Country Music Hall of Fame: Toby Keith, James Burton, John Anderson are the 2024 inductees

The Country Music Association announced Monday Toby Keith, James Burton and John Anderson will be immortalized in the Country Music Hall of Fame later this year.

"James, John and Toby were all original performers with clear, identifiable sounds who walked to the beat of their own drummer and inspired countless others to follow in their footsteps," CMA CEO Sarah Trahern said.

Keith and Anderson were selected for the annual “Modern Era Artist” and “Veteran Era Artist” categories. Burton was selected in the “Recording/Touring Musician” category, which rotates with the “Songwriter” and “Non-Performer” categories each year.

Their induction will elevate the roster of members to 155. Inductees are chosen by CMA’s Hall of Fame Panels of Electors, an anonymous body handpicked by the CMA Board of Directors.

The timing of Keith’s posthumous induction does not violate Hall’s induction rules against inducting an artist in the year of their death, Trahern said.

"The rules for election do not allow an inductee to be elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame in the year in which they passed away," she said. "However, because Toby was selected before he died, he will be inducted in 2024’s class.”

Toby Keith: Modern era artist

Toby Keith's road to country music was anything but ordinary. From being the son of a military veteran to trying his hand at semi-professional football and working on an Oklahoma oil rig, his diverse background and larger-than-life personality have played a pivotal role in country music’s push toward pop cultural dominance.

Despite his initial leanings towards a different career, his choice to pursue a path in music has left an indelible mark on the country music industry. While his hometown of Clinton, Oklahoma, may have been the first to hear him sing 'Should’ve Been a Cowboy,' the industry is forever grateful that he chose a different direction.

Over the past decades, Keith’s appeal was broad, with equal parts Red Dirt country soul and rugged rock flair.

“My heart hurts that [Toby did not receive this honor] when he was alive,” says Los Angeles-based Elaine Shock, who handled public relations for Keith, to The Tennessean.

Keith, who was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2022, passed away on Feb. 5, 2024.

Keith’s bravado overshadowed his talent. But that’s not to say that the 20-time country chart-topper was untalented. That’s far from the case.

Upon achieving success in 1993, Keith joked to Forbes, "[label executives who] turned me down were cutting grass for a living.”

A decade later, Mercury Records believed Keith to be at the end of his hit-making career. Undaunted, Keith began Universal-distributed Show Dog Records. He staffed the imprint with shared staff from then-rising executive Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Records.

This action followed Keith releasing "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (the Angry American)" in 2002, following the Al Qaeda attacks on American landmarks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Criticized by some for the release of a brusquely patriotic anthem that decried terrorism with a “boot in the a**,” Keith cited his motivations as being the son of a veteran and the urging of Marine Corps Commandant James L. Jones to release the song.

Beyond a fault, Keith assumed the pressure required to tell not just his truth but also his fans’ truths and the truths of any American who believed themselves to be hardworking, deserving of a break and willing to stand for something instead of falling for anything.

Sometimes, those songs took Keith beyond himself. However, the multi-platinum success of songs including “How Do You Like Me Now?!,” “Who's Your Daddy?,” “Beer For My Horses,” "I Love This Bar" and “Red Solo Cup” prove his Hall of Fame-level talent to craft songs that indelibly affected people’s emotions with truths that defied political and social barriers.

Shock notes that Keith was still planning nationwide tour dates following the standing ovation he received four months before his death for his performance of "Don't Let the Old Man In" from Clint Eastwood's 2018 film “The Mule” at the People's Choice Country Awards.

The 2017 National Medal of Arts recipient and 2015 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee was also renowned as a businessman and humanitarian. 

Among his numerous charitable works, Keith helped found Ally's House in 2004, a nonprofit group that aids Oklahoma children with cancer and their families.

At the time of his passing, he had also licensed his name to over two dozen Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill establishments nationwide.

John Anderson: Veterans era artist

Many know him best as the distinctive voice (and writer) behind hit songs such as "Swingin,'" "Seminole Wind," and "Wild and Blue," but there's so much more to the Country Music Hall of Fame class of 2024 inductee John Anderson than the well-known story of Charlotte Johnson.

For example, Anderson, an Apopka, Florida native, cut his teeth playing rock music before migrating to Nashville in 1971 with his heart set on playing country music. And while he has raised the roof at the Grand Ole Opry house 20-some times, he also helped build that very same roof, all the while telling his fellow roofers that one day he would play that stage.

"I remember saying, 'boys, one day I'm going to play down there,' and they all said, 'Oh, everybody says that.'"

His response? "Just watch me."

While playing the Opry, having five No. 1 singles, releasing more than 20 albums, being a member of the Nashville Songwriters' Hall of Fame and touring the world are all accomplishments Anderson is proud of, being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame is one accolade that has left the songwriter at a loss for words.

"I am certainly very honored and extremely proud," he told The Tennessean after hearing the news. "I'm still trying to really Just get a grip on all of it. The Hall of Fame and the great people that are in it ... Many of them were dear friends and heroes of mine. It's certainly a statement of one's career. To be honest, I'm still just trying to get a grip on the reality of it actually happening."

