Hank Thompson (music)
Encyclopedia
Henry William Thompson (September 3, 1925–November 6, 2007), known professionally as Hank Thompson, was an American country music
entertainer whose career spanned seven decades. He sold more than 60 million records worldwide.
Thompson's musical style, characterized as honky tonk
Western swing
, was a mixture of fiddles, electric guitar and steel guitar
that featured his distinctive, smooth baritone vocals.
His backing band, The Brazos Valley Boys, was voted the top Country Western Band for 14 years in a row by Billboard. The primary difference between his music and that of Bob Wills
was that Thompson, who used the swing beat and instrumentation to enhance his vocals, discouraged the intense instrumental soloing from his musicians that Wills encouraged; however, the "Hank Thompson sound" exceeded Bob Wills in Top 40 country hits.
Although not as prominent on the top county charts in later decades, Thompson remained a recording artist and concert draw well into his 80s.
The 1987 novel Crazy Heart by Thomas Cobb
was inspired by Thompson's life, specifically by his practice of picking up a local band to back him when he toured. In 2009 Cobb's novel was turned into a successful film
directed by Scott Cooper
and starring Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges
.
, Thompson was interested in music from an early age and won several amateur harmonica contests. He decided to pursue his musical talent after serving in the United States Navy
in World War II
as a radioman and studying electrical engineering at Princeton University before his discharge. He had intended to continue those studies on the GI Bill following his 1946 discharge and return to Waco. Later that year, after having a regional hit with his first single was "Whoa Sailor" for Blue Bonnet Records, he chose to pursue a full time musical career.
1952 brought his first No. 1 disc, "The Wild Side of Life
," which contained the memorable line "I didn't know God made honky-tonk angels" (which inspired songwriter J.D. Miller to write the answer song
, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels
") which became the first hit single for pioneer female country vocalist Kitty Wells
. Other hits followed in quick succession in the 1950s and 1960s.
Thompson began singing in a plaintive honky tonk style similar to that of Ernest Tubb
but desiring to secure more engagements in the dance halls of the Southwest, reconfigured his band, the Brazos Valley Boys, to play a "light" version of the Western swing
sound that Bob Wills
and others made famous, emphasizing the dance beat and meticulous arrangements.
From 1947 to 1965, he recorded for Capitol Records
, then joined Warner Bros. Records
, where he remained from 1966 through 1967. From 1968 through 1980, he recorded for Dot Records
and its successors, ABC Dot and MCA Records
. In 1997, Thompson released Hank Thompson and Friends, a collection of solo tracks and duets with some of country music's most poplar performers. In 2000, he released a new album, Seven Decades, on the Hightone label. The title reflected his recording history during the 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s.
Thompson was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
in 1997. He continued touring throughout the U.S. until shortly before he became ill. Often, he worked with a reconstituted version of the Brazos Valley Boys that included a few original members.
. He went into hospice
care at his home in Keller, Texas
. Thompson's last performance had been on October 8, 2007 in his birthplace of Waco, Texas. He died a month later on November 6, 2007 from lung cancer, aged eighty-two.
According to his spokesman Tracy Pitcox, also president of Heart of Texas Records, Thompson requested that no funeral be held. On November 14, a "celebration of life," open to both fans and friends, took place at Billy Bob's Texas, a Fort Worth, Texas
country and Western nightclub that bills itself as The World's Largest Honky Tonk.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
entertainer whose career spanned seven decades. He sold more than 60 million records worldwide.
Thompson's musical style, characterized as honky tonk
Honky tonk
A honky-tonk is a type of bar that provides musical entertainment to its patrons...
Western swing
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
, was a mixture of fiddles, electric guitar and steel guitar
Steel guitar
Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
that featured his distinctive, smooth baritone vocals.
His backing band, The Brazos Valley Boys, was voted the top Country Western Band for 14 years in a row by Billboard. The primary difference between his music and that of Bob Wills
Bob Wills
James Robert Wills , better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western Swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western Swing and universally known as the pioneering King of Western Swing.Bob Wills' name will forever be associated with...
was that Thompson, who used the swing beat and instrumentation to enhance his vocals, discouraged the intense instrumental soloing from his musicians that Wills encouraged; however, the "Hank Thompson sound" exceeded Bob Wills in Top 40 country hits.
