Cody Johnson says that it wasn’t an immediate “yes” when Kid Rock first asked his permission to record a version of “‘Til You Can’t.”

But when Rock explained why he wanted to record the song — and why it was so important to him to add another verse — Johnson was immediately sold.

Johnson broke down the timeline on how Kid Rock’s version of “‘Til You Can’t” came to be on a recent appearance of Dale Brisby’s Rodeo Time podcast, explaining that Rock had a conversation with him about recording the song soon after he first debuted it at Arizona’s Hondo Rodeo Fest.

How Did Kid Rock Ask For Cody Johnson’s “Blessing” to Record “‘Til You Can’t?”

Johnson said he was as surprised as all the fans watching when Kid Rock covered “‘Til You Can’t” at the Hondo Rodeo last November.

Rock was filling in for Johnson that night after Johnson had to cancel his set, along with several other performances, to undergo surgery for a burst ear drum.

He says he thought it was “really cool” when he realized that Rock had covered his song at the show.

But he knew there was more to the moment when his label head, Cris Lacy, gave him a heads up that Rock was going to call or text him about the song, saying, “He wants your blessing on him releasing this version of the song.”

Why Didn’t Cody Johnson Immediately Say Yes When Kid Rock Asked Permission to Record “‘Til You Can’t”?

His first reaction?

“I actually said, ‘What do Ben Stennis and Matt Rogers think about it? ‘Cause they’re the writers,” Johnson remembers.

Johnson’s label had already gotten the thumbs up from the songwriters, as long as Johnson was okay with it. So when he got on the phone with Rock, Johnson was enthusiastic about the idea.

Even more so when Rock pitched his idea of adding a new verse.

“He said, ‘Here’s the deal…I feel like that Ben and Matt did such a great job writing the song. I don’t want to insinuate that they didn’t write it good enough.’” Rock went on rattle off all the important things that the song brings up, like cherished moments with loved ones and family.

Cody Johnson - Ain't Nothin' To It
Vinyl Records

Cody Johnson – Ain’t Nothin’ To It

“But they just didn’t include God,” he continued. “I just felt like, you can only ask forgiveness and get to know Jesus until you can’t.”

“I was like, what a great — and coming from Kid Rock!” Johnson says. “It raised the hair on your arms. It was a conversation that I never thought I’d have in my life. And I was like, ‘I 100 percent sign off on it.’”

What Did Cody Johnson Think of Kid Rock’s Performance on the Turning Point USA Halftime Show?

During that same conversation, Rock told Johnson that he was going to sing his version of “‘Til You Can’t” during his headlining set of the Turning Point USA Halftime Show, which aired during the Super Bowl halftime show.

“I watched it. Had tears in my eyes,” Johnson recalls. “I was like, ‘Freaking Kid Rock singing my song, man. That’s cool.’”

“I wish he’d have worn a Cody Johnson hat, but I couldn’t talk him into that,” he jokes.

59 Artists Not in the Country Music Hall of Fame

Which county singer is most deserving of a Country Music Hall of Fame induction? Here are 59 artists who don’t have a medallion yet, with some thoughts on when each is eligible and if their fans can expect that nod soon.

Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes

Alison Krauss

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Alison Krauss

Alison Krauss’ most memorable country radio hit was a cover of Keith Whitley’s “When You Say Nothing at All,” and should she earn a Country Music Hall of Fame medallion, it’d be for the same reason as Whitley: Her voice is so pure and her influence so large. In 1995, Krauss burst into mainstream country, winning the Horizon Award and Female Vocalist of the Year Award at the CMAs. She’d be nominated seven more times in the Female category and several more in the Vocal Group of the Year category for leading Union Station. Some years, you’d find her in both!

In 2004 she’d deliver an encore and pick up even more CMA trophies (to go with her 27 Grammys) for “Whiskey Lullaby,” a duet with Brad Paisley.

Anne Murray

Bill King, Capitol Records / Getty Images

Anne Murray

By the time Anne Murray won her first CMA Award in 1984, she’d already won several Grammys, Juno Awards and an ACM. Country success came on the back end of a fruitful pop career for the Canadian-born artist. In the 1980s, Murray was a staple on country radio, and she’s remained productive in the three decades since. In 2002, the “Could I Have This Dance” singer was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, but few — aside from our friends at the Boot — are shouting for her bid into Nashville’s HoF.

