Three country legends got their due Sunday night, Oct. 26, when Ronnie Milsap, Hank Cochran and Mac Wiseman were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The Nashville ceremony featured plenty of performances, and Rolling Stone documented some of the best moments.
Here is a collection of memorable quotes:
Jim Lauderdale on Wiseman: "I started listening to him when I was a kid, and I think he's one of the greatest singers we've ever had. I love the way he has bridged a gap with bluegrass and country music."
Charlie Daniels on Wiseman: "He has been a musical idol of mine since I learned my first three chords on the guitar. Tonight, Mac Wiseman, you the man."
Suzi Cochran on behalf of her late husband: "This is one of the most exciting nights of my life. It's bittersweet, but wonderful. He would have been very proud. I want to thank the CMA for making two of Hank's dreams come true tonight. One is being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The other is having Alison Krauss sing one of his songs."
We were able to sit down with Wiseman last month, and he expressed gratitude for the special nod.
"I was beginning to think they'd forgotten me," he said, half-jokingly. "It's the highlight of my musical career. This is my 70th year professionally in the music business. It's like the Baseball Hall of Fame or NASCAR, or whatever. It's the top accolade, you know? I'll be in a lot of good company down there."
And Milsap — legally blind since birth — recently shed some light on his background.
"I discovered by playing in a band on the weekends. I love to sing and play, and it made people happy," he said. "And it made me happy. I decided that's really what I wanted to do. I explained to my counselors at North Carolina I wanted to do that, and they said, 'You'll fail.' And there were a few times maybe I did, but I was right enough."
