ICM Honors Top Musicians

With fifty years in the entertainment world to his name, Ricky Skaggs was named both Musician of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year, at the 17th Annual ICM Faith, Family and Country Awards Show held at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville on Friday 28 October 2011. Other big winners of the evening included Lady Antebellum, The Fox Brothers and Justin Moore as awards were given out in over twenty categories, honoring seasoned musicians and newcomers to the world of inspirational country music.

In an emotional acceptance speech when named Entertainer of the Year, Skaggs noted that he always tried to entertain folks with good clean fun, along with stories from his youth. Having picked up his first mandolin at the tender age of five, Ricky Skaggs has stayed true to his first musical love of bluegrass music for 52 years. Born in Cordell, Kentucky, music was always part of his life, and while mandolin is his main instrument of choice, he also plays, guitar, banjo and the fiddle. He was only six-years-old when he first appeared on stage with the pioneer of bluegrass, Bill Monroe, and at the age of seven, appears on the Martha White variety show, playing country music with Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt. As a singer, composer, producer and musician, Skaggs has been active in the music industry ever since those early days. Having been credited by producer and guitarist Chet Atkins with saving the genre of country music in the 1980s, Ricky Skaggs has received a number of ICM awards as well as fifteen Grammys, seven Country Music Association Awards and twelve IBMA Awards.

Inspirational Country Music Award Winners are:

Entertainer of the Year: Ricky Skaggs
Mainstream Country Artist: Jeff Bates
Video Award: Hello World – Lady Antebellum
Inspirational Bluegrass Artist: The Roys
Legend/Pioneer Award: The Fox Brothers
Inspirational Country Song: I’ll Stand Up And Say So—Chuck Day
Mainstream Inspirational Song: If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away –Justin Moore
Female Vocalist: Kali Rose
Male Vocalist: Chuck Day
Vocal Duo: Joey + Rory
Vocal Group or Band: Sunday Drive
Songwriter: Russ Murphy
New Artist: Chuck Hancock
Musician: Ricky Skaggs
Comedian: Johnny Lee Cook
Youth In Music: Renee Spencer
Music Evangelist: Johnny Lee Cook
Radio Personality: J. R. Pitsenbarger
Radio Station: WCWV—Summersville, WV
Television Network: Daystar TV
Faith & Family Movie: Soul Surfer