The biggest acts snubbed by the Country Music Hall of Fame

With a career that’s spanned nearly 50 years, it’s easy to forget that Tanya Tucker recorded her legendary hit “Delta Dawn” at the ridiculously young age of 13. In the years since, Tucker’s distinctive voice and incredible performances have made her a staple of the genre, even with her most recent release While I’m Livin, which took home the Grammy Award in 2019 for Best Country Album. 

It wasn't until 2022 that the Country Music Hall of Fame finally inducted one of its most iconic duos into the Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, the induction came just one day after Naomi Judd's untimely death. 

It makes absolutely no sense that Mickey Gilley, the owner of the iconic Gilley's Club immortalized in "Urban Cowboy," isn't in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Especially considering that he was a successful country artist who continued to make music until shortly before his death in 2022. 

In his too-short career, Keith Whitley charted 12 songs on the Billboard charts before his untimely death in 1989. A neo traditionalist who helped set the tone for artists like Alan Jackson and George Strait, Whitley’s classic song “When You Say Nothing At All” is Hall of Fame worthy on its own. 

Considering that Shania Twain remains the top-selling female artist of all time, she really should have her own place in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Her songs topped the charts in the '90s, and she continues to attract an audience of dedicated fans and release new music. 

A hidden part of country music’s past, Lavender Country released the genre’s first album about LGBT life in 1973. It’s since been recognized as a hallmark of the genre by academics and fans, and deserves recognition in the mainstream. 

A bluegrass prodigy who’s made her mark on country music, Alison Krauss is younger than many of the artists on this list, but no less deserving. From her cover of Keith Whitley’s “When You Say Nothing At All” to her vocals on the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack, Krauss is one of country music’s most definitive voices. She’s also the most-awarded artist in Grammy Awards history, with 27 trophies under her belt. 

Known as both “The Genius” and one of the most compelling songwriters in American music history, Ray Charles’s 1962 album Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music is a defining moment in the genre. 

The First Lady of Rockabilly, Ms. Wanda Jackson, has been recording music since the 1950s, when she came up alongside the legendary Elvis Presley. She’s responsible for bringing rockabilly influence to the mainstream with songs like “Fujiyama Mama,” and was a trailblazer for women in the genre who followed her, like Pam Tillis and Rosanne Cash. 

Though she’s best known as the wife of Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash’s contributions to country music deserve to be recognized in their own right. She got her start as a member of the legendary Carter Family band before recording both as a solo artist and alongside Cash, notching hits with “Jackson,” and “It Ain’t Me Babe.” 

A Texas native and Tejano legend, Freddy Fender’s 1975 hit “Before The Next Teardrop Falls” is arguably his most iconic track. But alongside the Texas Tornados and Los Super Seven, Fender helped bring wider attention to Tejano and Texas music to the country music mainstream. 

It’s almost ridiculous that Dwight Yoakam, an accomplished songwriter and torchbearer of the classic Bakersfield sound, isn’t in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Since his 1984 debut, Yoakam has sold more than 30 million records across the globe and notched five Billboard #1s thanks to hits like “Fast As You” and “Thousand Miles From Nowhere.” 

Canadian artist k.d. lang’s sound has flitted between pop and country throughout her career, recording songs with Ann Wilson and Roy Orbison while challenging the notion of what it means to be a country singer. 

Whether for her solo hits like “Blue Bayou” or the Trio recordings alongside Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton, there’s no denying Linda Ronstadt’s place in the history of country music. 

However you feel about Shania Twain’s pop-country dominance of the 1990s, there’s no denying that the Queen of Country Pop fundamentally changed the genre forever. Ever since her self-titled debut in 1993, Twain has earned the title of the best-selling female artist in all of country music, and continues to influence the genre today with collaborations like her recent duet with alt-country newcomer Orville Peck. 

One of the greatest voices of her generation, Trisha Yearwood stormed onto the scene in 1985 and country music hasn’t been the same since. She’s sold millions of records and charted dozens of hits, including the crossover smash “How Do I Live” and “She’s In Love With The Boy.” 

The torchbearers of Western Swing in modern music, Texas-based band Asleep At The Wheel has been a fixture of country music since the 1970s. With fans like Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, and George Strait, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame. 

With 40 million records sold, Faith Hill is the definition of a crossover success. In the 1990s, she helped bring country music into the mainstream with songs like “This Kiss” and “Breathe,” both of which were massive pop and country hits. She’s got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame...why shouldn’t she be in the Country Music Hall of Fame? 

The former frontman of Hootie and the Blowfish, Darius Rucker is now a bonafide country star. It’s arguably a little early to be talking about Hall of Fame inclusion for Rucker, especially when there are so many artists from decades past that still haven’t been inducted yet, but his incredible success with songs like “Wagon Wheel” and “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” should not be discounted. 

The sister of Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle was a star in her own right in the 1970s, helping to cement the pop-country genre with songs like “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.” However traditionalists feel about the popularity of pop-country, there’s no denying its place in the genre. 

It’s hard to say that Townes Van Zandt is specifically a country artist — his influence has been felt across folk, rock, and Americana — but he deserves induction alone for penning “Pancho and Lefty,” made legendary by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. 

Also difficult to pin down in terms of genre, Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe” is deserving of a Hall of Fame nod in and of itself, but her duets alongside Glen Campbell totally seal the deal. Oh, and of course, her 1970 song “Fancy,” which made Reba McEntire a star more than two decades after Gentry wrote it.