NASHVILLE, Tennessee- Four extremely deserving individuals on Wednesday received their star on Nashville’s Walk of Fame: Music executive Joe Galante, rock guitarist Duane Eddy, singer/songwriter Don McClean, and rock and country artist Darius Rucker.
Joe Galante
During Galante’s esteemed 50 years in Nashville’s music business, his influence and expertise have had a lasting impact. He led record labels including RCA, BMG/Nashville, Sony BMG, and Sony Nashville, and worked with a talented roster of artists, such as Alabama, Clint Black, Brooks & Dunn, Jimmy Buffet, Kenny Chesney, Sara Evans, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Waylon Jennings, The Judds, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Ronnie Milsap, Lorrie Morgan, K.T. Oslin, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton, Sylvia, Carrie Underwood, Keith Whitley, Gretchen Wilson and Chris Young.
When he originally moved to Nashville from RCA’s New York City, it was only supposed to be a two-year assignment, but nearly 50 years later, he is still here. When Galante arrived in 1974, the only person he knew was his boss, Bill Bradley. But the community embraced him.
In addition to his duties as a record label executive, Galante has served the CMA Foundation as they promote music education in schools. He has received the Bob Kingsley Living Legend Award and last year was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Twenty-two-time Grammy winner, Vince Gill introduced Galante.
Gill stated, “Joe and I had a long friendship, and he was the first guy that would believe in me as a young artist. In 1982, he came to see me play. I was playing in Roseanne Cash’s band at the Houston Astrodome. He saw me play and offered me a record contract just for being a guitar player in her band. So, I adore him. He’s one of the very first people to ever believe in me.”
And although Gill’s rise to stardom came after his contract with Galante ended, the two have always been fast friends.
Gill said, “I think we probably learned more about each other through our struggles and made us better friends than we might have ever been had we been successful. But I’m proud to be here and to honor him.”
When Galante arrived in Nashville, it wasn’t known then as Music City. He was instrumental in moving the CMA Fanfest from the Fairgrounds to downtown Nashville/Nissan Stadium. When the Fanfest went from a few hours of a one-day show to a multi-day, multi-stage Festival, visitors from across the globe got to see all that Nashville had to offer.
He said, “When I look back at my career, I can go through all the artists. I can go through all the music and all the awards. But for me, this is home. And when I look around the city and see what’s happened and what the music community and all of us in the industry were able to do with the city, I’m very proud of that.
Photo “Joe Galante” by Alan Poizner/Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.
Duane Eddy
Eddy’s use of dramatic single-note melodies on the lower strings of his guitar pronounced tremolo and vibrato, and liberal doses of echo produced a signature sound. He became the most successful instrumentalist in rock history, charting 15 Top 40 singles from 1958 through 1963 and selling more than 100 million records worldwide. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994; received Guitar Player magazine’s “Legend” award in 2004, was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2008, and received The Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist from The Americana Music Association in 2013.
The guitar hero began playing at age five, emulating his cowboy hero, Gene Autry. His 1958 debut album Have ‘Twangy’ Guitar, Will Travel, was a Rock ‘n’ Roll milestone. The sound was so unique that it became an instant hit with fans. It charted on Billboard for 82 weeks. This first album started him on a massively successful career, making him the most successful instrumentalist in rock history. Dwayne quickly became famous for his magnetic charisma on stage while he played.
Fellow guitar slinger and Walk of Fame inductee Steve Wariner introduced Eddy.
Wariner stated, “Duane Eddy is one of the most important guitarists we’ve ever had. He’s among the rare few who actually created a whole genre of playing style, his own unique twang that is still heard and copied and reproduced in movies and TV shows to this day.”
He continued, “The list of rock royalty players who’ve tried to play like Dwayne Eddie and Bill talked about that, you know the ones that tried to play like him, you know that influence, his sphere of influence reached so many levels. I wish there were musicians like him still recording today. Dwayne Eddy is still the best guitarist of them all.”
When Eddy spoke, he praised the vibrant music community, and he also dedicated the medical community as well. He praised two of his favorite guitar players, Gill and Steve Wariner.
Eddy recalled listening to the likes of Gene Autrey, Hank Williams, and Lefty Frizzell growing up. “I wanted to be in Nashville so I could hear these guys live,” he remembered.
Not only did he hear them, but the veritable guitar guru also met them all as well. He said, “My dream came true, and here I am. And for Nashville to recognize my name, that’s a real thrill and an honor.”
Photo “Duane Eddy” by Alan Poizner/Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.
