Country Music Hall of Fame Medallion Ceremony 2023

Tanya Tucker, Patty Loveless, Bob McDill Officially Inducted Into Country Music Hall of Fame

Acclaimed vocalist Patty Loveless, master songwriter Bob McDill, and performing powerhouse Tanya Tucker were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday, October 22. The three honorees were celebrated as the 150th, 151st, and 152nd members of the Hall of Fame during its annual Medallion Ceremony, held at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s CMA Theater.The invitation-only ceremony—considered country music’s most prestigious event—was filled with tributes to the inductees, from both friends and acolytes, in speech and in song. It was an evening in honor of “three gifted people who came from small towns in the hinterlands,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “Each of these honorees has left a deep and distinctive stamp on our music, now to be forever enshrined in this Hall of Fame.”

The Country Music Hall of Fame welcomed @thePLoveless, #BobMcDill, and @TanyaTucker on Sunday—country music's highest honor. Catch exclusive highlights from the invitation-only ceremony—recap video coming soon. pic.twitter.com/TvF9s4pZSX

— Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (@countrymusichof) October 23, 2023

RED CARPET EXPERIENCE: CMHOF and the lovely Kelly Sutton celebrated the arrival of #CountryMusicHallofFame members before this year’s Medallion Ceremony. Instagram 

Country Aircheck Weekly REPORT: Tanya, Patty & Bob Flip The Script

Impeccably planned, scripted and executed, the Medallion Ceremony at which new Country Music Hall of Fame members are inducted each year is a model of consistent excellence. Sunday night’s edition (10/22) celebrating Patty Loveless, Bob McDill and Tanya Tucker was a bit looser – gloriously so. As Townsquare’s Kurt Johnson said at the afterparty, “It went off the rails in all the best ways.” 

WHAT WE’RE GONNA BE: Performing for Songwriter category honoree McDill were Charley Crockett (“Louisiana Saturday Night”), Dean Dillon (“All The Good Ones Are Gone”) and Jamey Johnson (“Good Ole Boys Like Me”).

Fellow Hall of Famer and tunesmith Don Schlitz handled the induction speech. “Bob McDill was who we wanted to be,” Schlitz said. “He taught me mostly by example, but he also told me a few secrets ... we get 10 songs a year by inspiration; our job is to write 40 more for the radio. Respect your music, respect your process, and respect yourself. Take your time and get it right. 

Most importantly, he taught me that you cannot write country looking down your nose at it.” After Schlitz introduced his wife to McDill a few years ago, she noted her husband’s typical loquaciousness failed him. When he wondered why, his wife said, “Because he’s your hero.” Schlitz added, “And so he is. And I’ve come to understand, Bob McDill, that you were my big break. Thank you for all the wonderful songs. Thank you for the great example you’ve given me and all of us of what a songwriter can and should be.

Naming the non-performing songwriters in the Hall – Dean Dillon, Fred Rose, Bobby Braddock, Cindy Walker, Harlan Howard, Felice & Boudleaux Bryant and Schlitz – McDill said, “Everyone knows their songs. Few people know their names. It speaks very well of the panel to go beyond the sparkle and glitter of our business and include these writers.”

He told of venturing to Nashville with Dickie Lee and Allen Reynolds in the early ‘70s. “Music Row then was a club, a cabal, a close-knit cult of like-minded music people. It was distrustful of outsiders who were called civilians, squirrels or gherms. Inside the club we traded riffs, songs, stories, gossips, and dreams. I have too many people to thank. The list is too long to name everyone.” But he got to many, from his mother and teachers to publishers, fellow writers and artists.

“I will conclude with Bob McDill’s ‘Wisdom for Aspiring Songwriters.’ No. 1,members of the music-buying public are probably smarter than you think. No.2, the money you earn from a song is in direct inverse proportion to the number of co-writers. No. 3, when the great Henry Mancini was asked where he got his inspiration he said, ‘Every morning at 9am at the piano.’”

KNOW WHO I AM: Performers for Loveless were Sister Sadie (“The Sounds Of Loneliness”), Bob Seger (“She Drew A Broken Heart”) and Vince Gill (“Lonely Too Long”). The latter also handled the induction. “What I hear in her voice is that blood harmony that I yearned for my whole life,” he said.

Gill told of his 45-year friendship with her husband, Emory Gordy, Jr. “We met when I was a 19-year old kid moving out to California. That’s a genius for you – moved to California with a banjo. Don’t try it. Worked for Steve Martin, but that was about it.” In summation, Gill said, “Patty possesses maybe the most authentic voice I’ve ever heard. [I’m] so grateful for the love that we have for each other and the respect.”

Praising the performers, Loveless noted Seger’s appearance “was a real shock for me.” She jokingly encouraged Sister Sadie and Gill to cut the songs they’d just played, since she’d written both. “The one person I wish truly could be with me tonight is my brother, Roger Ramey [who] passed away last year ... This was always a dream of ours as young kids coming to Nashville. When I would walk through the Country Music Hall of Fame museum ... it just felt so comforting. To be a part of that now is truly an honor.” Loveless thanked other family members, The Wilburn Brothers, Porter Wagoner, Dolly Parton and audience members who have supported her. “I’m stumbling because I am a little emotional, but I want to say thank you to my husband, Emory Gordy, and [producer] Tony Brown who took a chance on this young girl.” Overwhelmed, she closed with, “Forgive me, I’m a little bit taken back by this and I have to step back. Thank you so much.”