Asleep at the Wheel

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Asleep at the Wheel

The Country Music Hall of Fame has historically done a fine job acknowledging the careers of influential artists that lived off the mainstream path. In the 21st century, Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel are at the top of a list of outsiders worth inducting. First formed in 1970, the group has more than a dozen CMA Awards nominations, eight Grammys and 20 albums. “The Letter That Johnny Walker Read” is their lone radio hit (1975), but you won’t find a single Texas artist that doesn’t cite this group as an influence.

Blake Shelton

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Blake Shelton

Grand Ole Opry membership and an Entertainer of the Year trophy is pretty much a ticket into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Perhaps all that’s keeping Blake Shelton — eligible since 2021 — out is that he’s relatively young and others just as worthy, but older, need inducting first. No, he doesn’t have a Grammy, but with nearly 30 No. 1 hits, several additional ACM and CMA Awards and awards show hosting experience, it’s not a matter of if, but when.

Bobbie Gentry

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Bobbie Gentry

Bobbie Gentry’s short career casts a long shadow over country music. An entire generation of ‘80s country women call her an influence, as they know she’s much more than the “Ode to Billie Joe” singer. Still, her mysterious disappearance and unknown whereabouts all but guarantees that despite being eligible since 1987, she won’t live to wear that Country Music Hall of Fame medallion. Of course, we’re assuming she’s still alive. That’s not clear.

Brad Paisley

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Brad Paisley

Brad Paisley defined the first decade of the 2000s in country music, and as host of the CMA Awards, he set a tone for the 10 years after that. Commercially, it’s difficult to top his nearly unblemished streak of Top 10 or better hits between 2000 and 2009 (“Me Neither” missed, but it’s still a great song). Every last one of those songs felt fresh and original.

An Entertainer of the Year win at the 2010 CMA Awards was the final jewel in a crown that truly has all the jewels, from Grammys to critical praise to commercial success and acceptance from his peers by way of a Grand Ole Opry membership. Eligible since 2019, the West Virginian is a lock.

Charlie Rich

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Charlie Rich

Charlie Rich is one of the few pre-2000 Entertainers of the Year to not be in the Country Music Hall of Fame. He won in 1974, and the next year he famously lit the card revealing John Denver as winner on fire. Some say he was blacklisted because of this, and the lack of conversation or upkeep of his legacy supports the theory. It shortened a career that was white-hot between 1973-75.

The Chicks

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The Chicks

The Chicks are another pre-2000s Entertainer of the Year to not be in the Country Music Hall of Fame yet. The Grammy winners and chart-toppers were nominated three times in three years and were arguably the most popular country artists on the planet as the century turned. Like Rich, a controversial on-stage decision will delay their admittance. Eligible since 2017, the group formerly known as the Dixie Chicks will likely need to wait another 10 years.

Clint Black

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Clint Black

Clint Black is the least heralded member of ‘90s country icons that ruled the genre. Like Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks and Toby Keith, he achieved radio chart dominance, but more often than not, he was edged out when it came to winning major country music awards. Black’s Grand Ole Opry membership helps his case for Country Music Hall of Fame enshrinement. He’s been eligible since 2009.

Crystal Gayle

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Crystal Gayle

Ironically, the kind of music Crystal Gayle made while becoming popular in the 1970s has held her back from Country Music Hall of Fame enshrinement. Unlike her sister Loretta Lynn, Gayle embraced pop country, scoring 20 No. 1 hits and several Female Vocalist awards at the ACMs and CMAs. Those who want to make the HoF conversation a stat-heavy discourse love Crystal, while others question her lasting influence on the genre. Crystal Gayle — a Grand Ole Opry member since 2017 — has been Hall of Fame eligible since 1990.

