The Steel Guitar Forum

Hmmmmmm Imagine that ?

Ohio's Sonny Curtis who was with George Jones during the 60's should be inducted irrespective of where he comes from, in my opinion.

Wayne Hobbs comes to mind as a prospect

... as does the late Jerry Brightman, from Ohio.

Since the convention isnt on anymore I know Chubby Howard has been trying to get the Opry to have a hall of fame there. Just sometnig to think about. And I second Wayne Hobbs.

As with any "Hall of Fame" there are some that are not in that should be and some that one wonders why they are.

Maybe one of the HOF committee members will comment on the current status.

In another thread about where the HOF Plaques should be, I suggested the Musician's Hall Of Fame and Museum in Nashville.

Thats a great suggestion Jack..inundate with enough mail and contact and maybe it could get done. Great suggestion!

With both Scotty and the Convention gone, does this HOF even exist anymore?

How about Sonny Curtis, isn't he from Ohio?

Doesn't Texas still have the Hall of Fame??

Anyone know if Lloyd Maines is in the HOF? If not he should be...Stormy

I do know that Lloyds in the Texas hall of fame.

we are running out of candidates

Sonny Curtis is a Columbus player and is a walking history book! He should definitely be in the HOF IMO!

DISCLAIMER: I was on the Steel Guitar Convention Board (the official name of the ISGHOF committee) from Sept. 2003 to early 2015, at which time I resigned from the Board. I have been out of touch with the members of the Board since that time, at least as far as discussion of SGHOF business is concerned. The following is my personal opinion, and mine alone. Do not attach what I'm writing to any of the other Board members. But these are feelings I've had for quite a while and want to express.

First off, there is no physical steel guitar hall of fame to visit; everyone's clear on that, right? And the chances are better than certain that, excluding some wealthy benefactor donating a building and paying for the expenses running it thereafter in perpetuity, there won't be.

Secondly, no player's professional or personal lives are changed by being in a HOF. No money changes hands, no better gigs come to them, their mortgages aren't paid, their health, psyches, or marriages don't magically improve, their kids don't suddenly call at Christmastime. It's a feel-good moment that is transitory at best; a small bit of recognition in the winter of a musician's career. At one time the player was given a plaque, but in recent years the expense made that gift impossible, though one could be purchased by the player or his family.

There are now 80-odd plaques, or more, in storage somewhere in St. Louis, owned by the Scott family. What they do with the plaques is anyone's guess and their prerogative. These items could possibly be donated to any number of organizations, like the CMHOF in Nashville, or the Musician's HOF, but I'm more than skeptical that ALL the plaques would be displayed at any one time. Maybe one or two, like Buddy Emmons' or Jerry Byrd's. Or the plaques could be sold for their metallic value. Like I said, it's anyone's guess.

I firmly believe that, like so many other things in our lives, the Internet has made bricks-and-mortar halls of fame somewhat anachronistic, if not obsolete. What I've felt for years is that the REAL steel guitar hall of fame exists HERE in the Forum... in the hearts, minds, and opinions of the steel guitar community as a WHOLE. Membership in a hall of fame by general acclamation, by steel players of all skill levels everywhere agreeing that such players are worthy of honor and high regard.

Honor isn't a limited scarcity, nor is it a zero-sum game. Public appreciation of Player A doesn't mean Player B or Player C is being dishonored. Why there was so much angst and vitriol felt towards a small group of Board members (players and non-players, but all knowledgeable) sitting in a room at a declining hotel in St. Louis for 30 minutes once a year to decide whom they should "honor" was/is beyond me.

I'd see posts here wherein Forumites would say "he's got MY vote" when a deserving player's name was brought up, and I'd think "yeah, but you don't HAVE a vote." Until a moment later when I'd reconsider, because in the REAL hall of fame, EVERYONE has a vote; not just the seven in St. Louis, knowledgeable though they were.

The Texas Steel Guitar Hall of Fame has been mentioned here. The TSGHOF differs from the International Hall of Fame in that the inductees for the following year are chosen by the members of the Hall of Fame themselves, not a group like the Convention Board. It's a group of long-standing professionals who welcome each year's inductees by saying "you're one of us, so say we all." True, there is no building where fans can come and gawk at a plaque, unless they come to the individual players' homes and look at their music room walls. No, the TSGHOF resides in the hearts and minds of those who choose to agree with the decisions made by the player's themselves. And in the belief that a player was chosen because others, previously honored, want to share that with a worthy colleague.

The real Steel Guitar Hall of Fame exists here, as much as anywhere physical. There's no celebration event televised, where money changes hands with broadcast and advertising revenues. There's no honorarium where an inductee is handed a wad of cash. If y'all say a player is hall of fame worthy, then he is. Be happy with that, and if you run into such a player at a steel show, tell him what and how you feel, that he's one of the greats. It's that important.

Wonderfully articulate and true explanation, analogy and post Herb!👍🏼😊

The internet the hall of fame. I like that. It has let me to talk to my heroes time and time again. Like Buddy, Hal, John just to name a few gone on. I still get to ask Tommy White, Paul Franklin and all the great ones here on the forum for anything thing I need to know and at the top of all of this is B0B!! I am like kid in a candy store I am visiting with the hall of famers everyday.

HERB, You are such a great writer. You should be a Journalist as well as a Great Steel Picker. I admire your writings, you use words I have never heard of.
With that said, I for one think that the cast metal award plagues that the Scott Family has should be given to a museum to be displayed for the world to see. Yes, It is a good thing to have our pat on the backs for our Hero's in the computer world but nothing replaces the real thing of PRAISE in a plague. I think Scotty would want these to be displayed so the world could see what the years of his work had done. His whole ambition in life was to expose to the world our Steel Guitar World. J.R. Rose

Excellent post, Herb. No, you should be inducted.

Yes, this is the place to list the many who should make the honor roll.
Is it the fact that there are many that makes us want to honor the few as best?

An ancient adage suggests not praising the talented, possibly because it reflects badly on the 'untalented.'
Professionals don't worry about such things, and amateurs don't apply, but separating the 'greats' from the rest never did either good.
Professionals know there are lots of greats. The rest aren't aware of them.

The virtual world has changed things. Whatever we do to make it more personal does good.

Herb Steiner wrote:... if you run into such a player at a steel show, tell him what and how you feel, that he's one of the greats.

What's meaningful is what you'd say to the person, not to someone else to relay the message.

Herb that needed to be said.