Dolly Parton, “Smitty” lead Hall class

Dol­ly Par­ton is the grand­daugh­ter of a preach­er. Pho­to by John Ley­ba, The Den­ver Post

Dol­ly Par­ton and Michael W. Smith led a group of per­form­ers who were induct­ed into the Gospel Music Asso­ci­a­tion Hall of Fame on Mon­day Feb. 2.

Par­ton is known for her coun­try music hits, grab­bing 26 No. 1 coun­try sin­gles. She has also record­ed numer­ous gospel songs. Par­ton, fhe grand­daugh­ter of preach­er, opened Dol­ly­wood theme park in 1985 and on the grounds is the South­ern Gospel Muse­um and Hall of Fame.

Smith is an icon in the gospel music world, gar­ner­ing 42 Dove Awards along with three Gram­my Awards to just name a few of his acco­lades. He remains a men­tor to many young artists and is involved with teen out­reach.

Also induct­ed on Mon­day were Dr. Bob­by Jones, the Dix­ie Hum­ming­birds and music pro­duc­er Lari Goss.