The WV Music Hall of Fame’s Tribute to Little Jimmy Dickens is now available!

"The Rhinestone Hillbilly" features 16 tracks by some of West Virginia’s finest artists: Bill Withers, Charlie McCoy, Kathy Mattea, Larry Groce, Tim O’Brien, Ann Magnuson, Connie Smith, Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., Mayf Nutter, Mollie O’Brien and Julie Adams, James Price, Russ Hicks, Robert Shafer, John Lilly, Todd Burge, and The Carpenter Ants.

  • Check out the promo video: https://youtu.be/vcz8Ts6E0GU
  • Purchase the CD: www.wvmhof.com
  • Download the CD: https://rhinestonehillbilly.bandcamp.com/

And be sure to check out the WVMHoF’s other releases: “Always Lift Him Up: A Tribute to Blind Alfred Reed,” The Nichols Family - “A Cry From the Mountains,” and “Strangest Dreams” featuring Alan Freeman and Robert Shafer.

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THE RHINESTONE HILLBILLY A Tribute to Little Jimmy Dickens PRESENTED BY THE WEST VIRGINIA MUSIC HALL OF FAME   Country and bluegrass hero Little Jimmy Dickens was a true American icon, but he was a West Virginian first.  So when the West Virginia Music Hall of  Fame contacted other HOF inductees and noted Mountain State musicians about recording a tribute to the "little but proud" hillbilly hero, they enthusiastically joined the project. The compelling result: The Rhinestone Hillbilly, a 16-song album complete with a 12-page booklet.   "Growing up in West Virginia meant you were living what you heard from Little Jimmy Dickens," says three-time Grammy winner Bill Withers who chose Dickens' chestnut "(You've been Quite a Doll) Raggedy Ann" for his contribution to the album, Wither's first new recording in decades. "'Sleeping at the foot of the bed' was a reality for a lot of us. Your sister had a 'Raggedy Ann' doll. And 'Bird of Paradise' was almost a quote from your favorite uncle, if his feelings got hurt!"  And renowned singer/multi-instrumentalist Tim O'Brien remembers how he'd listened to his Dickens' Grand Ole Opry performances from his parents' coal camp radio as a child.   Other music luminaries joining Withers and O'Brien on the album include a who's who of country and Americana performers, featuring Kathy Mattea, Charlie McCoy, Connie Smith, Russ Hicks, Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr., Mollie O'Brien, James Price and Larry Groce as well as musician-actress-artist Ann Magnuson and others.             The man they all honor on The Rhinestone Hillbilly was there at the early years of country music. Little Jimmy Dickens played with West Virginia supergroup The Happy Valley Folks, in which he was billed as “The Singing Midget.” Along the way, he dipped his toe quite convincingly into rockabilly, pioneered the use of twin guitar hold lines and was known around the globe for his incredible cache of novelty songs.   But most of all, he was a pure singer, the first country music artist to tour the world, a tuneful ambassador of the rural Appalachian experience. Rhinestone Hillbilly mirrors the broad influence and respect that Little Jimmy Dickens' music commands until this day.