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Acuff began his music career in the 1930s, and gained regional fame as the singer and fiddler for his group, the Smoky Mountain Boys. He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1938, and although his popularity as a musician waned in the late 1940s, he remained one of the Opry's key figures and promoters for nearly four decades. In 1942, Acuff co-founded the first major Nashville-based country music publishing company— Acuff-Rose Music— which signed acts such as Hank Williams, Roy Orbison, and The Everly Brothers. In 1962, Acuff became the first living person to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. • Roy Acuff Website • Roy Acuff Discography

Rhett Akins was born on October 13, 1969 in Valdosta, Georgia. By age eleven, he and his two younger brothers had formed a band. In 1992, after performing in the theme park show "Music Country Music" at Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, Texas, Akins moved to Nashville, Tennessee, first working as a demo singer before Decca Records signed him to a recording contract. In 1989 Akins married former wife Paige, with her he has two children, daughter Kasey Lee and son Thomas Rhett.• Rhett Akins Website • Rhett Akins Discography

Signed to Decca Records in 1996, Allan made his debut on the United States country music scene with the release of his single "Her Man", the lead-off to his gold-certified debut album Used Heart for Sale, which was released in 1996 on Decca Records. A second album, It Would Be You, followed in 1998 on Decca. Allan's third album, Smoke Rings in the Dark, was his first album for MCA Nashville (to which he has been signed ever since) and the first platinum album of his career. Its successors, Alright Guy (2001) and See If I Care (2003), were all certified platinum as well, while 2005's Tough All Over and 2007's Greatest Hits were both certified gold. A seventh studio album, Living Hard, was released later in 2007.

Overall, Allan's seven studio albums and Greatest Hits package have produced twenty-two singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including three that reached Number One: "Man to Man" and "Tough Little Boys" in 2003, and "Nothing On but the Radio" in 2004. • Gary Allan Website • Gary Allan Discography

In addition to his own material, Anderson co-wrote Big & Rich's single "Lost in This Moment", a Number One hit on the country music charts in mid-2007. Anderson switched to the Columbia label in 2007, and his second album, C'mon!, was released on August 5, 2008. The second single from the album, "I Still Miss You", became his first Top 5 country hit.• Keith Anderson Website • Keith Anderson Discography

Andrews saw her biggest chart success in 2001 with the song "Who I Am", a #1 country hit and the title track to her second studio album, which was certified gold in the United States. A third album, Now was released in 2003 to lower sales, while a fourth album (tentatively titled Ain't That Life) was never released due to DreamWorks' closure. In late 2008, Andrews signed to Carolwood Records, an imprint of Lyric Street Records, however, she was dropped from the label in 2009 without issusing an album. • Jessica Andrews Website • Jessica Andrews Discography

Arnold was born on May 15, 1918 on a farm near Henderson, Tennessee. His father, a sharecropper, played the fiddle, while his mother played guitar. As a boy Arnold helped on the farm, which later gained him his nickname - the Tennessee Plowboy. Arnold attended Pinson High School in Pinson, Tennessee, where he played guitar at school functions and events. He dropped out before graduation to help with the farm work, but continued performing, often arriving on a mule with his guitar hung on his back. Arnold also worked part time as an assistant at a mortuary. • Eddy Arnold Discography • Eddy Arnold Books

His picking style, inspired by Merle Travis, Django Reinhardt, George Barnes and Les Paul, brought him admirers within and outside the country scene, both in the United States and internationally. Atkins produced records for Perry Como, Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Eddy Arnold, Don Gibson, Jim Reeves, Jerry Reed, Skeeter Davis, Connie Smith, Waylon Jennings and others.

Among many honors, Atkins received 14 Grammy Awards as well as the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, nine Country Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year awards, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. • Chet Atkins Discography • Chet Atkins Books

Austin got her start in music opening for Johnny Cash in Australia at the age of 14. She later moved to the United States where she took up acting. She is most known in America for playing the role of Pippa McKenna on The Facts of Life in the late 1980s. In the 1990s, she started a singing career, teaming up with Phil Radford in 1992 to form a duo called Colorhaus, which released one album, Water to the Soul.• Sherrie Austin Website • Sherrie Austin Discography

Although his signature song was "Back in the Saddle Again," Autry is best known today for his Christmas holiday songs, "Here Comes Santa Claus" (which he wrote), "Frosty the Snowman," and his biggest hit, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

He is a member of both the Country Music and Nashville Songwriters halls of fame, and is the only celebrity to have five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. • Gene Autry Website • Gene Autry Discography