Although not as prominent on the top county charts in later decades, Thompson remained a recording artist and concert draw well into his 80s.
The 1987 novel Crazy Heart by Thomas Cobb
Thomas Cobb (author)
Thomas Cobb is an American novelist and author of Crazy Heart which was adapted into the 2010 Academy Award winning 2009 film Crazy Heart.Cobb attended the University of Houston, where he studied fiction writing with Donald Barthelme...
was inspired by Thompson's life, specifically by his practice of picking up a local band to back him when he toured. In 2009 Cobb's novel was turned into a successful film
Crazy Heart
Crazy Heart is a 2009 American musical-drama film, written and directed by Scott Cooper and based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb. Jeff Bridges plays a down-and-out country music singer-songwriter who tries to turn his life around after beginning a relationship with a young...
directed by Scott Cooper
Scott Cooper (director)
Scott Cooper is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is known for writing, directing and producing the 2009 film Crazy Heart starring Jeff Bridges...
and starring Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
.
Biography
Born in Waco, TexasWaco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
, Thompson was interested in music from an early age and won several amateur harmonica contests. He decided to pursue his musical talent after serving in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as a radioman and studying electrical engineering at Princeton University before his discharge. He had intended to continue those studies on the GI Bill following his 1946 discharge and return to Waco. Later that year, after having a regional hit with his first single was "Whoa Sailor" for Blue Bonnet Records, he chose to pursue a full time musical career.
1952 brought his first No. 1 disc, "The Wild Side of Life
The Wild Side of Life
"The Wild Side of Life" is a song made famous by country music singer Hank Thompson. Originally released in 1952, the song became one of the most popular recordings in the genre's history, spending 15 weeks at No...
," which contained the memorable line "I didn't know God made honky-tonk angels" (which inspired songwriter J.D. Miller to write the answer song
Answer song
An answer song is, as the name suggests, a song made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. It is also known as a response song. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s through 1950s...
, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels
It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels
"It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" is a 1952 country song written by J. D. "Jay" Miller, and originally recorded by Kitty Wells. It was an answer song to the Hank Thompson hit "The Wild Side of Life."...
") which became the first hit single for pioneer female country vocalist Kitty Wells
Kitty Wells
Ellen Muriel Deason , known professionally as Kitty Wells, is an American country music singer. Her 1952 hit recording, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", made her the first female country singer to top the U.S. country charts, and turned her into the first female country star...
. Other hits followed in quick succession in the 1950s and 1960s.
Thompson began singing in a plaintive honky tonk style similar to that of Ernest Tubb
Ernest Tubb
Ernest Dale Tubb , nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" , marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music...
but desiring to secure more engagements in the dance halls of the Southwest, reconfigured his band, the Brazos Valley Boys, to play a "light" version of the Western swing
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
sound that Bob Wills
Bob Wills
James Robert Wills , better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western Swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western Swing and universally known as the pioneering King of Western Swing.Bob Wills' name will forever be associated with...
and others made famous, emphasizing the dance beat and meticulous arrangements.
From 1947 to 1965, he recorded for Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, then joined Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
, where he remained from 1966 through 1967. From 1968 through 1980, he recorded for Dot Records
Dot Records
Dot Records was an American record label and company that was active between 1950 and 1977. It was founded by Randy Wood. In Gallatin, Tennessee, Wood had earlier started a mail order record shop, known for its radio ads on WLAC in Nashville and its R&B air personality Bill "Hoss" Allen...
and its successors, ABC Dot and MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
. In 1997, Thompson released Hank Thompson and Friends, a collection of solo tracks and duets with some of country music's most poplar performers. In 2000, he released a new album, Seven Decades, on the Hightone label. The title reflected his recording history during the 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s.
Thompson was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that is uniquely associated with music community in the city of...
in 1997. He continued touring throughout the U.S. until shortly before he became ill. Often, he worked with a reconstituted version of the Brazos Valley Boys that included a few original members.
