Alan Jackson, Jerry Reed, Don Schlitz to join Hall of Fame

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Country star Alan Jackson, actor-singer-guitarist Jerry Reed and songwriter Don Schlitz will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Their selection was announced Wednesday in Nashville. They will be formally inducted later this year.

Jackson broke out in 1990 with his neo-traditional style of honky-tonk country music with hits like “Chattahoochee,” “She’s Got the Rhythm (And I Got the Blues)” and “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).”

Reed earned the nickname “The Guitar Man” because of his fingerstyle picking. He starred opposite Burt Reynolds in the “Smokey and the Bandit” films and also sang the film’s theme song. He died in 2008 at 71.

Schlitz has written dozens of country hits including “The Gambler,” “On The Other Hand” and “Forever and Ever, Amen.”