Sir Paul McCartney Receives Honorary Induction to Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
September 7 2010
Photo Caption: Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation Chairman and Bug Music Senior Vice President, Nashville, Roger Murrah (l), and CMA board member and member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Bob DiPiero (r), present Paul McCartney with the honor.
Sir Paul McCartney was presented an Honorary Induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame just minutes prior to his acclaimed performance at Nashville's the Bridgestone Arena on July 26, it was announced today by Roger Murrah, board chairman of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation.
"We are honored to bestow on Music City’s visiting guest, Sir Paul McCartney, an Honorary Induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame." Murrah said. "Creative exchanges constantly occur between music genres from around the world. In this way, Nashville songwriters have influenced Paul and, with his amazing body of work, Paul has certainly influenced Nashville songwriters."
Two of Nashville’s most talented and award winning songwriters, as well as members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame in their own right, concur.
"Paul’s songs have always been an inspiration to me," noted 2009 inductee Kye Fleming. "I still have my original Meet The Beatles LP. It is in my office right now. I bought it when I was 13...coincidence that I started writing songs when I was 14? I don't think so! ‘nuff said."
Gary Burr, who was inducted in 2005, noted, "what I learned from Paul McCartney: every time I write a song and get to the bridge I try to make the bridge strong enough and different enough that it could have been another song's chorus. That's what Paul always seemed to be able to do. Whether it's going to a minor chord unexpectedly or changing the rhythm, he always pushed that extra mile in his writing. When you are writing a song in G and go to the E minor for the bridge ....you are not trying very hard. ...and you are NOT channeling Paul McCartney."
Painted and etched into glass, the plaque that was presented reads "In celebration of the art of songwriting and the creative spirit shared by you and our members to which you have so richly contributed, we the board of directors do hereby present to you Sir Paul McCartney an Honorary Induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, July 26th, 2010.
More than 70 Paul McCartney songs have been recorded by Music City artists. The following listing is just a tiny fraction of his hundreds of Nashville-oriented “cuts.”
“Across the Universe” Bill Lloyd 2004 “All My Loving” Mundo Earwood 1982, top-60 country Suzy Bogguss 1995 “All You Need Is Love” The Anita Kerr Singers 1967 “And I Love Her” Chet Atkins 1966 Pat Coil & Phil Keaggy 2005 “And Your Bird Can Sing” The Charles River Valley Boys 1966 “Baby’s in Black” Flynnville Train 2007 “Band on the Run” Owsley 1999 “Because” Dan Dugmore 2003 “Blackbird” Adrian Belew 1993 Collin Raye 2000 The Zac Brown Band 2010 “Can’t Buy Me Love” Brenda Lee 1964 Shenandoah 1995 Rod McGaha 1999 “Come Together” Delbert McClinton 1995 Johnny Jones 2001 “Don’t Let Me Down” Dillard & Clark 1969 Charles Walker 2001 “Eight Days a Week” Lorrie Morgan 1989 The Larry Stephenson Band 1991 “Eleanor Rigby” Bobbie Gentry 1968 Country Gazette 1978 “The Fool on the Hill” Ray Stevens 1969 Charlie McCoy 1989 Kirk Whalum 2008 “For No One” Emmylou Harris 1975 Maura O’Connell 1991 “From Me To You” The Crickets 1964 Debby Boone 1977 “Get Back” Jessi Colter 1976 Steve Wariner 1995 The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band 2004 “Got to Get You Into My Life” Beegie Adair 2008 “A Hard Day’s Night” Dave Dudley 1968 “Help!” The Newbeats 1965 The Allman Joys 1973 Dolly Parton 1979 Little Texas 1995 “Here, There and Everywhere” Emmylou Harris 1975 The Nashville Mandolin Ensemble 2003 Jack Jezzro 2008 “Hey Jude” Ray Stevens 1969 John Hartford 1970 Earl Scruggs 1971 Jessi Colter 1976 Pete Drake 1999 “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party” Rosanne Cash 1989, #1 country “I Feel Fine” Sweethearts of the Rodeo 1989, top-10 country “I Saw Her Standing There” Jerry Lee Lewis 2006 “I