s finally being honored, not for the embodiment of pure character, but for his indelible musical contributions to American music, especially country.
When Amanda Marie Martinez said, “These people would rather die in the mountains supporting [Jerry Lee Lewis] than any black/brown artist or woman,” is misleading and lacks context.
“Any” is the key here because it’s clearly false and actively involved in eradicating the legacy of women, as well as black and brown people honored by the Hall of Fame. This month, two weeks ago on May 1st, Naomi Judd and Wynonna Judd and Ray Charles were officially inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in their latest medal ceremony.They were also selected forward Jerry Lee Lewis.
Describing the Induction of Hall of Famer Sensors Who Would Rather ‘Dead in the Mountains’ White Male When we’re less than a month away from the inductions of Judds and Ray Charles, exemplifies how some intellectuals and journalists are primarily interested in country music Political influence is acting in bad faith and has a greater responsibility to erase the contributions of women and minorities in order to push skewed narratives rather than celebrate their achievements. They are the ones who are really highly gender- and race-focused, often sowing social capital in academia.
They also overlooked the most important takeaway from the entire 2022 Country Music Hall of Fame induction class. Some would have you believe that these inductions were directed at white men who affirmed the dominance of white men over country music. But while hosting the process with one of the women in CMA CEO Sarah Trahern, a country music woman is key to the 2022 Hall of Fame class.
Keith Wheatley was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on his own merits. But few would argue that if it weren’t for Lorrie Morgan’s work, he wouldn’t even have been considered. It wasn’t the white cabal that made this decision to affirm their dominance, it was Lori Morgan’s dogged determination over the years, lobbying hard for her ex-husband in public and behind the scenes, which finally made it all happen.
This is Lori Morgan keeping his promise to ensure that Keith Whitley’s legacy will never be forgotten. It’s truly a touching, inspiring story in country music that deserves a mention.If you want to know more about Lorrie Morgan and Keith Whitley’s relationship, and what Morgan has done to keep Keith alive, check out National History X Episode 5.
Lobbying for diversity in the Country Music Hall of Fame is a noble cause. Deliberately avoiding the introduction of individuals by the Country Music Hall of Fame simply because of their race and gender is a gross oversimplification of the issue that only leaves people out and unnecessarily politicizes and polarizes the issue.
Also, with the addition of Jerry Lee Lewis, which means Tanya Tucker is a very likely 2023 VA Hall of Fame inductee, Linda Longstadt and her Hispanic ancestry Also on the shortlist is Crystal Gayle. With Keith Wheatley breaking out in the modern era category, that means women in the 80s and 90s countries like Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Shania Twain, Patty Loveless, and maybe Lorrie Morgan herself will have in the next few years. Chance.
If you think a particular person should be in the Hall of Fame, or you want to see certain entertainers better represented, you can complain on social media, or you can do something about it. Start a petition, or sign a petition. If you’re in the media, lobby for those you think should be involved and give them strong arguments, not just conspiracy theories about why the CMA is against them.The nature of the Country Music Hall of Fame is everyone It feels like their favorites are left out, and the only way for anyone to get in is with a major, organized push, like the one Lorrie Morgan just accomplished.
That’s because not enough people are inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame each year to keep up with the names they deserve. If the agency finally fixes this, we should all be able to fix it, and will fix many issues — including those related to diversity.
