Live, Del McCoury, and more to be inducted into Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame in 2022
From a press release:
It was announced this week that the third annual Central Pennsylvania Music Awards and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Thursday, March 24 at the Hershey Theatre in Hershey.
This local, Grammys-style red carpet event recognizes the best local acts of the past year and honors the best of all time who originated from (or have resided in) the Central Pennsylvania region.
Central Pennsylvania has produced some incredible and accomplished musicians who have influenced generations of music lovers. In 2019, the Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame was founded as a nonprofit organization to recognize, support, and grow the area’s longstanding and diverse music heritage.
In 2020 and 2021, the following acts were inducted: The Badlees, Halestorm, Poison, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Jeffrey Gaines, Dan Hartman, The Magnificent Men, Pentagon, The Sharks, Bobby Troup, and Robert White.
This month, the CPMHOF Board of Directors and Advisory Committee voted in six more illustrious acts: Live, The Del McCoury Band, Les Brown, The Emperors, The Pixies Three, and Third Stream.
“Once again, we are proud to have a star-studded, diverse class to be inducted in 2022,” CPMHOF president and founder Brandon Valentine said of the new inductees.
The chart-topping, multi-platinum-selling alternative rock band Live was formed in York, Pennsylvania in 1984. They have sold over 22 million albums worldwide and earned two No. 1 albums, “Throwing Copper” and “Secret Samadhi.” Their catalog is filled with such gems as “Lightning Crashes,” “I Alone,” “All Over You,” and “Lakini’s Juice,” which live on today as classics on rock radio.
“Throwing Copper” produced the band’s biggest single, “Lightning Crashes,” which was No. 1 on modern rock radio for 10 consecutive weeks. The 1994 album reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and eventually surpassed sales of 10 million albums sold, with Rolling Stone honoring the album with placement on their “1994: The 40 Best Records from Mainstream Alternative’s Greatest Year” list. “Secret Samadhi” immediately shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 in 1997 and eventually went double platinum. The release of the platinum-selling record “The Distance to Here” in 1999 turned Live into an international powerhouse and moved the band from arenas into stadiums.
In recent years, the band’s original lineup – Ed Kowalczyk (vocals, guitar), Chad Taylor (guitar, backing vocals), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass), and Chad Gracey (drums, percussion) – reunited to tour and record new music, remaining a global concert juggernaut today.
Del McCoury is a Grammy Award-winning bluegrass musician from York. As leader of the Del McCoury Band, he plays guitar and sings lead vocals along with his two sons, Ronnie McCoury and Rob McCoury, who play mandolin and banjo, respectively. He was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2003 and into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2011.
Born in Reinerton, Les Brown was a jazz musician who led the big band “Les Brown and His Band of Renown” for nearly seven decades, from 1938-2000. Brown and his band performed with virtually every major performer of their time, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nat King Cole.
The Emperors were a soul band from Harrisburg that formed in the early 1960s. Their first single, “Karate,” reached the Top 30 on the national R&B charts and peaked at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966.
The Pixies Three is a vocal girl group from Hanover best known for their hits “Birthday Party” and “442 Glenwood Avenue.” After signing with Mercury Records in 1963, the girls toured with The Dave Clark Five, Bobby Vee, and others. They even opened for The Rolling Stones on their first American tour.
Third Stream is an improvised music/jazz band that has played the full spectrum of Dixieland, swing, bebop, fusion, free, etc. Since the group’s inception in 1974, they have blossomed into one the finest contemporary musical groups in the Mid-Atlantic region. Third Stream has shared the stage with Herbie Hancock, Stanley Turrentine, Chick Corea, Tower of Power, Jeff Beck, Livingston Taylor, Spyro Gyro, Eumir Deodato, and other top performers.
Tickets to the third annual Central Pennsylvania Music Awards and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will go sale to the public on Friday, Jan 7.
The CPMHOF welcomes the involvement of musicians, venues, fans, teachers, instrument shops, booking agents, recording studios, sound techs, DJs, photographers, journalists, bloggers, community volunteers, businesses, corporate leaders, and anyone else who supports local music to join the organization in celebrating not only Central Pennsylvania’s rich music history, but also the music in us all.
See NEPA Scene’s photos of Live performing at Musikfest in Bethlehem in 2017 here.
