Alphabetical List of Inductees

2009 Inductees
Danny Cox The Dinks Larry Lingle Lee McBee The Sensational Showmen	The Serfs Shooting Star Billy Spears The Young Raiders
Directors Award: Jim Halsey Bob Hapgood Award: Bobby Poe & The Poe Kats
2009 Induction Ceremony:     story and photos

A singer and actor from Cincinnati who has made Kansas City his home for most of the past four decades, Danny was a big part of the Vanguard/Cowtown folk music scene in KC and has recorded for national labels. He's acted onstage and appeared in feature films.

Their two novelty songs on the Sully label are favorites with record collectors, it's their song ?Penny A Tear Drop? that was a hit with Kansas fans. Beginning as the Raging Regattas, they became the Dinks at their first recording session in 1966. They were not a horn band, as many Kansas bands were back then.

In a long career that took him from bands in his hometown to singing and playing with two bands already inducted into the Hall of Fame, Topeka's Jerms and Lawrence's Fabulous Flippers, Larry ended up in Los Angeles disco bands before spending 1981 to 1993 as one of Frankie Valli's Four Seasons.

One of the best harmonica players around, this gravelly voiced blues singer has a regular gig every Sunday at BB's Lawnside BBQ in Kansas City . He's recorded under his own name and fronting the Dallas band Mike Morgan & The Crawl.

A succession of bands using this name played in Kansas from the mid-'60s into the mid-'70s. The three lineups who were together the longest and are best remembered by the music fans of Kansas are the ones chosen for induction. The original group from Concordia were at the ceremony along with the two later versions who have had reunion performances in recent years. The final lineup of the Showmen, from Parsons & Pittsburg, performed at the induction ceremony.

Formed in 1965 at his KU fraternity house, this was Mike Finnigan's first band in Kansas , but it wouldn't be his last. Mike was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005, but the entire band deserves consideration for its blues-based music, much of it written by Topeka native Lane Tietgen. While recording their album for Capitol in New York City , three of the guys were invited to jam with Jimi Hendrix, and they became a part of history when two tracks from the jam appeared on Jimi's Electric Ladyland .

This Overland Park band was on the verge of superstardom more than once during the 80s. Their fresh, original material got them record deals with Virgin and Geffen. Recently they introduced a new lead singer (Ronnie Platt) and new violinist (Janet Jameson) for a series of live dates. A new album is in the works.

Fiddler Billy Spears began playing professionally back in the early-50s and traveled with top country acts including Ferlin Husky, Jean Shepard and T. Texas Tyler before settling in Lawrence , where he continues to live and perform. His bands have included many of the area's top players, and many have gone on to successful careers in county music. The best know of those is guit-steel player Junior Brown.

This band took up where the original Rising Suns left off. After losing their equipment in a wreck and giving up the band name, the guys decided to go back out on the road as the Young Raiders. Eventually about a hundred of the best musicians in Kansas would serve time in the band. Many of them are still playing music for a living.

Jim Halsey's career spans over 50 active years as artist manager, agent and impresario, discovering and/or guiding the careers of such illustrious personalities as Roy Clark, The Oak Ridge Boys, Waylon Jennings, The Judds, Reba McEntire, Minnie Pearl, Clint Black, Tammy Wynette, Mel Tillis, Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakum, The Judds, Lee Greenwood, Hank Thompson and many others.

He has organized and presented country music performances all over the world, in many places, for the first time. His efforts have expanded the horizons of country music into Europe and Asia, while maintaining one of the most highly skilled and motivated booking and management companies in the world.

Jim Halsey has received many honors and awards, is prominent in business, arts and entertainment, and lectures and teaches extensively at colleges and universities around the world.

One of the first female vocalists and bandleaders to affect the rock 'n' roll music scene in Kansas, Ann was equally at ease singing rockabilly or covering the latest James Brown hit. She later moved to Las Vegas, where she found success until damage to her vocal cords ended her singing career. She now lives in California.

The harmonies of this group led by the Dimmel brothers made them local favorites in Kansas City and across the Midwest. Their old records bring big bucks these days online from collectors around the world. Their song ?Graduation Goodbye? still gets radio airplay each spring.

In a career that stretched from the late '50s until he died in 2005, Big Al had hits on the pop, soul, disco and country charts.

