Induction:
Medallion Ceremony
Congratulations Class of 2022, Country Music Hall of Fame Members
The Country Music Hall of Fame's newest members were honored during a private, invitation-only Medallion Ceremony at the Museum in October 2022, with heartfelt testimonials and once-in-a-lifetime musical tributes.
Medallion Ceremony: October 16, 2022
Longtime Nashville record company executive Joe Galante, incendiary pianist and singer Jerry Lee Lewis, and influential country vocal stylist Keith Whitley officially joined the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday, October 16. The trio of country music luminaries “took very different paths to greatness,” said Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO Kyle Young, but together they became the Hall of Fame’s 147th, 148th, and 149th members during a star-studded Medallion Ceremony filled with tributes both heartfelt and humorous and musical performances that ranged from tender acoustic songs to raucous romps that brought the crowd to their feet.
About the Medallion Ceremony
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s annual Medallion Ceremony honors the newest members of the Country Music Hall of Fame as they are formally inducted. The invitation-only event takes place in the Museum’s CMA Theater and is produced by the staff of the Museum. Friends, family, colleagues, and fellow Country Music Hall of Fame members honor the new inductees with tributes and songs. A Hall of Fame member inducts the member-elect by presenting the inductee with a commemorative medallion to be worn each time the membership gathers.
Bronze plaques bearing the inductees’ likenesses are unveiled for the first time during the ceremony before hanging permanently in the Museum’s Rotunda. Each inductee gives an acceptance speech. The remarks are always heartfelt, sometimes funny, and often emotional as the new members of the Hall of Fame reflect on their journeys to country music’s highest honor. The ceremony ends with everyone singing “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.”