Mac Wiseman

Suffering a disability from infancy, polio victim Mac Wiseman left his Blue Ridge Mountain valley home to forge a career in country music. His pure, bell-like tenor and guitar stylings broke barriers, as he succeeded on his own terms, scoring success worldwide. Wiseman worked early on with Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs, then found solo stardom via hits like "Tis Sweet To Be Remembered," "Ballad of Davy Crockett" and "Jimmy Brown The Newsboy." A mainstay on the music scene even today, he became the genre's first artist to produce other acts, and has recorded with such legends as Molly O'Day, the Osborne Brothers, Woody Herman, John Prine, Charlie Daniels, Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard. His inspirational journey, told in his own words, has earned induction into both the Bluegrass Hall of Honor and Country Music Hall of Fame, capped by the NEA Heritage Medal in Washington, D.C., awarded for lifetime achievement.