While Anderson cut his teeth early in his life on the music of Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones, it was the country music of the Delmore Brothers, Hank Williams Sr., Doc Watson and Jimmie Rogers that would usher him to move to Nashville.

"In Florida in 1968, you know, it was only cool to play rock and roll at the time, and we did have a little high school band some friends and myself," he said. "And we got good enough that we could get jobs at the local dances and things like that. And we played whatever the happening pop and rock songs were at the time. But before I ever moved to Nashville, I had a dear love of country music."

As he looks back over his career so far, which includes three CMA Awards, and ACM award, a Grammy nomination and an American Music Award nomination, Anderson says he carries with him an appreciation for being able to play his music and travel around the country for 50 years — and to continue to write and record music.

"To still have fans out there that support our shows and our music, whether it's old music or something brand new, I find that most of my real fans love it all," he said. "And I'm very thankful for that."

James Burton: Recording or touring artist

When guitarist James Burton got the call that he was going to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, he thought it was a joke. 

His friend Keith Urban called him before handing over the phone to the Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern to share the big news with Burton. 

Burton was speechless. He hung up and redialed the number and said to Trahern, “Is this a prank call?”

It was not, in fact, a prank call.

And now Burton, “the teen who invented American guitar,” will stand proudly beside his idols Chet Atkins and Merle Travis in the Country Music Hall of Fame. 

Burton can still barely believe it.“It’s truly an honor,” he said. 

The 84-year-old musician, who now lives in Nashville, grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana. 

At 13 years old, he remembers seeing a white 1953 Fender Telecaster electric guitar at the J&S Music store. Fender had just put the guitar on the market in 1951, only two years earlier. 

It was a love match. 

Burton knew he was going to make a career out of playing that guitar quickly, “as soon as I hit my first G chord,” he said. 

From there, Burton developed his own trademark style of playing guitar. It was inspired by his heroes like Atkins, Travis, Les Paul and Billy Byrd, but still unique to its core. 

His method includes a flat pick between his thumb and index finger and a finger pick on his middle finger. The result causes high notes to pop in lively bursts, a style he coined “chicken-pickin.’

The tones are a clucking staccato, percussive and harmonious. The technique changed the sound of country music guitar permanently. 

And as for Burton—his charm, flair and magnetic stage presence made him one of the most applauded guitarists in American history. 

Within a year of picking up the guitar, Burton became the youngest staff musician on the “Louisiana Hayride,” a Country Music show that broadcasted live in Shreveport from 1948 to 1960. There, he played with George Jones, Johnny Horton and Bob Luman.

At 15 years old, Burton helped write the rock-blues hit “Susie-Q” with Dale Hawkins in 1957. Hawkins added the iconic lyrics on top of Burton’s recognizable guitar riffs. 

Burton went on to play in Ricky Nelson’s band as rock n’ roll expanded, then headed to Los Angeles to work as a session player. He collaborated with the greats: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams Jr., Glen Campbell, the Everly Brothers, the Monkees and Buffalo Springfield. 

But for Burton, playing alongside Elvis Presley was one of the highlights of his career.

Burton became the band leader and lead guitarist for Presley in his “Taking Care of Business Band,” which he played in from 1969 to 1977, the year Elvis Presley died. 

At one of Presley’s final shows, the two riffed off one another with charisma and ease. Burton iconically played “Johnny B. Goode” alongside Presley, who summoned Burton to play the guitar behind his head. 

Burton’s guitar skills continued to expand genres from country-rock and blues to folk and pop. Other artists Burton collaborated with include Emmylou Harris, John Denver, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Costello, Robert Plant, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Tina Turner and Joni Mitchell.

“I've worked with so many great entertainers. You know, I was truly honored,” he said. “God blessed me to be at the right place at the right time.”

Of artists Keith Urban, Vince Gill and the late Chet Atkins, Burton said, “I feel like we're all family, we all work together and spend a lot of time together.”

Burton’s long and remarkable career, with his Telecaster in tow, is one that comes down to innovation and vision—not just artistry.

“I don't sit in the studio and read the notes,” he said. “They want me to create more, and that's what I would do. The other guitar players would be reading—and when you read a part in the studio, you play somebody else's idea. 

“They wanted me to play my idea. They wanted me to create,” he repeated. 

Burton’s creativity forever linked his name to the Telecaster. In 1990, Fender created the first-ever signature model with Burton’s name. Today, his series of Fenders still continues. 

In 2001, Burton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Keith Richards. “Leo Fender had no idea what he was making for the man who really knows how to play the Telecaster,” Richards said about Burton. 

In 2007, Burton joined the Musicians Hall of Fame. 

Now, Burton’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame comes as his third major Hall of Fame accolade. 

Burton has also hosted the James Burton International Guitar Festival since 2005 in Shreveport, an event that raises funds for the James Burton Foundation. Burton’s non-profit provides guitars and music instruction to schools and children’s and veteran’s hospitals.

“I just think, for me, playing guitar is a must,” Burton said, recognizing the importance of access to music for all. 

“It's a must to play guitar. I love it.”