Class of 2019

Bessie Jarrett

Beloved and Influential Gospel Artist

As read by LaShell Moore, Arts in McNairy Board Member
June 7, 2019

Bessie Jarrett is one of this region’s most beloved gospel singers and a mainstay of McNairy County music. With her partner and good friend, Danny Churchwell, Bessie formed the dynamic duo, Bessie and Danny, and odds are, everyone in this room heard them perform at one time or another at a local wedding, community event, fundraiser or concert. For nearly two decades, Bessie and Danny seemed to be dazzling audiences somewhere, nearly every week. Yes, Danny Churchwell was Bessie’s musical partner, but he was also one of her biggest fans, and their collaboration was the first exposure many people had to the tremendous talent of Bessie Jarrett. So, it was only fitting that Bessie was invited to perform the musical tribute for Danny on the occasion of his induction to the McNairy County Music Hall of Fame in 2015. Many attendees at that ceremony observed that Bessie and Danny could easily have been inducted as a duo, or that Bessie would be a good Hall of Fame candidate as a solo gospel artist. It was true then, and it’s true now, so here we are. Congratulations to you, Bessie, and thank you for your patience.

But Bessie Jarrett is way more than your typical wedding singer or a compliment to Danny Churchwell’s piano styles. She is a gifted and influential artist in her own right and her roots in McNairy County music are both deep and exceedingly rich. Bessie found her musical voice at Mt. Olive Church in Guys, Tennessee at the tender age of 8 and she never looked back. “To Canaan’s Land I’m on my way,” Bessie sang out loud and proud. “Dear friends, there’ll be no sad farewells; there’ll be tear-dimmed eyes. Where all is peace, and joy, and love; where the soul never dies!”

Mrs. Norma Jean Dillworth who accompanied Bessie on piano that day must have been shocked that an 8 year old girl, singing for the first time in public, could improvise her own arrangement, command the attention of the congregation, and draw them all into worship with such ease. But that is rather precisely what happened, and it wouldn’t be the last time. She was back the next week with another song, and then another, and then another…Bessie had found her calling and even as a child, she knew it. God meant for her to sing, so sing she did.

Bessie became a regular in her church choir, was often featured as a soloist, and called on for various special programs and events in the region. For almost ten years she sang in a popular gospel group traveling to churches and communities around the area spreading the praise and joy of the Lord. At only 23, she wound up in Memphis at Designer Records—a black gospel label which had successful releases on numerous respected gospel groups including The Shaw Family, The Jubilee Hummingbirds, The Memphis Harmonizers and the Gospel Songbirds. Bessie recorded a 45 RPM single of Jordan River with Troubles of this World on the B-side. Designer, founder, and creative director Style Wooten offered her a recording contract, but Bessie declined preferring the simple life of Guys, Tennessee to the limelight of the Memphis and Mid-South gospel scene.

Bessie’s first love was, and will always be gospel music, but she soon found she had a certain restlessness and a desire to scratch her creative itch in new ways. The challenge of mastering other genres of music appealed to her sense of adventure, so Bessie began to audition for regional musical theatre productions. The first major success came in the role of Mother Superior for The Sound of Music. She brought down the house singing the signature song, Climb Every Mountain, from one of Rogers and Hammerstein’s most popular Broadway musicals. And she made a nun’s habit look good, too. Bessie was invited to appear on numerous radio and television programs where she held her own performing alongside well known celebrities and recording artists. For many years she was a favorite performer on regional fundraising telethons and appeared on the popular Kay Bain Show in Tupelo, Mississippi. (Kay, of course, is a McNairy County native and a 2015 Hall of Fame inductee.) Bessie also won wide recognition in numerous artists showcases including, most notably, finalist and first place winner in Talent America in 1992 and 1996. She earned enough hardware on the talent show circuit to open her own trophy shop—and that’s no joke. She has also done some modeling and vocal coaching in her time which led to an invitation to be a judge for the Miss Tennessee Pageant in 2002. Bessie has even been a guest soloist with the Corinth Symphony, where she performed a stirring rendition of the Battle Hymn of the Republic backed by the full orchestra. Trust us, when we say that she has pipes to pull that off as easily as a walk in the park.

