Our 'Professor Of Country Music', Joe Morrison, received an honor that was 1) a wonderful recognition and, 2) well deserved!

Joe will be inducted into America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame in a ceremony on August 31st in LeMars, Iowa. Joe was nominated by the legendary Sherwin Linton.

In the letter announcing the honor, Bob Everhart, President of the National Traditional Country Music Association, Inc. stated 'I represent thousands of rural Americans that want to remember you far into the future. They want to make sure creators and recording artists and promoters of the country music they love does not go un-remembered. We have the deepest admiration and respect for your work.'

Others that have been honored in the past include Bill Anderson, Johnny Cash, Jim Ed Brown, Mickey Gilley, Lynn Anderson, Michael Martin Murphey, Bill Monroe and Jimmy Martin.

All of us here at KXRB and KXRB.com are not only happy that Joe has received this high honor, but are proud of our 'Professor' and so pleased that he is receiving this honor.

We received the following Press Release from Bob Phillips of the NTCMA:

One of America's most prestigious and honored awards, especially in rural USA, and rural areas around the world, is "America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame.'  Established in 1976 to honor contributors to America's rich and vibrant rural musical heritage, the Hall of Fame was established as part of the Pioneer Music Museum, which is located in a very rural area of Iowa, the small village of Anita.  Now entering its 40th year of operation, the museum is filled to the brim with past honorees that have made the trip to Iowa to receive this very appreciated honor.  According to the president of the Association, Smithsonian Institution recording artist, Bob Everhart, "We never thought we'd see 40 years of hard work bring about such an interesting approach to keeping the tradition and the heritage of rural music alive in America.  Past recipients, Patti Page, Bill Anderson, Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Mickey Gilley, Jim Ed Brown, Mac Wiseman, Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, the Everly Brothers, Hank Williams, Sr., Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family, the long list of incredibly popular music makers that sang and played their way into the hearts of America's rural folks, is huge, long, and incredibly prestigious, especially to those who understand the importance of keeping America's rural traditions and musical heritage alive.  Today, country music performers from around the world flock to America's most 'rural' state, Iowa, to participate in the music, the stories, the rural food, and the brotherhood the music has sustained over the years.
     The year 2015, marks the 40th year of honoring those who have made significant contributions to the music of rural America.  According to Bob Everhart, president of the National Traditional Country Music Association, "It is very important to us to be able to recognize and honor those that have made the choice to keep country music country.  For more than half a century, Joe Morrison who makes his home in Sioux Falls, SD, has been an ambassador for traditional country music.  Growing up in Mounds View, Minnesota, Joe was introduced to the music he would come to love and respect by artists like Hank Williams Sr., Webb Pierce, Carl Smith, and the impeccable harmony singing of artists like the Louvin Brothers, the Osborne Brothers and more.  Joe started his lifelong career as a disc jockey on country music radio in Madison, South Dakota in 1964. He also delighted his listeners in Kansas City, and Topeka, Kansas over the years, and in 1969 he started doing the same thing on KXRB radio in Sioux Falls.  Sharing his knowledge, stories, and conducting extensive interviews with the artists, Joe has not only kept his listeners informed, he expanded and preserved the traditional country music we all love.  It is our privilege to induct this very deserving individual into the 'media' category of the Hall of Fame.  He will be inducted on Monday, August 31, at 7pm during the first of seven days of all kinds of traditional country music at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds in LeMars, Iowa."

On a personal note, I can't tell you how much I have learned about our favorite music from Joe. I've mentioned elsewhere that I really started appreciating country music in the 1970's. Well, thanks to my friend Joe, I've not only learned a ton about that music, but a ton more about country music as far back as the 1940's and 1950's. From legendary stories about legendary artists to what many would consider trivial facts (Who played steel guitar on that classic, who wrote this classic, who was the drummer on that other classic), Joe truly is our 'Professor of Country Music'.

But perhaps the greatest compliment I can give this man who has become, not only a member of America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame and a legend here at KXRB, is this: He's truly a great guy and a good friend.

Congratulations, Joe. And for everyone else, be sure and listen to our Hall of Famer Monday through Thursday from 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. You'll love the music, and there's a very, very good chance you'll learn something to boot!

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