The top of the all-time overrated list?????????

Holy smokes man!

you might as well have slapped my mama.

Seriously though, it is an excellent insight that one of Gram’s strengths was as a conduit to traditional country music.

That being said, I think that he had a profound influence on many country musicians, not just rock musicians, it just depends on how you look at it.

Naturally, Dwight, Emmylou, and Rodney Crowell, come to mind, but also most of the Alt-Country and Americana scene artists have been influenced by Gram. Sure he was a conduit, but his take on country music was distinct and captivating enough to give him the position of respect that he has. He’s like a beacon of authenticity to the crowd out here in LA. And I think that he’s earned that position.

You can argue that because he’s influenced artists who are pitched under the label of Americana (Like the Hacienda Brothers for example) rather than artists who are marketed under the country label (Like Rhett Atkins or Keith Anderson) that his influence becomes insignificant to the country hall of fame, but I think that if we limit what we consider to be an impactful career on the basis of whether or not it influenced this generation of nashville pop-ac country performers, that most great country artists from the past would have to be eliminated from consideration.

In the California country scene alone, Mike Stinson, Dave Gleason, and David Serby are all deeply, deeply country, and in a very present way (read: they are not throwback, vintage acts) and all 3 are deeply influenced by Gram.

My point is that Gram’s influence isn’t all Alt-Country, which is essentially country rock. His influence is still very prevalent among artists who are working within the honky-tonk genre, as well as acoustic acts that emphasize the high-lonesome sound, in other words, artists are are working very hard to preserve and innovate along the lines of traditional country music.

In view of that, the fact that Sugarland probably don’t know any Gram songs means absolutely nothing to me in terms of weighing his impact and influence on country music.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=OziZG4fWuv4

everyone needs to go see them in concert, its amazing. i love them!

I didn’t say I dislike Parsons – far from it as I have most of his recordings, but for a very short career to be Hall-worthy, it really does need to be on the level of a Jimmie Rodgers or Hank Sr.

BTW – Kudos for knowing of Bradley Kincaid – I half expected his name to be unknown to everyone on this forum

Parsons tends to bring out polarizing arguments–a lot of people worship him, a lot of others consider him far over-rated. Of course he didn’t have the impact of Hank or Jimmie Rodgers. But if that were the criteria for getting into the HOF, it’d be an awfully small group.

I think Parson’s voice had a lot of soul and emotion to it, which made up for its limitations, and several of his songs and performances had a powerful affect on a lot of artists and listeners. He deserves his place in American music history for how he drew on aspects of country, soul and rock to create a style of fresh style, something that drew on tradition but was of the moment, that resonated with a lot of people.

Does he deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, though? I don’t think his place is as secure there as many others, including those he influenced, like Emmylou. But I think Paul underestimates Parsons impact on country music, from the Eagles to Rodney Crowell to Dwight Yoakam to Lucinda Williams–and on and on. It’s a long list. If you consider the impact of the Eagles and Emmylou, two acts that wouldn’t have done what they did if not for Parsons’ influence, then Parsons’ role becomes even more important.

So I think a good argument can be made that Parsons deserves his spot there. But I also think its doubtful he’ll get it.

Gram Parsons didn’t have a very long career. As a country performer, it was shorter than Hank Williams Sr. or Jimmie Rodgers, the two shortest careers that I can think of among inductees, and he didn’t have nearly the impact that they did. Actually, Parsons is the top of my all-time “Overrated” List, a mediocre singer with no hits whose influence was mostly on Rock music and Rock musicians (except for his influence on Emmylou)

DAC probably belongs in the Biker Music Hall of Fame – he’s played in the Orlando area numerous times at various biker bars – he doesn’t seem to have much appeal beyond that group

If this is the year for a pre-WW2 act to be nominated, I’d suggest Bradley Kincaid, Rex Griffin and Al Dexter before June Carter (who was primarily post WW2

As for the annual selections, the CMA sets the criteria and a CMA special committee makes the selections. The committee members are kept secret, I believe.

The HOF museum and the non-profit foundation that runs it is simply the place where the Hall of Fame plaques are displayed and its members honored, within the context of country music history. Obviously, since Hank Williams was elected the first year, someone in their 20s who died of a drug overdose already is in the HOF.

Paul–Mel Tillis was elected to the HOF in 2007.

There’s a lot of deserving people on all these lists, and more, especially old-timers like Charley Poole, the Stanley Brothers, the Stonemans, etc.

“In 2005, and in every third year thereafter, Career Achieved National Prominence Prior to WWII will alternate with the Musician & Non-Performer categories.
In 2005, and every year thereafter, the Open Category will be split in two so that there will be Career achieved national prominence between WWII and 1975 (through 1974) and Career achieved national prominence between 1975-current (beginning in 1975).”

I think 2008 would be “the third year thereafter,” wouldn’t it?

June started performing with the Carter Family in the late 1930s, so I’m thinking she can slide in there.