Guitar Legend James Burton Named to Country Music Hall of Fame
Elvis Presley is in both the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Now his legendary guitar player can boast the same. Revealed on Monday, March 18th, guitarist James Burton is the newest instrumentalist to be inducted into the Country Hall of Fame in Nashville. A studio and/or touring musician is elected to the Country Hall of Fame once every three years.
James Burton was elected beside Toby Keith in the Modern Era category, and John Anderson in the Veteran’s Era category for the 2024 Country Music Hall of Fame class.
“I love you guys, thank you so much,” is all the 84-year-old said from the podium while accepting the honor. Burton will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame in the Medallion Ceremony coming up later this year.
Though Burton may be synonymous with Elvis for many, his contributions as a country music guitarist were just as significant, and arguably even more prolific. Yes, Burton not only played with Presley throughout the second half of his career, he was the bandleader of The King’s “TCB Band” from 1969 to 1977. But well before this, Burton started his career as the right hand man for Rick Nelson, recording with Nelson starting in 1957.
When Dale Hawkins recorded the original version of “Suzy Q” in 1957, it was James Burton playing and arranging the song’s iconic guitar part.
But James Burton doesn’t need anyone else’s legacy to stand on. He is considered one of the most foundational guitarists in American music history. Born August 21st, 1939 in Dubberly, Louisiana, he was performing on The Louisiana Hayride while he was still a teenager. He still wasn’t 20 when he took off for Los Angeles, and started playing with Rick Nelson. Burton’s guitar of choice was the Fender Telecaster, and to this day he’s considered the master of the instrument.
As a member of the exclusive fraternity of Los Angeles-based studio musicians known as The Wrecking Crew, Buton performed on countless studio recordings, especially when it came to country artists either from the West Coast, or the ones who decided to record there. This included Merle Haggard, Gram Parsons, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Young, and later Vince Gill, Rosanne Cash, Emmylou Harris, and John Denver.
When Emmylou Harris originally formed what she called her “Hot Band” after the passing of Gram Parsons, James Burton was in it. After the passing of Elvis, Burton’s biggest standing gig was as the guitar player for John Denver for over a dozen years. Though Burton would work as a hired hand, he also saw the value in pairing up with specific musicians to result in a more collaborative sound. This is how Burton contributed significantly to not just the music, but the sounds of many critically important American musicians across genres.
The induction of James Burton into the Country Music Hall of Fame is hard to argue with. But seeing how he was already in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, and the Musician’s Hall of Fame, it’s fair to wonder if a more dedicated country musician such as legendary side player Don Rich, or steel guitarists Buddy Emmons or Ralph Mooney would have been better suited for the Country Hall. Compounding this concern is how we will have to wait another three years before another musician has the opportunity to go in.
However, everybody agrees that it’s better for these accolades to be bestowed when the individual is living. This was underscored in the 2024 Country Hall of Fame picks since John Anderson has recently suffered from health issues likely boosting his Hall of Fame prospects, and Toby Keith died a few weeks short of experiencing the honor in person.
Lucky for James Burton and the rest of us, the legendary guitar player is still around to soak in this accolade.
March 18, 2024 @ 11:17 am
I’m not saying Burton is not worthy, but as far as a country music hall of fame, I would have put others ahead of him, namely Don Rich, Buddy Emmons, Buck Trent, Jimmy Capps, Bashful Brother Oswald, Tommy Duncan, Bob Moore and even the more modern Mark O’Connor and Paul Franklin. But welcome to the CMHF anyway I guess.
March 18, 2024 @ 11:43 am
Regarding Don Rich: One could argue that Don Rich is already technically inducted on the grounds that Buck Owens has been inducted already. This is a thing to consider when you factor in that Don Rich was not just foundational, but essential to the Buck Owens sound that got buck Owens nominated in the first place.
