Achievers Alphabetical Listing

OWEN HALE- Muscle Shoals, Alabama

• Few studio drummers have worked with so many artists whose names are instantly recognizable.
• Hale contributed to the music of rock and roll superstar Bill Haley by playing on Haley's last album before his death.
• He has also played on albums by Janie Fricke, Tammy Wynette, David Allen Coe, Levon Helm, Mac Davis, and Jerry Reed, George Strait, Doug Stone, George Jones, Mark Chesnutt, Trisha Yearwood, Toby Keith, Merle Haggard

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JACK HALL- Mobile, Alabama

• Jack teamed with brother Jimmy to form the soulful southern rock group Wet Willie during the 1970's
• He co-penned the groups signature tune "Keep On Smilin'", a #10 hit in 1974.

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JIMMY HALL- Mobile, Alabama

• Lead singer for Wet Willie, one of the South's premier rock groups of the 70's
• Biggest hit "Keep On Smilin'" #10
• The band released 10 albums containing the hit singles "Keep On Smilin", "Street Corner Serenade", "Weekend", and "Shout Bama Lama".

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MARK HALL- Muscle Shoals, Alabama

• Began his career as studio manager at his father's FAME Studio in Muscle Shoals.
• Moved to Nashville to pitch songs and head up the Nashville office of FAME Publishing.
• He was instrumental in getting songs cut : "Like There Ain't No Yesterday" by Blackhawk, "Deep Down" by Pam Tillis, "Leave Him Out of This" by Steve Wariner, "Crime of Passion" by Ricky Van Shelton, "Holding Her and Loving You" by Earl Thomas Conley, "How Do I Turn You On" by Ronnie Milsap and the Reba McEntire single "The Fear of Being Alone".
• In 1995 Mark became a full time writer of FAME and immediately had success with the Tim McGraw hit "I Like It, I Love It", which stayed at number one on the country charts for five weeks.

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RICK HALL- Russellville, Alabama

• Studio owner/producer/publisher
• "Father of Muscle Shoals Music"
• Owner of FAME Studio & Publishing Co.
• He produced the first million seller to come out of Muscle Shoals - Arthur Alexander's "You Better Move On".
• Hall won recognition as Billboard magazine's 1971 Producer of the Year.
• More than thirty gold and platinum singles and albums have come from his studio
• He worked with R&B artists: Jimmy Hughes, Joe Tex, Clarence Carter, Arthur Conley, Wilson Picket, The Tams, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Lou Rawls
• Pop artists: Tommy Row, The Osmonds, Donny Osmond, Paul Anka and Andy Williams
• Country artists: Mac Davis, T.G. Sheppard, Shenandoah, Jerry Reed, Vern Gosdin, Waylon Jennings and Alabama.

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RODNEY HALL - Muscle Shoals, Alabama

• Took over FAME Recording Studio after father, Rick Hall's retirement
• Started Muscle Shoals Records
• On the Board of Directors for the Alabama Music Hall of Fame

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VERA HALL- Livingston, Alabama

• Primarily a gospel singer whose specially was the unaccompanied spiritual
• She recorded with the Library of Congress label in 1937 and 1939-1940, and with the Folkways label in 1948 through 1950.
• She worked on the Folk Song concert at Columbia University in New York City in 1949.
• Recorded on the Atlantic and Prestige labels in 1959.

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VICTORIA HALLMAN- Mobile, Alabama

• At 6 years old, she cut her first record, "Send My Daddy Home." Also as a child she appeared as a guest on the Steve Allen and Merv Griffin shows regularly.
• She was a finalist in the Miss Alabama contest and later became the pageant's official vocal coach.
• Bob Hope encouraged her to move to Los Angeles where he got her a manager and a job, singing backup for Connie Stevens.
• Buck Owens heard her performance and she became his opening act and lead singer of the "Buckaroos", which won her a nomination for an Academy of Country Music award for Touring Band of the Year in 1980.
• In 1979 she was booked as Miss Honeydew on the Hee Haw Show.

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 GREGG HAMM - Florence, Alabama

•      Recording engineer for Muscle Shoals Sound Studios.
•      Engineered sessions with Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Wilson Pickett, Willie Nelson, Dire Straits, Dr. Hook and many more.
•      Co-Produced "Twelve Steps From The Tip Jar" for Christian Turner.
•      Currently a partner in Sheffield Sound recording studio.

