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Vocal Group Hall of Fame facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The Vocal Group Hall of Fame (VGHF) was organized by Tony Butala, also the founder (and now only surviving original member) of the Lettermen, to honor outstanding vocal groups throughout the world. Headquartered in Sharon, Pennsylvania, United States, it includes a theater and a museum.

The VGHF typically inducts sixteen artists annually. Unlike the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, artists are inducted within categories. Each category has at least one representative. The categories are 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and duos. Only groups are eligible; solo artists may be inducted if they have a legitimate backing band with backing singers (for example, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers). The Vocal Group Hall of Fame releases a public ballot; allowing everyone to vote for both the nominees and the inductees.

It was originally organized in 1998. The original administration closed it in October 2001 and a new nonprofit organization took over, reopening it in April 2002.

In November 2005, the museum moved out of its rented three-story facility and is currently in the process of relocating to the ca. 1920-built Columbia Theatre, also in Sharon, which it is renovating to serve both as its central office and as the location for its annual induction ceremony and benefit concerts. The museum is being moved to a three-story restaurant building adjacent to the theater (the restaurant portion will become a vocal group-themed bar and grill). The operating organization plans to open two museum annexes, one in Las Vegas and the other in Wildwood, New Jersey.

With the help of Jon Bauman, the VGHF is actively promoting the Truth In Music Bill, announcing whenever it passes in specific states. The Truth In Music Bill was created to protect the artists from identity theft, or ensuring at least one of the people performing in a group using the name actually performed on one of the albums. Through 2012, the Truth in Music Bill was law in 34 states. The main beneficiaries are the surviving members of the Platters, the Coasters, the Drifters, and the Marvelettes, iconic groups victimized by Larry Marshak and other promoters of impostor groups.

Address

Vocal Group Hall of Fame and Museum, 82 West State Street, Sharon, PA 16146

  • Chairman/Founder: Tony Butala
  • CEO: Bob Crosby

Vocal Group Hall of Fame Inductees

1998-2002

2003-2007

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Salón de la Fama de los Grupos Vocales para niños

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