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Tim McGraw, The Stanley Brothers and Paul Overstreet will become the newest members of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Marty Stuart, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020, revealed the Class of 2026 in the Hall of Fame’s Rotunda on Friday morning (March 20). McGraw will be inducted in the Modern Era Artist category, The Stanley Brothers will be inducted in the Veterans Era Artist category, and Overstreet will be inducted in the Songwriter category (which rotates every third year with the Non-Performer and Musician categories) during the Medallion Ceremony this fall.
McGraw, 58, held back tears as he stepped up to the podium during the live-streamed announcement.
“This is gonna be hard. Wow,” he said. “Thank you all for being here. Anybody that knows me knows I’m a crier. I mean, I cry at bad commercials. …I came to Nashville on a Greyhound bus from Louisiana on May 9, 1989. I arrived around 1 in the morning.” McGraw took his suitcase and his guitar to a bar called the Hall of Fame Lounge, he recalled. He arrived in time for last call, and quickly became friends with a couple of songwriters sitting at the bar. as the sun began to emerge hours later, the group learned that country legend Keith Whitley, a 2022 Hall of Fame inductee, had died. He was 34. McGraw hailed Whitley “one of my heroes, and one of the main reasons that I got on that bus to start with. That night, country music suffered a terrible loss, but I gained some new friends and I found a community that loved country music as much as I do.”
The Louisiana-born country superstar found his home and found his wife on his journey from the Hall of Fame Lounge to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Now, McGraw will be “surrounded by all of these legends and a lot of my friends,” and it’s “impossible for me to believe.”
He also pointed out that it’s “fitting that it’s National Women’s History Month, and everyone who knows me knows that I wouldn’t be standing here to day if it weren’t for great women in my life.” McGraw emotionally spotlighted his grandmother, his mother, his sisters, his three daughters, “and most of all my wife [fellow country icon Faith Hill]. Thank you, baby. …I can’t wait for the day that I’m sitting there and you’re standing here,” becoming a Hall of Fame inductee herself.
Overstreet also became emotional as he appreciated that moment in the Hall of Fame Rotunda on Friday morning. The Mississippi-born songwriter has written or co-written timeless hits by some of the genre’s most beloved artists, including Randy Travis’ “Forever and Ever, Amen,” Whitley’s “When You Say Nothing at All,” The Judds’ “Love Can Build a Bridge,” Kenny Chesney’s “he Thinks My Tractor's Sexy,” and many more.
“First of all, as a writer, sometimes we’re faced with the task of putting into words something there aren't really words for,” Overstreet said in a statement. “But in this case, my writer instinct didn’t have the words at all. I was in a bit of shock – total surprise. When Sarah called, I was in the South China Sea, or the Gulf of Thailand on a boat and the words she spoke gave me such an amazing feeling. I was sitting at a table with 10 people, and I had to fight back tears. What an honor it is to be recognized for my work by such an iconic institution as the Country Music Hall of Fame. I realize now what my friends felt when they were told they were being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Wow… it still hasn’t completely hit me yet.”
The family of The Stanley Brothers shared heartfelt remarks as they embraced the long-awaited moment on Friday. Carter and Ralph Stanley, born in the 1920s Dickenson County, Virginia, absorbed “traditional mountain music and the new style that would come to be caled bluegrass,” thought their childhood. Their sound quickly set them apart, and their music is described as “fierce, mournful and rooted in the oldest traditions of the American mountains.”
“This moment is deeply personal for our entire family,” the family of The Stanley Brothers said in a statement. “Seeing Ralph and Carter – The Stanley Brothers – inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame is an extraordinary honor, and something we know would have meant so much to them. The fact that people around the world still love their music speaks to the heart and soul they poured into every recording and performance. Carter’s emotional lead combined with Ralph’s haunting tenor created a sound that was truly special. After Carter’s passing, Ralph carried on the music they began together, dedicating his life to preserving the spirit of traditional mountain music and sharing it with audiences everywhere through the Clinch Mountain Boys before his passing in 2016. To see The Stanley Brothers recognized together, side by side, is incredibly meaningful for our family and a testament to a legacy that continues to live on through their music.”
“Each year, this moment serves as a powerful reminder of the people whose passion and dedication have defined Country Music at its very best,” Sarah Trahern, the CEO of the Country Music Association, said in a statement. “As we welcome Tim McGraw, Paul Overstreet and The Stanley Brothers into the Country Music Hall of Fame, we celebrate not only their extraordinary achievements, but the lasting influence their music will have on future generations. It has been one of the greatest honors of my career to help recognize these legacies and share in this unforgettable milestone.”
Kyle Young, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO, added: “The new inductees each followed their own distinctive career paths, but they have one critical commonality: they have left an indelible mark on Country Music. Louisiana native Tim McGraw has built a catalog of hits defined by emotionally resonant, thought-provoking songs, achieving more than 60 Top 10 Country hits, nearly 30 No. 1 Country singles, and a formidable acting career. Raised in Mississippi, hit songwriter Paul Overstreet has penned modern Country classics for numerous Country Music Hall of Fame members, as well embarking on a successful recording career of his own. Hailing from mountainous southwestern Virginia, the Stanley Brothers – Ralph and Carter – were a foundational act in bluegrass whose music has influenced generations of artists in a variety of genres. Now, they will permanently be enshrined in the Country Music Hall of Fame alongside their esteemed peers and fellow pioneers.”
McGraw, The Stanley Brothers and Overstreet will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame during a ceremony hosted later this year. Find more info — including bios for each inductee, information about the upcoming Medallion Ceremony, the election process and more — here.