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Unlike nearly all singers, Tammy Wynette stood as still as a statue when she sang, even when shifting into her most dynamic and powerful notes. That trait was one of many discussed during a nearly two-hour panel discussion of Wynette's career Saturday (Aug. 21) at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

"It just made sense," said Joe Galante, chairman of Sony Music Nashville, reminiscing about the Judds' first record deal in 1983. "To me, it never seemed like we were taking a chance because they were great."

During a career of more than fifty years, Ray Stevens has never aimed songs at the pop or country market-even though he has had great success in both. He never sat down to write or record a song thinking it had to be funny or serious-even though he's had plenty of both.

Riders in the Sky pay tribute to the golden age of the silver screen with a ninety-minute, mixed-media presentation featuring extremely rare film clips from the 1930s and '40s, live performances of classic music of the era, and trademark humor. In a historical overview, the group explores the rise and heyday of the singing cowboy phenomenon. Education and entertainment ... it's the cowboy way!

Songwriter Roger Murrah's lyrics to the hit song "High Cotton" draw directly on his experiences growing up on a small family farm in Alabama. The song's stanzas juxtapose images of poverty and hard work with descriptions of parents who anchor their children in love and faith-and the comfort that comes with that. The chorus drives that comforting feeling home with a sing-along anthem about how children from such families tend to remember the security more than the hard times.

When Tanya Tucker was a young girl, her father, Beau Tucker, took her to a Grand Ole Opry performance. As they sat in the pews of the Ryman Auditorium watching the performers, her father leaned over and asked, "Wouldn't you rather be up there doing it than out here watching it?"

Like many of the musicians honored by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in its Nashville Cats series, Eddie Bayers endured poverty, hardship, and family tragedy early in life. Unlike many others, though, Bayers didn't come from a hardscrabble rural background; instead, the Maryland son of a highly decorated military officer was left homeless in his mid-teens and eventually had to persuade a member of a crime-syndicate family to let him live.

Made Possible by Ford Motor Company Fund.

Bill Anderson, early in his career, absorbed two important points about songwriting. "Number one, if you're going to be a songwriter, you need to have a good imagination," he said. "Number two, you need to realize truth doesn't always rhyme."

Made possible by Gibson Guitar Corporation

Mary Martin stepped from the backstage green room to take a seat in the front row of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's Ford Theater just moments before the start of the third annual Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum, in which a veteran female music executive is honored for her indelible impact on Nashville and American music. Upon seeing her, the audience rose in a spontaneous standing ovation for Martin, the night's honoree. The packed crowd didn't want to wait for a formal introduction to express their love and respect for the former record executive and talent manager.