Roy Acuff
loved country music before it was even called that, and he shaped the genre as much as anyone in the 1940s and 1950s.
Acuff
started out playing fiddle in a traveling medicine show and ended up the face of the Grand Ole Opry. Along the way he founded (with
Fred Rose
) the legendary Acuff-Rose song publishing company and helped lay the groundwork for the massive commercial juggernaut that country became in the 21st century. This brief set, commemorating
's induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, features his signature songs, including "The Great Speckled Bird" and "Wabash Cannonball," making for a concise introduction to his recorded work. ~ Steve Leggett