Speaking of the late Dottie West, she is the most long-overdue female artist for induction into the coveted Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, an honor that she rightfully deserves for over two decades. With today’s criteria though, the only way this would happen, is if the Country Music Hall of Fame creates a new category, to award veteran artists posthumously for their contributions to the genre.
West was the first-ever female recording artist to win the Grammy award for “Best Female Country Vocal Performance” for her song “Here Comes My Baby.” For her collaborations with country superstar Kenny Rogers, West was honored twice with the “Vocal Duo of the Year” award by the Country Music Association (CMA) in 1978 and 1979 respectively.
In 2000, West made Billboard Magazine’s “200 Most Played Artists” list, where she ranked No. 44, and two years later, in 2002, she was listed as the 23rd greatest woman in the history of country, on CMT’s “40 Greatest Women of Country Music.”