Want to Hold Your Hand” Homer & Jethro 1964, top-50 country “I Will” Eddy Arnold 1975 Alison Krauss & Tony Furtado 1992 Kathy Mattea 1994 “If I Fell” Don Williams & Pozo Seco Singers 1970 Sammy Kershaw 1995 Reba McEntire 2001 “I’ll Cry Instead” Chet Atkins 1966 “I’ll Follow the Sun” Floyd Cramer 1965 David Ball 1995 “I’m Down” New Grass Revival 1989 Fred James 2001 The Kentucky HeadHunters 2005 “I’m Happy Just to Dance with You” Anne Murray 1980, top-20 country “I’m Only Sleeping” Lobo 1974 Rosanne Cash 1995 “In My Life” Susan Ashton & Gary Chapman 1995 David Allan Coe 1999 Ray Price 2000 Johnny Cash 2002 “I’ve Just Seen a Face” Pure Prairie League & Vince Gill 1974 Dickey Lee 1977 Calamity Jane 1982 top-40 country The Forester Sisters 1988 Leon Russell & New Grass Revival 2001 “Julia” Dan Dugmore 2003 “Junior’s Farm” Paul McCartney & Wings 1974 “Lady Madonna” Area Code 615 1969 Buck Owens 1976 Tommy Emmanuel 1986 “Let ‘Em In” Chet Atkins 1981 “Let it Be” Jan Howard 1970 Gary Scruggs 1970 Collin Raye 1995 Anne Murray 1999 Roscoe Shelton 2001 “The Long and Winding Road” Olivia Newton-John 1976 John Berry 1995 “Love Me Do” Sam Levine 2008 “Michelle” Bobby Goldsboro 1966 Boots Randolph 1968 Bela Fleck & The Flecktones 1991 “Mother Nature’s Son” John Denver 1972 Evan Marshall 1990 “Mull of Kintyre” Glen Campbell 1983 George Hamilton IV 2003 “Norwegian Wood” Waylon Jennings 1966 Vassar Clements 1973 “Nowhere Man” Red Knuckles & The Trailblazers 1993 Randy Travis 1995 “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” Wanda Jackson 1973 Jim Horn 2001 “Oh Darling” Bela Fleck & The Flecktones 1995 Earl Gaines 2001 “One After 909” Willie Nelson 1995 “Paperback Writer” Kenny Rogers 1974 Herb Pedersen 1976 Kris Kristofferson 1995 “Please Please Me” The Crickets 1964 Sonny Curtis 1964 “Sally G” Paul McCartney & Wings 1975, top-50 country Lloyd Green 1976 “She Loves You Brenda Lee 1964 Chet Atkins 1966 “She’s a Woman” Chet Atkins 1966 “Silly Love Songs” Pat Coil 2005 “Step Inside Love” Charlie McCoy 1989 “Strawberry Fields Forever” Terri Hollowell 1979 The Nashville Superpickers 1995 “Things We Said Today” Dwight Yoakam 1992 “This Boy” Delbert McClinton 1965 “Ticket to Ride” Glen Campbell 1965 Hayseed Dixie 2006 “We Can Work it Out” The Dillards 1979 Phil Keaggy 1995 “What Goes On” The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band 1970 The Seldom Scene 1988 “When I’m 64” John Denver 1969 “Why Don’t We Do it in the Road” Fred James 2001 “With a Little Help From My Friends” Earl Scruggs 1971 The Nashville Mandolin Ensemble 2003 “With a Little Luck” Pat Coil 2005 “A World Without Love” The Mavericks 1999 “Yellow Submarine” The Charles River Valley Boys 1966 “Yesterday” Willie Nelson 1966 Jeannie Seely 1966 Jim Ed Brown 1966 Wilma Burgess 1967 Marty Robbins 1968 Ray Price 1968 Tammy Wynette 1968 The Country Gentlemen 1970 Billie Jo Spears 1979, top-60 country Roy Drusky 1980 Cristy Lane 1986 Merle Haggard 1987 Billy Dean 1995 LeAnn Rimes 1997 Freddy Fender 2004 “You Won’t See Me” Anne Murray 1974, top-10 pop “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” Waylon Jennings 1967 The Kentucky HeadHunters 1994Established in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame boasts 176 members, including songwriting luminaries such as Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, Johnny Cash, Rodney Crowell, Bob Dylan, Don and Phil Everly, Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, Bob DiPiero, Harlan Howard, Bob McDill, Roger Miller, Bill Monroe, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Carl Perkins, Dottie Rambo, Jimmie Rodgers, Cindy Walker, Jimmy Webb, Hank Williams, Sr. and Hank Williams, Jr. Induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame is the highest honor that can be given to a songwriter associated with the Nashville music community. In 2009 the Hall of Fame inducted Kye Fleming, Mark D. Sanders, and Tammy Wynette.
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit foundation that owns and operates the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The principal purposes of the Foundation are to educate, archive, celebrate and honor the legacy of songwriting that is uniquely associated with the Nashville music community.
Photo by: MJ Kim