{"id":957112,"date":"2026-11-03T19:26:10","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T19:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/957112\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T19:26:10","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T19:26:10","slug":"country-artists-who-have-been-voted-kennedy-center-honors-full-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/957112\/","title":{"rendered":"Country Artists Who Have Been Voted Kennedy Center Honors (Full List)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWhen the Kennedy Center Honors are presented at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, D.C. on Dec. 7, a country artist will be in the honors class for the second year in a row. Barbara Mandrell<\/a> is being honored this year. George Strait<\/a> was an honoree last year. This will mark the first time in the history of the Kennedy Center Honors that country artists have been recognized in back-to-back years.<\/p>\n

\n\tOver the years, Mandrell has worked with several of the country artists who have received Kennedy Center Honors previously. George Jones<\/a>, who received the honor in 2008, sang a guest vocal on Mandrell\u2019s 1981 anthem \u201cI Was Country When Country Wasn\u2019t Cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Kennedy Center Honors program was slow to recognize country \u2013 as it was a lot of popular music forms. The first country artist to be honored was Roy Acuff <\/a>\u00a0in 1991, in its 14th class of honorees.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Kennedy Center Honors were first presented in 1978. The inaugural class consisted of contralto Marian Anderson, dancer-actor-singer Fred Astaire, choreographer George Balanchine, composer Richard Rodgers and pianist Arthur Rubinstein.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile the focus in the early years was on fine arts \u2014 heavy on classical and opera \u2014 over the decades, it has broadened to also include more popular forms of music. In 1987, B.B. King<\/a> became the first blues artist to be inducted. Other performers who were the first in their genres to be honored were Acuff for country in 1991, Aretha Franklin<\/a> for R&B in 1994, Pete Seeger<\/a> for folk in 1994, Bob Dylan<\/a> for rock in 1997, Gloria Estefan<\/a> for Latin music in 2017 and LL Cool J<\/a> for rap in 2017.<\/p>\n

\n\tHere\u2019s a complete list of country artists who have received Kennedy Center Honors. We show the year the artist received the honor, the year they were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and their total of CMA Awards. For the ones who have passed on, we show the year of their deaths.<\/p>\n

\tRoy Acuff<\/p>\n

\n\tKennedy Center Honor: 1991 (age 88)<\/p>\n

\n\tCountry Music HOF: 1962<\/p>\n

\n\tCMA Awards: None. (Acuff\u2019s peak years preceded the inception of the CMA Awards in 1967.)<\/p>\n

\n\tDied: November 1992 (age 89)<\/p>\n

\tJohnny Cash<\/p>\n

\n\tKennedy Center Honor: 1996 (age 64)<\/p>\n

\n\tCountry Music HOF: 1999<\/p>\n

\n\tCMA Awards: Nine<\/p>\n

\n\tDied: September 2003 (age 71)<\/p>\n

\tWillie Nelson<\/p>\n

\n\tKennedy Center Honor: 1998 (age 65)<\/p>\n

\n\tCountry Music HOF: 1993<\/p>\n

\n\tCMA Awards: 10<\/p>\n

\tLoretta Lynn<\/p>\n

\n\tKennedy Center Honor: 2003 (age 71)<\/p>\n

\n\tCountry Music HOF: 1988<\/p>\n

\n\tCMA Awards: Eight. In 1972, Lynn became the first woman to win entertainer of the year.<\/p>\n

\n\tDied: October 2022 (age 90)<\/p>\n

\tDolly Parton<\/p>\n

\n\tKennedy Center Honor: 2006 (age 60)<\/p>\n

\n\tCountry Music HOF: 1999<\/p>\n

\n\tCMA Awards: Nine<\/p>\n

\n\tDied: August 2026 (age 80)<\/p>\n

\n\tNotes: Parton was the youngest female country artist to receive the Kennedy Center Honors.<\/p>\n

\tGeorge Jones<\/p>\n

\n\tKennedy Center Honor: 2008 (age 77)<\/p>\n

\n\tCountry Music HOF: 1992<\/p>\n

\n\tCMA Awards: Seven<\/p>\n

\n\tDied: April 2013 (age 81)<\/p>\n

\tMerle Haggard<\/p>\n

\n\tKennedy Center Honor: 2010 (age 73)<\/p>\n

\n\tCountry Music HOF: 1994<\/p>\n

\n\tCMA Awards: six<\/p>\n

\n\tDied: April 2016 (age 79)<\/p>\n

\tReba McEntire<\/p>\n

\n\tKennedy Center Honor: 2018 (age 63)<\/p>\n

\n\tCountry Music HOF: 2011<\/p>\n

\n\tCMA Awards: Six<\/p>\n

\tGarth Brooks<\/p>\n

\n\tKennedy Center Honor: 2020 (age 58)<\/p>\n

\n\tCountry Music HOF: 2012<\/p>\n

\n\tCMA Awards: 14, including a record seven awards for entertainer of the year.<\/p>\n

\n\tNotes: Brooks is the youngest country artist \u2014 male or female \u2014 to receive the Kennedy Center Honors.<\/p>\n

\tGeorge Strait<\/p>\n

\n\tKennedy Center Honor: 2025 (age 73)<\/p>\n

\n\tCountry Music HOF: 2006<\/p>\n

\n\tCMA Awards: 17, including a record five awards for album of the year.<\/p>\n

\tBarbara Mandrell<\/p>\n

\n\tKennedy Center Honor: 2026 (age 77)<\/p>\n

\n\tCountry Music HOF: 2009<\/p>\n

\n\tCMA Awards: Four. In 1981, she became the performer to win entertainer of the year for a second time.<\/p>\n

\t


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