Bessie Jarrett is comfortable with styles of music ranging from classical to jazz, blues, country, broadway, pop standards and everything in between. But it is gospel where she found her voice and it is gospel that sustains her even now. Many people with her talent would have gone in another direction, seeking fame and fortune in popular music, and truthfully, Bessie thought seriously about taking that path for a while. But reflecting on more than fifty years of singing gospel music, Bessie now says it all worked out the way it was supposed to for her. She sees purpose and meaning in the trajectory of her singing career. It might have been personally gratifying to be in the national spotlight—an affirmation of her powerhouse vocal abilities—but she rightly observes that fame is fleeting and for many artists’, their success is their undoing. But the contentment Bessie feels comes from a different place. She has the joy of knowing that her voice was used for a higher purpose than simple entertainment. She has spent a lifetime ministering to the hearts of her neighbors through her God-given gift of song, and McNairy County, and our entire region, is the richer for it. It is a fine thing to have the momentary satisfaction of a top 40 hit, but Bessie’s music resonates in eternity, and that will sustain her long after the spotlight fades.

Bessie’s journey in music has been both deeply personal and deeply spiritual. In her artist’s statement, she says it this way: “Singing has always been my refuge. It has always soothed and comforted me in every situation in life. When words weren’t sufficient, when even the presence of loved ones failed to console, music ministered to my inner soul. It’s more than an enjoyable pastime for me. Music is a passion, a calling, and a direct line of communication to God.”

The truth of that is evident to anyone who has had the pleasure of hearing Bessie Jarrett sing. If you haven’t been so fortunate, you are in for a treat tonight. The passion and spirituality so eloquently described in her artist statement comes through loud and clear in every note and phrase, touching the audience’s soul just as surely as it touches Bessie’s. She is a true McNairy County original, but her transcendent vocals have won Bessie accolades well beyond our borders and made her one of the most revered gospel voices of her generation. But if you ask her how she can manage to be all of that in one package, she is more than content to give the glory to God. And we have to believe that is the true secret to her success.

It is my distinct honor to induct Ms. Bessie Jarrett into the McNairy County Music Hall of Fame in the Class of 2019.

The Murray Boys

Legendary Regional Bluegrass Band

As read by Heather Webster, great-granddaughter of Virgil Murray
June 7, 2019

The name Murray is synonymous with good bluegrass and has been in McNairy County since the middle of the twentieth century. When Virgil Murray first picked up a fiddle, there is no way he could have known what he was starting, but looking back on it, we can say with confidence and gratitude that the musical legacy he left in his family is something truly exceptional. The Murray Boys band, composed of Virgil and sons, Bruce and Tom Murray, are among the most respected and revered musicians McNairy County has yet produced and their influence extends well beyond the county line and carries on well beyond their lifetimes. Three generations of locals grew up on the sounds of the Murray Boys, and as far as most of them were concerned, that’s just what bluegrass music was supposed to sound like.

Virgil officially appears in the local music record at Eastview, Tennessee on May 26, 1950 performing a fine fiddle version of Kentucky Waltz at the home of amateur audio recordist, and 2013 Hall of Famer, Stanton Littlejohn. But, of course, the Murray musical endeavors began long before that. The recording, digitally preserved by Arts in McNairy’s traditional arts committee, demonstrates that Virgil, who had grown up in a musical family, was already a gifted musician. And it wouldn’t take him long to recruit other musical collaborators right under his own roof.

Nearly all of Virgil and Lessie Henson Murray’s children were apt to play music, but it was Will, Tom. and Bruce who showed the most interest and aptitude for it. The brothers were just kids when they began playing with their father under the name, The Murray Boys. It’s quite natural for musical talent to be developed and enjoyed within families and close communities, but that’s not exactly how it played out with the Murrays. Of course, music was learned in the Murray home, and shared locally, but the unsurpassed talent of the Murray Boys quickly attracted the attention of a broader audience. When Tom and Bruce were no more than teenagers they began appearing with Virgil on regional radio and TV programs broadcast out of Jackson, Tennessee. They became regulars on WDXI’s popular, Friday night, prime time bluegrass and country show, performing alongside the legendary fiddler, and 2015 Hall of Famer, Waldo Davis. If you can imagine this, bluegrass royalty, Flatt and Scruggs, played the 6:00 p.m. slot, followed by the Murray Boys at 6:30. Tom liked to tell folks that he would literally fill Earl Scruggs shoes on those shows, eagerly stepping into the chalk-marked spot formerly reserved for the bluegrass legend. Trust us when we say he was equal to the task. Scruggs was so impressed with the young man’s banjo virtuosity that he reportedly invited Tom to be his permanent backup to stand-in on Flatt and Scruggs tours. Tom declined, preferring to remain in McNairy County, close to home and family.

