N.C. Music Hall of Fame launches Web site

Ray

By Emily Ford

eford@salisburypost.com

KANNAPOLIS — The N.C. Music Hall of Fame in Kannapolis has launched a Web site and plans to induct about a dozen new members in October.

Open for less than a year in the old jail building in downtown Kannapolis, the museum has made a name for itself and is attracting visitors from across the state, operations director Eddie Ray said.

"We are getting groups from the mountains to the beach," Ray said.

Large groups can make an appointment to tour the museum through the contact link on the new Web site, http://northcarolinamusichalloffame.org.

Ray, a recording-industry legend, and 17 others including James Taylor and Randy Travis were inducted into the N.C. Music Hall of Fame last year. Seven original inductees were named in 1999, with Ronnie Milsap added in 2002.

Ray said he will announce the 2010 inductees, chosen by an advisory board, in a few weeks. The induction ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 7 at the N.C. Research Campus.

Ray's son Michael designed the Web site, which features biographies on the most recent members. The site soon will offer links to music performed by many of the inductees, Ray said.

Ray also wants to establish a digital archive on the second floor of the museum, including music, interviews and films. These also would be available through the Web site.

Ray, 83, has a permanent residence in Virginia but spends most of his time in Kannapolis.

"It's a labor of love," he said. "I'm doing it until we can hire someone."

He will have a few college interns this summer to help.

N.C. Music Hall of Fame benefactor Mike Curb and chairman Bill Kopald convinced Ray to come out of retirement last year to run the museum. They even gave him a rocking chair, Ray joked.

"My doctors are happy I did it," he said. "They said I've never been so healthy in my examinations."

Inductees must be North Carolina natives or have spent a significant amount of time in the state during their careers.

Both performers and non-performers, including songwriters, record producers, disc jockeys and record executives, are eligible.

Curb, a country music mogul and philanthropist who owns a motorsports museum in Kannapolis, was named the first honorary member of the N.C. Music Hall of Fame last year.

In addition to Ray and Curb, 2009 inductees included Max Roach, Johnny Bristol, Randy Travis, Roberta Flack, Earl Scruggs, Ben King, George Clinton, James Taylor, Johnny Grant, John Coltrane, Nina Simone, The 5 Royales, Wilbert Harrison, Kate Smith, Clyde McPhatter and Thelonious Monk.