Y.Z. HAMILTON- Anniston, Alabama

• Often identified as state fiddle champion of Alabama by virtue of a large convention he won in Birmingham in 1925. There he overcame such well?known fiddlers as A.A. Gray, Earl Johnson, and Charlie Stripling
• Recorded "Hamilton's Special Breakdown" and "Fifty Years Ago" for Paramount in 1926. In 1927 "Old Sefus Brown" and "Because He Was Only a Tramp" for Gennett.
• He also fiddled with a popular Birmingham band, Uncle Bud and His Boll Weevils, which regularly played on the radio, did school house performances, and entered fiddlers' conventions.

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W.C. HANDY- Florence, Alabama

• Handy was one of the first to compose and publish a tune with the word "blues" in it, "Memphis Blues" in 1912.
• He composed and published many classic blues tunes including "St. Louis Blues," "Beale Street Blues," "Ole Miss," and "Yellow Dog Blues."
• 1913 - formed publishing company, Pace & Handy Music Co. in Memphis. The Handy Music Co. is still being run by Handy's descendents.
• Handy moved his Memphis Orchestra to New York in 1917, started the Handy Record Company in 1922, and recorded with his own band until 1923.
• He was on recording sessions with Red Allen and Jelly Roll Morton.
• His autobiography Father of the Blues was written in 1938, the same year that he was given a tribute concert in Carnegie Hall.
• A film of Handy's life, St. Louis Blues, was released in 1958, starring Nat King Cole
• The W.C. Handy Award is the most prestigious honor awarded to blues artists.
• Handy's "St. Louis Blues" was the most recorded American song from 1890-1954

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WILLIAM WISE HANDY- Birmingham, Alabama

• Cousin to the world famous W.C. Handy.
• His distinguished music career spanned forty five years in Birmingham Schools.
• In 1957 Handy opened the only music store for "colored people" in Birmingham and operated the store until his death in 1977.
• One of his prized students was Joe Guy, regarded as one of Birmingham's most prolific trumpeters.

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HAPPY GOODMAN FAMILY- Albertville, Alabama

• Rusty singing bass and playing the acoustic guitar, Howard on the piano, Sam singing baritone and lead, and Vestal singing lead and tenor parts.
• From 1969 to 1978, the family, its individual members, and its hit songs won three GMA Dove Awards, nine Singing News Fan Awards and two NARAS Grammy Awards.
• In the early 1980's, they won a few more industry awards.
• From the beginning of charting history in January 1970 until the early 1990's, the Happy Goodmans and their various members charted 57 Top-40's, including 28 Top 10's and five Number One's.

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AL HARKINS- Birmingham, Alabama

• He sang with many groups, including The Song Fellows, The Song Masters, The Sons of Song and Danny Gaither and the Golden Keys Quartet.
• He was a co-founder of the Victors Quartet, one of the first Southern Gospel quartets to be on a national recording (Capitol Records).
• His songwriting included hundreds of Gospel songs, including "It's In Your Hands," and the Imperials recording of "I've Been Born Again," "He Didn't Come Down," recorded by the Down East Boys, and "All Cleaned Up," recorded by the Dixie Echoes.

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JAMES HARMAN- Anniston, Alabama

• Formed the Icehouse Blues Band and then the R&B/blues-based James Harman Band.
• He has backed bluesmen such as Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, T-Bone Walker, Freddie King, and Big Joe Turner onstage.
• Harman's song "Kiss of Fire" was included in the soundtrack for the film The Accursed, which starred Jodie Foster.

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EMMYLOU HARRIS- Birmingham, Alabama

• Songwriter, artist, bandleader, musicologist, industry leader, and innovator
• This extraordinary bandleader has tapped and nurtured the likes of Ricky Skaggs, Rodney Crowell, James Burton, Glen D. Hardin, Tony Brown, Vince Gill, Emory Gordy Jr., Hank DeVito, the Whites, and Albert Lee.
• Harris has won a total of eight Grammys, six of them for her solo work.
• 1980 CMA Female Vocalist of the Year.
• She's a member of the Grand Ole Opry, she has been president of the Country Music Foundations' board of directors, and she continues to be mentor at large to Music Row.
• Named the 1999 recipient of the Century Award, Billboard's highest honor for distinguished achievement.

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RICHARD "DICKY" HARRIS- Birmingham, Alabama

• Prolific instrumentalist on trombone.
• Member of the Bama State Collegians.
• Played with Lucky Millinder (1949-50), then briefly with Buck Clayton and Illinois Jaquet. With Arnett Cobb from 1953-56.
• Has played with Sammy Davis and other Broadway stars.
• Part of numerous Broadway show bands.

