Jerry Lee Lewis, Keith Whitley, Joe Galante, Are Country Music Hall of Famers

Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

May 17th, 2022 12:00 PM

Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn announced the newest inductees for the Country Music Hall of Fame today. Ronnie said that induction into the Hall of Fame is “The ultimate achievement in country music.” The inductees are:

• Veteran Era – Jerry Lee Lewis
• Modern Era – Keith Whitley
• Non Performer – Joe Galante (one-time RCA Records President)

Wheeled out in a wheelchair, the music icon Jerry Lee told the crowd, “It’s a great honor and a great pleasure to be here in the Country Music Hall of Fame, and my name is Jerry Lee Lewis, and I love everybody. I am overwhelmed that they asked me to be here today.”

Lorrie Morgan accepted the honor for her late husband, Keith Whitley, who died in 1989. Lorrie said in part, “Keith never knew how good he was. He would be absolutely blown away if he were here.”

The Country Music Hall of Fame was created in 1961, and before today’s inductees had 146 members.

8 Country Music Legends Who Should Be In The Country Music Hall of Fame

• Tanya Tucker

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  Tanya has had over fifteen number one songs in her career, sold millions of albums, and started as a teenager in the early 1970s with her smash hit "Delta Dawn." It is a shame she is not yet in the Country Music Hall of Fame, and of all the folks who have been overlooked for the Hall in the past ten years, Tanya is the most deserving of the honor, and something is simply wrong if she isn't the next inductee.

• Crystal Gayle

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  Crystal may be the sister of Country Music Hall of Famer Loretta Lynn, and she has also made a massive impact on country music herself since winning a Grammy in the late 1970s for her hit "Don't It Make Your Brown Eyes Blue." With 13 number one songs under her belt and many more that made the Top five on the country charts, Crystal should be a shoo-in for the honor, and this could very well be her year.

• John Denver

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  John Denver's songs in the 1970s were as country as could be. Yes, he was considered a pop star by many -- in 1975, when Charlie Rich presented CMA's Entertainer of the Year, he famously lit the card with Denver's name on fire in front of the audience when he announced that Denver was the winner. But listen to Denver's songs for yourself; there is no doubt he was country. The CMA even used his song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" in 2016 with all of the country music superstars, including Keith Urban, Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Miranda Lambert, and Luke Bryan, and many more singing to mark the CMA's 50th year.
• Trisha Yearwood

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  Trisha has a good chance of being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame soon, if not this year. Her husband Garth Brooks is already in the Hall of Fame, and with the impact she made in country music starting in the early 1990s, she is more than likely going to get in soon.

• Clint Black

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  Making his country music debut in 1989, the same year as Garth Brooks, his success frustrated Brooks a bit as Black started scoring songs on the country charts at the time before Garth began to take off. His first single, "Better Man," became his first number one, and he charted another chart-topper right after with his second single, "Killin Time." He scored 12 number one songs in his career. He won many awards, including his first from the CMA in 1989 when he won the Horizon award.

• Dwight Yoakam

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  Although in the last ten years Dwight Yoakam has been known more for his movie acting, in the late 1980s, he was country music's golden boy with a string of chart-toppers "Honky Tonk Man" and the duet with Buck Owens "Streets Of Bakersfield." Dwight has won two Grammys and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019.
• Tim McGraw

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  While Tim McGraw has stayed active in country music, charting songs and touring since he first splashed onto the scene in the mid-1990s, some of his contemporaries, like Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson, are already members of the Country Music Hall of Fame, so it would make sense it McGraw himself was honored this year. He has 44 number one singles, that alone should get him a seat at the table. Tim has three Grammy Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music Awards, 11 Country Music Association (CMA) awards, 10 American Music Awards, and many more honors.

• Shania Twain

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  Shania changed country music with her tremendous success, which started with her 1995 album "The Woman In Me." She has won five Grammy Awards and multiple honors in country music from the CMA and the ACM. She sold over 50 million records and really expanded country music bringing in many more fans with her pop style of country music.

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Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

Category:

• 107.9 Coyote Country
• Coyote Music News
• Music

Tags:

Country Music Hall of Fame,Jerry Lee Lewis,Joe Galante,Keith Whitley