The
Texas Country Music Hall of Fame/Tex Ritter Museum, located in
Carthage, TexasCarthage is a city in Panola County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,664 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Panola County, and is situated in East Texas near the Louisiana state line.-Geography:...
in
Panola CountyPanola County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 22,756. Located in East Texas, the county's name is derived from a Native American word for cotton...
, honors those who have made outstanding contributions to
country musicCountry music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains...
and were born in the state of
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
. This includes singers,
songwriterA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer.-History and background of songwriters:...
s,
disc jockeyA disc jockey is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, dis
k referred to phonograph records, while dis
c referred to the Compact Disc, and has become the more common spelling...
s and others.
A
museumA museum is a building or institution which houses a collection of artifacts.Museums collect and care for objects of scientific, artistic, or historical importance and make them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary...
, a large multi-purpose room, and a gift shop comprise the major areas of interest within the facility. The multi-purpose room can be configured to serve as a lecture hall or a dining room.
The
Texas Country Music Hall of Fame/Tex Ritter Museum, located in
Carthage, TexasCarthage is a city in Panola County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,664 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Panola County, and is situated in East Texas near the Louisiana state line.-Geography:...
in
Panola CountyPanola County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 22,756. Located in East Texas, the county's name is derived from a Native American word for cotton...
, honors those who have made outstanding contributions to
country musicCountry music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains...
and were born in the state of
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
. This includes singers,
songwriterA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer.-History and background of songwriters:...
s,
disc jockeyA disc jockey is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, dis
k referred to phonograph records, while dis
c referred to the Compact Disc, and has become the more common spelling...
s and others.
A
museumA museum is a building or institution which houses a collection of artifacts.Museums collect and care for objects of scientific, artistic, or historical importance and make them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary...
, a large multi-purpose room, and a gift shop comprise the major areas of interest within the facility. The multi-purpose room can be configured to serve as a lecture hall or a dining room. The museum contains informational panels that cover each inductee's career and accomplishments through text,
photographA photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
s, and
artifactAn artifact or artefact is any object made or modified by a human. In archaeology, an artifact is an object recovered by some archaeological endeavor, which may have a cultural interest. Examples include stone tools such as projectile points, pottery vessels, metal objects such as buttons or guns,...
s.
In the center of the exhibit area, a replica of a 1930s
theaterA movie theater, movie theatre, picture theatre, film theater or cinema is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
marqueeThe word marquee can refer to several things:* A large tent, open-sided and installed outdoors for temporary functions* Marquee, a song by Superchunk from their 1997 album Indoor Living* Marquee Cinemas, a movie theater chain in the United States...
reminds visitors of the role of country music in
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
.
The marquee also serves as the entrance to the
Tex RitterWoodward Maurice Ritter , better known as Tex Ritter, was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and was the father of actor John Ritter...
Museum. Ritter, who was born in Panola County, was one of the first singers inducted into the hall when it was established in 1998.
Inductees
- 2008
- Mickey Newbury
Mickey Newbury was an American songwriter for Acuff-Rose Music, a critically acclaimed recording artist, and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.-Biography:...
- Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 number one hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
- The Whites
The Whites are an American country music vocal group consisting of lead singer Sharon White, her sister Cheryl, and their father Buck. In the 1980s they scored hits with songs including "You Put The Blue In Me," "Hangin' Around," "Give Me Back That Old Familiar Feeling," "Pins and Needles," "If It...
- 2007
- Johnny Rodriguez
Johnny Rodriguez is an American country music singer. He was the first famous Latin American country music singer, infusing his music with Latin sounds, and even singing verses of songs in Spanish....
- Red Steagall
Russell Steagall is a multitalented showbusiness personality whose career has covered a period of 35 years and has spanned the globe...
- Bob Luman
Bob Luman, , was an American country and rockabilly singer.-Early life and career:...
- 2006
- The Gatlin Brothers
Larry Wayne Gatlin is an American country music singer. He is best-known for teaming up with his brothers in the late 1970s, where they became one of country music's most successful acts of the 1970s and 1980s. Gatlin has a total of 33 Top 40 singles under his belt, including both his solo...
- Billy Joe Shaver
Billy Joe Shaver is an American country music singer and songwriter. Shaver's 1973 album Old Five and Dimers Like Me is a classic in the outlaw country genre.-Biography:...
- 2005
- Roger Miller
Roger Dean Miller was a Grammy and Tony Award winning American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...
- Jimmy Dean
Jimmy Ray "The Hurst" Dean , better known as Jimmy Dean, is an American country music singer, television host, actor, and businessman...
- Johnny Gimble
John Paul Gimble , better known as Johnny Gimble, is an American country musician associated with Western swing. He is an award-winning fiddle player and considered one of the most impressive fiddlers in the genre's history....
