Country Music Hall of Fame to Induct Ralph Emery, Vince Gill and Mel Tillis
By Bob Doerschuk and Scott Stem
© 2007 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc.
Hours before they were presented to the public as this year's three inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame at a press conference at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, radio giant Ralph Emery; triple threat singer, songwriter and instrumentalist Vince Gill; and legendary entertainer and songwriter Mel Tillis gathered in the Rotunda at the Museum to share thoughts with each other, pose for pictures and otherwise prepare to receive the greatest honor bestowed in the world of Country Music.
They spoke quietly in the reverberant room, their moods subdued in the early morning. Each had known for only a very short while of his own election [by CMA's Hall of Fame Panel of Electors, consisting of more than 300 anonymous voters appointed by the CMA Board of Directors] in three categories: Emery in the "Non-Performer," which is rotated every third year with the "Career Achieved National Prominence Prior to World War II" and "Recording and/or Touring Musician Active Prior to 1980;" Gill will be the third artist inducted in the "Career Achieved National Prominence Between 1975 and the Present," which was created in 2005; and Tillis in the "Career Achieved National Prominence Between World War II and 1975" category.
Each had also been sworn to secrecy, to the extent that none knew who his colleagues in this year's selection would be until their arrival. When Gill and Tillis pulled into the parking lot behind the Museum at the same time and caught each other's eye, neither was sure whether they could yet be candid about why they were there.
Gill recalled as he spoke tentatively to Tillis: "So . you're the other one?" His friend smiled and nodded, and with that the secret was unofficially out.
As preparations for their photo shoot began in the Rotunda, and as media crews set up their cameras and microphones in the Ford Theater downstairs, Gill took a moment to walk off by himself, strolling slowly around the room, contemplating the plaques that honored the 98 artists, writers, executives and other individuals who had been welcomed into the Hall of Fame since its establishment by CMA in 1961.
Later, as the last of the three to address the friends, family, reporters and a handful of surprised Museum visitors assembled at the theater, Gill drew from that moment to speak for the other inductees as well as himself on the significance of the occasion.
"When you go up into that Rotunda," he said, his voice breaking with emotion, "and walk around that circle, and you read those names of those people, it is the most wonderful thing in the world to realize that every living soul on that wall had something to do with me, with Mel, with Ralph, with all of us learning to do what we wanted to learn how to do and get to do. We're so lucky and so blessed to get to be able to do this."
In referring to the pleasure and privilege of making music or serving the interests of those who do so, Gill pinpointed the actual significance of the Hall of Fame: The music itself, more than the distinction it brings, is the point.
This was clear in conversations with the inductees at the Rotunda. Speaking individually, each of the three emphasized his surprise at having been selected as well as his conviction that there were others worthy of the honor. Said Gill, "An awful lot of people deserve to be here.," while Tillis said, "I hope I deserve it. There are a lot of them out there who deserve to get in." And Emery put it simply: "I can't really imagine my being in the Hall of Fame."
There was no artifice in their words. One could sense, in the quiet of the Rotunda and the more festive bustle that followed in the Ford Theater green room, that humility walks hand in hand with greatness. And through the dignity of Emery, the buoyant humor of Tillis and the love for the music and its practitioners expressed so movingly by Gill, there was no doubt that these new members exemplify those qualities that distinguish their predecessors and the art that they celebrate.
"Induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame is the highest musical honor a Country Music artist and industry veteran can attain," said Tammy Genovese, CMA COO. "All three of these extraordinary men are highly deserving of this honor.
"Ralph Emery brought more than just Country Music into our homes via radio and television. His entertaining and thought-provoking interviews have always provided a unique glimpse into the personal side of our favorite performers.
"As a singer, songwriter and performer, Mel set a high standard for all entertainers. His presence in movies and TV alongside the top actors of that time gave Country Music a higher profile in the '70s and made Mel a pop culture icon.
"Vince is the ultimate triple threat: a singer with the voice of an angel, a songwriter who conveys the joys and heartbreaks of life with every word he writes, and a consummate musician, who is equally at home playing guitar with Chet Atkins or Eric Clapton. As the longtime host of the CMA Awards, Vince also represented Country Music with dignity and humor for 12 years."
Emery, Gill and Tillis will be officially inducted in October during the traditional, invitation-only Medallion Ceremony at the Museum.
