{"id":196488,"date":"2025-10-08T03:02:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T03:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/196488\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T03:02:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T03:02:11","slug":"nashville-songwriters-hall-of-fame-inducts-seven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/196488\/","title":{"rendered":"Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame Inducts Seven"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Pictured (L-R): 2025 Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame Inductees Don Cook, Steve Bogard, Brad Paisley, Emmylou Harris, Jim Lauderdale and Tony Martin. Photo: Bev Moser<\/p>\n

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (NaSHOF) celebrated its 55th Anniversary Gala last night (Oct. 6), officially inducting seven remarkable tunesmiths into the Class of 2025. The ceremony at Nashville\u2019s Music City Center paid tribute to the new members with heartfelt speeches and star-studded performances of some of their biggest hits.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s class includes Steve Bogard and Tony Martin in the songwriter category; Jim Lauderdale and Brad Paisley in the songwriter\/artist category; Don Cook in the veteran songwriter category; and Emmylou Harris in the veteran songwriter\/artist category. The late JJ Cale was also recognized in the Legacy category, which honors NaSHOF-worthy candidates who are deceased.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight, we are gratified to welcome seven more extraordinary songwriters into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame,\u201d shared Rich Hallworth, Board Chair of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation. \u201cAlong with their families, friends and members of the music industry, we celebrate them as they join this Hall of elite songwriters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following opening remarks from NaSHOF Executive Director Mark Ford and Hallworth, the evening opened with a tribute to Cale. Hall of Fame member Gary Nicholson presented the honor, and Americana artist John Fullbright delivered a soulful rendition of Cale\u2019s blues-rock classic \u201cAfter Midnight.\u201d Christine Lakeland-Cale accepted on behalf of her late husband.<\/p>\n

Hall of Fame member Tom Shapiro presented Tony Martin, who was saluted by longtime friend Wendell Mobley with their co-written Jason Aldean hit \u201cA Little More Summertime.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNext to being the sheriff of Mayberry, being a songwriter is the best job in the world,\u201d Martin quipped when he accepted.<\/p>\n

Gretchen Peters introduced Jim Lauderdale, followed by Lee Ann Womack\u2019s tender performance of his signature \u201cThe King of Broken Hearts,\u201d accompanied by Buddy Miller.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so grateful for this,\u201d Lauderdale shared. \u201cI will cherish this night for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bill Anderson and Steve Wariner, both Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry members, teamed up to honor Brad Paisley\u2014Anderson presenting and Wariner performing \u201cWe Danced.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always wanted to be you,\u201d Paisley told the room of songwriters. \u201cI moved here wanting to be a songwriter because I knew that community is what made this town so unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kix Brooks presented longtime collaborator and producer Don Cook, then joined Ronnie Dunn to perform their 1991 Brooks & Dunn debut \u201cBrand New Man,\u201d co-written by all three.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe they want me in this organization,\u201d Cook said. \u201cIt blows my mind that I get to be in this group of heroes and friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dierks Bentley took the stage to salute Steve Bogard with a rendition of their Grammy-nominated hit \u201cEvery Mile a Memory.\u201d Rory Bourke, a Hall of Fame member himself, presented the honor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m as dedicated as ever to trying to write great songs,\u201d Bogard noted. \u201cIt\u2019s still the best part of our day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The evening concluded with a poignant moment as Vince Gill performed Emmylou Harris\u2019 beloved \u201cBoulder to Birmingham,\u201d following remarks from Hall of Famer Rodney Crowell.<\/p>\n

\u201cI stand here as a champion of the songwriter,\u201d Harris said. \u201cAs someone who lives off the song and appreciates the hard work and artistry that goes into it, I\u2019m so grateful for your work. Please don\u2019t stop, because the world needs songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gala also paid tribute to three Hall of Fame members lost since last year\u2019s event\u2014Troy Seals, Sonny Curtis and Brett James. Kenny Chesney honored the late James with a moving performance of his hit \u201cWhen the Sun Goes Down.\u201d<\/p>\n

The celebration began with a welcoming performance from The Garrett Boys and was once again hosted by the legendary Bill Cody, longtime \u201cvoice\u201d of the gala and host of 650 AM WSM\u2019s Coffee, Country & Cody.<\/p>\n

\"LB<\/a> <\/p>\n

LB Cantrell is Editor\/Director of Operations at MusicRow magazine, where she oversees, manages and executes all company operations. LB oversees all MusicRow-related content, including the publication\u2019s six annual print issues and online news. She is a Georgia native and a graduate of the Recording Industry Management program at Middle Tennessee State University.<\/p>\n

\"LB<\/a>Latest posts by LB Cantrell (see all<\/a>) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pictured (L-R): 2025 Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame Inductees Don Cook, Steve Bogard, Brad Paisley, Emmylou Harris, Jim…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196489,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[49,48,75,341],"class_list":["post-196488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}