Diamond Rio

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Diamond Rio

Diamond Rio have been eligible for the Country Music Hall of Fame since 2011, and if they don’t get in, one has to wonder if any other group has a shot. They were the dominant group of the 1990s, winning four Vocal Group of the Year trophies to go with multiple ACMs and (later) Grammys. Really, they picked up the slack when Hall of Famers Alabama began to fall out of favor with voters and radio programmers. Perhaps because they were sandwiched between Alabama and the Chicks (both Entertainer of the Year winners), Diamond Rio’s accomplishments are overlooked, thus costing them consideration.

Dierks Bentley

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Dierks Bentley

Dierks Bentley became Country Music Hall of Fame eligible in 2023 when “What Was I Thinkin’” turned 20 years old. While never an awards show darling, the hitmaker is a proud Grand Ole Opry member and advocate for bluegrass and traditional country in a contemporary world. It’s easy to imagine him as a Hall of Famer, but it may take a few more years.

Dwight Yoakam

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Dwight Yoakam

A 2017 article in Nashville’s Tennessean makes a strong case for Dwight Yoakam in the Country Music Hall of Fame, while also pointing out that his difficult personality may be what has hurt his chances in recent years. One need look no further than Hank Williams Jr. to see how that’s possible, but the author is spot on in saying that as new artists with depth (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Kacey Musgraves), it’s time to pay tribute to those who did it before them. Yoakam’s commercial and creative case for a medallion is strong, and it will happen one day. He’s been eligible since 2006.

The Eagles

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The Eagles

The case for the Eagles as Country Music Hall of Famers is really a case for several rock ‘n’ rollers that shaped the genre. Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers Band might also be deserving, but more classic and contemporary artists call Don Henley and company an influence in 2023. “I feel like the Eagles were really influential for a lot of artists in our genre, me being one of them,” Jason Aldean once told Taste of Country. “My dad was a huge Eagles fan, growing up on songs like ‘Lyin’ Eyes’ and some of those things. That’s country. I don’t give a damn what anybody says, that is country music.”

Earl Thomas Conley

Legacy Recordings

Earl Thomas Conley

A petition to get Earl Thomas Conley into the Country Music Hall of Fame notes his 18 No. 1 singles and hits recorded by Conway Twitty, Blake Shelton and more. Fans — Blake Shelton among them — say he has one of the best voices of all time. The case against the late 1980s hitmaker’s induction is a light trophy case. He’s been eligible since at least 2000.

Eddie Rabbitt

Elektra Records

Eddie Rabbitt

Eddie Rabbitt is a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member, which means he could be inducted as artist or songwriter (he wrote hits for Elvis Presley, Ronnie Milsap and more). For 15 years he was a staple of country radio, but never among the most celebrated acts. Still, few artists define the 1980s quite like this “I Love a Rainy Night” singer. Rabbitt — eligible since 1996 — died of lung cancer in May 1998.

Faith Hill

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Faith Hill

There are a handful of ‘90s country women who seem like Country Music Hall of Fame locks, and Faith Hill — eligible since 2013 — is among them (others can be found later on this list). She was the dominant female voice during the decade’s first half, winning several Female Vocalist awards and notching hits like “This Kiss” and “Breathe.” Crossover success and stirring duets with husband Tim McGraw bolster her resume, but perhaps what makes her a sure thing is her second act. In the mid-2000s she released the Fireflies album and began a successful stint on Sunday Night Football. Sure, we beg for act three, but perhaps we’re just being greedy.

Freddie Hart

Capitol

Freddie Hart

Freddie Hart is a member of the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and Alabama Music Hall of Fame, but the Country Music Hall of Fame has not yet come calling. The “Easy Loving” singer picked up multiple ACM and CMA Awards during a country career that lasted nearly three decades. He’s been eligible for several decades.

Freddy Fender

Starflite

Freddy Fender

There are no Latinx members of the Country Music Hall of Fame, which is shameful, but selecting Freddy Fender would be a deft move for more than optical reasons. He was a CMA Award-winning country hitmaker in the 1970s and he cast a wide influence on a generation of kids mixing country music and Mexican music along the border and beyond. The “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” singer has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is a member of the Tejano Music, Texas Music and Louisiana Halls of Fame.

Gene Watson

Gusto Records

Gene Watson

Gene Watson is a prolific recording artist with hit songs in “Love in the Hot Afternoon” and “Fourteen Carat Mind.” The Texas native and recent Grand Ole Opry inductee’s (2020) influence is just now getting some recognition. When asked, Joe Nichols pointed to Watson as one singer he felt should be in the Country Music Hall of Fame. He’s been eligible since 1995.

