SGMA Hall Of Fame

History

After forming in 1994, the Southern Gospel Music Association made ambitious plans to build a physical Hall Of Fame & Museum. A campaign was launched before the end of 1994 with the stated goal of raising 2.5 million dollars to construct the facility. Honorary deeds were sold for $25 each with each "deed" representing a square foot of the proposed facility. An artist's rendering of the proposed building appeared in the December 1994 issue of Singing News magazine.

In May of 1996, a five-acre parcel of land at the Echota Resort in Sevierville, Tennessee was dedicated as the future site of the museum. A completely new building was designed, a sign was erected on Highway 66 outside the resort announcing the museum's future home, and fundraising efforts continued for construction. Despite the promising start, the plans for a museum at Echota were not fulfilled. The SGMA's dream of having a physical museum did not die, however.

Still without a building, the first SGMA Hall Of Fame class was inducted in May of 1997 at a ceremony held at the Grand Hotel & Convention Center in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The class of inductees consisted of 37 individuals who were already members of the GMA Hall Of Fame plus Wendy Bagwell, the first individual to be inducted by the new SGMA's voting membership. 11 of the 13 living members who were grandfathered in from the GMA Hall Of Fame were in attendance. The class totaling 38 members (including Bagwell) featured legendary singers, musicians, songwriters, and music publishers in Southern Gospel music. The initial class was by far the largest class to be inducted in the SGMA Hall Of Fame's history.

Each year thereafter, SGMA members submitted suggestions for possible new inductees to the Hall of Fame. A committee looks over these suggestions and selects those they deem worthy of induction.

In 1999, the SGMA's dream of having a physical Hall of Fame & Museum finally became a reality. The first physical location was provided by the Dollywood theme park. The museum followed the same operating hours as the park due to the fact that it was located inside the park.

A few induction ceremonies over the years were held at Dollywood, but most have been held during the week of the National Quartet Convention in Louisville, Kentucky initially and later in Pigeon Forge after the convention relocated there in 2014. Inductee classes have varied in size from the original 38 in 1997 to just 2 individuals in 2015.

In October 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, the SGMA announced that Dollywood would not be renewing the lease for the museum building inside the park for the upcoming 2021 season. The building had already been shut down for several months due to social distancing guidelines. After an extended search and a period of fundraising, the SGMA reached an agreement with Biblical Times Dinner Theater in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to house the museum. Interior design commenced in 2022 and a grand opening ceremony was held for the new location in September that same year.

Honorees

(listed by year of induction)