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SHAD HARRIS- Birmingham, Alabama

• Considered one of the first jazz arrangers in Birmingham.
• Played with Fess Whatley and the Jazz Demons.
• One of the most sought after musical directors and accompanist in Birmingham at the Frolic and Famous Theaters.

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STEWART HARRIS- Birmingham, Alabama

• Composer, songwriter, producer and publisher
• Harris wrote "A Player, A Pawn, A Hero, A King" for the Burt Reynolds movie "Hooper," and had songs in Loni Anderson's "Country Gold" and "Killing At Hell's Gate" starring Robert Urich.
• He has also had songs in the television series "Flamingo Road".
• He is the co-writer of the theme for ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos
• He has written songs for numerous artists such as: Waylon Jennings, Randy Travis, Amy Keys, Andy Williams, Michael Johnson, Mickey Gilley, Anne Murray, Lacy J. Dalton, Levon Helm, Tammy Wynette, Reba McEntire, Eddie Raven, Leon Everett, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Travis Tritt, and many others.
• "No One Else On Earth", from Wynonna Judd's multi-platinum debut album held the number one position in Billboard for four weeks. Billboard selected "No One Else On Earth" as the 1992 Song of the Year.

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FREDDIE HART- Loachapoka, Alabama

• Signature #1 hit "Easy Lovin" won two Grammy Awards and named "Song of the Year" by CMA in 1971 & 1972
• The Academy of Country Music honored him with five awards in 1972: Entertainer of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Single of the Year.
• Has had 14 number one singles, 34 top ten singles and has recorded 43 albums.
• Over 200 of Freddie's songs have been recorded.
• Hart's songwriting has generated hits other singers including Porter Wagoner, Charlie Rich, George Morgan, Carl Smith, Kenny Rogers, Patsy Cline, George Jones, Charlie Rich, Buck Owens, Porter Waggoner, Lefty Frizzell, Billy Walker, Tammy Wynette and many others.
• His first number one song was "Loose Talk" recorded by Carl Smith in 1955.
• He sang in the background of the Richard Widmark movie, When Legends Die.

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ERSKINE HAWKINS- Birmingham, Alabama

• Leader of the "Bama State Collegians".
• Composer and trumpet player whose jazzy number "Tuxedo Junction" became the most popular song of the World War II era
• Billed as "The Twentieth Century Gabriel"
• During the 40s and 50s, Hawkins helped discover several first-rate jazz musicians, including Paul and Wilbur Bascomb, Sammy Lowe, Haywood Henry and Avery Parrish.
• He became one of the principal influences on a young rhythm and blues piano player named Ray Charles.

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ROGER HAWKINS- Sheffield, Alabama

• Member of the FAME rhythm section
• Drummer with Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section
• Founder of Muscle Shoals Sound Studios
• Co-Producer of Mel And Tim's "Starting All Over Again," Paul Simon, Bob Seger and others.
• Backing artists such as Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Paul Simon, Cher, Julian Lennon, Bob Seger, Glenn Frey, Delbert McClinton, T. Graham Brown, The Oak Ridge Boys, Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, the Staple Singers, Cat Stevens, Rod Stewart Eric Clapton and Traffic, Sam and Dave, , Eddie Rabbitt, , Willie Nelson, , Linda Ronstadt, Percy Sledge, and many others.

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DR. CHARLES G. HAYES- Verbena, Alabama

• Founded and organized The Cosmopolitan Church of Prayer Choir
• Choir is considered one of the world's greatest Traditional Gospel Singing Choirs.
• They have recorded thirty albums and five single 45's over the past 40 years.
• The Choir has performed with such great artists as the late Mahalia Jackson, the late Clara Ward and Singers, the late Ruth Davis and Singers, Evangelist Shirley Caesar and Singers, Rev. James Cleveland and Singers, and a host of others

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CHARLIE HAYWARD- Holt, Alabama

• Bass player with the Charlie Daniels Band
• Worked with other band members in composing and arranging many of the bands biggest hits including "Devil Went Down To Georgia"

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HEAVENLY GOSPEL SINGERS- Birmingham, Alabama

• One of Jefferson County's finest gospel quartets, was formed in the mid-1930s under the leadership of the late great Leo Manley.
• This quartet left Birmingham about 1941, headed for Cleveland under the sponsorship of the powerful Bishop Williams.
• For the fifteen years they toured across the U.S. and Canada and recorded for several labels on both the East and West Coasts.
• During the 1950s the group settled in Los Angeles

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DON HELMS- New Brockton, Alabama

• Originally hired by Hank Williams in Montgomery in 1943.
• He returned to The Drifting Cowboys Band in 1949
• Played steel guitar on all of Hank Williams' recordings after the release of "Lovesick Blues".
• He played with Ray Price, Ferlin Husky, Loretta Lynn, Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams Jr. and Jett Williams.

