The Judds, Ray Charles, Eddie Bayers and Pete Drake will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame’s class of 2021.  

Charles, whose 1962 album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music reached #1 on the Billboard 200 and sent his collaboration with Willie Nelson on “Seven Spanish Angels” to the top of the country charts, represents the Veterans Era Artist category.

With 14 #1 hits including “Mama He’s Crazy,” “Rockin’ with the Rhythm of the Rain” and many more, The Judds are in the Modern Era Artist category. Both Bayers, a drummer for the likes of George Strait, Kenny Chesney and Dolly Parton, and pedal steel guitar player Drake, who performed on Tammy Wynette’s “Stand by Your Man” and “He Stopped Loving Her Today” by George Jones, tied for the Recording and/or Touring Musician category. 

The announcement was made on Monday morning on YouTube by Country Music Hall of Fame member Reba McEntire. The induction ceremony for the class of 2021 will take place at the CMHOF in 2022.

Delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the induction ceremony for the CMHOF class of 2020 — including Dean Dillon, Marty Stuart and Hank Williams Jr. — will occur in November.

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