The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame revealed a shortlist of 12 candidates in the contemporary categories, nominated for induction into the prestigious Music City-based organization that recognizes and honors the work of Nashville's top tunes.
The nominees in the contemporary songwriter category are Al Anderson, Shawn Camp, Desmond Child, Jim Collins, Gordon Kennedy, Frank J. Myers, Annie Roboff and Liz Rose.
Nominees in the Contemporary Songwriter/Artist category are Contemporary Christian Music singer-songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman (who has won more than 50 GMA Dove Awards and five Grammys), three-time Grammy winner and 14-time Country Music Association Award winner Brad Paisley . , two-time CMA Award nominee Phil Vassar and three-time Grammy Award winner Lucinda Williams.
The 54th Annual Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala will be held on Wednesday, November 6 at Nashville's Music City Center.
“Congratulations to this year's nominees in our contemporary categories. Their nominations are so deserving,” NaSHOF Executive Director Mark Ford said in a statement. “We look forward in several weeks to announcing those who will join this fall as members of our Class of 2024.”
Each of these candidates experienced their first significant songs at least two decades ago. Two songwriters and one writer-artist will be elected from contemporary categories by Hall of Fame members, along with other professional songwriters and artists from various genres who are strongly identified with Nashville and who have written or co-written at least one original and significant song by Nashville.
In addition, a separate body of veteran voters will elect a veteran songwriter, a veteran songwriter-artist and a legacy songwriter who won their first major hits at least three decades ago. Nominees in these categories are not announced.
“Big Al” Anderson was a member of The Wildweeds in the 1960s and lead guitarist for the rock band NRBQ, before focusing on country music in the 1990s. His first big hit was Carlene Carter's 'Every Little Thing'. Since then he has collected hits such as “Should've Asked Her Faster” (Ty England), “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down” (The Mavericks w/ Flaco Jiménez), “Unbelievable” (Diamond Rio), “Powerful Thing” (Trisha Yearwood), “Big Deal” (LeAnn Rimes), “The Cowboy In Me” (Tim McGraw), “Trip Around The Sun” (Jimmy Buffett & Martina McBride and most recently recorded by Bronwyn Keith-Hynes with Dierks Bentley ), “Love's Gonna Make It Alright” (George Strait) and “Loving You Easy” (Zac Brown Band). Anderson was named the 2000 BMI Country Songwriter of the Year.
Camp served as a fiddler in the 1980s, backing The Osborne Brothers, Jerry Reed, Trisha Yearwood and Alan Jackson. After releasing his own music in 1993, he began writing songs for other artists, scoring his first hits in 1998 with Garth Brooks' “Two Piña Coladas” and Brooks & Dunn's “How Long Gone.” He has added to his hit list Josh Turner's “Would You Go With Me” and “Firecracker,” Strait's “River of Love,” Billy Currington's “Love Done Gone” and many bluegrass hits for artists , such as Ricky Skaggs and The Lonesome River. Zone. Camp's “We Know Where He Is” by The Del McCoury Band was nominated for GMA Bluegrass Song of 2007 and “My Quiet Mind” by The Gibson Brothers was nominated for SPBGMA Bluegrass Song of 2018.