"It is with great pride that CMA will induct these three outstanding artists and personalities into the Country Music Hall of Fame, where they will join a small yet monumental group of entertainers and industry veterans whose influence on Country Music is enormous," said Genovese.
"The Country Music Hall of Fame's Medallion Ceremony, which takes place during the annual reunion of the membership, has historically been the occasion where new inductees are presented the keepsake medal commemorating their ownership of Country Music's paramount honor," said Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Director Kyle Young. "The medals traditionally are presented by a member of the Hall of Fame during an intimate and emotional evening of homecoming, storytelling, music, memories and fellowship.
"We are honored that CMA sees our ceremony as the appropriate setting for the official induction of new members. Including the formal induction as part of the evening will certainly seal the event's reputation as Country Music's most prestigious night."
The press conference, hosted by Genovese, took place Aug. 7. Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell congratulated the new inductees on behalf of Music City U.S.A. Emery was introduced by his longtime friend and former two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year, Barbara Mandrell. Gill was introduced by Young, while Tillis was introduced by his good friend and Country Music Hall of Fame member Brenda Lee.
"This year's inductees exemplify the way in which the music community respects it own across all generations. They remind us that Country Music is a business in which timeless talent continues to be nurtured and where ageless music truly knows no age." - Bill Purcell
"I am so very, very honored and privileged to be able to announce to you this year's inductee, one of my dearest friends, Ralph Emery. It would be impossible for me to describe all of the profound, enormous contributions Ralph has made to Country Music. Everything he has done, he has done with such integrity, such knowledge, such talent and such brilliance that it has made all of us look good and be the better for it. He has enriched our wonderful world of Country Music . I revere this man. I admire him. I respect him. I adore him. I love him. And I could spend this whole day speaking about him and the great things that he's done for this business." - Barbara Mandrell
"I'm so proud to be here to induct one of my dear, dear friends, Mel Tillis . Fifty-one years ago, when I was 10, I did my first Country tour, with Mel, Faron Young, George Jones and Patsy Cline. If you didn't think that was an education, you've got another thing coming. But that's how far Mel and I go back, and 10 years ago, when [then CMA Executive Director] Ed Benson called me in Branson, Mo., and said that I was being inducted into the Hall of Fame, Mel was one of the first people I told. He was as happy for me that day as I am this day to be a part of his induction." - Brenda Lee
"In the three decades that I've been involved with this Museum, I've gotten to do a lot of cool things, work with some wonderful people and participate in and witness some incredibly memorable events. I can truthfully say that few occasions have brought me greater pleasure than to stand on this stage today and announce to the world that my friend Vince Gill, has been elected to the Hall of Fame. . Vince has a deep and abiding love for the traditions and heritage of Country Music. . Vince is a living prism, reflecting all that is good in Country Music. He uses the crystal planes of his songwriting, his playing and his singing to give us a musical rainbow that embraces all men and spans all seasons. . And as anyone who knows him can attest, he's just a good guy." - Kyle Young
"I want to thank [CMA's Hall of Fame Panel of Electors] who had enough faith in me to let me spend an eternity in this building. It is one of the greatest moments of my life to share space with so many of my treasured friends who are already here and those who are soon to arrive. . I'm so happy to share this day with my wonderful wife Joy, with whom I celebrated 40 joyous years of marriage on the 26th of March this year. . In closing, I want to thank my Heavenly Father for holding my hand, especially when my life would get a little shaky. Thank you."
- Ralph Emery
"I so much love that relationship I've had with CMA for so many years. Even before I became the host of their [Awards] show, I went to the Awards every year since I lived here and loved it and just marveled at all the talent and all the people and everybody that came into this Hall of Fame. I never believed for an instant that I would be here. Then, after a lot of years of living, you wonder if you might. Maybe you start to see your own mortality a little bit.
"I see so many friends in this room. My daughter Jenny came. She's been crazy enough to jump into this business right behind me. My wife Amy is here. We've been married for the last seven and a half years, without a doubt the kindest, most gracious years I've ever spent on this earth, and I thank you for that. Bless you."
"When I found out I was being inducted, it took me under in a big way. I was not expecting that. I don't think I've ever really done much in my life that was the result of something. It was just that the work seemed like fun. One band led to another band to another town to another gig I just loved living life right at the moment. I never planned ahead. . When I heard the news, I got in the car and took off driving. I turned on 'Willie's Place' on [XM] Satellite Radio. The first three songs I remembered so vividly as a child. And I wept as they played, one after the other. Out of all the things I've ever done, it matters. It matters so very much. Thank you so much."