Much in the same way that we can argue brother Oswald is inducted on the grounds that Roy Acuff is inducted, and Oswald was part and parcel of the acuff experience through the entirety of
both men’s careers.
Since this is an article about James Burton, it is not the time and place to argue, whether or not Don Rich deserves the distinction more than James Burton. That would be exactly the sort of conversation which I have used as an example of why the country music Hall of Fame makes these announcements on Mondays in the first place
So, instead, I will make the case that James Burton deserves the distinction more than Donald Ulrich
First off, Dan Rich was a fiddler. His only solo releases are as a fiddler. He’s already in the national fiddler Hall of Fame. As a guitarist, he worked exclusively for Buck Owens. Yes, the buckaroos made releases as the buckaroos, but in that context, none of them were session musicians who contributed to recordings by other artists.
That is to say, it’s hard to argue for the influence of Don Rich independent of Buck Owens
Because there are so few opportunities to listen to one without the influence of the other. It would be like only inducting Lonzo without Oscar
The influence of James Burton, however, stretched across musical styles, and reached music fans of many different backgrounds in many different contexts.
March 18, 2024 @ 12:00 pm
“That is to say, it’s hard to argue for the influence of Don Rich independent of Buck Owens”
It’s also hard to argue for the influence of Buck Owens independent of Don Rich. Buck released some fine both music prior to 1960 and after 1974, but that music isn’t the reason he’s in the Country Music Hall of Fame. That’s why Don and the rest of the Buckaroos should have went in with him back in 1996 and why that oversight should be corrected while Willie Cantu is still with us.
Buck was not a solo artist. The Buckaroos are named alongside him on every album and every single. His induction as a solo artist is similar to Randy Owen being inducted without the others members of Alabama or Maybelle Carter without Sara and A.P.
March 18, 2024 @ 2:53 pm
My counter to that is that no one who doesn’t like Buck Owens’ voice or songwriting will listen to him for his band
‘I don’t like that Johnny cash guy in front but that Perkins guy sure can pick!’
I’ll take things no one ever said for 500 Alex.
Anyone who listened to Don Rich listened to Don Rich because they liked Buck Owens first and foremost.
And arguing for Don Rich in the hall of fame (worthy enough on paper) would be like arguing for Mack Magaha (Which I would love to entertain but it’s a fools notion)
A better comparison to James burton is Jackie Phelps, who played for lonzo and Oscar, grandpa Jones Roy acuff and bill Monroe over the years as well as with riddle and Phelps on hee haw and had his own solo releases
March 18, 2024 @ 3:27 pm
Of course Buck was the leader and the star, but they also had a #1 hit with an instrumental where he and his voice weren’t the main draw. The Buckaroos won the Band of the Year award from the ACMs four times and Instrumental Group of the Year from the CMAs twice.
I think the same argument can be made for Johnny Cash. When his name was on the Billboard charts, the Tennessee Two/Three were usually listed right there with him, at least in the early years. I’m all for inducting artists as they chose to bill themselves. If Buck Owens thought it was important for his band to receive notoriety and accolades whenever he did, I’m not going to argue with him.
March 18, 2024 @ 4:39 pm
But none of this back and forth actually does anything to illustrate why a guy who is already inducted into the proper hall of fame for his primary instrument who played for one guy already inducted into the cmhof should be inducted separately ahead of a wrecking crew musician who has played on way more hits
Which is exactly why I’ve been trying to illustrate why the country music Hall of
Fame doesn’t want tons of publicity
March 18, 2024 @ 5:01 pm
James Burton is the publicity pick. Way more folks outside of country music know who he is. Don Rich is the guy only country music nerds know about. Which in my opinion, is the reason his legacy needs to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Nobody is going to forget about James Burton.
March 18, 2024 @ 7:26 pm
Fuzzy, I actually agree with you that Burton is a more worthy inductee in the musician category. While he did release a couple of solo albums, his name has mostly been relegated to credits on the back of the album sleeves. That’s exactly the type of musician the category was made for.
