Steel Guitar Hall Of Fame

Roger Crawford · From: Griffin, GA USA

Are players still being inducted into the SGHOF? There are several players that certainly qualify.

Mike Sweeney · From: Nashville,TN,USA

No Roger they aren't inducing any new people. The last was Neil Flanz.
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Zumsteel steel guitars, Telonics and Peavey amplifiers, GHS strings.

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

It’s kind of an odd, esoteric concept. I suppose it fit in with the annual ISGC’s in St. Louis. As I understand it, the plaques are on display at the hotel where the conventions were held.

There are zillion “coffee table” type picture books on guitars and guitar players. Maybe that would be an appropriate alternative to the SGHOF.

I agree that there is getting to be a bit of a backlog of players (and builders) that deserve credit for their contributions to the steel guitar’s advancement. A book that could be updated every 10 years or so would be more accessible to players and fans than a hallway in a St. Louis hotel.

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

I thought the plaques were no longer on display and in the possession of the Scott family. I thought I read that somewhere.
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Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting.

Roger Crawford · From: Griffin, GA USA

The Millennium Hotel is defunct, so I doubt that the plaques are on display there. I assume the HOF is still a functioning organization, so why have no new players been inducted?

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

Maybe this could answer your question to some extent, Roger.
http://www.scottysmusic.com/abouthof.htm

I stand corrected about the location for displaying the plaques. Therein lies the crux of the matter, I suppose. There is literally no hall for the Hall of Fame. There are considerable costs to cover for a brick n mortar location, as well as for the manufacture of the plaques themselves, and some sort of ceremony to make presentations. Since the ISGC is no more, there also went 99% of the people who would ever visit a steel guitar museum/hall of fame or attend a presentation ceremony, and the hope of covering or recouping the associated costs.

Craig A Davidson · From: Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin USA

Whatever happened to all that HOF money that was raised?
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2013 Williams D-10, 2019 Williams D-10, 1970 Fender Twin, Evans SE200, Fender Tonemaster Twin, Hilton pedal, Jagwire Strings.

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

More answers to old questions.
https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=363950&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Craig, apparently a good deal of the funds went into re-establishing SteelRadio.

Craig A Davidson · From: Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin USA

Well I was under the impression that those funds raised were going to be for a building. So be it I guess.
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2013 Williams D-10, 2019 Williams D-10, 1970 Fender Twin, Evans SE200, Fender Tonemaster Twin, Hilton pedal, Jagwire Strings.

Roger Crawford · From: Griffin, GA USA

Thanks, Fred. According to the article you posted, one or two players per year should be inducted into the HOF. Looks like they are way behind in adding players.

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

That’s my impression too, Richard. The passion for steel guitar world the Mr. Scott had does not appear to have been passed on to the following generation. Oddly enough, life seems to exist for people outside of our realm of interest and expertise. All we can do is take pity on them….

I like the idea of a virtual museum, which could have a section for nominating inductees, and I also think a coffee table book would be really cool.

Darrell Criswell · From: Maryland, USA

Larry Dering · From: Missouri, USA

If you've followed the trail it was said that Nashville was approached and declined. Scott family stored the plaques an should anyone want them they expected a considerable sum to hand over. There was posts about this and the financial status sometime back. This comes up every so often but to me the issues are beyond hope.

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

We have an archived section here on the forum called International Steel Guitar Convention. Maybe it could be taken out of mothballs and turned into a HoF section, where we only talk about inductees and nominate new ones ourselves.

Does anybody own the HoF concept? Is there a corporate board, or a copyright? If the Scotts are not going to proceed with activity, who is to stop anyone else? Fer cryin out loud, it’s just a little club that wants to recognize outstanding members and pay tribute to their contributions and preserve their memories. Nobody’s trying to rule the world here.

Regarding the requested price for the plaques, the cost of producing them I believe was around $4500 each. So yes, I can see that the Scotts might want to at least cover that. The question is, are they really necessary for setting up a “virtual hall”. I don’t think so. Plus, maybe they want to keep them in the family as an heirloom collection. Or maybe the families of Hall Of Famers would like them.

Gauging by the participation of forum members in this thread so far, I would say the level of interest in the project is minimal, even in the target audience.

Darrell Criswell · From: Maryland, USA

Does the Scott family understand that these have very little value other than for scrap metal (bronze $2.6 per pound). I think the museum in Nashville might want a very few of them, but they probably have limited capacity for storing something like this. I remember a post from one of Scotty's sons where he was planning to place them in a special museum for steel guitar which seems like something that will never happen. it is hard for me to imagine they would not want to get rid of them.

Bill McCloskey · Posted 2 Jun 2024 9:58 am

Not to sound too cynical, and no disrespect to those who were nominated and elected, but things like Halls of Fame, Best of.. Marketer of the year, are all created, usually by event companies, to drive traffic to events and to publicize events. Once the event goes away, the purpose of the award show goes away. The Hall of Fame, while an honor to those chosen, was in its most basic form, a marketing tool to drive traffic to Scotty's event. Once that event is gone, the marketing tool becomes irrelevant.

In the end, the only thing that matters is promotion of steel guitar to a broader community, because that is the only thing that is going to keep steel guitar alive.

Herb Steiner · From: Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064

I was a member of the Steel Guitar Convention Board (the committee that selected the players to be inducted to the SGHOF) from 2003 to 2013, when I resigned from the board. I agree with Bill McCloskey's analysis of the raison d'etre for the SGHOF.

