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Steven Curtis Chapman
Kentucky Music Hall of Fame inductee Steven Curtis Chapman
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Emory Martin
Kentucky Music Hall of Fame inductee Emory Martin
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Exile
Kentucky Music Hall of Fame inductees Exile
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The Hilltoppers
Kentucky Music Hall of Fame inductees The Hilltoppers
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Steven Curtis Chapman
Kentucky Music Hall of Fame inductee Steven Curtis Chapman
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Skeeter Davis
Kentucky Music Hall of Fame inductee Skeeter Davis
A new group of musicians will soon have their names inscribed in the history books as members of the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. Steven Curtis Chapman, The Kentucky Headhunters, Exile, Skeeter Davis, The Hilltoppers, Old Joe Clark and Emory and Linda Martin will be officially inducted on April 12.
Paducah native Steven Curtis Chapman, with more than 10 million records, began his recording career in 1987. Since then, he has garnered five Grammy awards, 56 Dove awards (the most earned by any other artist), an American Music Award and the top spot on the U.S. Music charts 46 times. One of the most recognized contemporary Christian artists today, he has made appearances on Good Morning America, Larry King Live, CBS Sunday Morning and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, just to name a few.
From a shack in the woods near Edmonton in the late 1960s, a band of friends came together to play rock and roll. What evolved from those early days became a hit-making American country rock band known worldwide as The Kentucky Headhunters. The group has earned a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, a Best New Vocal Group award from the Academy of Country Music, and Album of the Year and Vocal Group of the Year awards from the Country Music Association.
In the 1930s, country music was in its infancy and Manuel D. “Speedy” Clark was just a teenager. But his talent for the guitar, singing and tap dancing soon evolved into gigs with local musicians across east Tennessee. When he made his way to Kentucky’s Renfro Valley, he adopted the Old Joe Clark moniker, and history was made. The character appeared in such classics as “Country Music on Broadway,” “Second Fiddle,” “A Steel Guitar” and “Marshall of Sleepy Hollow.” He even played at the Grand Ole Opry with illustrious performers of the day such as Bill Monroe.
Exile began its musical career in Richmond first as a rock band then eventually transforming into a hit country group. The band has since released three gold albums, two greatest hits CDs and several multi-platinum singles, including 11 No. 1 hits, as well as 13 award nominations from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association.
With a nod to the members’ alma mater, Western Kentucky University, The Hilltoppers scored a series of top 10 hits in the 1950s. Among their well-known tunes include “Tryin,” “PS I Love You,” “Love Walked In” and “Till Then.”
Skeeter Davis, who was born Mary Frances Penick, is considered one of the first women to achieve stardom in the country music field as a solo vocalist in the 1950s and 1960s, influencing subsequent stars Tammy Wynette and Dolly Parton. The Dry Ridge native also was the first female country singer to be nominated for a Grammy Award, eventually winning a total of five Grammys.
Emory Martin, was known as “The world’s only one-armed banjo player” and made great strides in Nashville as a backup musician to such stars at Kitty Wells and Uncle Dave Macon, as well as stints at Grand Ole Opry. He later married fellow performer Linda Martin and settled in Rockcastle County, where he and his wife became fixtures on Renfro Valley Barn Dance in the 1940s and ’50s.