Janie Fricke

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Janie Fricke

Billboard lists Janie Fricke as one of 30 artists deserving of Country Music Hall of Fame inclusion, citing her nine No. 1 hits and back-to-back Female Vocalist of the Year wins at the CMAs. To focus on Fricke’s five white-hot years in the early 1980s is to miss the good music she made in the mid-to-late 1970s. “Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me Baby” and “Tell Me a Lie” are two of her most well-known songs.

Jason Aldean

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Jason Aldean

Jason Aldean became Country Music Hall of Fame eligible in 2025 when “Hicktown” turned 20 years old. He’s still very active and it’s hard to imagine him slowing down enough to take the Hall’s phone call, but he’ll get in with time.

Jeannie Seely

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Jeannie Seely

One of the longest-serving Grand Ole Opry members is not yet a Country Music Hall of Fame artist. Jeannie Seely has been a part of the Opry for over 50 years, but longs for more. “I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I’d love to join all of my peers and friends at the Hall of Fame,” she tells Everything Nash. “I think some people maybe look at it as an ego trip, but I don’t look at it that way. I think that’s just a validation of your life’s work.”

Jessi Colter

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Jessi Colter

Jessi Colter was married to a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Duane Eddy) and then a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame (Waylon Jennings), but she has not found her home yet. The “I’m Not Lisa” singer was more of an albums artist than a radio star. Critical acclaim and influence are used to make her case for the CMHOF.

Jo Dee Messina

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Jo Dee Messina

Jo Dee Messina’s second act may bolster her case for the Country Music Hall of Fame. There are probably a few artists from the late ‘90s and early 2000s ahead of her at the moment, but with a half-dozen No. 1 singles to her name and some resurgence due to Cole Swindell’s hat-tip in “She Had Me at Heads Carolina,” anything is possible.

John Denver

RCA Records

John Denver

John Denver is another of the very few pre-2000 CMA Entertainers of the Year who is not in the Country Music Hall of Fame. He won in 1975, when pop-folk was a thing and songs like “Sweet Surrender” couldn’t be stopped. The problem with Denver’s candidacy is that he only burned bright for a few years. He’d notch just two Top 10 singles after 1976, although several albums would go Gold. In 2022, Jordan Davis listed Denver as an influence, and if more follow in the years to come, you may see momentum build toward giving him a bust in Nashville.

John Michael Montgomery

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John Michael Montgomery

John Michael Montgomery was every bit as hot in the early ‘90s as Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson. Songs like “Be My Baby Tonight” and “Sold” are country radio staples you still hear today, while ballads like “I Swear” and “I Can Love You Like That” are all-time great love songs. For a decade he put up ones and twos like he was writing computer code. After “The Little Girl” in 2000, he lost his foothold aside from “Letters From Home,” but a decade-long run is often enough to make a man a Country Music Hall of Fame inductee.

Josh Turner

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Josh Turner

Believe it or not, Josh Turner has been Country Music Hall of Fame eligible since 2022. “Long Black Train” introduced him on a larger scale one year later, and from there songs like “Your Man” and ‘Why Don’t We Just Dance” would cement him as one of the great country music vocalists of the 21st century. No, he never won a CMA, ACM or Grammy, but Turner played an important role in keeping God and values in his music to balance country music’s wild impulses for the better part of two decades.

Kathy Mattea

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Kathy Mattea

Kathy Mattea’s commercial success includes 15 Top 10 singles between 1986 and 1991, but like so many country singers eligible and in consideration for a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame, she’s put together a nice second act. Mattea has never really quit making music. Instead she pivoted to bluegrass and began to release meaningful albums like Coal, a collection inspired by coal mining in Appalachia. She’s been eligible for the Country Music Hall of Fame since the mid 2000s.

