Aretha Franklin, Ricky Skaggs, Dallas Holm, The Hoppers, Love Song and Rex Humbard
Announced as GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame Inductees
The
GMA Foundation (GMAF) has announced that it will induct
Aretha Franklin, Ricky Skaggs, Dallas Holm, The Hoppers, Love Song and
Rex Humbard into the
GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
"The diverse talents represented in this years class of inductees
have
impacted millions of people around the world. It is an honor to induct
these individuals" said Charles Dorris, Chairman, GMA Foundation.
The GMA Foundation (GMAF) will induct the honorees into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame on
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 at
Trinity Music City Auditorium in
Hendersonville, TN at
6:00 PM. Admission is free to the public.
The GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame, established in 1971, has inducted
more than 150 members since its inception. Previous inductees include
Johnny
Cash, DeGarmo & Key, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Mahalia Jackson,
Amy Grant, the Statler Brothers, the Winans, the Blind Boys of Alabama,
Andrae Crouch, Sandi Patty, Bill & Gloria Gaither, Andrae Crouch
& the Disciples, Vestal Goodman, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Shirley
Caesar, The Oak Ridge Boys, the Blackwood Brothers, Petra, Bill and
Gloria Gaither, the Happy Goodman Family, Larry Norman, George Beverly
Shea, Albertina Walker, Pat Boone, Dottie Rambo, Evie, Larry Norman,
Richard Smallwood, Jake Hess, The Lewis Family, Cliff Barrows, Thomas A.
Dorsey, the Cathedral Quartet, the Fairfield Four, Billy Graham and
the Jordanaires. The
GMAF is dedicated to fostering an appreciation of the historical
development of gospel music and its impact on our culture by collecting,
preserving, exhibiting and interpreting its collections for a global
audience, as well as honoring those who have made outstanding
contributions to gospel music.
A full list of GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame Inductees is available at
gmahalloffame.org web site
here
.
ABOUT THE INDUCTEES:
ARETHA FRANKLIN
Although born in soul's capitol city, Memphis. The Franklin family soon
moved to Detroit, MI, where her father, Baptist minister Reverend C. L.
Franklin, soon became one of the most revered public figures in black
America. During her late preteens, Franklin was regularly singing solo
numbers in her father’s New Bethel Baptist Church. She grew up with
local and national celebrities visiting in her family home, including
gospel greats Albertina Walker and her group The Caravans, Mahalia
Jackson and Clara Ward, three women who played a pivotal role in her
vocal development.
In 1972, she released the gospel album
Amazing Grace. The
album eventually became her biggest-selling release ever, selling over
two million copies and becoming the best-selling gospel album of all
time. In 1987 she again returned to her gospel roots with the album, One
Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, which though it did not repeat the
success of Amazing Grace despite a powerful rendition of "Oh Happy Day",
featuring Mavis Staples, but did reach the Top 10 of Billboard's gospel
chart.
Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest
Singers of All Time as well as the ninth greatest artist of all time.
She has won 18 competitive Grammys and two honorary Grammys. She has 20
#1 singles on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart and two #1 hits on the
Billboard Hot 100: "Respect" (1967) and "I Knew You Were Waiting (For
Me)" (1987), Since 1961, she has scored a total of 45 Top 40 hits on the
Billboard Hot 100. She also has the most million-selling singles of any
female artist. Between 1967 and 1982 she had 10 #1 R&B albums—more
than any other female artist. In 1987, Aretha became the first female
artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She was the
only featured singer at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration.
DALLAS HOLM
Dallas has earned his influence in today’s Christian music throughout
more than 40 years of writing, singing and ministry in some 4,000
concerts in every state in the USA as well as many countries abroad.
His 38 recordings have garnered gold records, multiple Dove awards,
Grammy nominations, number one songs, and countless accolades.
Artists such as Steven Curtis Chapman, Twila Paris and Greg Long
of Avalon all make reference to Holm’s significant impact on their lives
and ministries. Holm can be seen on several of the Bill Gaither
Homecoming videos. On one video Gaither introduces Dallas by saying,
“This is one of the nicest guys in our entire industry.” This broad
appeal and respect by peers has undoubtedly been one of the reasons for
Holm’s amazing longevity and relevance. They became the first
Contemporary Christian band to receive an RIAA certified Gold Album
for Dallas Holm and Praise LIVE.