And it was certainly back at home where they were most loved and appreciated. As Bruce’s fiddle skills grew, Virgil turned those responsibilities over to him, and built himself a washtub bass. He loved to play that homemade instrument, but it wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world, so he always made one of the boys carry it on stage for him. It was just as well. Bruce became the better fiddler, and the boys were far from embarrassed by the down-home ingenuity of a washtub bass. The Murray Boys continued to entertain audiences far and wide through the 60s, 70s, and 80s, performing regionally on radio and TV bluegrass shows, as well as at dozens of festivals, county fairs, political rallies, community jams, and benefits concerts.

When Virgil passed away in 1974, Tom and Bruce continued to perform as the Murray Boys. After a respectful hiatus, they carried on and actually built on their family’s musical tradition in ways that profoundly impacted our local music heritage. Good pickers attract other good pickers and the Murray brothers enlisted and made music with many of the area’s best. At various times, band members notably included Charles Ellis on dobro, Jay Darby on mandolin, Kittle Sanders and Steve Miller on guitar, among many other fine players. Bobby Neal Rickman and Hall of Fame members, Bill Wagoner and Wayne Jerrolds, were frequent musical collaborators, and Bruce’s son Deon often joined in to provide outstanding vocals.

In addition to great music, the name Murray evokes a strong sense of place for many local musicians and music fans. A short drive out Bethel-Purdy Road will take you to the unincorporated Murray Hill community and an old boarded up general store and garage where music rang out every Saturday night in the late 70s and early 80s. The Murray Hill Jamboree was perhaps the last holdout of a bygone era of local music making. More so than most of the community music jams of that period, the regular Murray Hill show recalled and embodied the organic feeling of the old one room school house frolics and home musicals that were so popular in the Murray Boys’ youth. Some of the regions best artists made their way to that tiny venue and it was always packed to the walls with grateful music fans. Hall of famers, Wayne Jerrolds, David Killingsworth, and Dwight and Freida Locke of the Gunner Lee Band, were regulars. Peck Switch Band, Babe Lofton, Red Roberts, and many other notables found their way to the Murray Hill Jamboree. But it was always the namesake, Murray Boys, who were the main attraction. Those shows were simply electrifying and, maybe more importantly, they exposed a new generation to the depths of McNairy County’s musical roots. Many a young picker cut their performing teeth at the Murray Hill Jamboree, and many others, who made up the appreciative audiences, got a chance to hear the Murray Boys and other local groups in their prime.

Both Bruce and Tom Murray boasted numerous contest titles, and earned the praise and admiration of their peers along the way. To stand out as musicians in a county that is known for turning out some of the best is quite a feat but the Murray Boys pulled that one off without breaking a sweat. Bruce was highly respected for his versatility as a musician and Will Tom is widely regarded as a local pioneer of bluegrass banjo—hands down, one of the best of his generation. It is good to be respected, but better to be loved, and The Murray Boys’ earned the affection of their community as easily as they won it over with their musical talent. Their community spirit showed through, not only in the countless benefits and free events they played, but also with their generosity as teachers. Tom and Bruce spent countless hours mentoring young musicians, passing on their techniques and treasured repertoires to many grateful students. So, all these years later, we have the Murray Boys to thank, in part, for a living, local music tradition that is still unfolding in some very interesting ways.

Will Tom Murray passed in 2010, and Bruce was laid to rest just a few weeks ago—in fact, just two days before the Murray Boys were recommended for induction to the McNairy County Music Hall of Fame. It is most gratifying to bestow these honors when people are still with us to know just how much they are loved, respected, and appreciated. But it is equally important for a community to acknowledge its debts, and McNairy County owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Virgil, Tom and Bruce Murray, as well as all the accomplished musicians who fleshed out their tremendous bands over the years. Rarely have we seen finer men or finer musicians in this county and we fervently hope that they knew just how much they meant to their families and their extended musical families, which surely includes everyone who ever heard them pick a tune. Those who did will attest that they were truly something special.

It is my great honor to induct the Murray Boys into the McNairy County Music Hall of Fame in the Class of 2019.