I believe the cost to manufacture each plaque was around $2500 +/-, depending on the cost of materials and the artwork involved. I never lifted a plaque, but I recall being told they weighed in the neighborhood of 60 pounds. I may be wrong about that.
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My rig: Infinity and Telonics.

Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

Herb, I think several of us here have concurred on that notion. Thank you for what you did when you could.

This is as far as the virtual HoF has gotten:
http://www.scottysmusic.com/abouthof.htm

This pic of Speedy with his plaque tells a story about the value of the award, at least to the recipients and perhaps their families:

Darrell Criswell · From: Maryland, USA

I found this posting from 2022 from Michael Scott. Does anyone know what has happened to this if anything?

"I have read all the postings pertaining to the Steel Guitar Hall Of Fame and its future. I know that everyone has suggestions as to what and how the SGHOF should be handled. Locally, I have met with every possible facility within a 200 mile radius of St. Louis. Even the Blues HOF&M does not have the space to house the plaques and its multitude of items of memorabilia in its archives. I have requested assistance from the steel guitar community and was met with absolute silence. When I’m asked what can we do to help, I mention the desperate need for financial backing and they disappear. And some of them criticize me as doing nothing. Since then, we have been hit with this pandemic and everything came to a stop. I had an idea to offer videos of the ISGC as an incentive for donations, but that was cut short as they have been illegally posted online. Even after Scotty begged that they not be posted. (I have the e-mails and replies stating this)

Unfortunately, the International Steel Guitar Convention will not be reinstated in the near future. In the meantime, I plan to have fundraising shows featuring some of the inductees and other top players from around the world in hopes of raising money for the SGHOF.

There has been talk about having (some of) the plaques replicated just so they can be placed in a bar. Just like the ISGC videos, all the plaques are federally copyrighted and it is illegal to reproduce them without written permission. It’s no surprise that the cost produce the plaques has gone up. They are now well over $4,000 each and we plan to restart inductions as soon as it’s financially possible.

With all my efforts being shot down, I had to go outside our steel guitar community looking for support. I am pleased to announce that a substantial 2022 donation has been pledged from the Sage Foundation and progress has started. The planning grant will support the effort to research and decide on the future location and structure for a permanent Steel Guitar Hall Of Fame and Museum and the next stage of restructuring. A lot is finally happening.

I plan to attend the Dallas show in March and I hope to meet with members of the SGHOF nominating committee who are there and others to discuss the future of the SGHOF. If you plan to attend, please come up and say hi so we can talk about what is next in our quest."

"Michael Scott
President
The Steel Guitar Hall Of Fame, Inc.
St. Louis, MO.
a 501(c)(3) “Not For Profit” Organization
Tax ID #43-1344660"

Roger Crawford · From: Griffin, GA USA

Did anyone get to talk to Micheal at the Dallas show, and can relay what was said?

Dennis Ellerbee · From: Jackson, Georgia US

Roger, I nominated John David Call several years ago and was told they were going to meet at the Texas show to discuss it, but I don’t know if that ever happened.

Michael Scott · From: St. Louis, Missouri, USA

There are a few issues in this thread that need to be addressed. Starting with The Steel Guitar Hall Of Fame being owned by the Scott family. Legally, it is its own entity and by the Missouri state charter, 501(c)(3) “Not For Profit” status, it is not allowed to be owned by any private individual or group of individuals. Since its institution, the Scott family has actually served as its custodian. As the representative of the Scott family, I am its president and CEO. I'm responsible for the plaques and other historic items and memorabilia collected by Scotty throughout his career. The plaques and all the other items in the SGHOF archives will eventually be displayed in a permanent home.

There are many players who are qualified to be inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall Of Fame. Applications have continued to be received over the years. The nominating committee is being regenerated. Since the induction of Neil Flanz in 2016, the SGHOF has become “International” (Neil was Canadian). Opening it to all of the pro players, promoters and manufacturers around the world. We will restart inductions as soon as possible.

Herb is right. The plaques were originally around $2,500.00 each. I checked on having a few of them remade for the inductees that have not received their copy yet and the restarting of new plaques being produced. The current price is now closer to $6,000.00 each. The plaques in storage have an average weight of 55lbs and the heaviest is 85lbs. We anticipate continuing the inductions and housing the full collection with all inductees and annual additions in the permanent home of the SGHOF.

Our project to rebuild the SGHOF web site is underway and we hope to have it up and running real soon. The pursuit of a new home for the SGHOF is ongoing. There are several locations being considered. The present economic situation in this country, that we all are going through, is making this search a bit more difficult. When a location is found and/or inductions are reinstated, I will announce it here on the forum and a series of broadcasts on SteelRadio.org will be employed.

After the loss of my dear mother and sister, the past year has been very challenging for all of us in the Scott family. And now, I am dealing with a few health issues of my own. However, more frequent "what's happening" type postings will be made in the near future.

Thank you all for your input.

Sincerely,
Michael Scott
President
The Steel Guitar Hall Of Fame, Inc.
St. Louis, MO.
a 501(c)(3) “Not For Profit” Organization
Tax ID #43-1344660
scotty@scottysmusic.com

Roger Crawford · From: Griffin, GA USA

Thanks for that information, Michael!

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

Thanks for checking in and setting some records straight, Michael. My condolences on the loss in your family, and good luck with your own health.

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