Les Leverett
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Longtime Grand Ole Opry staff photographer, Les Leverett, died on June 1, 2023 at the age of 96. Tallying 32 years as the Opry's official photographer, Leverett took countless iconic images of Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Vince Gill, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Bill Monroe and other members of the golden age of Country Music. In addition to being the visual historian of the Grand Ole Opry, he also photographed over 200 album covers throughout his career, including Porter Wagoner's 1966 Confessions of a Broken Man, for which he was awarded a GRAMMY, as well as Dolly Parton's Bubbling Over, which won Country Album Cover of the Year at the 1973 Billboard Awards. In 1994, Leverett was honored with inclusion in the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Walkway of Stars, and he received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2001.