The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame has revealed a slate of 12 nominees in the contemporary categories, nominated for induction into the prestigious Music City-based organization that recognizes and honors the work of Nashville’s top tunesmiths.
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The nominees in the contemporary songwriters category are Al Anderson, Shawn Camp, Desmond Child, Jim Collins, Gordon Kennedy, Frank J. Myers, Annie Roboff and Liz Rose.
The nominees in the contemporary songwriter/artists 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 winner Lucinda Williams .
The 54th annual Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame gala will be held Wednesday, Nov. 6 at Nashville’s Music City Center.
“We congratulate this year’s nominees in our contemporary categories. Their nominations are so well deserved,” NaSHOF Executive Director Mark Ford said in a statement. “We look forward in several weeks to announcing those who will be inducted this fall as members of our Class of 2024.”
Each of these nominees experienced their first significant songs at least two decades ago. Two songwriters and one writer-artist will be elected from the contemporary categories by the members of the Hall of Fame, alongside other professional songwriters and artists from a variety of genres who are prominently identified with Nashville and who have written or co-written at least one original and significant Nashville song.
Additionally, a separate body of veteran voters will elect a veteran songwriter, a veteran songwriter-artist and a legacy songwriter, all of whom earned their first significant songs at least three decades ago. The nominees in those 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 tilting his focus to country music in the 1990s. His first major hit was Carlene Carter’s “Every Little Thing.” He has since amassed hits including “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 more recently recorded by Bronwyn Keith-Hynes w/ Dierks Bentley), “Love’s Gonna Make It Alright” (George Strait) and “Loving You Easy” (Zac Brown Band). Anderson was named 2000 BMI Country songwriter of the year.
Camp served as a fiddle player 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, earning his first hits in 1998 with Garth Brooks’ “Two Piña Coladas” and Brooks & Dunn’s “How Long Gone.” He’s added to his catalog of hits with Josh Turner’s “Would You Go With Me” and “Firecracker,” Strait’s “River of Love,” Billy Currington’s “Love Done Gone,” and numerous bluegrass hits for artists including Ricky Skaggs and The Lonesome River Band. Camp’s “We Know Where He Is” by The Del McCoury Band earned a 2007 GMA bluegrass song nomination, and his “My Quiet Mind” by The Gibson Brothers was a 2018 SPBGMA bluegrass song nominee.
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Child began his career in New York City, co-writing KISS’s 1979 hit “I Was Made For Loving You.” He added credits for numerous mega-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 Joan Jett’s “I Hate Myself for Loving You.” Child moved to Nashville in the 1990s and earned 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-penned “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” recorded by Martin, named 2000 ASCAP pop song of the year and Billboard’s 1999 latin pop track of the year. Martin was a 2008 inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York and a 2022 inductee into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Collins performed in the Texas music scene until 1995, when he moved to Nashville. He earned his first cut as a songwriter in 1997; in 2000, Collins earned his first chart-topper, “Yes!” recorded by Chad Brock. He has become known as a writer on songs including 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 2002 single of the year and the 2003 ASCAP country song of the year. His other hits include Trace Adkins’ “Then They Do,” Strait’s “It Just Comes Natural,” Jason Aldean’s “Big Green Tractor,” and Scotty McCreery’s “Damn Strait.” Collins is a 2020 inductee into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Kennedy grew up spending time in recording sessions with his father, musician/producer Jerry Kennedy. In 1984, he joined the band White Heart, writing hits including “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, then by Eric Clapton. The song spent 13 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and earned Grammys for song of the year and for record of the year. Kennedy’s hits also include Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Help You Now” and Skaggs’ “You Can’t Hurt Him.”
Myers moved to Nashville in 1981 and became Eddy Raven’s guitar player (later becoming his 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 catalog of hits also includes “My Front Porch Looking In” (Lonestar), “Come In Out Of The Pain” (Doug Stone) and “Once Upon A Lifetime” (Alabama). The John Michael Montgomery version of “I Swear” earned awards including 1994 Grammy for best country song, 1994 Academy of Country Music song and single of the year, 1994 Country Music Association (CMA) single of the year, 1994 NSAI song of the year, and 1995 ASCAP country song of the year.
New York native Roboff initially wrote songs for her a cappella group bandmates in The Bondinis, before moving on to write and arrange sports themes 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 relocated to Los Angeles and began getting pop and R&B cuts before moving to Nashville. She earned her first hit “Walking Away” by Diamond Rio and followed with “Happy Girl” (Martina McBride), “There Goes My Baby” (Trisha Yearwood), “To Have You Back Again” (Patty Loveless) and the smash hit “This Kiss” (Faith Hill). “This Kiss” was honored as the 1998 Academy of Country Music (ACM) single of the year, 1999 Country Music Association (CMA) song of the year and 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 Down With Me” by the Dixie Chicks, “Unbroken” by McGraw and Hill’s “If My Heart Had Wings” and “One.”
Texas native Rose began writing songs at age 37 and in 2004 earned 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 collaborated on nearly 20 cuts, with hits including “You Belong With Me,” the Grammy-winning songs “White Horse” and “All Too Well.” Rose’s other hits include “Cry Pretty” (Carrie Underwood) and the 2019 Grammy-nominated “It All Comes Out In The Wash” (Miranda Lambert). “Crazy Girl” by Eli Young Band was named 2011 Academy of Country Music (ACM) song of the year, while “Girl Crush” by Little Big Town earned the 2016 Grammy for best country song, the 2015 Country Music Association (CMA) song and single of the year, and the 2015 NSAI song of the year. Liz was the 2007 SESAC country songwriter of the year. Her accolades include being a 2018 inductee into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame and a 2023 inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York.
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