Country Music Hall of Fame Inducts Pop Stoneman
Traditional Country Music Pioneer Gets Honor 96 Years After 1st Hit
Nov 2, 2008
Stoneman, however, who died in June 1968 at age 75, went to his grave knowing his induction was imminent, because of a well-intended message that the country-music pioneer's daughter, Donna, shared with him on his deathbed.
The news was crafted by Donna out of love to provide comfort to her father. Now, four decades later, Stoneman--a legendary multi-instrumentalist who is responsible for initiating country music's historic Bristol recording sessions--has finally been given his rightful place in the revered hall of fame.
2008 Country Music Hall of Fame Induction
During a April 27, 2008, ceremony in Nashville, Tenn., Stoneman joined the Country Music Hall of Fame via the "Career Achieved National Prominence Prior to World War II" category, an honor that is awarded every third year in rotation with the hall of fame's "Recording and/or Touring Musician Active Prior to 1980" and "Non-Performer" categories.
In announcing the inductees, Kyle Young, executive director of the Country Music Hall of Fame, noted, “The 2008 Hall of Fame inductees represent a historical spectrum encompassing the earliest days of commercial country-music recordings. … These artists have created a rich and enduring tapestry of music that will always recount the story of our homeland and its people over a period of almost 100 years. We applaud them and we congratulate them.”
Country Music Industry, Performers Honor Autoharp Player Stoneman
Stoneman’s induction—which was staged in the hall of fame’s Ford Theater—was emceed by Young and included the presentation of a traditional medallion to his family, which was accepted by eldest daughter Patsy Stoneman Murphy. Country-music superstar Vince Gill was the event’s first musical performance, delivering a rendition of one of Stoneman’s recordings, Drifting Too Far From the Shore, to a capacity crowd.
In a musical tribute to the late BMI songwriter, a who’s-who of artists added to the long-overdue festivities with performances of songs that were popularized by the event’s honoree. In addition to Gill’s contribution, Cowboy Jack Clement delivered Blue Ridge Mountain Blues, while hit-songwriter Jim Lauderdale, with aid from the Jordanaires, performed Are You Washed in the Blood.
Later, Nashville-based string-band Old Crow Medicine Show dove into an old-timey version of Tell Mother I Will Meet Her before a group featuring Clement and Stoneman's three surviving daughters—Donna Stoneman, Patsy Stoneman Murphy and banjo-extraordinaire Roni Stoneman (of Hee Haw TV-show fame) brought the crowd to its feet with their performance of their father's breakthrough influential classic, The Sinking of the Titanic. The latter song, released in 1924, was a crossover hit and one of the top songs of its decade, selling more than a million copies and staying at the peak of the day's country charts for 10 weeks.
For more about Stoneman and the Stoneman Family, please visit access the Country Music Hall of Fame site.
Sources
CMA Announces Emmylou Harris, Tom T. Hall, Statler Brothers and Ernest “Pop" Stoneman as Newest Members of Country Music Hall of Fame, Feb. 12, 2008, press release from Country Music Hall of Fame. Reprinted in CMA World. Retrieved Oct. 31, 2008, at http://www.cmaworld.com/news_publications/pr_common/press_detail.asp?re=720
Ernest V. Pop Stoneman: American Country Music Pioneer, n.d. Retrieved Oct. 31, 2008, from ortheyinstruments.com.
Perseverance Rewarded: Pop Stoneman Enters Country Music Hall of Fame, BMI News, May 2, 2008. Retrieved Oct. 31, 2008 at http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/536551
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