2013 Inductees

This successor to the original Dinks was based out of The Lamplighter in Salina and initially included a member of the first Dinks, but the new band was soon very much its own band and took the name to new heights, playing all over the western half of the state surrounding states between 1968-70.

The Exceptions are one of the longest standing, most successful, popular, pop-variety band in the Midwest performing all styles of music. With an unprecedented variety of music, stunning lead vocals, and four-part vocal harmonies, the Exceptions always promise a successful event.

Ray Hildebrand smashed onto the music scene in ’63 with the #1 hit “Hey Paula.” Ray wrote the song that he & Jill Crawford recorded in Ft. Worth. Paul & Paula followed up with “Young lovers” and 5 other songs in the Hot 100. Ray became one of the founders of Contemporary Christian Music. He traveled for The Fellowship of Christian Athletes as a speaker and performer and later became a youth director for a church in Prairie Village. Ray was a frequent guest as a singer for the Billy Graham Crusades. In ’83 he hooked up w/CCM artist Paul land. Land & Hildebrand have played together all over the US and have recorded 16 albums. Ray still does about 25 dates a year.

Kerry Livgren was a long time member of the rock group, KANSAS, whose big hits were “Dust In The Wind” and “Carry On Wayward Son”, both of which Kerry wrote. In 1980, Kerry became a born again Christian and left KANSAS to form the CCM band AD. He later became a solo artist. Kerry lives on a farm near Berryton and records in his home studio.

After leading the Blinkies and Homestead Grays in his hometown of Lawrence back in the early 80s, Chuck Mead landed in Nashville, where he co-founded BR549. The band’s seven albums, three Grammy nominations and the CMA award for Best Overseas Touring Act built a strong reputation. In 2009 Chuck released an acclaimed solo album and continues to tour with his band The Grassy Knoll Boys. He’s also the Music Director of the Broadway smash show Million Dollar Quartet.

The Bank played so many free concerts and anti-war demonstrations back in the late 60s that they were thrown out of the Musician’s Union. Lead singer and drummer Glenn Walters later sang and played with California’s Hoodoo Rhythm Devils. He’s still playing for crowds in San Francisco in addition to a career singing on TV commercials and film soundtracks.

This group was made up of some of the area’s best musicians, two of whom (Mike Kelley and Rich Bisterfelt) went on to join the last lineup of the original Blue Things. These hard rockers toured extensively on the Midwest ballroom circuit of the 1960s.

This 9-member R&B show band played the Midwest from 1965-68. When the band was playing in the 1960s, the age of the members ranged from 12 to 15. They were so young they had to hire college students to haul their trailer and equipment to gigs. After more than a 40-year hiatus, the band decided to reunite to play some shows during Hays High’s homecoming weekend. The Tempests practiced for a week and played shows at the VFW for family and friends Friday and for the class of 1971 reunion.

Werner was a popular musician in Kansas City, where he led a popular band called Hot Foot. He is still revered there. He moved to L.A., where he had a great pop band called Snap Shots. He was the stage manager for the Hollywood Bowl for a time. Unfortunately, Steve died way too young.

Originally called Pig Newton & The Wizards, they changed the band’s name at the insistence of Mercury Records. Their sound was so similar to that of some of the bands coming out of San Francisco that many collectors and fans still think believe they were from California. Their one Mercury album regularly sells on eBay for more than $200 a copy. A reunion a few years ago resulted in a second album.

Junkyard Jazz has been playing traditional jazz of the 1930s and 40s since 1981. The group plays every Thursday evening at the Lawrence American legion, attracting musicians from northeast Kansas to join them onstage. The dance floor is always full. They’ve lost a few long-time members but the tradition of Junkyard Jazz will never die. 95-year-old co-founder Clyde Bysom continues to play with the group.

Sherman Halsey is an American music video and television director, producer, and artist manager. Sherman Halsey has produced and directed hundreds of television shows and music videos for artists such as Tim McGraw, Brooks and Dunn, Alan Jackson, BB King, Michael Bolton, Dwight Yoakam, and many more. Halsey began his career in the country music business at the age of 13, putting up posters and show bills for his father Jim Halsey’s Management and Concert promotion company in the family’s home town of Independence, Kansas. This would be the start of a father and son collaboration that continues in business today as an important part of the country music industry. While studying film at the University of Kansas, Halsey promoted concerts with artists from the Jim Halsey Company’s roster such as The Oak Ridge Boys, Freddy Fender, Hank Thompson, Don Williams and many others. While at the university, Halsey worked for Dick Clark Productions in Beverly Hills one summer on the NBC Special “The Wild, Sensational, and Shocking 70’s”. As a result of this experience with Dick Clark, he built relationships with several veterans, network directors who taught him the art of directing and producing.

The KC area’s first homegrown rock band of note was Larry Emmett and the Sliders. Larry was a Native American, born on the Prairie Band Pottawatomie Reservation near Mayetta. His parents moved to DeSoto where Larry attended high school and began playing the guitar. In the late ’50s and early ’60s, the band played gigs from Kansas City to Omaha and many points in between.