Pleased to announce first round of Hall of Fame members

The Missouri Music Association is pleased to announce its first inductees into the Missouri Music Hall of Fame.  The Missouri Music Hall of Fame has just recently been organized and will recognize Missouri talent from all genres of music. The organization will collaborate with other music organizations within the state of Missouri to provide a central database of Missouri talent.  Initially, the Missouri Music Hall of Fame will include Missouri talent that has already been recognized by another hall of fame based on their genre. The Missouri Music Hall of Fame is pleased to announce its first bluegrass inductees whom are all members of the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame: Charlie Wolfe, John Hartford, and the Dillards.   

Charles Wolfe was born August 14, 1943 in Sedalia, Missouri and died February 9, 2006.  The legacy of Charles Wolfe is his prolific work as an author of books, largely historical in nature, that provide a priceless written and photographic documentation of the early days of southern country music and its people. Some examples are DeFord Bailey; A Black Star in Country Music, co-written with David Morton, and A Good-Natured Riot: The Birth of The Grand Ole Opry, a 1999 winner of two national book awards.  He also authored many liner notes for albums.  For more than 25 years he was very active in the production of the Uncle Dave Macon Days celebration, held each July in Murfreesboro and he received three Grammy nominations for his work on an album project of obscure, previously unknown, Macon recordings.  The IBMA honored Dr. Charles Wolfe in 1990 with its Distinguished Achievement Award.

 

 Rodney Dillard (guitar) and Douglas Dillard (banjo) grew up playing music with their family and friends (including a teenaged John Hartford) in Missouri. They performed on a St. Louis radio station as The Dillard Brothers in 1958, recording for a local label. The Dillards played their first show at Washington University in St. Louis and hit the road for Los Angeles in 1962.. A DesiLu Studios rep saw an ad in Variety magazine about Elektra signing the Dillards, and within days they were called in to audition for the role of The Darlins on The Andy Griffith Show. Their original songs that have become bluegrass standards like “The Old Home Place,” “Dooley,” “Doug’s Tune,” “Banjo in the Holler” and “There is a Time.”  The Dillards incorporated stand-up comedy into their stage show, and their talents as entertainers brought bluegrass to new audiences in urban clubs from L.A. to New York City, on college campuses, in movie scores, at folk festivals and on tour with mainstream rock bands and comedians. The band’s unique flair for songwriting and arrangement affected a broad range of important future musicians in the bluegrass and pop music world alike, and they are credited with helping set the stage for the “country rock” movement and the burgeoning progressive sounds of bluegrass. The Dillards were inducted into the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2009.

John Harford (he would change his name to Hartford later in life at the behest of Chet Atkins) spent his childhood in St. Louis, Missouri. There he was exposed to the influence that would shape much of his career and music—the Mississippi River. From the time he got his first job on the river, at age 16, Hartford was on, around, or singing about the river. By age 13, Hartford was an accomplished old-time fiddler and banjo player, and he soon learned to play guitar and mandolin as well. Hartford formed his first bluegrass band while still in high school at John Burroughs School. He immersed himself in the local music scene, working as a DJ, playing in bands, and occasionally recording singles for local labels. In 1965, he moved to Nashville, the center of the country music industry. In 1966, he signed with RCA Victor. Hartford, a multiple Grammy winner, worked on the Glen Campbell Good Time Hour' and the 'Smothers Brothers Show' in the 1960s. Later, he contributed to the highly successful 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' soundtrack and Ken Burns' popular PBS series on the Civil War.  He died in 2001 at age 63.

The Missouri Music Association and Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization. Membership to the Missouri Music Association Membership is available to industry professionals and the general public. Members receive discount to events. For more information about becoming a member, please call 615-419-3417 or visiting www.missourihalloffame.info on the internet.