Williams was just three years old when his father died on New Year’s Day 1953.
Hank Williams Jr., Marty Stuart and songwriter Dean Dillon are the inductees in 2020 in the Country Music Hall of Fame. The news was especially sweet for Williams, whose legendary father, Hank Williams, was one of the three founders in 1961, along with Jimmie Rodgers and Fred Rose.
Williams will be entered into the category of artists for veterans. Stuart in the category of modern artist and Dillon in the category of songwriter, who is awarded every three years in the rotation with the recording and / or touring musician and non-performing categories.
“I could not be more excited to welcome Dean, Marty and Hank Jr. into the vicious circle …”, said Sarah Trahern, Chief Executive Officer of the CMA, in a statement. ‘I’m sad that we can not personally toast this year in the Country Music Hall of Fame, but I hope this news can provide some fun and cause for celebration … In particular, our hearts go out to Hank and his family the recent loss of his daughter Katherine. ”
(Katherine Williams-Dunning died on June 13 in a car accident in Tennessee. She was just 27.)
“In this, the most exclusive of music halls of fame, we now have three new deserving members,” said Kyle Young, chief executive of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, in a statement. “… In a year of unrest, strife and dissent, this announcement is something we can all rejoice in.”
Traditionally, CMA hosts a press conference in the rotunda of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville to unveil the new class of inducters. That was not possible this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Details regarding a formal induction ceremony will be released when information becomes available. Since 2007, the museum’s medallion ceremony, an annual reunion of the Hall of Fame membership, has served as the official rite of induction for new members.
Here is a capsule summary of this year’s three inductances:
Hank Williams Jr.: Williams, 71, was just three years old when his father died on New Year’s Day 1953, at the age of 29.
Williams collect 10 no. 1 hits up Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart, from ‘All for the Love of Sunshine’ (with the Mike Curb Congregation, 1970) to ‘Born to Boogie’ (1987). He had some powerful help on one of his no. 1s: Reba McEntire, Willie Nelson, Tom Petty and former Ike sang guest vocals on “Mind Your Own Business” (1986).
He had nine no. 1 albums on Top Country Albums, from Songs My Father Left Me (1969) to Biggest Hits III (1989). The latest album had its longest run at the top – 11 weeks.
Williams has won seven CMA Awards, including back-to-back awards for entertainer of the year in 1987-88. Williams also won Album of the Year in 1987 for Born to Boogie. Williams was one of the first country artists to capitalize on music videos. He is a three-time winner for Music Video of the Year – for “All My Rowdy Friends Are Comin ‘Over Tonight” (1985), “My Name Is Bocephus” (1987) and “There’s a Tear in My Beer” (1989).
In a statement, Williams referred to both his daughter’s death and the difficulty of stepping out of his father’s shadow. Bocephus has been seeing this for a while now. It’s a bright place in a difficult year … I fell off a mountain and tried to rediscover myself as a truly individual artist and someone who stepped out of the shadows of a very famous man – one of the greatest. I must thank all those happy friends who still stand up for me year after year. It is an honor to continue this family tradition. “
Marty Stuart: Stuart, 61, had six top 10 hits on Hot Country Songs in the early 1990s. Two collapsed with Travis Tritt – “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin ‘” (No. 2) and “This One’s Gonna Hurt You (For a Long, Long Time)” (No. 7).
The latest song also brought Stuart his only CMA Award – for focal event of the year. He had six other CMA nominations, including two 1994 nods for Album of the Year for his contributions to two all-star albums, Asleep at the Wheel’s Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys en Rhythm, Country and Blues.
Stuart had three consecutive top 20 albums on Top Country Albums from 1989-92 with Hillbilly Rock, At least en This one will hurt you.
Dean Dillon: Dillon, 65, had 20 hits on Top Country Songs as an artist, the highest chart was “Nobody in His Right Mind (Should’ve Left Her)”, which was no. Reached 25 in 1980. He released three albums on Top Country Albums, two of which collapsed with Gary Stewart. But his biggest legacy is, of course, being a songwriter.
Dillon received a CMA button for 1997 of the year for co-writing “All the Good Ones Are Gone” with Bob McDill. The song was a top five hit on Hot Country Songs for Pam Tillis that year.
Dillon is best known for the many songs he wrote for George Strait (who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006). Below have: “Unwound,” “The Chair,” “Marina Del Rey” and “Ocean Front Property.” His other best-known songs include “Tennessee Whiskey,” which he co-wrote with Linda Hargrove. The song has been a hit on Hot Country Songs for such artists as David Allan Coe, George Jones and Chris Stapleton.
