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Stars, inductees, fans brave icy weather for state Hall of Fame

By Jamie Gumbrecht JGUMBRECHT@HERALD-LEADER.COM

Sleet? Please. Freezing rain? No problem. On a disastrous weather day, when businesses and schools closed early, some Kentuckians responded by strapping on high heels and black ties for a late night at the state's Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

The inductees were country crossover artist Crystal Gayle, stage and TV star Florence Henderson, jazz and soul musician Les McCann, writer and producer Norro Wilson and country singer Dwight Yoakam.

McCann and Henderson didn't attend the ceremony -- "Because of this great Kentucky spirit I have, I'm always getting offers to work," Henderson said in a video acceptance. But other star appearances filled the night.

Each song got a standing ovation, especially when Gayle performed Coal Miner's Daughter with her sisters Loretta Lynn and Peggy Sue. A tribute to saxophonist Boots Randolph, a 2004 inductee who died last year, started the show.

Country artist John Michael Montgomery, wearing head-to-toe black, said he jumped at the chance to introduce Yoakam, but just likes to see his Kentucky cohorts getting some attention.

"We've had tons of talent come out of this state," he said. "I gotta brag a little bit about that."

The Lexington Center's Bluegrass Ballroom was filled with damp tuxedos, crushed velvet dresses and sparkling, shined shoes soaked by water and salt.

"We had a few calls from people saying they couldn't come, and a few calls from folks asking if they could get tickets," said Robert Lawson, the Hall of Fame's director. About 800 people scraped their windshields and held up their hems to use their tickets, which cost $125 to $200.

The earliest arrivals saw Yoakam check sound, singing to servers in black uniforms while they set white-clothed tables with red rose centerpieces. He swaggered out of the ballroom and through the lobby in scuffed white boots, tight blue jeans, heavy trench coat and cowboy hat.

As he walked away, Mount Vernon Mayor Clarice Kirby jumped over and wrapped her arm around his back, saying, "Please, just one," while her friends held up cameras.

"I didn't care if I had to beg," said Kirby, who remembers when the Hall of Fame was just a crazy dream. "I didn't even tell him I was the mayor."

There were more chances for stargazing as inductees settled down to dinner; their tables were swarmed by media and camera-toting fans who hovered over their salads and sequins.

"Isn't she cute?" a woman whispered, waving for Gayle, in a black-and-white dress, and Lynn, in fluffy violet, to lean into each other.

"We didn't have a lot," Gayle told the audience, remembering her early life in Kentucky. "We didn't know it. We didn't care.

"We had a lot of music in our house."