Bluegrass, old-timey and traditional country music are at the forefront in the inaugural round of inductees into the new West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, which is located in the Cultural Center of the Capitol Complex in Charleston.Among the Hall’s first 10 inductees, announced earlier this month, are singer and songwriter Hazel Dickens, country singer and Grand Ole Opry member Little Jimmy Dickens and multi-talented performer Billy Ed Wheeler, all in the living category.

Posthumous inductees include pioneer female singer Molly O’Day and old-time fiddler Clark Kessinger.

Here’s a glimpse of the inductees from the bluegrass and country genres:

Hazel Dickens

Hazel Dickens

Combining elements of country and bluegrass, Dickens sings about the plight of non-unionized mineworkers and feminism. She formed a band with Mike Seeger (younger brother of folk legend Pete Seeger) and, over the next decade, was active in the folk/bluegrass movement in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area. Her group, the Greenbriar Boys, toured with Joan Baez in the ’60s.

Dickens and Seeger’s wife Alice Gerrard researched feminist songs at the Library of Congress and incorporated them into their repertoire. In 1973, Dickens recorded four songs for the soundtrack to the Academy Award-winning documentary about coal mining, “Harlan County, USA.” Her three solo albums for Rounder include old-time country along with protest songs and songs in a more contemporary country style.

Little Jimmie Dickens

Little Jimmy Dickens

In 1949, Dickens became a permanent member of the Grand Ole Opry and signed with Columbia Records. He would go on to have hits in every decade from the ’40s to the ’70s. Dubbed the “King of the Novelty Song,” his tunes included “Take an Old Cold Tater and Wait,” “A-Sleeping’ at the Foot of the Bed,” “Out Behind the Barn” and the Top 10 hit, “May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose.”

In 1964 he was the first country artist to tour around the world. Dickens has been in the music business for more than half a century. He is in the Country Music Hall of Fame, has been a member of the Grand Old Opry since 1949 and still performs and hosts on the Opry on a regular basis.

Molly O’Day

O’Day helped redefine the role of the female country singer and was known for her impassioned performances. None other than Hank Williams taught her “Tramp on the Street,” which became her signature song. Many consider her to be the greatest female country singer who ever lived.

O’Day and her husband, guitarist Lynn Davis recorded for Columbia Records in the mid-1940s. After recovering from a nervous breakdown, O’Day Davis hosted a gospel radio program in Huntington.

Billy Ed Wheeler

Wheeler is an extremely successful songwriter who penned “The Reverend Mr. Black,” “Ode to the Little Brown Shack Out Back,” “Jackson,” “Coward of the County, “Coal Tattoo,” “Ain’t Going Home Soon” and “They Can’t Put It Back.” Elvis Presley had a hit with his “It’s Midnight” while Kenny Rogers hit No. 1 with Wheeler’s “Coward of the County.”

He’s also scored commercial success as a writer of plays, joke books, children’s books and a folk opera. He has been inducted in the Nashville Songwriters Foundation Hall of Fame, and among the stand-out items on his job resume are his days as a drama student at Yale University.

Clark Kessinger

Clark Kessinger

Kessinger was one of the greatest old time fiddlers who was still active in the early 1970s. As the Kessinger Brothers, Clark and his nephew Luches recorded more than 70 sides in the late 1920s. Clark remained an excellent fiddle player throughout his life and won many awards, including first prize as the World’s Champion Fiddler at the 47th annual Union Grove Old Time Fiddlers Convention. His recordings can be found at Rounder Records, County Sales, and many Smithsonian Institute Folkways projects.

Bluegrass icon and 2007 Grammy winner Tim O’Brien was at the state capitol to assist with the announcement of the inductees. A formal induction ceremony will be held in November.

Nominations from the general public for the 2008 inductions will begin next spring.

Web site: http://www.wvmusichalloffame.com

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