THE HOPPERS
Multi-award winning family group The Hoppers have been singing to global
audiences for over 55 years with appearances ranging from presidential
religious inaugural ceremonies and New York’s Carnegie Hall to singing
conventions and church platforms. They have performed throughout the
United States as well as in Israel, Europe and Africa. Their unique
blend of harmonies and song choices have created a legacy of musical
excellence embraced by leading pastors and event organizers. Known as
America’s Favorite Family of Gospel Music,
they are favorites on the Gaither Homecoming videos and tours, and their recordings frequently land at the top of the
BILLBOARD sales charts and
The Singing News radio charts.
Comprised today of family members Claude & Connie, son Dean and
his wife, Kim, and son Mike Hopper, The Hoppers were formed in 1957 in
the rural-farm town of Madison, NC, and have grown continuously for
decades, touching countless lives around the world. A cancer survivor,
Connie has been honored with the prestigious Marvin Norcross Award, in
addition to numerous industry and fan honors; and she has been inducted
into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Sons Dean and Mike have
continued the family legacy with their musical talents and business
abilities; and Kim, Dean's wife, hails from her own nationally acclaimed
musical family, The Greenes. She is noted for the excitement she brings
to any live performance, and her unmistakable, rafter-ringing soprano
vocals have taken The Hoppers to new heights for many years.
REX HUMBARD
In 1932, Rex Humbard did his first radio program on KTHS Radio, Hot
Springs, Arkansas; at the age of 13. His father, Alpha Rex Emanuel
Humbard, ran an orphanage and church in downtown Hot Springs. In the
midst of the Great Depression, church attendance was poor and offerings
for the orphanage suffered greatly. Rex did his radio program every
week, singing, playing his guitar and telling the listeners about his
father’s church. One year later the seats were full to capacity and the
orphans had a new lease on life. From that time forward, Rex Humbard
realized the power of the media and the importance of the “life
changing” message contained in gospel music.
From 1945 through 1952 (during the war years), Rex and his wife,
Maude Aimee, traveled to every section of the USA and Canada conducting
tent crusade meetings. In each of these cities they purchased radio time
and appeared daily singing gospel music and promoting the tent
crusades. In 1949, Rex did his first TV show in Indianapolis, Indiana on
the local CBS station. Once again, gospel music was the center piece of
the program.
The Rex Humbard Ministry program ran from 1952 to 1985. In the early
1970’s, Time Magazine did a feature story on Rex Humbard and coined the
phrase “tele-evangelist” to describe Rex. In 1999, Rex was named as “one
of the 25 shapers of the 20th century” by US News and World Report
because of his visionary use of the media to promote his message of
hope, love and salvation. One of the most vital parts of his ministry
was gospel music.
LOVE SONG
In the early 70's, during the beginnings of what became known as the
"Jesus Movement," a group of young, longhaired, "hippie" musicians
called LOVE SONG began to use their music to express their newfound
faith in Jesus Christ. A mixture of rock and pop, LOVE SONG's music was
entirely new and unique for the Christian music world.
The music was fresh, sometimes radical, and yet truly inspirational
for a generation of young people searching for truth. It helped blaze
the path for what we know today as Contemporary Christian Music. They
flourished amidst the swirl of national media attention from top record
labels and interviews with magazines including ROLLING STONE. God used
them in a powerful way to bring many people to Himself. “In a world of
imitators, Love Song has been an originator, the first domino that
started the others going”
RICKY SKAGGS
Fourteen-time Grammy Award winner and two-time Dove Awards winner, Ricky
Skaggs, is affectionately known as one of bluegrass music’s most
recognized ambassadors. Singing comes naturally to Skaggs, and singing
Gospel songs even more so. At the tender age of 3, he began by
harmonizing with his mother as she sang Gospel songs. He began to
perform in his church, singing with his parents there. His illustrious
path to stardom has always included Gospel songs, as he loves to sing
about Jesus and His love for all of us.
From there, Skaggs went on to put his own stamp on the mainstream
country and bluegrass formats, resulting in twelve #1 hits, eight
Country Music Association Awards and eight Academy of Country Music
Awards. 1997 marked Ricky Skaggs’ triumphant return to bluegrass and the
establishment of his own Skaggs Family Records label, which has gone on
to break new sales records in the genre. Now in his 40th year as a
professional musician, he continues to record and tour with his band
Kentucky Thunder as one of music’s most sought after live performers.
