Mark Humphrey/Associated Press From left, Bobby Bare, Cowboy Jack Clement and Kenny Rogers on Wednesday.Kenny Rogers, Bobby Bare and Cowboy Jack Clement will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum later this year, the Country Music Association announced at a news conference on Wednesday.
All three helped spread country music to new audiences in their day. Mr. Rogers had several crossover hits in the 1970s and 1980s, like “The Gambler,†“Lucille†and “Lady†(produced by Lionel Richie).
“I tell you I came here one day with some friends of mine and walked around looking at these plaques, and this is truly rarefied air in here, †Mr. Rogers said at the news conference in the museum’s rotunda.
Mr. Clement, who was both a recording artist and an influential producer, played a critical role in the development of rock ‘n’ roll. He worked as a producer and engineer at Sun Records, shaping the recordings of stars like Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley. It was Mr. Clement who added the mariachi horns to Mr. Cash’s “Ring of Fire,†giving that record its unusual sound.
Mr. Bare, an innovative singer who helped set the template for the so-called outlaw movement in country, also proved country songs could have appeal on the pop charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s with hits like “All-American Boy,†“Detroit City†and “500 Miles From Home.†He was an influence on many of country’s outlaw songwriters of the 1970s, inspiring them to move freely from country to rock and pop.
The three were selected through a vote by members of the Country Music Association, which is Nashville’s main trade group. They will be inducted in October during a ceremony at the museum in Nashville, joining 118 other members of the hall of fame.