Patty Loveless • Interview and Performance • 2023 (published Oct 19, 2023) Celebrate Patty Loveless's induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame by watching this special interview and performance filmed as part of the Museum's "Live at the Hall" series. During the program, Loveless performs "Blame It on Your Heart," "Don't Toss Us Away," "Too Many Memories," and "You Don't Even Know Who I Am," along with band members Jedd Hughes, Carmella Ramsey, and Deanie Richardson. Loveless also talks about growing up in Elkhorn City, Kentucky, and her early musical memories; how her brother and manager, Roger Ramey, helped her get a foot in the door in Nashville; working with her producer and husband, Emory Gordy Jr.; and how it felt winning Album of the Year at the 1995 Country Music Association Awards. 

The Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum explores the life and career of Country Music Hall of Fame member-elect Patty Loveless in a new exhibition, Patty Loveless: No Trouble with the Truth. The exhibit traces Loveless' story, from a musical prodigy to a Grammy award-winning country music star who carries forward the sounds of her Appalachian roots. The exhibit, is opened Aug. 23 and runs through October 2024, is included with museum admission….Read More This program was presented in support of the exhibition open now at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Read the Press Release:  Country Music Hall Of Fame® And Museum To Open New Exhibition, Patty Loveless: No Trouble With The Truth (June 28, 2023) 

HEAD FULL OF DREAMS: Hall of Famers Wynonna and Charlie McCoy (on harmonica) performed “Delta Dawn,” Margo Price and Jessi Colter sang “It’s A Little Too Late” and Brandi Carlile performed “Two Sparrows In A Hurricane” to celebrate Tanya Tucker.

Fellow Hall of Famers Connie Smith and Brenda Lee steered – under and over, respectively – the induction.

From meeting Tucker and her father Beau when the former was only 11, to being on The Ralph Emery Show together, Smith said she was impressed early and often. “She brings it from the heart and always does it in a style flat-out all her own. I just love her so very much and I root for her every time I see her.” Lee concurred wholeheartedly. “She’s one of the most giving, loving, kindhearted people.” As for her place in the industry, Lee explained, “She has thumbed her nose up so many times it ought to be bleeding, but she is who she is and you have to respect that. “Now, I’m not quite sure why I’m up here,” Lee said. “Am I inducting or just talking?” Lee called Smith back to the podium. “Okay, you say yours.” Smith: “I’m done.” Lee: “You gotta talk.” Smith: “I did talk.” Lee: “About Tanya?” Smith: “About Tanya.” Lee: “Was I drunk? I don’t take pills, it had to be whiskey.” And finally, “Connie says to call you up here, Tanya.” 

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Tucker, who had already taken the stage to sing during the Wynonna/ McCoy and Carlile performances, began, “I’m so thankful that you’re here and that you’ve been through some ups and downs with me along the way. Anytime I felt bad about myself, which happens all the time, I think of my fans – the ones that always stayed by my side,” she said. “And of course, my kids.” She recalled a recent phone call that changed her trajectory. “It was from a girl named Brandi Carlile on FaceTime. My manager said, ‘You better answer that.’ Within a minute, she convinced me to do a record with her and Shooter Jennings.”

Noting some missing faces, including her parents Beau and Juanita, Tucker then noticed the teleprompter. “Oh. Is that a script? There’s a script. Let me see if I can go on that. I did write it [but] I forgot it.” She told of visiting the Grand Ole Opry at the age of nine and having Beau say, “’Don’t you wish you were up there doing it instead of sitting down here watching it?’ I said, ‘Yes, sir, I do.’ And from that moment on, I’ve never been a good audience member – and I haven’t been very good today.”

Tucker thanked her siblings before asking the teleprompt operator to scroll through sections of her prepared remarks. Band and crew, Billy Sherrill and Jerry Crutchfield were cited, as were the songwriters, musicians and engineers behind her recordings. She thanked her partner, Craig, and concluded with nods to her fellow inductees, calling Loveless “an angel all the way through” and asking McDill if she had ever cut one of his songs. “I’m a fool if I haven’t, but there’s always time. I expect to see you in my office on Monday morning, but I don’t have an office. So move me to your office. Thank you all so much!” –Chuck Aly CAC 

Country Singer-songwriter Erin Enderlin, formally invited to the event, posted a review on her socials saying: Spent Sunday night at the 2023 @countrymusichof ’s Medallion Ceremony - absolutely inspiring celebrating Patty Loveless, Bob McDill, and Tanya Tucker. Here’s a little recap”

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CMA CEO Sarah Trahern called Loveless and Tucker "strong, distinctive voices in our format," and McDill "a songwriter's songwriter" during the Sunday evening ceremony. - BILLBOARD

Tanya Tucker, Patty Loveless & Bob McDill Enter Hall Of Fame MUSIC ROW

Joyful Medallion Ceremony Welcomes Patty Loveless, Bob McDill, and Tanya Tucker into the Country Music Hall of Fame - countrymusichalloffame.org

Read bios from this year’s inductees and more about the Country Music Hall of Fame induction process here

About the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum:

The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum collects, preserves and interprets country music and its history for the education and entertainment of diverse audiences. In exhibitions, publications, digital media and educational programs, the museum explores the cultural importance and enduring beauty of the art form. The museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, and is among the most-visited history museums in the U.S. The Country Music Foundation operates Historic RCA Studio B®, Hatch Show Print® poster shop, CMF Records, the Frist Library and Archive and CMF Press. Museum programs are supported in part by Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and Tennessee Arts Commission.

Hall of Fame Members (A-Z Class Of Year) www.countrymusichalloffame.org

Election to the Country Music Hall of Fame is country music's highest honor. The Country Music Association (CMA), the country music industry's trade organization, created the accolade to recognize significant contributions to the advancement of country music by individuals in both the creative and business communities.

The first members—Jimmie Rodgers, Fred Rose, and Hank Williams—were inducted in 1961. 

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