Don Rich, on the other hand, was a full member of Buck Owens & the Buckaroos, a band that had 21 #1 country hits. The band’s name was on album sleeves, Billboard charts and awards. They were pictured prominently alongside Buck on the cover of some of their most successful albums. The Country Music Hall of Fame made a mistake in inducting only one member of that band in 1996 and that’s a mistake that should be corrected. Not by denying James Burton the spot he very much deserves, but by inviting Willie Cantu and the surviving family members of the other Buckaroos to the medallion ceremony and letting them take their rightful place with their bandmate in the space reserved for performers.
March 18, 2024 @ 7:33 pm
And for those who might say that the performer category is reserved for vocalists, Don Rich’s harmony vocals were as important to their sound as his guitar playing. Both Rich and Doyle Holly probably had as many lead vocal performances on Buck Owens & the Buckaroos albums as Ringo Starr had during his tenure with the Beatles. You won’t find a song on a Bobby Bare or Roger Miller album where they aren’t singing lead. That’s because they were solo acts. The Buckaroos were a band.
March 19, 2024 @ 10:40 am
Adam,
This is an interesting take, that the Buckaroos should be inducted as a band, or that they should have been inducted with Buck Owens.
Though the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has done this with numerous backing bands, I don’t believe the Country Music Hall of Fame has done this, except in the case of vocal groups like the Jordanaires that played with most everybody in their era. I just don’t know if there is a precedent to do that with The Buckaroos. And though I agree the Buckaroos had a very recognizable and rather static lineup through their heyday (and their own theme song), you can’t really say this about The Waylors, or The Jones Boys, for example. Willie’s Family band might be another good example of a more static lineup that could all go in together.
Again, it’s a good I idea. I just don’t think it’s what the Country Hall of Fame is going for. The rumors I’ve heard is that Don Rich was considered on the final ballot this year on his own. This is the reason I brought his name up as opposed to The Buckaroos as a band.
March 19, 2024 @ 9:06 pm
I’m not sure where you get your idea that the buckaroos was a very static band.
This is patently untrue
What most people consider the golden lineup was Don, Doyle Holly, Tom Brumley, Willie Cantu or Jerry Wiggins
But by the time of the ruby and rolling in my sweet baby’s arms recordings Ronnie Jackson had joined as had him Shaw. Brumley had gone on to found his own steel guitar company and would later play for Rick Nelson
Doyle holly had left
But Buck Owens was still minting hits even if his best years and the golden lineup had already ended going into the hee haw years
In some hee haw segments where Buck would sing songs from his bluegrass album Roni stoneman can be seen pantomiming to banjo parts Ronnie Jackson had played before departing the band. Jana Jae (herself a decorated Weiser Idaho fiddle champ and brief Buck Owens wife) can be seen miming Don Rich fiddle parts
Now we can argue if that bluegrass album made as big a splash as act naturally, or if the hee haw era band members deserve the same recognition as the Buck Owens ranch era members
But the critical fact is that Buck Owens was minting hits for decades across different eras and shows, and only Don was the constant throughout his best years.
The bluegrass era of Buck Owens is one of my favorite stretches in his career. I like my heart skips a beat as much as anybody but corn liquor and Georgia pineywoods don’t get near the love they get, and Buck couldn’t have done that album nor I am a rock with Brumley and Doyle Holly in the band still.
Plus, I will argue that we don’t know exactly which guitar licks were played by Dawn and which were played by Buck’s ruled the career. Supposedly bucks polka was played by Buck and Buck and Don both played buckaroo.
Don got credit for chaparral which doesn’t appear on ‘Buck Owens the guitar player’ album which, if correctly credited to Buck, would mean BUCK not Don was the better guitar player
I have spent a lot of time, trying to research exactly which cuts which man played on. Because of the discrepancies of Hee Haw using recorded backup and players miming the parts, There are a lot of videos of Buck playing that are phony, and a lot of album credits that are suspect.
