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Is Emmylou Doing All She Can (to Induct Gram Into the Hall)?

Originally Posted by Will James on September 26, 2009 at 2:18pm in No Depression Gram Parsons Petition Project Group

So to kick it off: Question: Being as (I believe) Emmylou Harris was a member of the Board of the CMA and she was herself inducted last year into the Hall, do you feel she has done enough to get her mentor, that is, Gram Parsons, inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame? (Note: I'm have always been a huge fan of Emmylou, esp the album Wrecking Ball produced by the great Daniel Lanois, ever since Gram discovered her and they became the greatest duet ever.)

Tags: boston, emmylou, gram, harris, nashville, parsons, petition

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Permalink Reply by Arlene on October 15, 2009 at 10:37am: Will-

For whatever it is worth, I was born in 1957 so unless you began listening to Gram Parsons when he was 10 years old, you haven't been listening to him since before I was born. :) I certainly don't purport to be his "oldest" fan, but I've been listening to Gram's music dating back to his days with The Byrds.

In my earlier post I never referred to the All For The Hall benefit several weeks back at which Emmylou and Vince Gill performed Sin City, however, I can't fault Emmylou for singing one of Gram's songs, but failing to suggest to a group of fat cat donors, NONE of whom vote on admission into the CMHOF, that Gram should be enshrined there.

BTW, I'd be surprised if you (or anyone else who is a member of this discussion group) have any knowledge of whatever efforts Emmylou has made behind the scenes to get Gram admitted into the CMHOF-- I do note, however, that in his recent book, Hot Burritos: The True Story of the Flying Burrito Brothers, author John Einarson quotes Chris Hillman as being critical of Emmylou and Polly Parsons for "spearheading" an effort to get Gram inducted into the CMHOF. Of course, Emmylou alone can't do it-- there are 100 electors involved in the process at any given time, and while she's influential, she can't reasonably be held responsible for their votes. In case you haven't ever read them, you might want to check out the byzantine CMHOF election procedures-- they are republished here: http://www.dottiewest.net/hofrules.htm

If I had a vote, Gram is the first person I'd vote to induct into the CMHOF, but it's worth bearing in mind that there are numerous other worthy candidates who've been waiting far longer than GP for their deserved honor; Doc Watson and Ralph Stanley are two who come to mind but there are many, many others.

Arlene; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Will James on October 15, 2009 at 11:01am: Arlene, thanks for the followup. I don't actually find the election rules all that "byzantine"--in fact, if you look at my ND page, you see that my Nomination Proposal to the CMA addresses each requirement directly. I agree on Doc Watson and Ralph Stanley of course, but Gram is now surpassing Ira Louvin as being the longest between death and induction (36 years); besides, I do think Gram to be the much tougher sell *as well as the most deserving* (just IMHO) so I have to limit my time to this effort while watching the much more likely candidates get in first. I never said this would be done in my lifetime (I'm a few years older than you;), but it will happen. But not without some constant pressure, and a changing of the guard in Nashville. It's all I can do for this kid who died at 26 and who richly deserves a chance that seemed to be slipping away before I went public with the petition. Gotta run for now.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by lawrence gene watts on October 19, 2009 at 8:38pm: It's not about a picture in a building ,it's about the music and when emmylou sings his songs and talks about him in interviews ,she is doing more than anyone has or will do!!I have been into gram since the early 80's and grew up on hank sr and johnny horton records and have been a die hard fan of good and real country music going on 37 years now.I have turned alot of people on to gram over the years .I will also have to say when i worked at tower records ,i turned punk rock kids onto hard core country music such as the louvin brothers and gram.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Will James on October 19, 2009 at 8:56pm: I know a lot of Gram fans feel that way, that it's just "a picture in a building," but isn't it really about a lot more than that? How would you feel if Hank Sr's and the Louvin's plaques weren't in the Hall?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by lawrence gene watts on October 28, 2009 at 7:55pm: The louvin's only got in a few years ago and please don't get me wrong please put him in the hall of fame i will drive down fro richmond va to see it!!and we can throw one hell of a party afterwards!!!!!!!!!!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Will James on October 20, 2009 at 8:12am: Not in this ND interview, no questions re: Gram and he's only referred to once as a "collaborator." http://www.nodepression.com/profiles/blogs/on-the-line-with-emmylou; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Will James on October 15, 2009 at 6:01pm: You gotta love Emmylou, as Gram did. This from the EH forum: Funny you mention the Bijou. I just got this from my buddy, raconteur extraodinaire Guy Neal Williams.

"Emmylou slapped me once and really hard. I was -- I'm thinking 19 -- at the Bijou Cafe in Philadelphia where I'd gone to see Gram Parsons...

...I was underage, But I went without shaving for a couple of days and then darkened the whiskers up (my hair and my beard were both blonde before I went white) with my mother's mascara brush. Shouldn't have worried, There were like eight people there, and the club would've let Hitler in with Stalin riding on his shoulders.

After the show, I was siting at the bar with Parsons comparing notes about kinfolks and mutual friends -- pretty easy to do when you're both from the same backwater, Waycross GA. But I was buying the whiskey. I didn't know he had a problem with it. I didn't know _I_ had a problem with it. Emmylou came up just as I'd ordered another round, and Parsons and I were pretty well trashed already, And she slapped the piss out of me.Knocked me to the floor with one blow, and then led Gram, staggeriing, back through the house. My friends (like, half the audience) thought it was the coolest thing they'd ever seen . I thought it less so."; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by AJ Davis on December 13, 2009 at 7:19pm: I myself wonder what or IF EmmyLou is doing anything for Grams induction...just seems like her Nashville influence would have had Gram inducted by now. But then again one of the redeeming qualities of The C.M.H.of F. is it's independence of "all things Nashville"...therefore...I still wonder?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Will James on December 13, 2009 at 8:43pm: I wonder if the CMHOF is indeed independent of "all things Nashville" when it's run by the CMA. Shouldn't such a great American museum *be* independent?; ▶ Reply to This