Retirement and death
On November 1, 2007, Thompson canceled the rest of his 2007 "Sunset Tour" and retired from singing, two days after being released from a Texas hospital and diagnosed with aggressive lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
. He went into hospice
Hospice
Hospice is a type of care and a philosophy of care which focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's symptoms.In the United States and Canada:*Gentiva Health Services, national provider of hospice and home health services...
care at his home in Keller, Texas
Keller, Texas
Keller is a city located in Tarrant County, Texas, in the United States. In 2011, it was ranked 93rd in Money Magazine's list of best cities to live in the United States. It is a northern suburb of the city of Fort Worth and is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex...
. Thompson's last performance had been on October 8, 2007 in his birthplace of Waco, Texas. He died a month later on November 6, 2007 from lung cancer, aged eighty-two.
According to his spokesman Tracy Pitcox, also president of Heart of Texas Records, Thompson requested that no funeral be held. On November 14, a "celebration of life," open to both fans and friends, took place at Billy Bob's Texas, a Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
country and Western nightclub that bills itself as The World's Largest Honky Tonk.
Albums
| Year | Album | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Hank Thompson Favorites | — | Capitol |
| 1955 | Songs of the Brazos Valley | — | |
| North of the Rio Grande | — | ||
| 1956 | New Recordings of Hank Thompson's All-Time Hits | — | |
| 1957 | Hank! | — | |
| 1958 | Hank Thompson's Dance Ranch | — | |
| 1959 | Favorite Waltzes by Hank Thompson | — | |
| Songs for Rounders | — | ||
| 1960 | Most of All | — | |
| This Broken Heart of Mine | — | ||
| 1961 | An Old Love Affair | — | |
| At the Golden Nugget | — | ||
| 1962 | The No. 1 Country & Western Band | — | |
| Cheyenne Frontier Days | — | ||
| 1963 | The Best of Hank Thompson | — | |
| At the State Fair of Texas | — | ||
| 1964 | Golden Country Hits | 6 | |
| It's Christmas Time with Hank Thompson | — | ||
| 1965 | Breakin' in Another Heart | 18 | |
| Luckiest Heartache in Town | 17 | ||
| 1966 | A Six Pack to Go | 19 | |
| Breakin' the Rules | 22 | ||
| Where Is the Circus | 6 | Warner | |
| 1967 | The Best of Hank Thompson Vol. 2 | 34 | Capitol |
| The Countrypolitan Sound | — | Warner | |
| The Gold Standard Collection of Hank Thompson | 42 | ||
| Just an Old Flame | — | Capitol | |
| 1968 | Hank Thompson Sings the Gold Standards | — | Dot |
| On Tap, In the Can, Or in the Bottle | 42 | ||
| 1969 | Smoky the Bar | 16 | |
| Hank Thompson Salutes Oklahoma | 38 | ||
| 1971 | Next Time I Fall in Love (I Won't) | 22 | |
| Hank Thompson's 25th Anniversary Album | 24 | ||
| 1972 | Cab Driver (A Salute to the Mills Brothers) | 10 | |
| Hank Thompson's Greatest Hits Vol. 1 | 34 | ||
| 1973 | Kindly Keep It Country | 22 | |
| 1974 | Moving On | 37 | |
| 1975 | Sings Nat King Cole | — | |
| 1976 | Back in the Swing of Things | 48 | |
| 1977 | The Thompson Touch | — | |
| Doin' My Things | — | ||
| 1978 | Brand New Hank | — | ABC |
| 1980 | Take Me Back to Tulsa | — | MCA |
| 1982 | One Thousand and One Nighters | — | Churchill |
| 1988 | Here's to Country Music | — | Step One |
| 1997 | Hank Thompson and Friends | — | Curb |
