Cramer, Smith Join Country Hall Of Fame

The late Floyd Cramer and Carl Smith are the latest artists selected to join the Country Music Association's (CMA) Hall of Fame. The artists will be formally inducted Nov. 5 during the 37th annual CMA Awards, which will be broadcast live on CBS from Nashville.

"I wish Floyd could be here to enjoy that, but I think somehow he'll know," the artist's widow, Mary Cramer, told CMA executive director Ed Benson when he shared the news. "I was hoping this would happen one day and I was hoping it would happen during my lifetime."

A pianist who was an in-demand session player early in his career, Cramer scored his biggest hit with "San Antonio Rose." His rendition of the Bob Wills song reached No. 8 on Billboard's pop singles chart in 1961. Cramer died Dec. 31, 1997, after a battle with cancer.

Smith, who racked up a string of country hits in the 1950s -- including "Are You Teasing Me," "It's a Lovely, Lovely World" and "Loose Talk" -- was a regular at the Grand Ole Opry. In the '60s, he hosted "Carl Smith's Country Music Hall" on Canadian television. He and his first wife, the late June Carter-Cash, are the parents of another artist, Carlene Carter. He has been married to country singer Goldie Hill since 1957.

"Well, that's fantastic. I'm honored, I really am. I appreciate it very much," Smith told Benson. "I was afraid I was gonna have to die first."

CMA Hall of Fame inductees are chosen by a panel of more than 300 anonymous voters appointed by the organization's board of directors.