Keith Urban

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Keith Urban

Even though Keith Urban released solo songs in the early 1990s, his date of eligibility is likely 2020, as that’s 20 years after the song “Your Everything” went Top 5. Perhaps only Shania Twain rivals Urban in terms of most successful country singers born outside of America. He’s a global powerhouse who’s done as much to stretch the genre as anyone. Yet even his most progressive albums — Ripcord from 2016 is arguably the most progressive — found a footing in traditional country music. As a multi-time Entertainer of the Year and bonafide hitmaker, he’s a lock for the Country Music Hall of Fame one day.

Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers

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Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers

Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers were a dominant sibling group in the 1970s, with radio success bleeding well into the 1980s. As a group they earned CMA nominations and Larry Gatlin picked up three more in the Male Vocalist category.

LeAnn Rimes

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LeAnn Rimes

Not only is LeAnn Rimes Country Music Hall of Fame eligible, she has been since 2016. The teen star became a powerhouse vocalist in the late ’90s and early 2000s, eventually transitioning to more of a pop music career. Rimes scattered hits throughout 10 years until “Crazy Woman” became her final Top 40 in 2010. If she were inducted today, she’d be among the youngest ever Country Music Hall of Fame inductees.

Lee Ann Womack

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Lee Ann Womack

Even though Lee Ann Womack has been Country Music Hall of Fame eligible since 2017, it’s likely she’ll need more time if she is inducted. Womack has always been respected as something more than just a commercial country hitmaker, relying on hits like “I Hope You Dance” and “A Little Past Little Rock” to sell tickets. She’s one of the purest vocalists of the last 30 years. Her talent is Hall of Fame caliber.

Lee Greenwood

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Lee Greenwood

If you think of Lee Greenwood as only the guy who sings “God Bless the U.S.A.” you’re missing a lot of good, popular country music. The two-time CMA Male Vocalist of the Year notched 20 Top 10 records over a decade, from 1982 (“Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands”) to 1990 (“Holdin’ a Good Hand”).

Linda Ronstadt

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Linda Ronstadt

If Linda Ronstadt were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, she’d be among the few with both Rock and Country HoF credentials. The “You’re No Good” singer is a multi-genre superstar and one of the most prolific artist of the 1970s. In the ‘80s she teamed with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris for a group called Trio, but by then she was well established in country music with more than a dozen charting hits, including the timeless “Blue Bayou.” Like Alison Krauss, if Ronstadt were to get in, it’d be for her sheer talent and artistic contributions.

Lorrie Morgan

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Lorrie Morgan

Lorrie Morgan is a two-time CMA Award winner with a great run of hit songs in the 1990s. “Five Minutes,” “What Part of No” and “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength” are her three No. 1 singles, but she was a steady contributor to country radio for more than a decade. Excitement for her inclusion in the Country Music Hall of Fame began to build as her late husband Keith Whitley was inducted in 2022.

Lynn Anderson

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Lynn Anderson

“Rose Garden” is Lynn Anderson’s best-known song, and it’s the one that earned her a Grammy and her CMA and ACM Female Vocalist of the Year awards in 1971. She’d continue to release radio hits for over a dozen years after that, until she shifted focus to other genres. Lynn Anderson has been eligible for the Country Music Hall of Fame since 1987.

Mac Davis

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Mac Davis

Mac Davis won ACM Entertainer of the Year in 1974, but of the pre-2000s winners of that award or the CMA equivalent who’ve not become Country Music Hall of Fame members, he seems least likely to get in. While Davis had country hits like “Baby, Don’t Get Hooked on Me,” he was more of a pop artist. Television exposure from his variety show raised his profile, but it’s hard to envision him getting a medallion before most others on this list.

Martina McBride

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Martina McBride

There simply wasn’t a more powerful female vocalist in the ‘90s and early 2000s than Martina McBride. Her influence on the next generation of country women may be enough to push her over the top as a Country Music Hall of Fame, although her credentials are good on their own. She has 16 Top 5 singles and multiple No. 1 hits, but McBride’s trademark songs are meaningful anthems like “Independence Day,” “Concrete Angel” and “Love’s the Only House.”

