Kenny Chesney, June Carter Cash and producer Tony Brown were announced Tuesday as the newest members of the Country Music Hall of Fame, due to be officially inducted in a formal ceremony in fall 2025.
The new trio of inductees were revealed during a morning news conference hosted by Vince Gill, who shared personal connections with all three of the incoming honorees.
“I had a really big dream that not a lot of people saw coming,” said Chesney, stepping to the mic in the hall’s famous rotunda. “My dream started on the shoulders of the dreams of George Jones,” he said, and on the shoulders of Alabama, Conway Twitty and Doc Watson, he added — noting that “I spent a whole summer trying to figure out how to play ‘Deep River Blues’ on guitar.” Chesney said that it was “amazing to know you’re going into the Hall of Fame with three fellow east Tennesseans,” citing his regional neighbors Chet Atkins, Dolly Parton and songwriter Dean Dillon.
“I had a big dream, and I’m still pushing that dream as far as I can… I just wanted to spread as much love and positive energy as I could,” Chesney said. “Standing up here, I know it’s not a dream, it’s real, but it’s so surreal.”
Chesney is set to to be inducted in the modern performer category, being a relative newcomer compared to many of the hall’s inductees; as Gill noted, he made his first record in 1994 and had his first No. 1 hit in 1997.
Reading from a script, Gill took slight issue when the text had him refer to Chesney as “the first country music artist to play the Sphere in Las Vegas,” referencing the star’s upcoming residency. “I was giving him some tips on how to play there not too long ago,” Gill wryly noted — being a member now of the Eagles, whose residency at Sphere has some dates still to go. “He can claim that. We’ll see.”
But, said Gill, “I’ve known this kid the whole time, and there’s not a better guy in the world.”
The late June Carter Cash is the other performer to go in this year — in the not-as-modern division — and was represented at the press conference by her children Carlene Carter and John Carter Cash.
“My mom was a force of nature,” said Carlene. “Anything that’s good about me is because of that woman. My mama was the shit, y’all.”
Noting that “WIll the Circle Be Unbroken” is the theme song of the hall, John Cartner Cash said, “There’s one person that sang that song more than anyone else in her lifetime, or anyone else’s lifetime for that matter, and that was my mother. She carried the torch for country music history with her throughout her lifetime. Millions of people know Carter Family songs because of my mother not being willing to stop singing the songs of her family.” He added, “She was full of love. ‘Anchored in love’ was one of her life mottos… She did not know a stranger.”
Brown’s appointment was first up in the announcements, as the producer, musician and executive came up as this year’s inductee in the rotating non-performer category.
“I’ve had a lot of big things happen in my life and my career. This is the biggest,” said Brown. “I’ve always wanted to be in the Hall of Fame. I never ever, imagined I would be…. This is better than money. This is about making an impact. When it comes down to it, that’s why we all get into this business, to make an impact. This means more than anything could ever mean to me.”
Gill spoke about how Brown helped get him signed to his first RCA contract. “On a personal note, Tony and I have known each other for 44 years, and I don’t have a better friend,” Gill said. “He’s the one that talked me singlehandedly into recording ‘go rest high on that mountain.’Go Rest High on That Mountain’” (which Gill just sang on the “Opry 100” telecast last week). “I was not gonna record it, it was too personal… he couldn’t have been more right.”
Gill also noted that he was in a band with Brown, the Cherry Bombs, back in the day. That little-known but all-star group was the least illustrious of a string of accomplishments cited by Gill in his introduction. Brown went from being in the Oak Ridge Boys’ backing band to being pianist in Elvis Presley’s TCB Band, Gill noted, then went on to Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band before becoming a producer and label exec. Among the artists he signed or worked closely with at RCA and then MCA Nashville were Wynonna Judd, Rodney Crowell, Patty Loveless, Steve Earle and Lyle Lovett, affecting country during the mainstream boom years of the ’90s as well as being “a pioneering force in what would become known as Americana.” Brown has previously received the Icon award from the Academy of Country Music.
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