guest of Nashville Cowboy Church (a church in the Music Valley area of Nashville which is also broadcast on WSM and other radio outlets all over the globe), led by Dr. Harry Yates and Joanne Cash Yates (sister of the late superstar Johnny Cash). In the summer of 2018, Karen Wheeler released her autobiography entitled My Father's Daughter, which recounts humorous stories on and off stage of Wheeler's life. Joe is mentioned in one of those stories and has several pictures in the book as well. Most recently, Rucker was inducted into the Nashville Chapter of the Academy of Local Musicians Hall of Fame. Others honored with the same recognition include: Jan Howard, Margie Singleton, Jeannie Seely, Tim Atwood, Hawkshaw Hawkins Jr., Scott Sexton, and Exile (American band). Interesting side note: Joe's dad, Jerry Rucker, worked in the Space Shuttle program for more than 35 years, and wrote several songs specifically geared towards the Shuttle program. The first song, called Blastoff Columbia, was used to wake up astronauts Robert Crippen and John Young from their first night in space during STS-1. It was a great honor for the entire family, and the song has been featured in several NASA videos and television news reels regarding the Shuttle program. References Living people 1976 births American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas 21st-century American singers Country musicians from Texas 21st-century American male singers