A band best remembered for their vocal harmonies, they played in Kansas City clubs and beyond from the early '60s until just a few months ago.

Out of the Western plains, this band moved to Emporia at one point and found the same success it had enjoyed at home. The band was popular at dances all across Kansas.

This popular rhythm and blues band released an album on Capitol Records back in 1969, which featured a hot horn section and the searing hot lead vocals of Dani Gregory. Some of the guys are still playing.

When he played a Wichita jazz festival as a 14-year-old, he surprised a lot of people. He's no longer a surprise but one of the top jazz guitarists in the world. Metheny has won 17 Grammys in categories from rock to New Age.

This singer-songwriter, who eventually went home to Chicago, was a part of the Good Karma stable of acts in Kansas City, touring with Brewer & Shipley, the Ozark Mountain Daredevils and Danny Cox, before recording his first album for Kama Sutra Records. Since then he has continued to record, written a novel and acted in many movies and TV shows.

This folk and blues singer moved first to Lawrence, then to Kansas City, building a solid reputation for her songwriting and crystal-clear vocals. She has cut back on her live performing in recent years but continues to write and record.

One of the best of the many horn bands in Kansas back in the 1960s, this band was at the top of the heap in Hays. They toured extensively and always drew large crowds. Several veterans of the band continue to perform across the country.

This couple was a big part of the Kansas City music scene for many years, with a music publishing company and a record label, and as songwriters. ?My Happiness? was written by Betty Blasco and Borney Bergantine, and became one of the most popular songs in the country in 1948. At least six different acts hit the charts with it that year, and Connie Francis took it to No. 2 on the Billboard chart in 1959. The song has been recorded by hundreds of different artists, and it's also recognized as the very first song ever recorded by Elvis Presley in 1953.

Songwriter Bill Post is the first winner of this award, named for the 2006 Hall of Fame inductee and founding member of the Hall of Fame board of directors, who died last year. Post's career began during World War II, when he entertained troops in India and Burma before starting his own publishing firm in Los Angeles. He and his first wife, Doree, wrote and recorded many songs for several major labels, and more than 100 of their songs have been recorded by other artists.

Connie Stevens had a huge hit with their song ?Sixteen Reasons? in 1960. ?Song for Young Love? was a hit for the Lettermen the same year. Eddie Cochran recorded ?Weekend,? and Country Music Hall of Famer Don Robertson recorded ?Life Goes On.?

After Doree's death in 1961, Bill returned to Kansas, where he continued to write and record. His farm near Arkansas City has been turned into a musical museum that has drawn thousands of visitors.

This guitarist played in Kansas bands like Rathbone and Private Parts in addition to playing lead for Bob Seger and Chicago.

The first American band to be nominated for a reggae Grammy award, they still play an occasional gig in the Kansas City area.

The Common Few? started in Chanute, KS, in 1964 and played through 1971. They played a lot of soul music during the early years, mostly in Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma The Common Few? was actually the evolution of several earlier incarnations that were short lived, i.e. ?The Argonauts,? ?The Executers? and ?The Slippers.? In 1968, The Common Few?? recorded their only single, ?Love Makes A Man? which received regional recognition. Take a look at their video collage of photos then and now.

She may still hold the record for the most appearances on the Tonight Show. A favorite of Johnny Carson, this KC songstress was almost a regular on the show back in the late 60s. She still draws appreciative crowds in Kansas City & elsewhere.

Since her early days singing in her family's country band, to her days with Wichita rock groups, Martina has made and impression. She does in now on a bigger stage as a multi-platinum selling recording act for RCA. She has sold more than 15 million records and has been named Female vocalist of the year more than once by the ACM and CMA.

With a more soulful sound than most Topeka bands, the Suns toured extensively and were named by Teen Screen magazine the top act in the Midwest & picked for stardom. After losing most of their equipment in a bus crash, they passed the name on the the Dalton Gang from Coffeyville , who kept the name going after moving to Lawrence . Both versions are included in this nomination.

Lead singer Roger Calkins made the girls swoon; guitarists credit Frank Plas as an inspiration; and drummer Mike Weakley found success later with the Electric Prunes in California.