| 2000 | Seven Decades | — | Hightone |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
CAN Country | |||
| 1948 | "Humpty Dumpty Heart" | 2 | — | — | singles only |
| "Yesterday's Mail" | 12 | — | — | ||
| "Green Light" | 7 | — | — | ||
| 1949 | "What Are We Gonna Do About the Moonlight" | 10 | — | — | |
| "I Find You Cheatin' on Me" | 14 | — | — | ||
| "You Broke My Heart (In Little Bitty Pieces)" | 15 | — | — | ||
| "Whoa Sailor" | 6 | — | — | ||
| "Soft Lips" | 10 | — | — | ||
| "The Grass Looks Greener Over Yonder" | 15 | — | — | ||
| 1952 | "The Wild Side of Life The Wild Side of Life "The Wild Side of Life" is a song made famous by country music singer Hank Thompson. Originally released in 1952, the song became one of the most popular recordings in the genre's history, spending 15 weeks at No... " |
1 | — | — | Hank Thompson Favorites |
| "Waiting in the Lobby of Your Heart" | 3 | — | — | ||
| "The New Wears Off Too Fast" | 10 | — | — | singles only | |
| 1953 | "No Help Wanted" | 9 | — | — | |
| "Rub-a-Dub-Dub" | 1 | — | — | Songs of the Brazos Valley | |
| "Yesterday's Girl" | 8 | — | — | ||
| "Wake Up, Irene" | 1 | — | — | singles only | |
| 1954 | "Breakin' the Rules" | 10 | — | — | |
| "A Fooler, A Faker" | 9 | — | — | ||
| "Honky-Tonk Girl" | 9 | — | — | ||
| "We've Gone Too Far" | 10 | — | — | ||
| "The New Green Light" (re-recording) | 3 | — | — | ||
| 1955 | "If Lovin' You Is Wrong" | 12 | — | — | |
| "Annie Over" | 13 | — | — | ||
| "Wildwood Flower Wildwood Flower "Wildwood Flower" is an American song, best known through performances and recordings by the Carter Family. However, the song predates them. The original title was "I'll Twine 'Mid the Ringlets"... " (with Merle Travis Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and musician born in Rosewood, Kentucky. His lyrics often discussed the life and exploitation of coal miners. Among his many well-known songs are "Sixteen Tons", "Re-Enlistment Blues" and "Dark as a Dungeon"... ) |
5 | — | — | ||
| "Breakin' In Another Heart" | 7 | — | — | ||
| "Most of All" | 6 | — | — | ||
| "Don't Take It Out on Me" | 5 | — | — | ||
| "Honey, Honey Bee Ball" | flip | — | — | ||
| 1956 | "The Blackboard of My Heart" | — | — | — | |
| 1958 | "How Do You Hold a Memory" | 11 | — | — | |
| "Squaws Along the Yukon" | 2 | — | — | ||
| "I've Run Out of Tomorrows" | 7 | — | — | ||
| 1959 | "You're Going Back to Your Old Ways Again" | 26 | — | — | |
| "Anybody's Girl" | 13 | — | — | ||
| "Total Strangers" | 25 | — | — | ||
| "I Didn't Mean to Fall in Love" | 22 | — | — | At the Golden Nugget | |
| 1960 | "A Six Pack to Go" | 10 | 102 | — | |
| "She's Just a Whole Lot Like You" | 14 | 99 | — | ||
| 1961 | "Oklahoma Hills Oklahoma Hills "Oklahoma Hills" is a song written by Woody Guthrie.Jack Guthrie, Woody's cousin, later changed the lyrics and music and in 1945 recorded a Western swing version which he took to number one on the Juke Box Folk Records charts... " |
7 | — | — | Cheyenne Frontier Days |
| "Teach Me How to Lie" | 25 | — | — | ||
| "Hangover Tavern" | 12 | — | — | ||
| 1963 | "I Wasn't Even in the Running" | 23 | — | — | Luckiest Heartache in Town |
| "Too in Love" | 22 | — | — | single only | |
| 1964 | "Twice as Much" | 45 | — | — | Luckiest Heartache in Town |
| 1965 | "Then I'll Start Believing in You" | 42 | — | — | |
| 1966 | "Where Is the Circus" | 15 | — | — | Where Is the Circus |
| 1967 | "He's Got a Way with Women" | 16 | — | — | On Tap, In the Can, Or in the Bottle |
