The 15-time Grammy Award-winner was honored Thursday evening in Raleigh, N.C.
Ricky Skaggs gratefully accepted thunderous applause and a prestigious accolade Thursday evening in Raleigh, N.C. at the 29th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards. The 15-time Grammy Award-winning living legend was officially inducted into the IBMA Bluegrass Hall of Fame by fellow Grammy winner and longtime friend Marty Stuart.
“I appreciate this award so much,” Skaggs said as he accepted the highest honor in bluegrass music. “This means so much to me because it’s the music of my youth. It’s the foundation of everything I’ve ever recorded. I want to thank the IBMA and all those who voted for me. And I want to thank the Lord Jesus. He deserves all glory.”
Stuart eloquently and enthusiastically praised Skaggs during the on-stage presentation: “He’s a radical revisionist, he’s a traditionalist, he’s a keeper of the flame. He’s an innovator, he’s always keeping his music moving forward. He’s invited so many people into the world of country and bluegrass music, he has become a universal touchstone to our kind of music.”
Skaggs was inducted in the IBMA Bluegrass Hall of Fame as part of a 2018 contingent that also included Paul Williams, Tom T. Hall and the late Dixie Hall. But wait, there’s more: Last spring, he was announced as a 2018 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He will be formally inducted into that august institution next month.
Here is a 2012 video of Skaggs and Stuart performing a spirited rendition “Rawhide” (no, not the theme from the classic TV western).