This year’s inductees bring the total number of songwriters in the Hall to 218. Though country songwriters predominate, the body includes “writers from all genres of music,” according to a NaSHOF mission statement. The Nashville Hall dates to 1970 – the same year the Songwriters Hall of Fame launched.
The announcement was made Tuesday (July 13) by Sarah Cates, chair of the organization’s board of directors, and Mark Ford, its executive director.
Four of the five inductees have received Grammy nominations for best country song: Akins in 2018 for co-writing Blake Shelton’s “I Lived It,” Cannon in 2007 for co-writing George Strait’s “Give It Away,” Keith in 2003 for co-writing his own “Beer for My Horses” (a collab with Willie Nelson), and Grant in 2011 for co-writing Vince Gill’s “Threaten Me With Heaven.” In addition, Grant was nominated in the overall song of the year category in 1991 for co-writing her own “Baby Baby,” a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
Grant is married to Gill, who was inducted in 2005. They are among the few married couples in the NaSHOF. Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, best known for writing classics for the Everly Brothers, were inducted as a couple in 1972.