Bob Kennedy

Respected Southern Gospel Quartet Singer and Promoter

As read by Melanie King, Kennedy family friend
June 7, 2019

Like many Southerners, Bob Kennedy really learned to sing in church. But singing ran deeper in the Kennedy family than most, and as you will soon see, it still does. Bob’s mother and father, Laura Lee Cooksey Kennedy and Joseph Oscar Kennedy were both excellent singers and Joseph actually taught private singing lessons for a time throughout North Alabama and West Tennessee. So it was inevitable that the young Bob Kennedy, immersed as he was in gospel music at home and church, would grow into an accomplished vocalist in his own right. Just as importantly, Bob had a love for the Lord and an abiding respect for the traditions of southern gospel that would bear on the music heritage of McNairy County in some highly significant ways. In short, Bob Kennedy’s love of gospel music left an indelible stamp on his family, this community, and the southern gospel tradition as a whole.

Bob first started singing in public with his brothers, and quite naturally, they gravitated toward gospel music. It came as easy to them as breathing and it would turn out to be a life long passion for Bob. Some years later he formed his own gospel quartet called Bob Kennedy and the Southernaires. The group performed widely in the region, developing a devoted following who appreciated their close harmonies and obvious passion for ministering to others with their music. The Southernaires cut a popular record titled Something Old, Something New. The title was a nod to the quartet’s traditional roots, as well as their embrace of new horizons in gospel music. The album sold briskly in the region and is still prized by many as one of the best and most representative examples of local southern gospel from that era. Plus, it was just highly enjoyable spiritual music.

The Southernaires soon became the Apostles as Grammy and Dove Award winning bass singer, London Parris, joined the group, bringing even more recognition to the already popular quartet. As many will remember, Parris was formerly a member of the Rebels and the legendary Blackwood Brothers. Bob and London’s new endeavor, the Apostles, would include Bob’s son David Kennedy, Melvin Nixon, Lynn Thomas and Hall of Fame pianist, Danny Churchwell. The group performed and ministered widely to grateful churches and concert audiences around the South and Midwest, traveling as far as Illinois and Indiana to headline gospel events before disbanding in the early 1990s.

All of this would be enough to earn Bob Kennedy a spot in the McNairy County Music Hall of Fame, but as it turned out, Bob’s second act in gospel would prove to be as important as his first. Though he continued to sing with various groups and serve in music ministry at West Shiloh Baptist Church, after the Apostles called it quits, Bob primarily turned his focus to gospel music promotion. Sensing a healthy local appetite and need for high quality gospel music, Bob began organizing and promoting local gospel concerts in and around Selmer. He was a one man crew, booking the groups, coordinating all the details for the events, selling ads in the programs, working the gate, and whatever else was necessary to pull off the popular concerts. Several local churches and other venues hosted Bob’s events, but the most notable gatherings were held at McNairy Central High School in order to accommodate sizable crowds numbering into the hundreds. Boy, was he ever right about the local interest in gospel!

Bob Kennedy would never drop names, but I’m not Bob Kennedy, so here goes. The southern gospel luminaries that Bob commonly rubbed elbows with and brought to this area reads like a membership list of the Gospel Music Association or a rundown of Dove Award winners of the late twentieth-century. Here is an incomplete list of performers Bob worked with over the years: The Stamps, Gold City, The Kingsmen, The Chuckwagon Gang, The Goodmans, The Blackwood Brothers, The Roger Horn Trio, The Booth Brothers, J.D. Sumner and The Lewis Family.

Bob became so well known in southern gospel circles that he could pick up the phone and book replacements on a moments notice. Some of the individual artists who responded to those calls were—and again, this is just a partial list: Pat Hoffmaster who sang with The Blackwoods and Larry Gatlin; various members of The Stamps, The Masters Five and Larry Gatlin; Blackwood Brothers pianist, Jackie Marshall; Coy Cook from The Florida Boys and The Dixie Echos; Roger Horn of The Cathedrals; Jack Toney who performed with The Statesman, The Prophets, The Stamps and Bill Gaither; Roy McNeal who worked with The Statesman, The Stamps and The Prophets; noted pianist Jimmy Taylor who played for The Rebels and The Singing Americans; and, of course, London Parris who became a close friend and collaborator. Bob’s son David recalled one occasion when a piano player was needed to fill in at the last minute for a scheduled singing. Bob picked up the phone and called Pat Hoffmaster of the Blackwood Brothers to see what he could do. On Hoffmaster’s recommendation, a young pianist flew in for the weekend and pulled the show off without a hitch. Several days later David saw the same young pianist performing at a gospel music awards ceremony on television. It turned out to be Steve Warren. All of these legendary groups and artists wound up performing in McNairy County— some of them multiple times—for one reason: the trust, respect, and affection they had for Bob Kennedy.

