Ten Acts Who Belong in the Country Hall of Fame: Charles K. Wolfe (#10)

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One of the series of discussions I'm doing now will deal with ten people who I think should be in the Country Music Hall of Fame. I can hear you snoring already. This particular subject was suggested to me by @JohnRoberts Last night at the concert Robbie Fulks referred to me as "a walking encyclopedia of country music," which is gracious and kind of him, but not accurate. Eddie Stubbs is a walking encyclopedia of country music. I'm more like a pamphlet. Having said that, however, the subject of "walking encyclopedias of country music" brings to mind the first person on my "top ten people who should be in the Country Music Hall of Fame." #10: Charles K. Wolfe And you're saying, Who??? Dr. Charles K. Wolfe (1943-2006) was unquestionably one of country music's most brilliant scholars. He authored countless books and liner notes over the course of his sadly too-brief career (being felled by complications of diabetes at the age of 62), ranging from Leadbelly to the Louvin Brothers. His writing style was wonderful, something to simultaneously envy and emulate. Warm and friendly, he educated your socks off you without you even realizing he was doing it. I particularly love his sweet words closing the chapter about Stringbean in Kentucky Country: "When he died, it was as if a long Kentucky summer had ended." Wolfe's knowledge of country music was extensive and limitless. His forte (yes, we country music scholars, real and pretend [I'm the latter], have areas of specificity) was the early, formative years of country music, best displayed in A Good Natured Riot: The Birth of the Grand Ole Opry. There's another author/scholar on this list later, and I have very strong emotions about the exclusion of the men and women who are giving up a well-paying job to be hillbilly historians. (When people jokingly tell me to "remember them when I'm rich and famous" once I complete the book I'm writing, I reply, "You don't get rich writing books about hillbilly music, you get rich writing Harry Potter books!" ) We're only five years away from the centennial of recorded country music history. It's the people like Dr. Wolfe who have lovingly and painstakingly researched that history to make sure that future generations do not think that country music began with "Achy Breaky Heart." Dr. Charles K. Wolfe Born: August 14, 1943, Sedalia, Missouri Died: February 9, 2006, Murfreesboro, Tennessee (complications of diabetes) Claim to Fame: scholar, historian, author Best work: In Close Harmony: The Story of the Louvin Brothers A Good-Natured Riot: The Birth of the Grand Ole Opry Kentucky Country Classic Country: Legends of Country Music Here's the first hit by the Louvin Brothers, whom Wolfe wrote about in the book In Close Harmony.