The 2016 Country Music Hall Of Fame Inductees were announced in a live streaming media only press conference this morning. The press conference was hosted by Country Music and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Brenda Lee. The first inductee to be announced was the legendary Fred Foster who founded Monument Records and launched the careers of many legendary country and rock musicians Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson and many others. Foster was on hand for the press conference and spoke during the live streaming event.
The second inductee announced has one of the most recognized voices and is one of the most talented instrumentalists in the business. I couldn’t think of anybody more deserving of this honor than the legendary Charlie Daniels. Charlie continues to tour all over the world entertaining fans, military troops, political figures and many others while putting his all into every performance. After hugging the neck of Ms Brenda Lee, Mr Daniels blessed the crowd with his appearance when he took to the podium to give a speech that only Charlie Daniels can give where he thanked all of those artists who paved the way for himself and others. Charlie became emotional as he would thank his wife Hazel, his family and his crew for all of their years of support. Charlie says, “I’ll be 80 years old, the 28th of October and I am making no provisions about retiring, I intend to be doing this, My hero is Little Jimmy Dickens and I am going to be here as long is it’s the good lord’s will for me to be”.
The final inductee is a talented singer/songwriter, actor who faced a courageous battle when his career came to a halt in 2013 after suffering from a massive stroke due to a viral infection. Randy Travis is now impacting lives in more ways than his musical and acting 
talent ever has. Randy Travis is a true inspiration to those that are battling illnesses and disabilities as he walked to the podium to give thanks to the fans and those in attendance. Travis was given a warm welcome with a standing ovation. Travis’ wife Mary Davis-Travis accompanied Randy to the podium and with Randy by her side she would give an acceptance speech on behalf of Mr Travis touching on his career and sharing stories of the road.
Mrs Brenda Lee was at a loss for words in closing with this amazing lineup of inductees for this years country music hall of fame. She closed out the press conference with “There are no words like I told Charlie when this happens it’s not a dream buddy, it’s validation”. This press conference was one that truly gave me goosebumps as my personal favorite musician of all time, Charlie Daniels was announced to be inducted and just seeing Randy Travis walking and speaking to the crowd was an awesome sight!
Music Matters Magazine 