Singer Ed Hill and bassist Norbert Putnam were honored. The first at the Southern Gospel Hall Of Fame, the latterv will be honored at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Norman Putnam
Legendary bassist and producer Norbert Putnam will be honored at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum on Saturday, November 14, as part of the popular quarterly series Nashville Cats: A Celebration of Music City Musicians. The program, which will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Museum’s Ford Theater, is included with Museum admission and free to Museum members.
Norbert Putnam helped create classic country and pop records in Nashville for nearly three decades .His R&B-style bass lines can be heard on Elvis Presley’s “Promised Land” but also on Tony Joe White’s “Polk Salad Annie” among others.
At age 19, Putnam dropped out of college and joined pianist David Briggs, drummer Jerry Carrigan andsinger-songwriter Dan Penn in the group Dan Penn & the Pallbearers. By 1970, Putnam was playing on over 600 recording sessions a year. His work can be heard on a multitude of artists’ recordings, including the Beau Brummels, J.J. Cale, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Kenny Loggins, Henry Mancini, Manhattan Transfer, the Monkees, Roy Orbison, the Pointer Sisters and more.
Ed Hill
Ed Hill, formerly of The Stamps, has been inducted into the Southern Gospel Hall Of Fame. He attended his induction into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame at Dollywood recently in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Baritone singer Ed Hill currently performs with the Stamps Quartet.
“The minister's son started singing at 15 with Humble Hearts, and later the Prophets Quartet. Ed and The Prophets become regulars on the “Gospel Singing Caravan” television series,” said Charlie Waller, SGMA executive director. “After Ed retired The Prophets, he joined Hovie Lister and The Statesmen and later with J.D. Sumner of the Stamps Quartet.” Ed, along with The Stamps, was a permanent member of the Elvis Presley Show until Presley's death in 1977, he said. For those who ever heard the words “Elvis has left the building,” it was Hill’s voice that said it again and again.
Dr. Jerry Goff welcomed Hill to the stage as SGMA board member Earl Eleton inducted him as the two brought the placing of the medallion around his neck with a bit a comedy. “I want to first thank the Lord for allowing me to live a life in which I got to do what I love - to sing Southern gsospel music,” Hill said. "I hope everyone will make the same best decision as I did to accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour. That is the one important decision you can make in your life. God bless you and thank you very much.”