The Buck Owens the guitar player album would in effect mean Don maybe hadn’t played buckaroo at all (even on the buckaroos album it appears on it’s credited to both Buck and Don) but that track is absent from Buck Owens the guitar player, which confirms Buck played bucks polka and a hee haw performance confirms this
Basically a lot of buckaroos credits are suspect due to conflicting information and muddied waters due to erroneous hee haw performances that had players miming parts they didn’t even record
March 20, 2024 @ 11:18 am
Buck probably WAS the better guitar player. I remember Eddie Stubbs’ interview with Merle Haggard on WSM, and Merle flatly stated that Buck taught Don how to play guitar AND sing harmony. Buck had been playing in the Orange County honky-tonks for years and even got to record with Tommy Collins(even if he didn’t get label credit).
So, who IS the original Telecaster hero? James was on TV every week, so he got the attention, Luther Perkins’ style was very simple, but it fit Cash’s style perfectly. Jimmy Bryant is almost playing jazz, so it would go over the head of most country fans. The world may never know.
June 22, 2024 @ 9:19 am
Where is vern gosdin in the hall of fame..1989 cma song of the year..chisel in stone and no votes..this is very political..a guy that sells millions of records and can’t get voted in by merit and a side man guitar player who does not sell records gets voted in..makes no sense..bmi and hall of fame control the votes to cms hall..come on board ..get vern gosdin in the hall…I could name you a name why vern gosdin is voted out but she needs to put Vern gosdin.in hall of fame.. instead of one her band members.james Burton in 1975…come on do the right thing..also..Don rich..buddy emmons..all need in the hall of fame..man..there’s you some country music there buck and earnest tubb. Mrj
March 18, 2024 @ 12:11 pm
Another strong vote of support here for James’ induction into the CMHoF at this time. I’m absolutely thrilled to see someone who was part of the West Coast country scene so honored by the Hall as it doesn’t happen nearly enough. At last count, James has either toured with or played on recordings by nearly two dozen Hall of Fame members while also inspiring a couple of generations of guitar players around the world spanning multiple genres.
It was James’ southern upbringing and country sensibilities that so complemented those classic recordings of Rick Nelson on Imperial and Decca Records. Often overlooked is James’ Dobro playing, including the Buffalo Springfield’s “A Child’s Claim to Fame” and Haggard’s quintessential tribute album to Jimmie Rodgers, “Same Train, Different Time.” Such taste and timing!
His career with Elvis often overshadows in the public’s eye all the work he did prior to signing on with him and contributing to Presley’s late career resurgence. In both the Instrumentalist and Pioneer categories, the CMHoF is woefully backed up and this needs to be addressed. Until then, I’m going to celebrate James’ induction and just be thankful he’s still with us to enjoy the accolades despite dealing with multiple health issues in recent years. Play on, James!
March 18, 2024 @ 12:37 pm
As a lifelong lead guitarist myself, James Burton remains at the top of my list. He pioneered guitar sounds and techniques that became mainstays of country and rock, being the first to use thin strings for bending, the first to introduce pick-and-finger “chicken picking” techniques, and the first to put the clear, twangy sound of a Fender Telecaster up front in rockabilly and country recordings with Ricky Nelson, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and hundreds more.
Finally, he deserves to be recognized for his remarkable sense of musical taste. Burton is a consummate musician who rarely plays with flash or excess. You hire him because he will come up with something fabulous and deceptively simple, every time.
Congrats to James on his CMHoF induction!
March 18, 2024 @ 3:18 pm
Thank you, Brad, for the education in your reply. I know he is considered one of the best, but your thoughts make it crystal clear why he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
March 18, 2024 @ 2:49 pm
Such a foundational picker; you can hardly play a Tele without referencing Burton!
