Star, Alan Jackson, enters Hall of Fame

NASHVILLE — Country star Alan Jackson, the late guitarist and singer Jerry Reed and songwriter Don Schlitz were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday.

Country icon Loretta Lynn returned to the Hall of Fame for the first time since she suffered a stroke in May to formally induct Jackson. Lynn, who cancelled her tour dates this year to recover, said Jackson was the only person who could make her leave her house.

She recalled meeting Jackson when he was a nervous young artist decades ago and knowing then that he would “be one of the greatest singers in country music.”

“He hadn’t let me down,” said Lynn, who is also a member of the Hall of Fame.

Jackson, 59, is still one of country music’s most successful solo artists, having sold nearly 45 million albums in the U.S. He had 26 singles reach the top of the Billboard country charts.

Reed, originally from Atlanta, became more popular when his songs began charting. His hit song When You’re Hot, You’re Hot earned him a Grammy award.

In later years, he started appearing in TV and movies, most notably playing Burt Reynolds’s sidekick in Smokey and the Bandit. He also sang many of the songs on the soundtrack, including East Bound and Down.

“No one does this alone. In your life, be a part of something bigger than yourself,” Schlitz said.

ANDREW NELLES/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS George Strait, left, Loretta Lynn, second from left, and Connie Smith join Alan Jackson, right, in singing Will the Circle Be Unbroken during Jackson’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday, in Nashville, Tenn.