-Vince Gill
"Man, can you believe this? I'll tell you what, folks, I was surprised when I got the message from Tammy. I was in my garden, holding an eggplant. My cell phone went off. It was Tammy, and when she told me, I dropped my eggplant. The hardest part of it was that you're not supposed to tell anybody. And you know I'm a blabbermouth, but I kept my word. Well, I'm not going to lie to you. I think I told my son . I suppose that an honor such as this deserves a speech. Well, lucky for you folks, I don't do speeches, because we'd be here forever . I want you to meet my significant other. She's put a little stability in my life - Kathy DeMonaco. Last but not least, I want to thank this little angel that has been on my shoulder since the beginning and took care of me. Thank you."
- Mel Tillis
RALPH EMERY
Walter Ralph Emery was born March 10, 1933, in McEwen, Tenn. In 1951, after attending the Tennessee School of Broadcasting, he accepted a job at WTPR/Paris, Tenn., and later worked at WNAH/Nashville and WAGG/Franklin before obtaining a position at his first major network radio station, WSIX/Nashville.
In 1957, Emery began a 25-year run as late-night disc jockey on WSM/Nashville. On this show, which was heard over much of the southern and central United States, he interviewed artists and often hosted impromptu jam sessions. Thanks to this program, Emery grew to be a friend and trusted confidante to some of the biggest Country Music stars while also winning the Country Disc Jockey of the Year Award six times.
In the 1960s and '70s Emery became an announcer on "The Grand Ole Opry." A few years later, he hosted and produced a 90-minute, live morning show on WSM-TV/Nashville that would run for nearly 30 years. "The Ralph Emery Show" featured an in-studio band of local session musicians and rising singers, including Lorrie Morgan and The Judds. In its prime, the show was watched by two out of three Nashville homes every weekday. Using the same format, he also hosted "Sixteenth Avenue South," an afternoon program for WSM-TV in the late '60s.
From 1974 through 1980, Emery hosted the syndicated TV series "Pop! Goes the Country," and in 1976 he served as announcer for Dolly Parton's syndicated TV series, "Dolly." In 1981 and '82, he hosted "Nashville Alive," which was filmed at the Opryland Hotel's Stagedoor Lounge and aired on the WTBS cable channel, making it Nashville's first foray into cable TV.
In 1983, The Nashville Network (TNN) chose Emery to host its flagship program, "Nashville Now." Infused with his personable style, and enlivened by his sidekick puppet Shotgun Red, this nightly program ran for 10 years and drew not only every major and rising Country artist but also then-President George H. W. Bush, future President Bill Clinton and non-Country celebrities Steve Allen, Jay Leno, Mickey Rooney, Cybill Shepherd and Lily Tomlin, among others. In 1986, Cable Guide magazine named Emery its Favorite Cable Personality of the Year over competition that included Dick Cavett and Larry King. In 1989, he was inducted into the Country Music DJ and Radio Hall of Fame.
Seeking other creative outlets, Emery played himself in three movies - "Country Music on Broadway" (1965), "Nashville Rebel" (1966) and "The Road to Nashville" (1967) - and acted in "The Girl from Tobacco Row" (1966) and in the TV movie "Country Gold" (1982). He wrote several books as well. The first, Memories: The Autobiography of Ralph Emery, co-authored with Tom Carter, lodged high on the New York Times Best Sellers list for more than six months. Emery collaborated with Carter on another book, More Memories (1993) and with Patsi Bale Cox on, The View from Nashville (1998) and 50 Years Down a Country Road (2001).
After ending "Nashville Now" in 1993, Emery produced and hosted several specials for TNN, including "On the Record," that featured in-depth interviews with celebrities including Vince Gill, Andy Griffith, Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, and the first nationally televised interview with former President George Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush after leaving the White House. He also hosted TNN's first daytime talk/variety series and produced "Ryman Country Homecoming" and "Ralph Emery's Country Homecoming," on which Country Music legends performed and shared stories from their lives. He currently hosts "Ralph Emery Live" on RFD-TV.
