Bobby Bare, left, prepares to accept his County Music Hall of Fame medallion and plaque Sunday in Nashville. He's on stage with fellow hall member Tom T. Hall.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Kenny Rogers, Bobby Bare and the late “Cowboy” Jack Clement — three men whose influence still ripples across the surface of modern music — are now members of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

The three were saluted by stars Garth Brooks, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Barry Gibb, John Prine and others during a ceremony Sunday at the newly expanded Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

“I'm flattered, I'm honored and I'm nervous,” Rogers said before the ceremony. “Very few things make me nervous. But I've never done this before, so it's pretty exciting.”

Rogers helped push country music farther into pop music territory than it had ever been. He could go deep country with songs like “The Gambler,” “Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town” and “Lucille,” but also had crossover hits like “Islands in the Stream” and “Lady,” foreshadowing today's country sound.

Bare scored dozens of hits like “Dee-troit City” and “How I Got to Memphis,” mining the work of left-of-center Nashville songwriters like Tom T. Hall, Kris Kristofferson and Shel Silverstein. Though he was never really part of the so-called outlaw movement in country music, he was close friends with many artists who were and his insistence on controlling his own musical choices was an inspiration for others like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.

Known also for his sense of humor, the 78-year-old Bare answered characteristically when asked what being inducted means: “It means that I will forever be referred to as a hall of famer. It sounds real good.”Clement's resume as producer, songwriter, performer, inspiration, raconteur and bon vivant is too lengthy to list, but he veered all across popular music over the last half century. He was Sam Phillips' first producer-engineer at Sun Records in Memphis. He wrote some of Johnny Cash's early hits, putting those unforgettable mariachi horns on “Ring of Fire,” and was a repeated touchstone for The Man in Black.He helped Jerry Lee Lewis shape his proto-rock approach and was at the soundboard for the recording of “Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On.” Also among his many career highlights was the discovery of Charley Pride and their 13-album association. Clement found out in February that he would be inducted into the hall of fame, about five months before he passed away in August at 82.“We do have a message from Cowboy,” hall of fame director and CEO Kyle Young said. “He says, `By all means, relax.”' Two trumpeters then walked on stage and played the horn intro to “Ring of Fire.”

Kenny Rogers delivers his Hall of Fame acceptance speech during Sunday's induction ceremonies.