Formed in 1968, Tide was led by guitarist Jim Stinger and it was an eclectic ensemble whose sound incorporated a mix of free jazz, country, blues and rock. They were known for instrumental virtuosity, original compositions and fearless improvisation.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee (1991) (The Byrds)

The late Gene Clark graduated from Bonner Springs High School in the Kansas City area and was a member of several area folk music groups when he was ?discovered? by Randy Sparks of the New Christy Minstrels. After performing with the famed folk group in Los Angeles on two albums, he left the group and resurfaced as one of the founding members of the Byrds. He was the primary songwriter with that group, writing such hits as ?I'll feel A Whole Lot Better.? He left in 1966 because he didn't enjoy the demands of traveling with the chart-topping band. In the years following the Byrds, he released many other albums including "White Light" and his 1974 masterpiece "No Other". Around 1987 he began to develop serious health problems that finally led to his death in 1991, caused by a bleeding ulcer.

From the mid-60s to the early 70s, few bands in Kansas worked the crowds as hard as Eric & The Norsemen. Led by Roger Johnson, they epitomized the garage bands of the era, covering the latest hits with a few original songs thrown into the mix. Entertaining at weekend dances and high school proms, they built a loyal following across the plains.

This exciting performer from Leavenworth. Kansas is one of the state's best known and most successful musical exports. She picked up a guitar at the age of 8, and played in local bands in her teens before attending Berklee College for a year. She then headed to California, getting her first break in 1986 writing the music for the movie ?Weeds.? She won Grammy Awards for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Ain't It Heavy" (1992) and "Come To My Window" (1994). Her recent battle with cancer and her outspokenness on a variety of political topics keeps her in the news, but it's her music that keeps her and her fans going strong.

This Wichita resident is one of the best jazz guitar players going. He worked with a variety of leading musicians from John Handy and Ginger Baker to Paul Simon and the Fifth Dimension. He became a major name in the 1960s and 1970s for his de facto contribution to the emerging fusion movement, and has remained one of its ardent promoters throughout his career. He taught at the Colorado Institute of Art in the early, 1990s, and joined the faculty of Portland State University in 1995, developing the curriculum for the Jazz Guitar program. In 2004, Jerry returned to hometown Wichita, Kansas, where he continues to perform, record, tour, and conduct clinics at Universities and schools.

Kelley Hunt is a regular performer on blues festival stages across the country, and her most recent album made the top ten on Billboard Magazine's blues chart. She is best described as a Roots R&B singer/songwriter/piano player, and has combined the influences of R&B, roots rock, blues, gospel, folk and soul into her own style and sound. Kelley is also known for her burning boogie-woogie piano style that has become her trademark.

Another inductee from the mid-60s to early-70s, this Topeka band went through a lot of styles and personnel, but never dropped their quality. The band's leader, Galen Senogles, has been a successful Los Angeles area record executive, producer, and engineer, and is now in the film business coordinating the music for both features and television. Other members of the band have performed regularly with The Four Seasons and America.

The band was organized in 1965, as a four-piece group. In 1966, the group became an eight-piece show band, performing in a six-state area, billed as the King Of The Show Bands. The group released several records in the late 1960's, including ?Get Down With It? & ?Mellow Moonlight?. Recently this band from McPherson celebrated forty years together. 1965-2005 is a long time for any group to stay together, but these guys have, and there's no end to their act in sight. Led by Hall of Fame board member Bob Hapgood, they'll put on an exciting show in March.

A band that grew out of KU's Sigma Chi fraternity, Steve ?Spider? Smith made sure the band was one of the best in Lawrence. With lead singer ?Spanky? Landis out front, there was never any doubt. Like many other bands, Spider & the Crabs went through several personnel changes, so it'll be interesting to see how many show up for the induction ceremony.

Bud Ross, a bass player and vocalist for Larry Emmett & The Sliders and The Bygones in Kansas City, started a guitar amplifier business in his garage.  Tired of blowing out speakers, Ross built the first bass amp that could handle the power to make bass guitars practical rock instruments.  His Kustom Electronics outgrew the garage, and Ross moved it to Chanute, Kansas, where it grew to become one of the largest musical equipment companies in the world in the late 60s and early 70s.  The distinctive "tuck and roll" upholstery of the amplifiers is remembered fondly by baby boomers.  Kustom also developed the first hand-held radars for police to use in catching speeders. 

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee (1987)

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