| 1968 | "On Tap, In the Can, Or in the Bottle" | 7 | — | 12 | |
| "Smoky the Bar" | 5 | — | 9 | Smoky the Bar | |
| 1969 | "I See Them Everywhere" | 47 | — | — | |
| "The Pathway of My Life" | 46 | — | — | Next Time I Fall in Love (I Won't) | |
| "Oklahoma Home Brew" | 60 | — | — | Hank Thompson Salutes Oklahoma | |
| 1970 | "But That's All Right" | 54 | — | — | Next Time I Fall in Love (I Won't) |
| "One of the Fortunate Few" | 69 | — | — | ||
| 1971 | "Next Time I Fall in Love (I Won't)" | 15 | — | 36 | |
| "The Mark of a Heel" | 18 | — | 18 | ||
| "I've Come Awful Close" | 11 | — | 19 | Hank Thompson's 25th Anniversary Album | |
| 1972 | "Cab Driver" | 16 | — | 13 | Cab Driver (A Salute to the Mills Brothers) |
| "Glow Worm" | 53 | — | — | ||
| 1973 | "Roses in the Wine" | 70 | — | — | single only |
| "Kindly Keep It Country" | 48 | — | 45 | Kindly Keep It Country | |
| 1974 | "The Older the Violin, The Sweeter the Music" | 8 | — | 4 | |
| "Who Left the Door to Heaven Open" | 10 | — | 12 | Moving On | |
| 1975 | "Mama Don't 'Low" | 29 | — | — | |
| "That's Just My Truckin' Luck" | 70 | — | — | single only | |
| "Mona Lisa" | — | — | — | Sings Nat King Cole | |
| 1976 | "Asphalt Cowboy" | 72 | — | — | single only |
| "Big Band Days" | 86 | — | — | Back in the Swing of Things | |
| 1977 | "Honky Tonk Girl" (re-recording) | 91 | — | — | |
| "Just an Old Flame" | 92 | — | — | The Thompson Touch | |
| 1978 | "I'm Just Gettin' By" | 92 | — | — | Brand New Hank |
| 1979 | "Dance with Me Molly" | 88 | — | — | |
| "I Hear the South Callin' Me" | 29 | — | 47 | ||
| 1980 | "Tony's Tank-Up, Drive-In Cafe" | 32 | — | 42 | |
| "You're Poppin' Tops" | — | — | — | Take Me Back to Tulsa | |
| "King of Western Swing" | — | — | — | ||
| 1981 | "Rockin' in the Congo" (re-recording) | 82 | — | — | One Thousand and One Nighters |
| 1982 | "Cocaine Blues" | — | — | — | |
| "Driving Nails in My Coffin" | — | — | — | ||
| 1983 | "Once in a Blue Moon" | 82 | — | — | single only |
| 1988 | "Here's to Country Music" | — | — | — | Here's to Country Music |
| "Cowgirl Cutie" | — | — | — | ||
| 1997 | "Gotta Sell Them Chickens" (with Junior Brown Junior Brown Jamieson "Junior" Brown is an American country guitarist and singer. He has released nine studio albums in his career, and has charted twice on the Billboard country singles charts. Brown's signature instrument is the "guit-steel" double neck guitar, a hybrid of electric guitar and lap steel... ) |
— | — | — | Hank Thompson and Friends |
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "Gotta Sell Them Chickens" (w/ Junior Brown Junior Brown Jamieson "Junior" Brown is an American country guitarist and singer. He has released nine studio albums in his career, and has charted twice on the Billboard country singles charts. Brown's signature instrument is the "guit-steel" double neck guitar, a hybrid of electric guitar and lap steel... ) |
Jim Gerik |
See also
- Academy of Country MusicAcademy of Country MusicThe Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...
- List of country musicians
- Country Music AssociationCountry Music AssociationThe Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
- List of best-selling music artists
- Inductees of the Country Music Hall of FameInductees of the Country Music Hall of FameThis is a list of inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame.Number of Inductees : 115 . Of these 15 are women and two are groups that include...
(1989 Inductee)