Music

Dottie West, Ricky Skaggs to join Country Music Hall of Fame

By Annie Martin   |   March 28, 2018 at 10:54 AM
Ricky Skaggs will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame later this year. File Photo by Nell Redmond/UPI

March 28 (UPI) -- Dottie West and Ricky Skaggs will join the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood announced at a news conference Tuesday in Nashville that the late country star and Skaggs, 63, will be inducted into the hall of fame this year, along with late fiddle player Johnny Gimble.

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West's son, Kerry West, and longtime friend Jeannie Seely remembered the singer at the event, according to Rolling Stone. Seely noted that West, who died at age 58 in 1991, was a fan of lamps and candles.

"I can't help but think that she's gonna have every damn light in heaven burnin' tonight," she said of West, who was known for such singles as "Here Comes My Baby Back Again" and "A Lesson in Leavin."

Skaggs, a singer and mandolin player known for "Highway 40 Blues" and "Country Boy," attended the press conference, where he paid tribute to his wife and family. Gimble, a onetime member of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, died at age 88 in 2015.

"Congratulations to the 2018 class of inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame: Johnny Gimble, @RickySkaggs, and Dottie West. #HonorThyMusic," the Country Music Hall of Fame wrote on its official Twitter page.

The 2018 Country Music Hall of Fame Medallion ceremony will take place later this year.