Mary Chapin Carpenter

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Mary Chapin Carpenter

Mary Chapin Carpenter’s contribution is overshadowed by that of her 1990s peers, and that’s not fair to her. The Grammy darling (five wins in 18 nominations) was a back-to-back Female Vocalist of the Year at the CMA Awards during an eight-year career that delivered nine Top 10 hits. “Shut Up and Kiss Me,” “Passionate Kisses” and “I Feel Lucky” are Carpenter’s most famous songs. She’s been eligible for the Country Music Hall of Fame since 2009.

Mickey Gilley

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Mickey Gilley

Mickey Gilley is an ACM Entertainer of the Year winner (1976) who achieved critical acclaim and then — a few years later — tremendous commercial success. Songs like “City Lights” were hits in the mid 1970s, but then in the early ’80s he’d become a symbol of the Urban Cowboy movement in country. That era has not aged well, which is perhaps all that’s keeping him from the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Montgomery Gentry

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Montgomery Gentry

If not for Brooks & Dunn, Montgomery Gentry would be Country Music Hall of Fame locks. Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn won virtually all the Vocal Duo of the Year trophies for the better part of a decade, with Troy Gentry and Eddie Montgomery just behind them (years later, they’re most famous among the contenders, at the very least). Instead, MoGent have just one win in the category, to go with five No. 1 hits and a catalog of songs that showed everyone how to mix rock and country properly. This duo has been eligible since 2019.

Pam Tillis

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Pam Tillis

Pam Tillis would join her father Mel in the Country Music Hall of Fame should she ever be inducted. The ‘90s hitmaker shined for eight strong years, with ten Top 5 hits and a single No. 1 (“Mi Vida Loca”). It’s possible she needed a bit more success as a pop singer before she went country, or a good second act to secure her place in the Hall. She’s been eligible since about 2010.

Rascal Flatts

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Rascal Flatts

Rascal Flatts have been Country Music Hall of Fame eligible since 2020, but it may take a bit longer for the trio to attract serious consideration. This isn’t because they lack the resume, and it’s certainly not a statement on their influence. Few 21st century country music stars have been more relevant that Gary, Jay and Joe Don. Historically, pop-friendly country artists don’t get a lot of respect until years later. Kenny Rogers and Shania Twain are two examples of artists that should have inducted sooner than they were (it has not yet happened for Twain). It may be another 10 years for these boys.

Ricky Van Shelton

Columbia Nashville

Ricky Van Shelton

For five years, Ricky Van Shelton was one of the most prominent men in country music. Songs like “Somebody Lied” and “I’ve Cried My Last Tear for You” (plus “Rockin’ Years” with Dolly Parton) were huge hits in the early 1990s. The 1989 CMA Male Vocalist of the Year lost his foothold by the end of the decade and disappeared in May 2006, when he retired. Had he remained active or at least present, his case for the Hall would be stronger.

Rodney Crowell

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Rodney Crowell

Rodney Crowell’s case for the Country Music Hall of Fame is two-fold. He was a prolific recording artist with a string of No. 1 hits in 1988 and 1989, but his songwriting could earn him a medallion sooner. Some of the more contemporary hits Crowell penned include “Making Memories of Us” by Keith Urban and “Please Remember Me” by Tim McGraw. Crystal Gayle and the Oak Ridge Boys are two artists who turned his thoughts into hits decades earlier, and an important part of Rosanne Cash’s career was molded by the two-time Grammy winner.

Rosanne Cash

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Rosanne Cash

The Grammy-winning Rosanne Cash is generally recognized as an essential artist, if not one that enjoyed tremendous commercial success in the mainstream. She’s a cross-genre artist who focused on strength of song before category, and this led to critical acclaim, Grammys and respect from her peers. “Seven Year Ache” (1981) is her most well-known hit, but for about seven years, you could count on hearing Cash’s songs on the radio. Albums like The River & the Thread (2014) prove that her lifelong commitment to song and storytelling has not diminished.

Sara Evans

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Sara Evans

Sara Evans is a reminder of how much better the ‘90s were for women in country music than the two decades that followed. Despite having a top one percent voice, she only managed one ACM Female Vocalist of the Year win and zero at the CMAs (six nominations). Still, she was an essential contributor for more than a decade with hits like “Born to Fly,” “Suds in the Bucket” and the inspiring “A Little Bit Stronger.” She’s been Country Music Hall of Fame eligible since 2017.