- Glenn Sutton
Glenn Sutton was a country music songwriter and producer. Born Royce Glenn Sutton in Hodge, Louisiana, he was one of the two chief architects of the countrypolitan sound .Sutton wrote or co-wrote many of Tammy Wynette's early hits including, "You're Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad",...
- 2004
- The Big Bopper
Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr. , called JP by his friends but commonly known as The Big Bopper, was an American disc jockey, singer, and songwriter whose big voice and exuberant personality made him an early rock and roll star. He is best known for his recording of "Chantilly Lace"...
- Johnny Lee
Johnny Lee Ham is an American Country Music Singer. His 1980 single, "Lookin' for Love," not only spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard country singles chart in the second half of 1980 but also went to the Top 5 on the Pop charts, and Top 10 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary survey...
- Mac Davis
Morris Mac Davis, known as Mac Davis , is a country music singer and songwriter originally from Lubbock, Texas who has enjoyed much pop music crossover success. He became one of the most successful country singers of the 1970s and 1980s. He is also an actor...
- 2003
- Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American writer, singer-songwriter, actor, and musician. He is best known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
- Lefty Frizzell
William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell was an American country music singer and songwriter of the 1950s, and a leading exponent of honky tonk music...
- Johnny Bush
Johnny Bush, born February 17 1935 as John Bush Shinn III in Houston, Texas, is a country music singer, songwriter, and drummer. Bush, nicknamed the "Country Caruso," is best-known for his distinctive voice and as the writer of "Whiskey River," a top-ten hit for himself and Willie Nelson's...
- 2002
- Tanya Tucker
Tanya Denise Tucker is an American country music artist who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13...
- Gene Watson
Gary Gene Watson is an American country singer. He is most famous for his 1975 hit "Love in the Hot Afternoon" , his 1982 hit "Fourteen Carat Mind" and his signature song, "Farewell Party." Watson's long career has notched 6 Number Ones, 22 Top Tens and 50 charted singles.-Biography:Watson was...
- Nat Stuckey
Nat Stuckey was an American country singer and songwriter.Stuckey worked as a disc jockey before starting his own country band in the 1950s, which appeared regularly on the Louisiana Hayride...
- 2001
- Stuart Hamblin
- Billy Walker
Billy Marvin Walker was an American country music singer and guitarist best-known for his 1962 hit, " Charlie's Shoes." Nicknamed The Tall Texan, Walker had six number one hits, 32 top ten hits and more than 100 charted records during a nearly 60-year career; and was a longtime member of the Grand...
- Ray Price
Ray Price is an American country and western singer, songwriter and guitarist. His more well-known songs include "Release Me", "Crazy Arms," "Heartaches by the Number," "City Lights," "My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You," "For the Good Times," "I Won't Mention It Again," "You're the Best Thing...
- 2000
- Dale Evans
Dale Evans was the stage name of Lucille Wood Smith , a writer, movie star, and singer-songwriter. She was the second wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers.- Early life :...
- Bob Wills
James Robert Wills , better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by many music authorities one of the fathers of Western swing and called the King of Western Swing by his fans.-New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma:He was born near Kosse,...
- Charlie Walker
Charlie Walker was an American country musician born in Copeville, Texas. He held membership in the Grand Ole Opry from 1967, and was inducted into the Country Radio DJ Hall of Fame in 1981.- Career :...
- 1999
- Ernest Tubb
Ernest Dale Tubb , nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" , marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music...
- Hank Thompson
Henry William "Hank" Thompson was a country music entertainer whose career spanned seven decades. He sold over 60 million records worldwide....
- Bill Mack
Bill Mack is one of the most recognizable voices in country music radio. For many years, Mack was best known as the host of The Country Roads Show, the overnight country music show on WBAP, a clear channel station in Fort Worth...
- Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer and musician. A self-taught guitar player, he rose to prominence as a bass player for Buddy Holly following the break-up of The Crickets. He escaped death in the February 3, 1959 plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie...
- 1998
- Tex Ritter
Woodward Maurice Ritter , better known as Tex Ritter, was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and was the father of actor John Ritter...
- Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country singer-songwriter, author, poet, actor and activist. He reached his greatest fame during the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, but remains iconic, especially in American popular culture.He has continued to tour, record and perform in recent years, and...
- Jim Reeves
James Travis Reeves was an American country and pop music singer-songwriter popular in the 1950s and 1960s who also gained a wide international following for his pioneering smooth Nashville sound. Known as Gentleman Jim, his songs continued to chart for years following his death at age 40 in a...
- Gene Autry
Orvon Gene Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
- Joe Allison
Joe Marion Allison was an American Hall of Fame songwriter, a radio and television personality, a record producer, and a country music business executive....
- Cindy Walker
Cindy Walker was a prolific American songwriter, as well as a singer and dancer. As a songwriter Walker was responsible for a large number of popular and enduring songs, recorded by many different artists. She adopted a craftsman-like approach to her songwriting, often tailoring particular songs...
External links