Bill Grubb at http://louisvillemusicicians.blogspot.com/ raises the entirely legitimate question: Why are the Monarchs not in the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame? The easy answer is that the Museum and its board are very, very heavily weighted toward country, bluegrass and gospel. Their website admits as much: “While the various branches of country music take center stage here at the museum, all forms of Kentucky music are honored. From the unadorned and untrained mountain music performed on front porches to the refined and ever-expanding boundaries of today’s sounds.”
They do have a “Waiting List” - “The museum includes exhibit cases for instruments, artifacts, costumes and memorabilia. A “Wall of Stars” and a “Kentucky Home Place” map honor the hundreds of Kentucky stars and entertainers who have not yet been inducted into the “Hall of Fame”. ”

Grubb encourages everyone who has an interest to contact the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame at info@kentuckymusicmuseum.com.

Here are the inductees to date (note the very few – two or three, counting Loveless – from Louisville):

For 2011
Keith Whitley

Patty Loveless

Steve Wariner

John Michael Montgomery

The 2008 Induction Class:

1) Les McCann

2) Crystal Gayle

3) Florence Henderson

4) Norro Wilson

5) Dwight Yoakam

The 2006 Induction Class:

1) John Conlee

2) Sam Bush

3) Wynonna & Noami Judd

4) John Jacob Niles

5) Todd Duncan (opera)

6) Mary Travers

7) Dottie Rambo

Lionel Hampton
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The 2004 Induction Class:

1) The Coon Creek Girls

2) Billy Vaughn

3) J.D. Crowe

4) Vestal and Howard Goodman

5) Jerry Chesnut

6) Boots Randolph

7) Ricky Skaggs

The 2002 Induction Class:

1) Rosemary Clooney ( Open / Variety )

2) Everly Brothers ( Open / Rock-n-Roll )

3) Red Foley ( Country )

4) Tom T. Hall ( Country / Bluegrass )

5) Grandpa Jones ( Open / Comedy )

6) Bradley Kincaid ( Country / Bluegrass )

7) John Lair ( Country / Bluegrass & Open Non-Performer )

Loretta Lynn ( Country )

9) Bill Monroe ( Bluegrass )

10) The Osborne Brothers ( Bluegrass )

11) Jean Ritchie ( Folk )

12) Merle Travis ( Country )

Inaugural Inductees:

Lionel Hampton

H. Russell Farmer (KET)