MUSIC

Country Music Hall of Fame ceremony: The 10 best quotes

Brian Mansfield
Special for USA TODAY
Bobby Bare, left, receives a medal from Tom T. Hall during the Medallion Ceremony at Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville on Oct. 27.
  • Kenny Rogers%2C Bobby Bare and Cowboy Jake Clement joined the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday
  • The invitation-only event featured performances by Darius Rucker%2C Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris

Kenny Rogers, Bobby Bare and the late producer/songwriter Cowboy Jack Clement entered the Country Music Hall of Fame Sunday during an invitation-only ceremony in Nashville. The night included performances by Kris Kristofferson, Darius Rucker, Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris; heartfelt speeches; and lots of great one-liners. These were the best:

10. "Ain't I something?" — Bobby Bare

9. "If you're not having fun, you're not doing your job." — Cowboy Jack Clement, via his daughter, Alison Clement

8. "I met the Cowboy in the summer of 1977, and sometime during the conversation he asked me how many records I sold. When I told him, he said, 'What's your problem?' I thought, 'This is my guy.' " — John Prine

7. Don Schlitz, who wrote Rogers' crossover smash The Gambler, said he recently changed the chords to the song when he performs it live. Why? "People were thinking I was the worst karaoke singer ever — and they started requested that I sing Lady next."

6. "Songwriters are still the brightest people in any room." — Bobby Bare

5. "I don't know why songwriters struggle. They have to, I guess. If you're a young songwriter, quit struggling. It makes you look bad." — Tom T. Hall, inducting Bare

4. Hall, who rarely appears in public, announced that he suffers from "PTSS. That's Post-Traumatic Storyteller's Syndrome. Now, this is a real thing. It even has a Latin name. The Latin name, loosely translated, means 'fear of one's own b*******.'"

3. "It's not all wet towels and naked women. I was so disappointed to learn that." — Kenny Rogers, on the life of a touring musician

2. "In this business, anyone who comes before you is a god. Anyone who comes after you is a punk." — Garth Brooks, inducting Rogers into the Hall

1. "The Hall of Fame is forever, baby!" — Kenny Rogers