Sawyer Brown

Curb

Sawyer Brown

Sawyer Brown don’t get enough credit for the length of their career. The ACM Award-winning group debuted in 1984 with “Leona” and hit No. 1 soon after before becoming a hit-and-miss act at radio. A resurgence in the early ‘90s included songs like “The Walk,” “Some Girls Do” and “Thank God for You.”

Shania Twain

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Shania Twain

Shania Twain defined the 1990s. It’s a matter of when — not if — she’ll land in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Shenandoah

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Shenandoah

It’s likely Shenandoah’s resume is a bit light for Country Music Hall of Fame consideration. They dropped a handful of albums throughout the late ‘80s and early ‘90s and hit No. 1 with songs like “Two Dozen Roses” and “Next to You, Next to Me.” “The Church on Cumberland Road” was one of the first songs Rascal Flatts ever performed together, which speaks to Marty Raybon and company’s influence and appeal. The 1980s were the golden age for country bands.

Steve Wariner

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Steve Wariner

Once upon a time, the Grammys included a Best Country Instrumental Performance category, and Steve Wariner was a yearly favorite to be nominated or to win. He’s got three in this category, to go with several CMA Awards for “Holes in the Floor of Heaven” and multiple ACM nods. “Steady” might be the word to describe Wariner’s career. He’s been a prolific recording artist for more than 40 years and enjoyed more than a little success at country radio in the 1980s and ’90s. “All Roads Lead to You,” “Lynda” and “Where Did I Go Wrong” are three of his No. 1 hits.

Terri Clark

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Terri Clark

Terri Clark is a member of the Grand Ole Opry, Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame and Canadian Music Hall of Fame, but her Country Music Hall of Fame medallion may go missing awhile longer. While eligible since 2015, her legacy doesn’t cast as bright of a light over the next generation as some other artists on this list.

Trace Adkins

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Trace Adkins

Without a doubt, the last two artists listed here (Tim McGraw and Toby Keith) and maybe even the next one need to get into the Country Music Hall of Fame before Trace Adkins, but that’s not to say he hasn’t earned it. While never an awards show darling, the “You’re Gonna Miss This” delivered a number of dynamic, essential songs across a career that has spanned 25 years and several record labels.

Tracy Lawrence

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Tracy Lawrence

We kind of forget how reliable Tracy Lawrence was for most of the 1990s. The “Texas Tornado” singer ripped off 19 straight Top 10 singles to begin his career. His signature voice remains one of the most recognizable in the genre. Like Adkins, he never won the hardware, but as he ages and continues to do good things in the industry and community, his case for the Country Music Hall of Fame strengthens.

Travis Tritt

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Travis Tritt

Travis Tritt is the fourth member of the historic country music “Class of 1989” (after Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson and Clint Black), and commercially, the least successful. That’s not a slight as much as it is an understanding of how relevant the group were. “Anymore” and “Can I Trust You With My Heart” are among his few No. 1 hits, but he’s a reminder that the best songs don’t often top the charts. “T-R-O-U-B-L-E” and “Here’s a Quarter” are two signature songs that missed, but they’re among the most important from the decade.

Trisha Yearwood

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Trisha Yearwood

Trisha Yearwood has everything you’d expect from a Country Music Hall of Famer (multiple Grammys, CMAs, etc … plus a ton of hit songs) and she’s been one of the best ambassadors for the genre over the last 25 years. Honestly, if that’s not a Hall of Fame voice, then what is?

Vern Gosdin

Columbia Records

Vern Gosdin

Vern Gosdin’s case for the Country Music Hall of Fame is similar to Keith Whitley’s. His voice is Hall of Fame caliber (Gosdin was literally nicknamed “The Voice”) even if his resume isn’t. It’s likely to take renewed interest in his catalog to earn him consideration, however.

Wynonna Judd

Jason Kempin, Getty Images

Wynonna Judd

Wynonna Judd could become the next Roy Rogers, in that she’d be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame twice. That’s far from certain, however. As a solo artist, Judd has been less influential and certainly isn’t among the top two or three names someone associates with her decade of hitmaking (the early 90s). That said, she still has music to make. A great second act could earn her a second medallion one day.

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