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SHELTON "SCAD" HEMPHILL- Birmingham, Alabama

• Trumpet with Bessie Smith early 1924
• Played with Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Teddy Hill, Duke Ellington, Benny Carter, Chick Webb, the Mills Blues Rhythm Band and others.
• Was called "the greatest first trumpet player in the business" by Louis Armstrong.

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BILLY HENDERSON- Andalusia, Alabama

• Top Ten songwriter for T.Graham Brown, Mindy McCready, Michael Martin Murphey, Gus Hardin, and Travis Tritt.
• Songs also recorded by Ty Herndon, Jerry Reed, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Marty Stuart.

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MARTY HENNIS- Chatom, Alabama

• Has led music and played piano and organ in churches across the country since the early 1980's.
• He has traveled with and played for such artists as Bill Gaither Trio, The Gaither Vocal Band, Bobbie Mason, Christ Church Choir, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Cynthia Clawson, and others.
• Nominated in 1998 for a Dove Award by the Christian Music Association for Gospel Song of the Year for "Come Unto Me", recorded by the group Anointed.
• In 1995, won a Dove Award for "Always Deeper Still" recorded by Sandy Patti

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FRANK "HAYWOOD" HENRY- Birmingham, Alabama

• Saxophone/clarinet/flute
• One of the most versatile woodwind musicians in jazz
• Worked with Erskine Hawkins Band, Tiny Grimes, Earl Hines, Sy Oliver, & the NY Jazz Repertory Company

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J. EARL HENSLEY- Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham promoter.
• Duke Ellington was the first band Hensley brought to Birmingham.
• He also promoted Jazz giants Count Bassie, Cab Calloway, Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong, Nat "King" Cole, Jimmy Lunceford, Lucky Millinder, Marian Anderson, Ella Fitzgerald, Chick Webb, Erskine Hawkins and Laura Washington.
• Hensley was the first promoter to bring the Jackson 5 to Birmingham.

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TY HERNDON- Butler, Alabama

• His first single, "What Mattered Most," broke the record for highest debut release and soon topped the Billboard and Radio & Record's charts.
• He received Best New Artist award at the 1995 Country Radio Music Awards.
• Male Artist at the 1996 TNN Music City News Awards; nomination for Favorite New Artist - Country at the 1996 American Music Awards; and nominations from Performance Magazine Reader's Poll and the British Country Music Awards.
• His first single "What Mattered Most" was named the 1996 Music Row Song Of The Year.

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KELSO HERSTON- Florence, Alabama

• Consummate "Music Man" session musician on over 200 artists, producer of over 50 top recording artists publisher of over 100 songs, and responsible for over 5000 nationally acclaimed commercial jingles.
• It's Kelso's guitar you hear on the Roy Orbison classic "Pretty Woman".
• He produced thirteen #1 records in a row on Sonny James.
• He also produced Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Bobbie Gentry, Ferlin Huskey, Crystal Gayle, Del Reeves, George Jones, Faron Young, and many others.
• He established United Artists' and Capitol Records' first Nashville offices.
• He was the original music director for the television show "Hee Haw".
• He established the first commercial jingle business in Nashville winning national acclaim with over fifty Clio and Diamond Awards for excellence.

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JAKE HESS- Athens, Alabama

• Known as "Mr. Gospel Music"
• Hess sang with the John Daniel Quartet, Sunny South Quartet and the Original Melody Masters before joining the Statesmen Quartet in 1948 as an original member and lead singer. In 1963, Hess formed The Imperials, who backed Elvis Presley
• Winner of four Grammy awards.
• Hess was a founding father of the National Quartet Convention and a director of the Gospel Music Association.
• Was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1995
• SESAC presented him with its "Lifetime Achievement Award"

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JACKSON HILL- Birmingham, Alabama

• From 1968 he taught at Bucknell University, where he was conductor of the school orchestra, 1969-79, and in 1980 was named head of the music department.
• He was a visiting fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge, England, in 1982-83.
• He has made a specialty of studying Japanese traditional music and has written several articles on the subject.
• Among the awards he has won for his compositions are the McCollin Prize of the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia (1979) and a National Flute Association Award (1981).
• Hill's musical style ranges from complex, often experimental procedures in his orchestral and chamber works to the harmonically conservative, utilitarian approach of his many sacred choral compositions.

