Nashville Songwriters' Hall of Fame

Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame
1970 - 1979

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame began in 1970 as an enterprise of the fledgling Nashville Songwriters Association. A credentials committee unanimously selected a charter class of 21 writers, who were inducted on Monday, October 12, during the first Hall of Fame Banquet and Ceremony held at the Holiday Inn-Vanderbilt.

Sixteen years later, the Hall of Fame split from the songwriters association to form its own entity. The International Songwriters Foundation (ISF) was chartered on April 11, 1986, as a new organization to oversee the Hall of Fame. On March 2, 1992, the ISF changed its name to the Nashville Songwriters Foundation (NSF), then on Dec. 5, 2006, to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF).

Throughout its 40-plus years of existence, the Hall of Fame remained a virtual entity with no permanent location to call home until May 19, 2013, when NaSHOF realized a decades-long dream with the opening of its Hall of Fame Gallery inside the newly constructed Music City Center (MCC), Nashville’s 1.2 million-square-foot convention center. Located in downtown Nashville (directly across the street from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Bridgestone Arena) the gallery features displays of songwriting memorabilia, as well as interactive touch screens that allow visitors to access audio, video and other digital information about the history of Nashville songwriting and members of the Hall of Fame.

To find out more about each member, click on their name to be taken to their official page in the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame website.
NOTE: If viewing on mobile device, swipe left to see Inductees hometown and other information.

1970 Inductees (Initial Class)

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Gene Autry
Born: 09-29-1907
Died: 10-02-1998
Birthplace: Tioga, Texas

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Johnny Bond
Born: 06-01-1915
Died: 06-12-1978
Birthplace: Enville, Oklahoma

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Albert E. Brumley
Born: 10-29-1905
Died: 11-15-1977
Birthplace: Spiro, Oklahoma

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A. P. Carter
Born: 12-15-1891
Died: 11-07-1960
Birthplace: Maces Springs, Virginia

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Ted Daffan
Born: 09-21-1912
Died: 10-06-1996
Birthplace:
Beauregard Parish, Louisiana

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Vernon Dalhart
Born: 04-06-1883
Died: 09-14-1948
Birthplace: Jefferson, Texas

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Vic McAlpin
Born: 02-04-1918
Died: 01-18-1980
Birthplace:
Defeated Creek, Tennessee

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Rex Griffin
Born: 08-12-1912
Died: 10-07-1958
Birthplace: Sand Valley, Alabama

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Stuart Hamblen
Born: 10-20-1908
Died: 03-08-1989
Birthplace: Kellyville, Texas

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Pee Wee King
Born: 02-18-1914
Died: 03-07-2000
Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Bob Miller
Born: 09-20-1895
Died: 08-26-1955
Birthplace: Ansonia, Connecticut

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Leon Payne
Born: 06-15-1917
Died: 09-11-1969
Birthplace: Alba, Texas

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Jimmie Rodgers
Born: 09-08-1897
Died: 05-26-1933
Birthplace: Meridian, Mississippi

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Fred Rose
Born: 08-24-1897
Died: 12-01-1954
Birthplace: Evansville, Indiana

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Redd Stewart
Born: 05-27-1921
Died: 08-02-2003
Birthplace: Ashland City, Tennessee

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Floyd Tillman
Born: 12-08-1914
Died: 08-22-2003
Birthplace: Ryan, Oklahoma

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Merle Travis
Born: 11-29-1917
Died: 10-20-1983
Birthplace: Rosewood, Kentucky

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Ernest Tubb
Born: 02-09-1914
Died: 09-06-1984
Birthplace: Crisp, Texas

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Cindy Walker
Born: 07-20-1918
Died: 03-23-2006
Birthplace: Mart, Texas

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Hank Williams
Born: 09-17-1923
Died: 01-01-1953
Birthplace: Mount Olive, Alabama

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Bob Wills
Born: 03-06-1905
Died: 05-13-1975
Birthplace: Kosse, Texas

1971 Inductees

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Smiley Burnette
Born: 03-18-1911
Died: 02-17-1967
Birthplace: Summum, Illinois

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Jenny Lou Carson
Born: 01-13-1915
Died: 12-16-1978
Birthplace: Decatur, Illinois

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Wilf Carter
Born: 12-18-1904
Died: 12-05-1996
Birthplace:
Port Hilford, Nova Scotia, Canada

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Zeke Clements
Born: 09-06-1911
Died: 06-04/1994
Birthplace: Warrior, Alabama

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Jimmie Davis
Born: 09-11-1899
Died: 11-05-2000
Birthplace:
Beech Springs, Louisiana

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Alton Delmore
Born: 12-25-1908
Died: 08-08-1964
Birthplace: Elkmont, Alabama

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Rabon Delmore
Born: 12-03-1916
Died: 12-04-1952
Birthplace: Elkmont, Alabama

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Al Dexter
Born: 05-04-1905
Died: 01-28-1984
Birthplace: Jacksonville, Texas

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Vaughn Horton
Born: 06-05-1911
Died: 02-29-1988
Birthplace:
Broad Top, Pennsylvania

