SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The Capital Region Hall of Fame has announced that eight individuals will be inducted into its 5th class on March 27 at Universal Preservation Hall. The induction ceremony will include musical performances, short videos about their careers, and speeches. Each inductee will have a plaque at the Universal Preservation Hall.
“It is inspiring to think about the accomplishments of these men and women and what they represent,” said Jim Murphy, founder and producer of the Eddies Music Hall of Fame. “Weaved together, their stories represent an amassing cross-section of the American music scene. And collectively they reflect an amazing, vital music scene in the Capital Region.”
The Eddies Music Hall of Fame Class of 2023:
- Martin Benjamin
- Throughout his career, Benjamin has photographed many famous Rock & Roll artists, including AC/DC, Frank Zappa, and Bruce Springsteen. His work has been exhibited across the globe and published as part of 18 TV productions and in the New York Times, The Mirror, People, Rolling Stone, American Photographer, and more.
- Mike Campese
- An Albany native, Campese is a former member of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and has released 11 solo albums. Campese has been featured in Guitar One, Guitar World, Guitar Player, and other magazines.
- Felicia Collins
- Collins grew up in Arbor Hill and is best known for being a guitarist and vocalist in the “Late Night with David Letterman” band for the duration of the show on CBS (1993-2015). Collins has toured and recorded with artists including George Clinton, Aretha Franklin, Cindy Lauper, Madonna, the Thompson Twins, and more. Collins has led her own bands and recorded three solo albums.
- Wanda Fischer
- A Tennessee native who relocated to Schenectady in 1979, Fischer has hosted WAMC-FM/Northeast Public Radio’s weekly “The Hudson River Sampler” since 1982. Fischer was inducted into the Folk Alliance International’s Folk DJ Hall of Fame in 2019.
- George Frayne
- Frayne was the frontman for the band Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. The band scored a Top 10 hit and a live album was ranked by Rolling Stones as one of the top 100 albums of all time. Frayne, an Idaho native, moved to Saratoga Springs in the 90s, where he lived until he passed away on September 26, 2021.
- Smokey Greene
- Greene was active in the country and bluegrass music scene for nearly eight decades as a banjo, guitar, mandolin, and fiddle player, as well as a vocalist. Greene owned his own music club in Thompson, toured with his band the Green Mountain Boys in the 1970s, worked as a country radio DJ for two decades in Glens Falls, and founded a bluegrass festival in Corinth which enjoyed a 16-year run.
- Sister Mary Anne Nelson, CSJ
- Founder of The College of St. Rose’s Music Industry program. During her tenure leading the program for 49 years, music students ran their own label, worked on live music television productions, studied music law entrepreneurship, ran lights and sound performed, and performed at a bar-like venue on campus. The program became one of the top music industry programs in the U.S. and was recognized multiple times by Billboard.
- John Tichy
- Guitarist and vocalist, Tichy was an original member of Commander Cody and His Lost Airmen. After the band disbanded in 1976, Tichy joined the faculty of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, where he became head of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering.
