New Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF) is an organization which promotes and preserves the unique songwriting legacy that has sprung from the heartland of country music—Nashville. Since 1970, it has annually inducted honorees into the prestigious Nashville Songwriters Association’s Hall of Fame.

Among the first to be inducted were Gene Autry, Jimmie Rodgers, Leon Payne, Cindy Walker, and Merle Travis, to name a few. Today, the list of inductees consists of a veritable who’s who of country music including great artists such as Chuck Berry, Jimmy Cash, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Roy Orbison, and Carl Perkins, among others.

Continuing its tradition of honoring talented singers and songwriters from this unique genre, the NaSHOF has recently announced the new inductees who will join the growing list of honorees. This year’s new members include the late Tammy Wynette (Songwriter/Artist category) as well as Mark Sanders and Kye Fleming (Songwriter category).

Heading the list of inductees is the legendary Tammy Wynette, who will be honored posthumously. During her time, Wynette was widely considered as the “First Lady of Country Music.” The prolific singer and songwriter was the voice behind monster country hits such as “Stand by Your Man,” “‘Til I Can Make It On My Own,” “The Ways To Love A Man,” “We Sure Can Love Each Other,” “Two Story House,” and “Another Lonely Song.” Wynette was a multi-awarded singer/songwriter who also won back-to-back CMA Female Vocalist of the Year Awards from 1968 to 1970. A great vocalist with one of the most distinct voices in the industry, Wynette set the standard for other female country singers to follow along with fellow female crooners Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn. In 1998, upon her death at the age of 55, she was also inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame within the same year.

Second in the list is Mark Sanders, who is famous for having written five number 1 hit songs in the same year (1995). Sanders wrote, among others, Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance,” Ricochet’s “Daddy’s Money,” Jack Ingram’s “That’s A Man,” Faith Hill’s “It Matters To Me,” and George Strait’s “Blue Clear Sky.” Another multi-awarded songwriter, Sanders was honored with the NSAI Songwriter of the Year Awards for 1995 and 1996.

With over 45 BMI awards tucked under her belt, the final inductee of the year, Kye Fleming, is no lightweight. Fleming began to write songs at the tender age of 14. With main collaborator Dennis Morgan, she penned some of the most memorable songs to have been produced such as Barbara Mandrell’s “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” Ronnie Milsap’s “Smoky Mountain Rain” and “I Wouldn’t Have Missed It For The World” and  BMI Country Song of the Year for 1993, “Nobody,” which was sung by Sylvia.

In a special ceremony that will coincide with the organization’s 39th Anniversary, the new inductees will be feted in a Dinner and Induction Ceremony, which shall be held at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel on Sunday, October 18. The event will be hosted by AT&T.