RICKY SKAGGS TAKES HOME LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FROM AMERICANA MUSIC ASSOCIATION

Nashville, Tenn. (September 21, 2015) - Last Wednesday night at the Americana Music Association's annual Honors and Awards ceremony, legendary country and bluegrass singer Ricky Skaggs was awarded the organization's esteemed Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist
 
From the stage of the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, guitar legend Ry Cooder presented Skaggs with the award. 
 
"What a thrill to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from one of my musical heroes, Ry Cooder. I've listened to and loved his music for so many years," notes Skaggs. "There are so many musicians who are very deserving of this great award. I'm very thankful to the Americana Music Association for this great honor. I'm glad to be part of the Americana music community.  They still care about music. So do I." 
 
During the ceremony, Skaggs, Cooder and Sharon White performed "Just Over In The Glory Land" live on-stage. The trio is currently traveling the nation on the critically-acclaimed "Cooder-White-Skaggs" tour. 
 
About Ricky Skaggs
Over the course of his 40 plus year career, Ricky Skaggs has won 14 GRAMMY Awards, 8 CMA Awards, 9 ACM Awards, 11 IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Assn.) Awards, 9 ICM Awards, 2 Dove Awards, 3 honorary Doctorate degrees and countless other awards.  Ricky has had 12 #1 singles on the Billboard Country charts and 12 Top 20 Country albums, along with twelve consecutive GRAMMY-nominated albums, all from his own Skaggs Family Records label.  In 2012, Ricky Skaggs was inducted into the GMA’s Gospel Music Hall of Fame.  Past recipients of this prestigious award include Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton.  That same year, Ricky received the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award from the Academy of Country Music (ACM).  In 2013, Grand Ole Opry member Ricky Skaggs released his first-ever autobiography, "Kentucky Traveler: My Life In Music."  The book details the life and times of Skaggs and provides a descriptive history of Country and Bluegrass music, as told by the master himself.
 
Photo credit: Americana Music Association/Rick Diamond/Getty Images