Even though we primarily honor people for their musical accomplishments on these occasions, we would be remiss if we did not recognize Bob Kennedy for his service to his country tonight. A member of “the greatest generation” Bob was wounded in action near Achen Germany and hospitalized through the winter of 1944. He made the transatlantic crossing to the States on a hospital ship where he made the acquaintance of a fellow patient—a wounded PT boat commander. The young Navy officer came to visit Bob when he learned there was another Kennedy on board who shared his younger brother’s name. He wondered if they might be related. But the Massachusetts Kennedys and the McNairy County Kennedys were not kinfolks as far as Bob knew. As you may have guessed, it was the future President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, who paid Bob a visit that day. As impressive as that may sound, Bob, humble as he was, kept that story to himself most of his life.

Bob Kennedy left behind an impressive record of service to his God, his country and his community, but if we were able to ask him tonight about his proudest accomplishment, I am certain he would not hesitate to say it is his loving family. Bob and Etta Hendrix Kennedy had four wonderful children, Nelda, David, Mark and Ralph. Each one has made an imprint on their families and community in their own way, but it was David and Ralph—and now grandson Zach—who most absorbed Bob’s passion and talent for singing. That makes four generations of Kennedys—and counting— who are keeping the southern gospel music tradition alive in McNairy County.

If McNairy County has a patriarch of southern gospel music, Bob Kennedy is it. Even though Mr. Bob passed away in 2009, we like to think the singing career that inspired so many in this lifetime, was just a warm up for eternity. That’s certainly what Bob Kennedy believed. So, in closing, perhaps a verse from an old Speer Family favorite is appropriate:

As we sing here on earth, songs of sadness or mirth;
Tis a foretaste of rapture to come;
But our joy can't compare, with the glory up there;
When all of God's singers get home.

We know Bob Kennedy is up there, and if we know anything else about him at all, we know he’s singing.

It is my great honor and privilege to induct the Mr. Bob Kennedy into the McNairy County Music Hall of Fame in the Class of 2019.

Ronnie Whitten

Gifted Bluegrass Banjoist and Tenor Singer

As read by Shawn Pitts, Arts in McNairy Cultural Heritage Chair
June 7, 2019

It would have been impossible to grow up in the home of Hall of Fame fiddler Ernest “Pap” Whitten without absorbing some music. Through most of his adult life, Pap was regarded as the pre-eminent dance fiddler in this region, and he was always making music, practicing constantly at home, and performing as often as three times a week for the public. It’s a foregone conclusion that a fiddle was among the first sounds Ronnie Whitten heard in this world.

As the old saying goes, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” and Ronnie demonstrated his father’s love and mastery of traditional music at an early age. As a small child he became proficient with both piano and guitar, as did his brother Wayne, and it wasn’t long before the boys were recruited to play at area square dance with Pap’s band, The Chickasaw Ramblers. Ronnie entered the picture at the height of Pap Whitten’s popularity as a dance fiddler, so he had to keep up or get left behind. Needless to say, he held his own. By the time he was an adolescent Ronnie was already a well known musician at the region’s most popular old-time dance and music venues, from Five Points in Madison County, to McNairy County dances at Chewalla, Leapwood, and Finger.

As an older teenager Ronnie began to develop an interest in the instrument that would provide him his greatest creative outlet and define him his as a musician for the rest of his life: the banjo. Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Pap put him to work as the banjo picker in the Chickasaw Ramblers and Ronnie made the most of the opportunity, improving rapidly as he played the band’s demanding square dance schedule.

But all the best banjo players were bluegrass pickers and Ronnie began to gravitate toward the challenges offered by that style even as he and brother Wayne began to branch out on their own. As The Whitten Brothers Band they would become one of the most popular young bluegrass acts in the region and, naturally, attracted other topnotch pickers to their ranks. Band members included Rudy Moore on bass, Ronnie Hopkins on fiddle, guitarist Keith Emmons, and 2018 Hall of Fame inductee David Killingsworth on mandolin. The band became regulars, and big draws, at the Savannah Bluegrass Festival The Murray Hill Jamboree, and other popular bluegrass shows in the McNairy and Hardin county area. Ronnie also developed a fine tenor singing voice during that period which would add to his versatility as a performer.