Don McLean
McLean is a GRAMMY Award honoree, a Songwriter Hall of Fame member, and a BBC Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. His smash hit “American Pie” resides in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry and was named a Top 5 song of the 20th Century by the Recording Industry of America (RIAA). A New York native, McLean is one of American history’s most revered and respected songwriters. After paying his dues in the New York club scene in the late 1960s, he went on to score mega-hits like “Vincent (Starry, Starry Night),” “Castles in the Air” and many more. His catalog of songs has been recorded by Madonna, Garth Brooks, Josh Groban, Drake, “Weird Al” Yankovic, and countless others. Most recently, McLean received six Telly Awards for his collaboration with international heavyweight Tyson Fury, released “American Pie: A Fable” children’s book, and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame. In 2023, the Telly award-winning documentary “The Day The Music Died” was released on DVD and Blu-Ray and is available on Amazon.com and Paramount.
The person who introduced McLean was Connie Valens, sister to Ritchie Valens, for whom “American Pie” was written (alongside Buddy Holly and JP “Big Bopper” Richardson.
Valens said, “The first time I heard “American Pie,” there was a familiar feeling. Don was talking about our family’s tragedy and somehow had exquisitely crafted these wonderful lyrics.”
She said, “And it is with great admiration, Don, that the music didn’t die. It is my great privilege to present Mr. Don McLean with his star on Nashville’s Music City Walk of Fame.”
When McLean spoke he advised when he was younger, music came from the Big Bands and Orchestra. But then in the 1950’s music started coming from the street. “It was a whole different thing. And they were making their music with their own guitars. Elvis was playing that guitar, and he had a couple of other guys with him, and he was singing. It wasn’t an orchestra. He wasn’t a trained singer. It all came from the ground up now.”
That’s the way McLean and his idols made music. As a self-taught musician and songwriter, McLean feels at home now in Nashville.
As he thanked everyone, he said, “You know I’ve been a rambling man all over the United States. I’ve played big places and little places. And I ain’t country. I ain’t rock and roll. I ain’t pop. I’m just me. And I’m 100% American. And thank you for having me.”
Photo “Don McLean” by Alan Poizner/Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.
Darius Rucker
Rucker first achieved multi-platinum status in the music industry as lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish, who have sold more than 25 million albums worldwide including their Double Diamond-certified (21x Platinum) debut Cracked Rear View, which remains among the top 10 best-selling studio albums of all time. Since releasing his first Country album in 2008, Rucker has earned a whole new legion of fans with four No. 1 albums on the Billboard Country chart, including RIAA Platinum-certified Learn to Live and True Believers, plus 10 No. 1 singles on Country radio and 11 Gold, Platinum or multi-Platinum certified hits. Rucker was inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member in 2012, and in 2014 he won his third career GRAMMY Award for Best Solo Country Performance with his Diamond-certified (11x Platinum) version of “Wagon Wheel,” one of the top five best-selling Country songs of all time.
Rucker’s new single, “Fires Don’t Start Themselves,” is available everywhere now as a preview of his forthcoming album set for Friday release, Carolyn’s Boy, as he performs the new music for fans this summer on his Starting Fires Tour.
As a lifelong philanthropist, Rucker co-chaired the capital campaign that generated $150 million to help build the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital in his hometown of Charleston, S.C., and has raised over $3.6 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through his annual Darius & Friends benefit concert and golf tournament.
Long-time pal Ric Flair introduced Rucker. He spoke fondly of the singer and said, “He’s one of the greatest human beings, which is what I want to talk about, that we’ve already been lucky enough to know. Giving, caring, musically gifted beyond belief as he just listed all the accolades. But this is a guy that will do anything for anybody that obviously has treated him as the man he is.”
He said, “I’m just a dumb wrestler, lucky enough to meet a lot of nice people along the way. I don’t know a lot about music. But I’m fortunate enough to be able to call Darius Rucker, my friend. He’s one of the greatest people I’ve ever met.”
Even though Rucker had been hugely successful with Hootie and the Blowfish, he wasn’t quite sure how well things would turn out when he went solo and pursued country music when at the time, it was a predominantly white genre. But Rucker has more than proven to everyone that he absolutely belongs.
He exclaimed, “I’m shocked that I’m here. I’m shocked that I’m getting this. I still feel there’s so much I need to do and want to do in music. But I just want to say to my family, thank y’all so much for putting up with me all of you.”
He thanked Mike Dungan for giving him a shot and believing in him.
“I just want to say to all the fans out here and the people who listen to music and care about music, I can’t thank y’all enough. You guys are giving me such an amazing life that I love so much. Everything I do, I do for people that want to hear me play music. And I just want to say thank you.”
Photo “Darius Rucker and Ric Flair” by Alan Poizner/Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.
The Music City Walk of Fame on Nashville’s Music Mile is a landmark tribute to those from all genres of music who have contributed to the world through song or other industry collaboration and made a significant contribution to the music industry with a connection to Music City.
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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, Threads, and X (Twitter).
