HALL
OF FAME CRITERIA
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With all the
questions about Dottie not being in the Hall of Fame, I thought I would
post the criteria the Country Music Association board uses to choose
their candidates/inductees. I've also included the Election
Procedures. (My comments are in red
 )
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Candidates for the Hall of Fame will be appraised by
Electors in accordance with the criteria below:
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Basic Standard - A candidate basically is to be
judged on the degree of his/her
contribution to the advancement of Country Music
and on the indelibility of his/her impact.
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Individual Candidacy - Only individuals may be
elected to the Hall of Fame. Companies,
publications, radio stations and other
groups--many of which significantly foster
Country Music --are not eligible for Hall of
Fame recognition.
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Scope of Activity - Flexible authority is vested
in the Electors in identifying the scope of a
candidate's activity in Country Music. The
individual may have excelled in a narrow,
specific sphere . . . such as songwriting,
publishing, musician, recording artist, etc. or
may have been active in several areas. In any
event, a candidate must have achieved definitive
leadership in his/her own field of Country Music
activity. However, it is definitely not
mandatory to honor the leaders in every activity
related to Country Music. A candidate truly must
compete with all candidates in all fields, as
well as with all candidates in his/her own
field.
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Span of Influence The time
factor of a candidate's impact on Country Music
is completely flexible. It may cover an
uninterrupted span of many years or it may cover
two or more distinct and separated time cycles.
Conceivably, even a candidate may earn Hall of
Fame recognition by one transient act, momentary
in time, providing the impact on Country Music
is deemed significant enough. Longevity of
involvement with Country Music, therefore, will
not in itself warrant recognition in the Hall of
Fame. (Dottie
had two separate careers--mid 60's to early 70's
and then late 70's to mid 80's. Dottie's
biggest impact came in the late 70's/early 80's)
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Influence on Others A most
significant criterion in evaluating a candidate
will be his/her inspirational effect on others .
. . the degree to which he/she multiplies his
influence through others to create impact on
Country Music far beyond his/her own direct
individual contribution. (Steve
Wariner, Larry Gatlin, Kris Kristofferson, and
dozens of writers and musicians she has helped
over the years. Female stars of today such
as Jo Dee Messina and Lee Ann Womack cite her as
an influence.)
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Quantity vs. Quality A
candidate's ability to expand the popularity of
Country Music is a quantitative virtue. The
professionalism of his/her activity is a
"qualitative" one. Both quantitative and
qualitative criteria are to be considered
equally and separately important; conceivably,
one may be present without the other. (Dottie
helped to kick the doors down for women in
country music early in her career. She was
a singer and a songwriter. She
helped to expand country music in the late 70's
with her duets with Kenny Rogers. Probably
the most influence she had in promoting country
music and the way of life was through her
award winning Coca-Cola, Country Sunshine,
commercial and jingle. It was not only a
national hit, but an international one as well,
making her in demand in countries such as
England, Japan and Saudi Arabia.)
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Devotion to Others
Furthering Country Music by selfless devotion to
the interests of others may enhance the
candidacy of an individual, but it is not
essential to winning. The activities of a
candidate may be completely self devoted and
still be considered significant enough to
warrant recognition.
(Dottie was one of the most generous people in
country music. How many people were hired
by, fed by, housed by, or just plain helped by
Dottie? When asked about Dottie, one of
the first things out of their mouth is about how
giving and helpful she was to everyone she met.)
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Professional Conduct and
Image A candidate is expected to have practiced
the highest caliber of professional conduct in
order to enhance the public image of both
himself/herself and Country Music. (Again,
Dottie was an ambassador, not only for Coke, but
also for country music. She loved the
business, loved the music, and loved the people
associated with it.)
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Personal Morals and
Behavior The selection process is not a judgment
of personal morals and behavior, providing the
latter do not negatively affect the professional
conduct of the candidate and the public image of
Country Music. (If
that is the case, several inductees should be
disqualified.)
