Ricky Skaggs Reflects on Upcoming Country Music Hall of Fame Induction

It's considered the pinnacle of a career in country music, to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and Ricky Skaggs will receive that honor at an upcoming ceremony in October. But while the 63-year-old is thrilled with the recognition, it doesn't change much, if anything, in his daily life.

"I was doing something the other day and I thought, 'Hall of Fame, CMA, are you kidding?'" Skaggs tells Billboard. "You know, it's a nice title, but gosh, it shouldn't change any of us. I'm still taking out the garbage and everything like that."

Skaggs will be the only living member when he is inducted this fall, joining fellow Class of 2018 members Dottie West and Johnny Gimble. Although he's known about the career accolade for months, Skaggs says it still doesn't seem real.

"It's still soaking in slowly," he says of the achievement. "I'm not making a big, big deal out of it, but it is a big deal."

For the Kentucky native, his upcoming induction into the Hall of Fame is just one of many accolades he has received, in a career that has spanned more than 40 years.

"CMA Entertainer was a great thing in '85, first No. 1 record, first GRAMMY, fifteenth GRAMMY – on and on and on. Those things are great," Skaggs tells PopCulture.com. "This is beyond great. I don't know in country music if there's anything any higher than this. There's nothing.

"I didn't set out for this," he continues. "I worked for it. I've worked all these years, but I didn't work to get in here. That's the difference in my heart – just play and do my best. Show up, be my best. Every day, every night. That's what I've tried to do. I don't guess there is really any greater [award] on this Earth. The only thing that will maybe be better is standing before the Lord and hearing him say, 'Well done, good and faithful serving. Come into my rest. Come on in here, you've talked about it, you've preached about it, you've sung about it, so now you're here.'"

Skaggs has words of wisdom for others who aspire to follow in his footsteps.

"It's a by-product of hard work, determination, being as tough as a boot, you have to be, but soft when you have to be and just staying with it," Skaggs insists. "Always remember the vision. The vision that you had, keep that dream alive. Keep pouring into it and keep dreaming. That what I hope, for young people, that they'll get out of this. I'm 63, I've got so many more years left to play."

Photo Credit: Getty images/John Shearer