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JAMES HILL- Bessemer, Alabama

• Baritone for the Fairfield Four gospel group, Hill was one of the original members.
• In the 1950's, Hill joined Isaac Freeman to form another quartet, the Skylarks.
• The original four reunited in 1980 for a concert in Birmingham, Alabama.
• The group backed up a number of performers, including Johnny Cash, John Fogerty, Steve Earle and Elvis Costello.
• "I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray," album won a Grammy as best traditional soul gospel recording in 1997.
• Hill also played a minor role in the Robert Altman movie "Nashville."

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TEDDY HILL- Birmingham, Alabama

• One of the earliest "Fess" Whatley students to lead his own big band.
• He played with Bessie Smith in the early 20s
• In 1932 formed his own group which survived until 1940.
• The band, which at times featured Dizzy Gillespie, Choo Berry, Taft Jordan, Dicky Wells, Roy Eldridge, Bill Coleman, Shad Collins and Frankie Newton
• Toured Europe twice playing the Moulin Rouge in Paris and the London Palladium.
• In 1940, became manager of Minton's Playhouse, one of the top jazz clubs of New York City, and presided over the emergence of bebop.

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DONNA HILLEY- Birmingham, Alabama

• Named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Tree International in 1978, Hilley became president and chief executive officer in 1994.
• Developed the Gospel and Contemporary Christian branch of Tree Publishing
• In 1992 Entertainment Weekly magazine ranked Hilley #4 in its "Ten Most Powerful People in Country Music" in 1994 she was noted as one of the "Women We Admire" by Mirabella magazine. She was named "Woman of the Year" by the Business and Professional Women's Club in 1978, and in 1984 she was honored as "Lady Executive of the Year" by the National Women's Executives.
• She has served on the Board of Directors of the Gospel Music Association
• 1994 she was named to the prestigious American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) board. In the same year, she was elected to the National Music Publisher's Association (NMPA) board.

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EDDIE HINTON- Tuscaloosa, Alabama

• As a session guitarist, Hinton played on hit records recorded by Wilson Pickett, Arthur Conley, Aretha Franklin, Joe Tex, Solomon Burke, Percy Sledge, The Staple Singers, The Dells, Johnny Taylor, Elvis Presley, The Box Tops, R.B. Greaves, Boz Scaggs, and Otis Redding.
• He toured as guitarist for R&B greats, Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge and Ted Taylor.
• His songs have been recorded by artists such as Aretha Franklin, Percy Sledge, Bobby Womack, Cher, Tony Joe White, Gregg Allman, Bonnie Bramlett, Dusty Springfield, Lulu, The Box Tops, The Sweet Inspirations, UB40, and the Nighthawks.
• Since his death, Zane Records has released several of his recordings.

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DR. WILBUR H. "BODIE" HINTON, JR.- Tuscaloosa, Alabama

• He was director of bands at Auburn University from 1956 to 1969 and served as head of Auburn University Department of Music from 1969 to 1984.
• The band practice field at Auburn University was dedicated the Wilbur "Bodie" Hinton Field in the fall of 1986.
• Dr. Hinton is a member of Phi Beta MU, The American Bandmasters Association, the Alabama Music Educators Association, MENC, Phi Kappa Phi, and ODK. He is a past president of the Alabama Music Educators Association and the Alabama Bandmasters Association.
• Dr. Hinton was inducted into the Phi Beta Mu Hall of Fame in 1976.

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RICKY HIRSCH - Mobile, Alabama

• A musician/composer and BMI songwriter
• In 1969, he helped found the Seventies rock and roll band eventually known as WET WILLIE
• In 1976, Ricky worked with Gregg Allman and Cher on their duo album.
• He has worked with Cher, Bonnie Bramlett, Joan Armatrading, Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Natalie Cole, Henry Mancini, Marilyn McCoo, John Denver, Mel Torme, Lou Rawls, The Righteous Brothers, Stephen Stills and Billy Vera.
• He has written songs for Bonnie Raitt, Alabama, Cher and Tina Turner.
• He has worked on television shows such as "The Tonight Show," "American Bandstand," "Family Ties," and "Days of Our Lives."

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(For Achievers Ho - Hy)