Alabama, Glen Campbell and DeFord Bailey have been named as the newest inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The induction will take place Nov. 15 during the Country Music Association Awards in New York. The event will be telecast live on CBS from Madison Square Garden.
Alabama is one of the most successful groups in the history of country music, landing 32 No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Top Country Songs chart between 1980 and 1993. The group has sold more than 46 million records, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, and earned more than 200 show business awards.
Campbell rose to fame in the 1960s when he landed a string of country and pop crossover hits and his own TV series, “The Glen Campbell Good-Time Hour.” He had most of his biggest hits on Capitol, including the No. 1s “I Wanna Live,” “Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston,” “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Southern Nights.”
Bailey was one of the Grand Ole Opry’s earliest stars and the first African-American star in country music. His career spanned the 1920s and ’30s until the Opry dismissed him in 1941, after which he shined shoes for a living. He recorded for the Columbia, Brunswick and Victor labels. Bailey died in 1982.
Bailey will be inducted in the category of artists whose career achieved national prominence prior to World War II, which is awarded every third year. Campbell will be inducted in the category of artists whose career achieved national prominence between World War II and 1975. Alabama will be the first act inducted in the newly created category for artists whose career achieved national prominence between 1975 and the present.
The inductees were chosen by the CMA’s Hall of Fame panel of electors, consisting of more than 300 people appointed by the CMA board of directors.
