The Steel Guitar Hall of Fame is an organization established in the United States in 1978 to recognize achievement in the art of playing the steel guitar. The organization's stated purpose is: In 1984, the organization was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in St. Louis, Missouri. When the Hall of Fame award was initiated in 1978, the awarding body's title was established as the "Steel Guitar Convention Board." For the first nine years of the awarding activity, board members themselves donated the funds to cover the awards. It was not until 1987 that sufficient funds were first raised to cover the annual awards costs. This was derived from individual contributors, from sanctioned benefit shows, and from funds raised at the annual International Steel Guitar Convention in St. Louis.
The idea of a hall of fame was first proposed by Nashville steel guitarist Jim Vest in the early 1970s. Vest intended to develop it, but his recording session work did not allow the time. By mutual agreement, Dewitt Scott took the responsibility and inaugurated the Hall of Fame in St. Louis in 1978. Scott is one of the founders who, for over 40 years conducted an annual international steel guitar convention featuring a fund-raising concert for the organization by renowned guitarists. One and sometimes two members are inducted annually. One plaque is forged for each inductee and has been displayed in St Louis' Millennium Hotel as a temporary site. A smaller replica is given to each inductee. The plaques were cast by sculptor Chris Unterseher in bronze bas-relief, depicting a likeness of the inductee followed by a brief résumé of his accomplishments. The text on each plaque was written by Tom Bradshaw. The organization contains inductees from outside the U.S. and is sometimes referred to as the "International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame" to distinguish it from various regional associations.
The first woman to become a member was Barbara Mandrell in 2009 An ongoing goal of the hall of fame is to secure a permanent museum site to display artifacts and plaques.
Inductees
1978 — Jerry Byrd 1978 — Leon McAuliffe 1978 — Alvino Rey 1979 — Herb Remington 1979 — Sol Hoopii 1980 — Joaquin Murphey 1980 — Speedy West 1981 — Noel Boggs 1981 — Buddy Emmons 1982 — Jimmy Day 1982 — Dick Kaihue McIntire 1983 — Eddie Alkire 1983 — Ralph Mooney 1984 — Don Helms 1984 — Bud Isaacs 1985 — "Little" Roy Wiggins 1985 — Curly Chalker 1986 — Harold "Shot" Jackson 1987 — Pete Drake 1988 — Lloyd Green 1989 — Billy Bowman 1989 — Hal Rugg 1990 — Bob White 1990 — David Kelii 1991 — Zane Beck 1992 — Tom Brumley 1992 — Dewitt Scott 1992 — Bob Dunn 1993 — Joseph Kekuku 1993 — Buddy Charleton 1994 — Doug Jernigan 1995 — Freddie Tavares 1995 — Bobby Garrett 1996 — John Hughey 1997 — Al Perkins 1997 — Weldon Myrick 1998 — Johnny Sibert 1999 — Barney Alvin Kalanikau Isaacs Jr 1999 — Jeff Newman 2000 — Jimmie Crawford 2000 — Paul Franklin 2001 — Tom Morrell 2001 — Herbie Wallace 2002 — "Pee Wee" Whitewing 2002 — Santo & Johnny Farina 2003 — Walter Haynes 2003 — JayDee Maness 2004 — Bobby Koefer 2004 — Jody Carver 2004 — Bobby Black 2005 — Orville "Red" Rhodes 2005 — Leonard T. Zinn 2006 — Rico Turchetti 2006 — Tom Bradshaw 2006 — Maurice Anderson 2007 — "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow 2007 — Roy Ayres 2008 — Julian Tharpe 2008 — Norm Hamlett 2008 — Don Warden 2009 — Bud Carter 2009 — Barbara Mandrell 2009 — Ron Elliott 2010 — Winnie Winston 2010 — Bobby Caldwell 2010 — Dick Overby 2011 — Bobbe Seymour 2011 — Larry Sasser 2011 — Russ Hicks 2012 — Terry Bethel 2012 — Kayton Roberts 2013 — Rusty Young 2013 — Tommy White 2013 — Lynn Owsley 2014 — Joe Wright 2014 — Sonny Garrish 2014 — Jim Vest 2015 — Gene Fields 2015 — Chubby Howard 2016 — Del Mullen 2016 — Neil Flanz
References
External links Official Site