March 19, 2024 @ 8:35 am
Jimmy Page has often cited James as a major influence on his own playing as has said he learned every lick James ever played. Quite the endorsement.
March 18, 2024 @ 3:29 pm
He is mighty worthy, when I think of guitar players inthink of him. The first time I heard guitar solo has on TV, James Burton
He was best ever at that time ///
All of my friends born around 1953, all wanted to be James Norton!
March 18, 2024 @ 4:10 pm
Thrilled to hear that John Anderson and James Burton have been named. Burton is best known for his work with Elvis, of course, but his list of credits includes stellar work with many others, notably (in my book) Gram Parsons and a great artist who too few have heard, thanks to bad breaks, Bob Woodruff. Burton’s outro on Bob’s “I’m the Train” is one of the most soulful solos I’ve ever heard.
March 18, 2024 @ 6:27 pm
that first Bob Woodruff album is fantastic. its always my go-to when asked about unsung albums. and Burton just plays all over it
March 24, 2024 @ 3:40 am
Mr. Wichita, so good to hear someone else shout Bob Woodruff’s praises. His second album, Desire Road, is also great. (BTW, I was born and raised in Wichita.)
March 18, 2024 @ 4:21 pm
I’d heard the announcements were low key, but watching for the first time I was surprised by how off key the whole thing felt. Rushed yet padded out; serious and solemn yet underprepared and filled with little gaffes; stars shuffling on and off, everybody struggling for the right words. More the tone of employee of the month than greatest honour in country music.
March 18, 2024 @ 4:58 pm
I was blown away by the brevity, or honestly, complete lack of speeches by James Burton and Toby Keith’s son Stelen. I can kind of forgive Stelen, because he may be still dealing with a lot of stuff right now, and is not really a public person. But this is a massive honor that many are seeking, and to not even really prepare any words feels a little cheap. Sure, maybe they’ll save the big speech for the Medallion Ceremony when they’re formally inducted—and that the public will only get to see clips of, because the Hall of Fame likes to keep it private for some reason. But still. Thank someone specific. Tell a story. Anything.
I think the “padding” was Brooks and Dunn doing their best to filibuster, feeling like the whole thing was going off like a popcorn fart from the lack of speeches by the inductees.
March 18, 2024 @ 6:14 pm
Some of the best speeches I’ve heard have been at weddings. People can be really clever, moving, funny when the occasion actually demands it. But this just felt like an occasion with no sense of occasion, and so it got the speeches it deserved. B&D did try to rise above it occasionally but in the end it just felt like everyone was marking time, which is where I thought the sense of padding came from.
March 18, 2024 @ 9:53 pm
Watched it on YouTube. Not to name any names (Ronnie), but the thing was kind of treated as a goof. Also, good of him to get dressed up for the announcement.
March 19, 2024 @ 8:38 am
James is a soft-spoken, somewhat shy man. He is one of the nicest, must humble musicians I’ve ever had the chance to meet. For decades, he’s let his playing do the talking.
March 18, 2024 @ 7:10 pm
Mentored Clarence White on the finer points of electric guitar as well.
March 19, 2024 @ 8:41 am
James and his wife, Louise, were close friends with Clarence and Susie White. James once told me when Clarence was starting to transition over to the electric the guitar that Clarence asked him for some pointers. According to James, “There was nothing I could teach him.”
March 19, 2024 @ 11:16 am
I stand corrected, Anna. Given Clarence’s enormous talent I’m also not surprised.
March 19, 2024 @ 1:17 pm
No doubt James was someone Clarence admired as a player.
March 20, 2024 @ 11:00 am
Clarence admired Joe Maphis as well.
March 18, 2024 @ 11:57 pm
3 good choices this year. Well deserved. I first recall Burton in Emmylou’s hot band.
March 19, 2024 @ 8:41 am
James also toured with Jerry Lee and lived to tell about it!
