The announcement of the third class of inductees was made at the state Cultural Center Wednesday. This year’s musicians run the gamut, from jazz to country to blues to classical.
“However, in addition to the great country music heritage of West Virginia, we’re proud to draw attention to the unexpected that comes from West Virginia: the depth and the breadth and the incredible reach of the musical talent and variety of styles,” said Hall of Fame board member John Lilly.
Lilly remembers watching Betty Boop cartoons as a kid. The cartoon’s soundtrack was written by West Virginia native Don Redman, one of this year’s inductees.
Hall of Fame director Michael Lipton says Redman’s career led him all over the world.
“Don Redman could be internationally the most famous person we’ve inducted,” he said. “He was just a ground breaking arranger in jazz in the 30s. He grew up in Piedmont in Mineral County and they have a festival every year in Harpers Ferry in his honor.”
Marshall County native Frank DeVol may not be a household name, but his work is familiar; he wrote the theme songs for TV hits such as “The Brady Bunch” and “My Three Sons.”
His career also included composing movie scores for “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and “Pillow Talk.” Both were nominated for an Oscar for music.
DeVol and Redman were both born in West Virginia, but Lipton says that’s not necessary to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“People say, ‘do you have to be born in West Virginia?'” he said. “There are no real requirements or criteria. We take everything into consideration. Just because of the nature of the beast, people often have to leave here to pursue their career and so that’s often the case.”
Nat Reese, another one of this year’s inductees, was born in Salem, Virginia. The blues singer and guitarist has traveled the globe, but has lived in Princeton, West Virginia since 1935.
South Charleston native Larry Combs adds yet another genre to the mix. He’s one of the world’s leading orchestral clarinetists. He got his start playing with the Charleston Symphony, and joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1974.
Lipton says the nomination process is a long one. Nominations are open all year round, and the list is narrowed—first to finalists, then to a handful of inductees.
The variety of musical styles isn’t orchestrated however. Lipton says it just seems to happen.
“It’s kind of been a natural process,” he said. “Actually what I try and tell people when they consider the nominees is just don’t stay within your genre, whatever that would be. Even if you haven’t heard of someone, please take the time and read the thing because they wouldn’t be here if they weren’t qualified.”
This year’s list also includes a number of country music stars. Doc and Chickie Williams, who settled in Wheeling, made their name on the WWVA Jamboree.
Huntington native Harold “Hankshaw” Hawkins charted a number of Top Ten singles throughout the 1940s and 50s. He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1955.
The final 2009 inductees are the Bailes Brothers, a Kanawha County family who became the first West Virginia act to be regulars on the Grand Ole Opry.
This is the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame’s third year, and Lipton says the event aims to commemorate the state’s talent, as well as to inspire other musicians.
“Part of the whole reason we do this is to recognize people who have been very important to the music of the United States and the world, and it’s also to encourage people to pursue music as a career,” he said.”
This year’s induction ceremony will be held in November. West Virginian singer Kathy Mattea and 2008 inductee Charlie McCoy will co-host the event.