It is not unusual for someone growing up in a musical household to learn music. It’s not extraordinary for musicians to achieve a certain local following in their region of origin if they are good; it doesn’t take long for a community to recognize its best players. But it is another thing entirely to get noticed in the upper reaches of the music industry, which Ronnie Whitten most certainly did. It is not stretching a point to say that Ronnie is regarded by many as one of the best banjoists of his generation, and maybe one of the best musicians, of any kind, McNairy County has ever produced. Certainly there is some subjectivity in a statement like that; people favor different styles and prize different qualities in musicians. But there is also some objective evidence to consider. Ronnie racked up an impressive list of banjo contest wins, including a 1976 third place finish in Bill Monroe’s historic Bluegrass Festival, at Bean Blossom Indiana—widely considered one of the nation’s most prestigious bluegrass titles for instrumentalists.

And then there is the matter of the company Ronnie kept as a musician. In the early 90s he was recruited to play for Kenny Baker and Josh Graves latest musical collaboration. As many of you will know, Baker and Graves are nationally acclaimed pickers who performed with Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs respectively. Ronnie also played regularly with former Blue Grass Boys Wayne Lewis and James Monroe. James Monroe is, of course, Bill Monroe’s son. During that period, Ronnie played nationally renowned bluegrass festivals and contests—like the one at Bean Blossom—and venues such as Nashville’s famed Station Inn. He also performed on Earnest Tubb’s Midnight Jamboree, broadcast by the legendary country music station WSM. The Midnight Jamboree traditionally serves as a kind of after party for the Grand Ole Opry, where only the best of the best are invited to perform in a more intimate setting for an eager radio audience. Through these associations, Ronnie shared the stage with and earned the respect of bluegrass and country legends including the likes of the father of bluegrass, the great Bill Monroe.

So let that sink in for a minute. Everyone in this neighborhood knew that Ronnie Whitten could play, but the fact that he was held in high esteem and enlisted to play with world class musicians such as these speaks volumes about his towering musical talent and his commitment to becoming the best musician he could be. If he wasn’t one of the best banjoists this county ever produced, we’ll be expecting a flood of nominations for Hall of Fame banjo pickers next year. Along those same lines, it is perhaps fitting that Ronnie is being inducted in the same class as Will Tom Murray, another first-rate banjo man. Ronnie and Tom often shared the stage at the Murray Hill Jamborees, admired each others outstanding musicianship, and they are the first two musicians inducted to the McNairy County Music Hall of Fame who primarily identified as banjo players. It’s a good night for the banjo.

Though his talent took him to some lofty places and earned him the respect of music industry elites, Ronnie Whitten was always happiest back home in McNairy County. In 1993, he was instrumental in founding the Adamsville Bluegrass Jamboree, a popular weekend show that ran for 20 years and attracted bands and audiences from all around the tri-state region of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Ronnie’s bands regularly played those shows and his connections in the broader world of music, as well as the respect he had earned from other musicians over the years, were a big part of the Jamboree’s success. Just as importantly, those events exposed a new generation to quality music, helping preserve the appreciation of bluegrass into the next generation. We were tremendously honored to have Ronnie, among others, play on this very stage at our very first music homecoming event. That inaugural concert was meant to honor the musical heritage of this building as Arts in McNairy took up residence here in 2012. So in some ways, Ronnie even played a hand in helping establish new traditions that led to the annual Hall of Fame inductions and tribute concerts that bring us all here tonight. We are deeply grateful for that.

Ronnie Whitten was a musician’s musician. Though he garnered praise for his banjo prowess from audiences far and wide, Ronnie was motivated most by the acceptance and admiration of his musical peers. His desire was always to present his band mates and the music they made together in the most professional light possible—he was like his father in that way. No one who ever played with him doubted that, nor did they question Ronnie’s musical ability. His unique and immediately recognizable banjo style made him one of the most admired musicians in the region, and earned him fans far and wide, including many who are here tonight to remember his achievements and honor his lasting musical legacy. Ronnie passed on in 2016, but his influence did not. Just as he inherited a tradition of musical greatness from his family and community, Ronnie Whitten inspired the next generation to reach for their musical best, and in that wonderful way, his music lives on.

It is my distinct honor to induct Ronnie Whitten into the McNairy County Music Hall of Fame in the Class of 2019.