Two country singers who blew up immediately after releasing their self-titled debuts and a blind piano player who was one of the most in-demand studio musicians in Nashville were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday, Oct. 21.
Garth Brooks, Connie Smith and Hargus “Pig” Robbins were honoured at the nearly three-hour Medallion Ceremony in Music City, which included performances by Ronnie Dunn, Merle Haggard and George Strait, among others.
An emotional Brooks, whose 1989 debut peaked at number three on the country charts, and who, as a solo artist, would go on to break every sales record within a decade, told The Associated Press, “I moved to this town for one reason and that was to get ‘Much Too Young to Feel This Damn Old’ cut by George Strait. That’s what George is singing tonight. It’s gonna be so cool. I’m a fan. So I get to be a fan tonight.”
Smith, who was the first female vocalist to reach number one on a debut release back in 1965, accepted her honour from Haggard, whom she’s worked with several times in her career.
"It is such an honour to be here,” the “Once a Day” singer told the audience. “I feel like I deserve it the least because I didn't aim for it. I wanted to sing and to feed my kids.”
Robbins, who’s never charted himself, has played on thousands of hits by everyone from Patsy Cline and George Jones to Bob Dylan and Neil Young, despite being blind since age four.
"Pig Robbins has played an indelible role in Nashville's rise to prominence as a recording centre for popular music," Hall of Fame director Kyle Young told the audience. "His talent for knowing exactly what to play brought out the best in singers and their songs."
Appropriately, Ronnie Dunn, formerly of Brooks & Dunn, kicked off the evening with his take on the Jones classic "White Lightning," also the first country hit to feature Robbins.
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