Brad Paisley and Emmylou Harris are among the songwriters set to be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame on October 6th during the 55th Anniversary Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala held at the Music City Center in Nashville.
Also included in the new class are: Steve Bogard and Tony Martin in the contemporary songwriter category; Jim Lauderdale in the contemporary songwriter/artist category; and Don Cook in the veteran songwriter category. These six new songwriters will join the 247 previously inducted members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
- Paisley, a three-time Grammy-winning country music superstar with 41 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, is known for writing many of his own hit songs including: “He Didn’t Have To Be,” “Alcohol,” “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song),” “Letter To Me,” and “Remind Me” (a duet with Carrie Underwood).
- Harris is one of the great American folk singer-songwriters. With 13 Grammys to her name, Harris is best known for such hits like “Boulder To Birmingham,” “White Line” and “Heartbreak Hill.” She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
- Bogard is known for radio staples like George Strait’s “Carried Away,” Rascal Flatts’ “Prayin’ For Daylight” and Dierks Bentley’s “Every Mile A Memory.”
- Martin also wrote for Strait (“Baby’s Gotten Good At Goodbye”) as well as Jason Aldean (“A Little More Summertime”) and Keith Urban (“You Look Good In My Shirt”).
- Lauderdale is known for his own songs, like “I Feel Like Singing Today,” “She’s Looking At Me” and “Mighty Lonesome,” but also wrote for other artists including Mark Chesnutt (“Gonna Get A Life”) and Patty Loveless (“Halfway Down.”).
- Cook wrote T. Graham Brown’s “I Wish That I Could Hurt That Way Again,” Steve Wariner’s “Small Town Girl” and Brooks & Dunn’s “Only In America.”
The list was announced by Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame board of directors chair Rich Hallworth and executive director Mark Ford during a press conference. Hallworth said in a statement: “Gathering as we do each year — to reveal and welcome the members of our incoming class — is truly one of the highlights of our calendar. To these outstanding songwriters, we say — thank you for sharing your songs and your artistry with us. We are proud to honor you this fall, when you will officially join your legendary peers in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.”
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