Jim Eanes

Though he never achieved the superstar status of many of his contemporaries, Jim Eanes still exerted considerable influence on country and bluegrass music. Originally a backing musician for bluegrass legends Flatt & Scruggs and Bill Monroe, Eanes struck out on his own and formed the Shenandoah Valley Boys in 1951, recording sporadically over the next four decades. He found greater success as a songwriter, authoring “I wouldn’t Change You If I Could,” a charty-topping single for Ricky Skaggs. and Hank Williams’s classic “Wedding Bells."