Child began his career in New York, co-writing KISS' 1979 hit “I Was Made For Loving You.” He added credits to several big hits, including Bon Jovi's “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Livin' on a Prayer,” as well as Aerosmith's “Dude Looks Like a Lady” and “I Hate Myself for Loving You.” by Joan Jett. ” Child moved to Nashville in the 1990s and scored more hits, including Aerosmith's “Crazy,” the Brooks/Yearwood collaboration “Where Your Road Leads,” and the Ricky Martin/Christina Aguilera collaboration “Nobody Wants to Be Lonely.” The child-written “Livin' La Vida Loca,” recorded by Martin, was named ASCAP's 2000 Pop Song of the Year and Billboard's Latin Pop Song of 1999. Martin was inducted in 2008 into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in the New York and in 2022 in the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Collins played in the Texas music scene until 1995 when he moved to Nashville. He earned his first track as a songwriter in 1997. In 2000, Collins scored his first chart topper, “Yes!” recorded by Chad Brock. He became known as a writer on songs such as Kenny Chesney's “She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy,” “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven” and “The Good Stuff,” which was named the Academy of Country Music's Single of the Year in 2002 and 2003 ASCAP Country Song of the Year. His other hits include “Then They Do” by Trace Adkins, “It Just Comes Natural” by Strait, “Big Green Tractor” by Jason Aldean and “Damn Strait” by Scotty McCreery. Collins is a 2020 inductee into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Kennedy grew up spending time recording with his father, musician/producer Jerry Kennedy. In 1984, he joined the band White Heart, writing hits such as “Fly Eagle Fly” and “Eighth Wonder”. He is also a writer on the 1990s global hit “Change the World”, which was first recorded in 1995 by Wynonna and then by Eric Clapton. The song spent 13 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and won Grammys for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Kennedy's hits also include “I Can't Help You Now” by Bonnie Raitt and “You Can't Hurt Him” by Skaggs.
Myers moved to Nashville in 1981 and became Eddy Raven's guitarist (he later became band leader and road manager). Frank co-wrote Raven's “Bayou Boys,” “I Got Mexico,” and “Sometimes a Lady.” In 1982 he wrote the Eddie Rabbitt/Crystal Gayle duet 'You and I'. Frank's hit list also includes “My Front Porch Looking In” (Lonestar), “Come In Out Of The Pain” (Doug Stone) and “Once Upon A Lifetime” (Alabama). John Michael Montgomery's version of “I Swear” won awards including the 1994 Grammy for Best Country Song, the 1994 Academy of Country Music Song and Single of the Year, the 1994 Country Music Association (CMA) Single of the Year, the 1994 NSAI Song of the Year, and 1995 ASCAP Country Song of the Year.
A native of New York, Roboff first wrote songs for her fellow a cappella group The Bondinis before moving on to write and host sports for ABC. Roboff also created music for TBS, CBS and ESPN (including the original SportsCenter theme), as well as the Olympics and the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. Roboff moved to Los Angeles and began taking pop and R&B cuts before moving to Nashville. She scored her first hit 'Walking Away' by Diamond Rio and followed it up with 'Happy Girl' (Martina McBride), 'There Goes My Baby' (Trisha Yearwood), 'To Have You Back Again' (Patty Loveless) and great success. “This Kiss” (Faith Hill). “This Kiss” was honored as the 1998 Academy of Country Music (ACM) Single of the Year, the 1999 Country Music Association (CMA) Song of the Year, and the 1999 ASCAP Country Song of the Year. Roboff's hits also include “That's The Way” by Jo Dee Messina, “If I Fall You're Going With Me” by the Dixie Chicks, “Unbroken” by McGraw and “If My Heart Had Wings” by Hill and “One”.
Rose from Texas started writing songs at the age of 37 and in 2004 scored her first hit with Gary Allan's “Songs About Rain”. Her work with then-newcomer Taylor Swift included hits “Tim McGraw” and “Teardrops on My Guitar,” which was named BMI's Country Song of the Year. Swift and Rose have collaborated on nearly 20 tracks, with hits including “You Belong With Me,” the Grammy-winning “White Horse” and “All Too Well.” Rose's other hits include “Cry Pretty” (Carrie Underwood) and the 2019 Grammy nominee “It All Comes Out In The Wash” (Miranda Lambert). The Eli Young Band's “Crazy Girl” was named the 2011 Academy of Country Music (ACM) Song of the Year, while Little Big Town's “Girl Crush” won the 2016 Grammy for Best Country Song, Country Song Music Association (CMA) in 2015. and the 2015 NSAI Single of the Year and Song of the Year. Liz was the 2007 SESAC Songwriter of the Year. Her honors include being a 2018 inductee into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame and in 2023 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York.
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