By Ken Paulson
It was a night of sentiment and celebration at the Country Music Hall of Fame tonight as the Oak Ridge Boys, the Browns and the late Grady Martin were inducted into the hall at the annual Medallion Ceremony in Nashville.
Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks perform in honor of the Oak Ridge Boys
The Oak Ridge Boys, whose roots go back seven decades to a group called the Georgia Clodhoppers, were honored for the modern incarnation of the quartet – Duane Allen, Richard Sterban, Joe Bonsall and William Lee Golden – who have earned 34 top ten hits, with 17 of those going to number one.
The group’s biggest hit came in 1981 with “Elvira,” which soared to the upper tier of both the pop and country charts.
Garth Brooks and Tricia Yearwood performed the Oak Ridge Boys’ “I’ll be True to You,” while the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Jeff Hanna contributed “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight.”
The Browns – Jim Ed, Maxine and Bonnie – had steady chart success from 1955 to 1967, when they disbanded.
In 1959, they recorded “The Three Bells,” a song first made popular by Edith Piaf. It was a huge pop and country hit. “Scarlet Ribbons” and “The Old Lamplighter” were other crossover hits for the trio.
Jim Ed Brown went on to a robust solo career and passed away in June. He received the Hall of Fame’s medallion in a private event shortly before his death.
Dierks Bentley
Carolyn Martin and Chris Scruggs performed the Browns’ “Looking Back to See” and the Isaacs recreated “The Three Bells.” Dierks Bentley was on hand to do his version of Jim Ed Brown’s biggest solo hit “Pop A Top.”
Also inducted was Grady Martin, who died in 2001, but left behind an astonishing musical legacy. He played fiddle for Hank Williams. It’s his guitar that helped propell Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman” and Marty Robbin’s “El Paso.” He worked on the sessions for “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” “Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy,” “Honky Tonk Man,” “Saginaw, Michigan,” “Satin Sheets” and dozens of other hit records.
His son Joshua Martin told us that his father’s gift was to play exactly what was needed on any particular recording session.
Vince Gill played Martin’s guitar part on “El Paso” along with Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives. Duane Eddy and Mandy Barnett teamed up for a version of “Don’t Worry,” showcasing Martin’s groundbreaking “fuzz tone.”