March 20, 2024 @ 1:00 am
I also first recall Burton from Emmylou’s Hot Band. I wonder if she’ll be the one to give the speech inducting him at the CMHOF medallion ceremony. I hope so.
March 19, 2024 @ 5:02 am
While Trig makes an interesting point on Burton, I politely have a different take. I see Burton as a country guitar player through and through. First of all, the background, deep rural south; Unquestionably a country boy. Now some will cite his rockabilly playing on the Ricky Nelson albums, yet I’m of the opinion that rockabilly licks and style became seamlessly integrated into mainstream country music. If you listen to mid to late eighties country and some 90s, you will hear a lot of rockabilly guitar. Some examples include Marty Stuart’s Tempted, and Hillbilly Rock albums. Also the epic Diamonds and Dirt album by Rodney Crowell, the first few Dwight Yoakam records, The Tractors albums, Desert Rose Band, The Mavericks, Steve Earles Guitar Town and many more. That rockabilly style became essential to country guitar. All of the pickers on those albums owe a debt to Burton. As I stated in a comment on the Toby Keith article, the Nashville session guitarists like Brent Mason, Tom Bukovac, JD Simo, and many others were either directly or indirectly influenced by Burtons Telecaster playing. In fact if you made a top ten list of greats of country telecaster guitar, Burton is on it, in fact he’s probably in the top 3 most influential. Brad Paisley, Pete Anderson, John Jorgenson, Johnny Hiland, Redd Volkaert, Dale Watson, and all the great chicken pickers consider Burton to be the guy. Have you seen a Paisley telecaster? I’m betting you have, and that design was famously promoted by Burton, so much so that anyone buying them today sees it as a ” James Burton” guitar.
For crying out loud, the most epic honky- Tonkin definitive Haggard recordings feature James Burton on guitar. Sure Roy Nichols was great, but he too was influenced by James Burton.
Finally I want to address this Elvis business head on. Some of yall seem to think because he also played with The King that it invalidates his country cred in some way. FALSE! Burton joined Elvis in 69 and played into the 70s, which was essentially an era where Elvis recorded the bulk of his Country material. Two albums of note, Country Elvis and From Elvis in Nashville, are solid country gold masterpieces and they feature , yes once again, James Burton. Elvis hired him not as a Scotty Moore clone, but because he saw Burton as a great country player. Elvis was obsessed with country music, he grew up with it, and later in life he began recording it in earnest, choosing many great songs like From a Jack to a King, She thinks I Still Care, Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues, Funny How Time Slips away, Little Cabin on The Hill and many others. When you do a deep dive into Elvis’s work, you will find a staggering amount of country music, in fact a large percentage of his fanbase are specifically country fans.
James Burton deserves this honor fully and I’m thrilled that he gets his rightful place in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
March 19, 2024 @ 10:52 am
Just to clarify, I don’t have an issue with James Burton being in the Country Music Hall of Fame at all. I 100% agree that he is an iconic guitarist that is foundational to country music.
My only side point is that the James Burton legacy is secured, in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in popular culture across genres. With someone like Don Rich and Buddy Emmons, that’s not really the case.
This was the same case I made about Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson being put into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Does this in any way materially help their legacy? Were they going to go forgotten if it wasn’t for the induction?
The ultimate issue here is that we’re only putting in three musicians every decade. So it makes these decisions so excruciatingly heavy. If it was up to me, I would have put James Burton, Don Rich, Buddy Emmons, and Ralph Mooney all in this year. They all deserve it.
March 19, 2024 @ 11:32 am
I’ll also mention a couple more instrumentalists with exceptional credentials. Bob Moore played on over 17,000 recording sessions and Lloyd Green played on over 110 #1 country hits.
If it is the opinion of the CMHOF that Eck Robertson and Henry C. Gilliland played on the first commercial country record, then they belong, as well.