Earlier this year, Emery celebrated 40 years of marriage with his wife Joy. They have three children, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
VINCE GILL
Born on April 12, 1957, in Norman, Okla., Vincent Grant Gill played an array of instruments well enough to join the bluegrass band Mountain Smoke as a high school student. After graduation in 1975, he moved to Louisville, Ky., where he played with Bluegrass Alliance and briefly with Ricky Skaggs' Boone Creek band before leaving for Los Angeles, where he worked with fiddler Byron Berline's bluegrass group Sundance.
With Pure Prairie League, Gill recorded three albums and sang lead on the Top 10 hit "Let Me Love You Tonight." In 1981, he joined the Cherry Bombs, Rodney Crowell's backing band, where he met Tony Brown and Emery Gordy Jr., both of whom would produce many of his future solo albums.
Signed to RCA Records, Gill relocated with then-wife Janis and daughter Jenny to Nashville. Gordy produced his mini-debut album, Turn Me Loose, which featured his first charting solo single, "Victim of Life's Circumstances." A full album, The Things That Mattered, followed later that year and yielded two Top 10 singles, a duet with Rosanne Cash on "If It Weren't for Him" and a solo hit, "Oklahoma Borderline." His first Top 5 single, "Cinderella," dropped from The Way Back Home in 1987.
After moving to MCA Nashville in 1989, Gill released When I Call Your Name. Its debut single, a duet with Reba McEntire titled "Oklahoma Swing," reached the Top 20, but the title cut peaked at No. 2, and earned Gill his first CMA Award (Single of the Year) and Grammy Award (Best Male Country Vocal Performance). The third single, "Never Knew Lonely," climbed to No. 3 and helped drive the album to Platinum sales. A second Platinum album, Pocket Full of Gold, followed in 1991, with four Top 10 hits. That same year he earned his first CMA Vocal Event of the Year Award for his performance with Mark O'Connor and the New Nashville Cats. Gill broke the quadruple-Platinum barrier in 1992 with I Still Believe in You, whose title cut became his first No. 1 single. He topped the charts again on another duet with McEntire, "The Heart Won't Lie," featured on her album It's Your Call.
His 1993 Christmas album, Let There Be Peace on Earth, was followed a year later by When Love Finds You, whose sales topped 4 million. In 1994 he also sang duets with Amy Grant on the title cut of her album House of Love, with Gladys Knight on the all-star Rhythm, Country and Blues album and with Dolly Parton on her signature "I Will Always Love You," which earned them the CMA Vocal Event of the Year honor in 1996.
Gill revisited his bluegrass roots in 1996 with High Lonesome Sound and then dug into hardcore Country on The Key in 1998, his first album to top the Billboard Country Albums chart. Furthering his reputation as a masterful duet partner, he sang "If You Ever Leave Me" with Barbra Streisand on her album A Love Like Ours in 1999.
Gill commemorated his marriage to singer Amy Grant in 2000 with Let's Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye; their daughter Corinna was born in 2001. Three years later he released his first self-produced album, Next Big Thing, and then united with Richard Bennett, Tony Brown, Rodney Crowell, Hank Devito and others as the Notorious Cherry Bombs for a 2004 release on Universal Records South. In 2006, he released a four-CD tour de force, These Days, which featured 43 new songs in a variety of musical styles and paired him with a dazzling lineup of guest artists, including Grant and his daughter Jenny Gill.
With more than 22 million albums sold, Gill has accumulated a collection of honors that includes 18 CMA Awards (second only to Brooks & Dunn in accumulating the most CMA Awards), two of them for Entertainer of the Year in 1993 and '94, and 18 Grammy Awards, the most earned by any Country artist. He is tied with George Strait for having won the most CMA Male Vocalist Awards (five). From 1992 through 2003, Gill hosted the CMA Awards, setting a record for the most times anyone has consecutively hosted a television awards show. He serves currently as President of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's Board of Officers and Trustees.
An avid golfer as well as an outstanding humanitarian, Gill helped create the annual Vince Gill Pro-Celebrity Invitational Golf Tournament - aka, "The Vinny" - in 1993 to help support junior golf programs throughout Tennessee.
MEL TILLIS
Born Aug. 8, 1932, in Tampa, Fla., Lonnie Melvin Tillis was just 3 years old when he survived a bout with malaria, believed now to have caused his lifelong stuttering problem. He made his debut in a local talent show at age 16 and continued playing music after joining the United States Air Force, when he played at military clubs in Okinawa, Japan, with a group called The Westerners.
