12 Artists Inducted Into Musicians Hall Of Fame

Also inducted during Tuesday’s ceremony in Nashville were Randy Bachman from The Guess Who and Bachman Turner Overdrive, country musician Jimmy Capps, bass guitarist Will Lee, rhythm guitarist Corki Casey O’Dell and country guitarist Velma Smith. Posthumous inductions went to Stevie Ray Vaughan, along with his band Double Trouble, and pedal steel guitarist Ben Keith.

The Musicians Hall of Fame also gave their first Iconic Riff Award posthumously to Roy Orbison for his guitar work on “Pretty Woman,” and their first Industry Icon Award to Mike Curb, the founder of Curb Records. Performers for the awards show included Neil Young, Duane Eddy, Brenda Lee, The Oak Ridge Boys and Chris Isaak. This was the first induction since the Musicians Hall of Fame moved to its new permanent museum location inside Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium.

“I don’t like the word ‘rock star’ or ‘super star,’“ said Bachman after the induction ceremony. “I am a guitar player, a songwriter who got lucky because I stayed at it and didn’t give up, long enough that people noticed me.”

“A lot of the people like myself and other fellow inductees are in here, without a name on the marquee, that actually made the sounds that you hear when you hear some of your favorite things that you find yourself humming from day to day,” said Lee, who is best known for performing in the CBS Orchestra on the “Late Show With David Letterman.”

Barbara Mandrell, who was the first artist to win the CMA Entertainer Of The Year for two consecutive years, said learning how to play the steel guitar and the saxophone helped to launch her career while still a teenager.

“It opened the doors for me, ‘cause there weren’t a lot of little girls playing steel guitar,” Mandrell said.