March 19, 2024 @ 7:40 am
I need to add a few other points. Sorry for being so chatty. Roy Nichols in an interview gave credit for Haggards guitar sounds and style to Burton who was on the seminal recordings. Nichols basically said he just picked up the torch from Burton and carried it on. Nichols style was rooted in jazz and his formative years were doing western swing with Maddox Bros and Rose. Of course with Hag he adapted to more honky- tonk. Interestingly, Gary Adam’s, guitarist for Jones and Paycheck, was offered the slot with Hag, but he turned it down and went with Paycheck. What’s curious about that, is Adam’s was also heavily jazz influenced due to his hours of jamming with Buddy Emmons, who opened his mind to the possibilities of playing out of jazz scales. James Burton, on the other hand was NOT a jazz guy, he was at heart a country picker. Also of note in this discussion, about chicken pickin, is Burton did it long before Nichols and long before Don Rich. It is speculated by some that Buck or Don or both were likely familiar with Burtons chicken pickin and might have borrowed it for their sound. It is a fact that Burton did indeed do some playing with Buck Owen’s and recorded with him. And Gary Adam’s and Paycheck himself also played with Buck Owen’s. In fact they all used to jam after shows together and were good friends. This is of interest because it would seem that these legends of Country guitar crossed paths frequently and influenced each other. Worth mentioning too, that Gene Moles, telecaster player for Red Simpson, also influenced Don Rich. Moles eventually did some gigs with Haggard also.
What’s the big point? James Burton was one of the most singular important influences on Country guitar players ever. Likely Don Rich owed a thanks to Burton as well.
March 19, 2024 @ 8:12 am
Speaking of Burtons, has Burton Cummings ever been considered for the Country Music HOF? The Guess Who dabbled in country sounds from time to time. They even had a cover of Close Up the Honky Tonks, which may even surpass the Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam versions for listenability.
Randy Bachman was usually given credit as the “country guy,” along with Chad Allan to some extent, especially when they formed Brave Belt after Bachman was fired from The Guess Who. But my belief is Cummings was just as influenced by country music as any of the other members were.
Just a thought.
March 21, 2024 @ 1:44 am
No.
March 19, 2024 @ 10:51 am
The local “legends station (I used air quotes because any station that plays Shania, Chesney, or Faith Hill isn’t a legends of country station) played “Ramblin’ Fever” this morning to highlight Burton’s guitar work.
What the heck happened to this genre???
March 19, 2024 @ 1:19 pm
The genre pretty much went to Hell in a handbasket about 40 years ago.
March 19, 2024 @ 5:09 pm
John Anderson was picked because his name starts with an “A” and was at the top of the list.
Toby Keith was picked because, well you know. (not trying to be insulting).
James Burton was picked because none of the voters had no clue who any of the nominees were and heard he played for Elvis, so they said “hell ya” and check his name off.
March 20, 2024 @ 2:44 am
Love h I s Style if playing.
March 31, 2024 @ 3:05 am
To all of you self-appointed judges arguing over whether some ‘Hall of Fame’ is right or wrong.
This outfit was perfectly right in conferring THEIR title to whoever they want.
Absolutely correct no matter the outcome.
You, on the other, say this is about ‘right and wrong’.
This outfit doesn’t put my life choices in their crosshairs, only their own.
Bark ’til you’re hoarse, the squirrel never touches your backyard.
Why not take a group opportunity to jaw about Burton, and what you may know about his humility honesty and inborn grasp of music–while you’ve still got him.
June 22, 2024 @ 9:38 am
It’s time for the cms.hall to put Vern gosdin. In the hall of fame..1989 cma song of the year winner..chiseled and max d barnes..and that’s not good enough for a man that sold millions of mca records.in 30 years..it’s so political..before this and give it to a guitar player that played in her band in 1975..the board needs.to reconsider the merit.of these votes..they leave out Clarence white..Don rich..buddy Emmons famous guitar players..who actually played country music on their guitars and famous records.of buck owens and earnest tubb..come on vern gosdin in the hall of fame .rj