Leaving military service in 1955, Tillis worked as a fireman on the Atlantic Coastline Railroad in Dover, Fla. A year later, he left for Nashville to seek his fortune. When Webb Pierce cut his song "I'm Tired," he also signed the young songwriter to his Cedarwood Music Publishing Company. Tillis composed several more hits for Pierce as well as for Bobby Bare ("Detroit City"), Patsy Cline ("Strange" and "So Wrong"), Stonewall Jackson ("Mary Don't You Weep"), Brenda Lee ("Emotions") and Ray Price ("One More Time," Burning Memories" and "Heart over Mind").
His own performing career began with his cover of "It Takes a Worried Man to Sing a Worried Song" in 1957. Tillis reached the Top 40 with "The Violet and a Rose in 1958 and "Finally" in 1959. Columbia Records released his first album, Heart over Mind, in 1962, along with singles that included "The Brooklyn Bridge," "Loco Weed" and "Walk On, Boy."
The mid-to-late 1960s brought more and greater successes, including the Top 15 single "Wine" in 1965 and his first Top 10 hit "Who's Julie?" in 1968. His renown as a writer grew as well, through covers by Waylon Jennings ("Mental Revenge"), Charley Pride ("The Snakes Crawl at Night") and Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, who turned Tillis' "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" into a Top 10 pop hit in 1969. Tillis himself reached the Top 10 twice in 1969, with "These Lonely Hands of Mine" and "She'll Be Hanging Around Somewhere."
Sales grew even stronger in the '70s, as Tillis sent a series of singles - "Neon Rose," "Midnight, Me and the Blues," "Stomp Them Grapes," "Memory Maker" and "Woman in the Back of My Mind" - into the Top 5, most of them released by MGM Records. All of this led to his selection as CMA Entertainer of the Year, his induction into the Nashville Songwriters International Hall of Fame and a contract with MCA Nashville in 1976, after which he scored a succession of No. 1 hits that included "Good Woman Blues," "Heart Healer," "I Believe in You" and "Coca Cola Cowboy." He ended the decade by signing with Elektra Records in 1979, with whom he once again topped the singles charts, this time with "Southern Rains" in 1981.
While maintaining his momentum as a songwriter, with hits that included "Honey (Open That Door)," a No. 1 single for Ricky Skaggs, Tillis has also continued to record successfully since the 1980s. In 1993 he released his first gospel album, Beyond the Sunset, and in 1998 he took part in a two-album set as a member of The Old Dogs, an all-star assembly that included Bobby Bare, Waylon Jennings and Jerry Reed; this collection of Shel Silverstein tunes earned a nomination for CMA Vocal Event of the Year. In 1999, BMI named Tillis "Songwriter of the Decade" for two decades. He was named Golden Voice Entertainer of the Year in 2001, the same year he received the Golden R.O.P.E. Songwriter Award.
Tillis has distinguished himself as an actor, beginning with an appearance on "Love, American Style" in 1973. Other TV series appearances included "Nashville 99" (1977), "The Dukes of Hazzard" (1979), "The Tim Conway Show" (1980) and "Love Boat" (1983). He also co-hosted "Mel and Susan Together," an ABC series that paired him with Susan Anton in 1978, and acted in made-for-television movies that included "Skinflint,""A Country Christmas Carol" (1979), "The Stockers" (1981) and "Bandit: Bandit Goes Country" (1994). His movie credits include "W. W. and the Dixie Dancekings" (1975), "The Villain" (1977), "Every Which Way But Loose" (1979), "Smokey and the Bandit II," "Cannonball Run" (1980), "Cannonball Run II" (1984) and "Uphill All the Way" (1986). Tillis also debuted as an author in the late '80s, with his autobiography, Stutterin' Boy.
In 2002, Tillis sold his theater in Branson, Mo., where he had performed more than 4,000 shows, and returned home to Florida. When not on the road, giving approximately 100 concerts each year with his band The Statesiders, he enjoys painting, fishing, gardening, cooking and attending ballgames at the University of Florida. Blessed with six children and six grandchildren, he was inducted by his daughter, Country Music vocalist Pam Tillis, into the cast of the Grand Ole Opry in June 2007. In 2002, they recorded together on "Come On and Sing," the last track of It's All Relative: Tillis Sings Tillis, Pam's tribute album to her father.
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