Nashville, Tenn., — The Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum’s successful quarterly program series Nashville Cats: A Celebration of Music City Session Musicians returns on Saturday, October 25, with a salute to Gordon Stoker and Ray Walker, members of the legendary vocal quartet the Jordanaires. The 1:30 p.m. program, which will be held in the Museum’s Ford Theater, is included with Museum admission and is free to Museum members.

The interactive program, hosted by Stringed Instrument Curator Bill Lloyd, will include an in-depth interview with Stoker and Walker, highlighted by vintage recordings, photos and film clips from the Museum’s Frist Library and Archive. Immediately following the program, both Country Music Hall of Fame members will sign autographs in the Museum Store (visit countrymusichalloffame.com for more information).

As members of the Jordanaires, Gordon Stoker and Ray Walker have added their signature harmonies to a long list of classic records over the last five decades. The Jordanaires lent their clean, soulful vocal arrangements to big-name artists from a variety of genres; served as key contributors to the Nashville Sound; and recorded a host of records spotlighting their own brand of gospel spirituals. Their credits include instantly recognizable staples of American music such as Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel,” Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” George Jones’s “He Stopped Loving Her Today” and Tammy Wynette’s “Stand by Your Man,” among many others.

The Jordanaires were formed in 1948 in Springfield, Missouri, by two evangelist brothers, Bill and Monty Matthews, with original members Culley Holt (bass) and Bob Hubbard (baritone). Gordon Stoker joined the group as a pianist two years later, and eventually took over as lead tenor. By that time, the group had earned a spot backing Red Foley on the Grand Ole Opry. Over the next five years, the Jordanaires revamped their lineup with new members Neal Matthews Jr.(second tenor), Hoyt Hawkins (baritone) and Hugh Jarrett (bass). Ray Walker replaced Jarrett in 1958, forming a winning combination that anchored the group for more than two decades.

The group specialized in “spirituals,” exuberant renditions of black gospel songs, such as “Swing Down, Sweet Chariot” and “Dig a Little Deeper.” After first recording for Decca, and later for RCA Victor, the Jordanaires eventually found a home on Capitol Records in 1951 and released a series of gospel recordings. They also began singing background for top country acts and earned regular spots on the NBC network portion of the Grand Ole Opry. In 1955, Eddy Arnold’s popular syndicated TV show brought the famed quartet into households across the nation, as did their winning the Arthur Godfrey Talent Scout Show in 1956.

As session vocalists, they sang on over 30,000 recordings, working up to four sessions a day for over 23 years. The group backed a variety of artists in the pop, rock and country realm from Conway Twitty, Marty Robbins and Kenny Rogers to Connie Francis, Rick Nelson and Julie Andrews. The group is often best known for singing behind Elvis Presley on television, in the studio and in films from 1956 into the early 1970s. The Jordanaires can be heard on classic Presley’s hits “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” “It’s Now or Never,” and many more.

Throughout the late ’50s and into the ’60s, the Jordanaires played a role in the evolution of the Nashville Sound, a lush, pop-oriented style of country music specific to the city’s recording scene. The group contributed to Ferlin Husky’s “Gone,” which is widely regarded as the first example of the new sound, and backed other purveyors of country sophistication like Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline. Jordanaires member Neal Matthews Jr. also invented the “Nashville Number System,” an internationally used style of musical shorthand synonymous with the Nashville Sound.

The Jordanaires have received numerous accolades over the years, including a special award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for contributing to more Top Ten recordings than any other group. In 2001, the Jordanaires became members of the the Country Music Hall of Fame. In addition, they have been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. The quartet still performs worldwide, a testament to their tireless work ethic and high talent level. Currently the Jordanaires include Gordon Stoker, Ray Walker, Louis Nunley and Curtis Young.

About the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum

With the purchase of a Museum membership ($25/adults and $10/youth), visitors can attend most public programs free of charge for one year, including the Nashville Cats series, Poets and Prophets series, and programming related to the ongoing exhibits Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy, Co-Presented by SunTrust and Ford Motor Company and Kitty Wells: Queen of Country Music, Presented by Great American Country Television Network. Museum memberships also include one year of unlimited admission to the Museum, discounts in the Museum Store, SoBro Grill and Hatch Show Print, and more. Membership support helps fund research, education and public programs that make country music history available to a worldwide audience

Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The Museum’s mission is the preservation of the history of country and related vernacular music rooted in southern culture. With the same educational mission, the Foundation also operates CMF Records, the Museum’s Frist Library and Archive, CMF Press, Historic RCA Studio B, and Hatch Show Print.

More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.com or by calling (615) 416-2001.