CMA ELECTION CRITERIA
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Purpose
The
Country Music Association has established the Country
Music Hall of Fame as an institution devoted to
recognizing and honoring noteworthy individuals for
outstanding contributions to Country Music. The purpose
of this document is to state details of the Hall of Fame
selection process and criteria for evaluating candidates
for the award.
Selection Process
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The
process of selecting Hall of Fame winners will be
divided into two phases:
Nomination of candidates
Election of winners
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A
Hall of Fame Nominating Committee will be vested
with the responsibility for nominating a slate of
Hall of Fame candidates; from this slate, winners
will be chosen by a panel of not less than 100 Hall
of Fame electors.
The Hall of Fame
Nominating Committee
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1.
The committee will consist of 12 voting members,
each serving a three year term.
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The
CMA President and Chairman of the Board will serve
as ex officio non voting members of the Hall of Fame
Nominating Committee.
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The
Hall of Fame Nominating Committee will elect its own
chairman.
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Each
year, before the expiration of the terms of four
members of the Hall of Fame Nominating Committee,
the Awards and Recognition Committee will present
four names to the CMA Board for ratification at
their first quarterly Board meeting. A member whose
term expires may again serve after the passage of
three years.
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No
member of the Hall of Fame Nominating Committee will
be eligible for nomination to the Hall of Fame while
serving on the Nominating Committee.
Panel of Electors
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A
panel of at least 100 Hall of Fame electors will be
charged with responsibility of selecting Hall of
Fame winners.
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Electors will serve for life so long as they are in
compliance with Items 7 and 8 below.
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Additional appointments may be made to the Panel of
Electors as deemed necessary by the Board to
maintain a sufficient number of Electors.
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Appointment to the Panel of Electors will be made by
the CMA Board of Directors by a majority vote from a
roster of recommended names prepared by the Awards
and Recognition Committee. Any Board member may
suggest additional names for consideration. Electors
will be appointed on an individual basis, not as a
panel.
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The
12 members of the Hall of Fame Nominating Committee
will also serve as Electors.
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Officers and Directors of the CMA may also serve as
Electors, but this role is not automatic.
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Electors must have participated actively in Country
Music for at least 10 years and must themselves
merit respect and recognition for their
accomplishments and/or knowledge in one or more
aspects of Country Music. Electors must be members
of the Country Music Association.
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Electors failing to vote two consecutive years will
automatically be considered incapacitated and their
names dropped from the Panel. Written request will
be required for reinstatement.
Nomination of Hall
of Fame Candidates
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Each
year the Executive Director of CMA and the Director
of CMF will each present 5 names to the Nominating
Committee for consideration. The committee will not
be limited to or bound by those suggestions. Neither
of the directors is an elected member of the
Nominating Committee and, therefore, neither has
voting rights.
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Each
year, at a date chosen by the Association, the Hall
of Fame Nominating Committee will, by majority vote,
conducted by secret ballot, nominate no less than
ten nor more than twenty Hall of Fame candidates as
official nominees for each category to be inducted
in that year. Deceased persons must have been dead
one year prior to nomination.
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Each
year there will be one candidate inducted in the
Open Category. Nominees for the Open Category will
be chosen “at large” by merit alone, irrespective of
whether they are living or deceased, currently
active or inactive, and irrespective of activity
category.
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Beginning in 1989 and every third year thereafter,
in addition to the Open Category, a non performer
will be inducted. A non performer is defined as a
person not known as a performing artist, songwriter
or other entertainer.
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In
2003, and in every third year thereafter, there will
be a Recording and/or Touring Musician Active Prior
to 1980 Category. There will also be the usual Open
Category.
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In
2004, and in every third year thereafter, there will
be a Non-Performer Category. There will also be the
usual Open Category.
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In
2005, and in every third year thereafter, Career
Achieved National Prominence Prior to WWII will
alternate with the Musician & Non-Performer
categories.
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In
2005, and every year thereafter, the Open Category
will be split in two so that there will be Career
achieved national prominence between WWII and 1975
(through 1974) and Career achieved national
prominence between 1975-current (beginning in 1975).
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Nominations will be guided by the Hall of Fame
Criteria.
CMA ELECTION PROCEDURES
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