2011 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Nominees Announced

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.jpg

This year five artists and 10 songwriters have been nominated for induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Though all nominees have successfully written for some of the most popular artists in pop and country, the honor can only go to two Songwriters and one Songwriter/ Artist.
 
The 2011 nominees in the Songwriter/ Artist category are Garth Brooks, Larry Gatlin, Amy Grant, Alan Jackson and Townes Van Zandt. The nominees in the Songwriter category are John Bettis, Robert Byrne, J.J. Cale, Jan Crutchfield, Mark James, Dan Penn, Gretchen Peters, Thom Schuyler, Allen Shamblin and John Scott Sherrill.
 
"This is an amazing group of songwriters and songwriter/ artists," said John Van Mol, chair of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation. "Every one of them is extremely worthy of induction, and it is our honor to place each of their names in nomination."
 
Van Mol hopes to honor songwriters who have "positively impacted and been closely associated with the Nashville Music Community and deemed to be outstanding and significant."
 
The NaSHOF's 2011 Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony will be Sunday, Oct. 16, at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel. Tickets for the event will go on sale in August.
 
Songwriter Category Nominees:
 
John Bettis (“Slow Hand” by Conway Twitty/The Pointer Sisters; “Top Of The World”
by The Carpenters/Lynn Anderson)
 
Robert Byrne [1954-2005] (“Two Dozen Roses” by Shenandoah; “Rose Bouquet” by Phil Vassar)
 
J.J. Cale (“Cocaine” by Eric Clapton; “Call Me The Breeze” by Lynyrd Skynyrd)
 
Jan Crutchfield (“Statue Of A Fool” by Jack Greene/Brian Collins/Ricky Van Shelton; “Dream On Little Dreamer” by Perry Como)
 
Mark James (“Suspicious Minds” by Elvis Presley; “Always On My Mind” by Willie Nelson)
 
Dan Penn (“I’m Your Puppet” by James & Bobby Purify; “The Dark End Of The Street” by James Carr/Archie Campbell & Lorene Mann)  
  
Gretchen Peters (“Independence Day” by Martina McBride; “The Chill Of An Early Fall” by George Strait) 
 
Thom Schuyler (“16th Avenue” by Lacy J. Dalton; “Love Will Turn You Around” by Kenny Rogers)
 
Allen Shamblin (“I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt; “The House That Built Me” by Miranda Lambert)
 
John Scott Sherrill (“Nothin’ But The Wheel” by Patty Loveless; “Would You Go With Me” by Josh Turner)
 
Songwriter/ Artist Category Nominees:
 
Garth Brooks (“If Tomorrow Never Comes”; “Unanswered Prayers”; “The Thunder Rolls”)
 
Larry Gatlin (“Broken Lady”; “Statues Without Hearts”; “All The Gold In California”)
 
Amy Grant (“Baby Baby”; “Every Heartbeat”; “Tennessee Christmas”)
 
Alan Jackson (“Don’t Rock The Jukebox”; “Chattahoochee”; “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)”)
 
Townes Van Zandt [1944-1997] (“If I Needed You”; “Pancho And Lefty”; “White Freight Liner Blues”)