They deserve to be in the Country Music Hall of Fame: June Carter

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Last year Scott Ganschow, fourwalls and myself all made lists of those we believe are deserving of induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Now I am trying my hand with the Country Music Hall of Fame. The fun is that I am not a country music fan and possess only general knowledge of the genre. Recent performers like Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Toby Keith and the Judds are excluded because they are almost certain locks to eventually inducted. If I had my way, Miranda Lambert would be inducted right now but she is only 36. I have looked to the past for the overlooked and deserving. The selections will be presented in alphabetical order. Our resident country expert fourwalls should be amused. There are reasons why June Carter has not been inducted. She is viewed as an appendage of husband Johnny Cash and member of Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters. Carter only recorded three solo albums and those were traditional folk. No solo hit singles. So why should June Carter be inducted? Her career needs to be viewed as the sum of many parts. Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters were instrumental in keeping traditional folk and country alive. Carter was a stabilizing guiding force behind her husband, a songwriter (she co-wrote “Ring of Fire” with Merle Kilgore), acclaimed singer in her own right (winner of five Grammy Awards two shared with Cash), actress usually appearing opposite Cash, author of two memoirs and member of the Christian Music Hall of Fame. The name June Carter is quite simply more famous and better known than half the inductees. She was immortalized by Reese Witherspoon’s Oscar winning performance in “Walk the Line” (2005) and Jewel in the 2013 Lifetime movie “Ring of Fire.” Add all this up and June Carter deserves a plaque next to her husband.