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Bradley Kincaid
Born: 07-13-1895
Died: 09-23-1989
Birthplace:
Point Leavell, Kentucky

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Bill Monroe
Born: 09-13-1911
Died: 09-09-1996
Birthplace: Rosine, Kentucky

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Bob Nolan
Born: 04-01-1908
Died: 06-16-1980
Birthplace: Winnipeg, Canada

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Tex Owens
Born: 06-15-1892
Died: 09-09-1962
Birthplace: Killeen, Texas

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Tex Ritter
Born: 01-12-1905
Died: 01-02-1975
Birthplace: Panola County, Texas

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Carson J. Robison
Born: 08-04-1890
Died: 03-24-1957
Birthplace: Oswego, Kansas

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Tim Spencer
Born: 07-13-1908
Died: 04-26-1974
Birthplace: Webb City, Missouri

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Gene Sullivan
Born: 11-16-1914
Died: 10-24-1984
Birthplace: Carbon Hill, Alabama

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Jimmy Wakely
Born: 02-16-1914
Died: 09-23--1982
Birthplace: Mineola, Arkansas

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Wiley Walker
Born: 11-17-1911
Died: 05-17-1968
Birthplace: Laurel Hill, Florida

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Scotty Wiseman
Born: 11-08-1909
Died: 01-31-1981
Birthplace: Ingalls, North Carolina

1972 Inductees

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Boudleaux Bryant
Born: 02-13-1920
Died: 06-25-1987
Birthplace: Shellman, Georgia

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Felice Bryant
Born: 08-07-1925
Died: 04-22-2003
Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Lefty Frizzell
Born: 03-31-1928
Died: 07-19-1975
Birthplace: Corsicana, Texas

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Jack Rhodes
Born: 01-12-1907
Died: 10-09-1968
Birthplace: Gedden, Texas

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Don Robertson
Born: 12-05-1922
Died: 03-16-2015
Birthplace: Peking, China

1973 Inductees

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Jack Clement
Born: 04-05-1931
Birthplace: Memphis, Tennessee

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Don Gibson
Born: 04-03-1928
Died: 11-17-2003
Birthplace: Shelby, North Carolina

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Harlan Howard
Born: 09-08-1927
Died: 03-03-2002
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan

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Roger Miller
Born: 01-02-1936
Died: 10-25-1992
Birthplace: Fort Worth, Texas

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Ed Nelson Jr.
Born: 03-26-1916
Died: 05-21-1989
Birthplace: Bronx, New York

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Steve Nelson
Born: 11-24-1907
Died: 11-01-1981
Birthplace: New York, New York

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Willie Nelson
Born: 04-30-1933
Birthplace: Abbott, Texas

1974 Inductees

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Hank Cochran
Born: 08-02-1935
Died: 07-15-2010
Birthplace: Isola, Mississippi

1975 Inductees

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Bill Anderson
Born: 11-01-1937
Birthplace:
Columbia, South Carolina

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Danny Dill
Born: 09-19-1924
Died: 10-23-2008
Birthplace: Dollar Hill, Tennessee

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Eddie Miller
Born: 12-10-1919
Died: 04-11-1977
Birthplace: Carmargo, Oklahoma

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Marty Robbins
Born: 09-26-1925
Died: 12-08-1982
Birthplace: Glendale, Arizona

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Wayne Walker
Born: 12-13-1925
Died: 01-02-1979
Birthplace: Quapaw, Oklahoma

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Marijohn Wilkin
Born: 07-14-1920
Died: 10-28-2006
Birthplace: Kemp, Texas

1976 Inductees

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Carl Belew
Born: 04-21-1931
Died: 10-31-1990
Birthplace: Salina, Oklahoma

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Dallas Frazier
Born: 10-27-1939
Died: 01-14-2022
Birthplace: Spiro, Oklahoma

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John D. Loudermilk
Born: 03-31-1934
Died: 09-21-2016
Birthplace: Durham, North Carolina

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Moon Mullican
Born: 03-29-1909
Died: 01-01-1967
Birthplace: Corrigan, Texas

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Curly Putman
Born: 11-20-1930
Died: 10-30-2016
Birthplace: Princeton, Alabama

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Mel Tillis
Born: 08-08-1932
Died: 11-19-2017
Birthplace: Tampa, Florida

1977 Inductees

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Johnny Cash
Born: 02-26-1932
Died: 09-12-2003
Birthplace: Kingsland, Arkansas

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Woody Guthrie
Born: 07-14-1912
Died: 10-03-1967
Birthplace: Okemah, Oklahoma

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Merle Haggard
Born: 04-06-1937
Died: 04-06-2016
Birthplace: Bakersfield, California

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Kris Kristofferson
Born: 06-22-1936
Birthplace: Brownsville, Texas

1978 Inductees

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Joe Allison
Born: 10-03-1924
Died: 08-02-2002
Birthplace: McKinney,

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Tom T. Hall
Born: 05-25-1936
Died: 08-20-2021
Birthplace: Olive Hill, Kentucky

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Hank Snow
Born: 05-09-1914
Died: 12-20-1999
Birthplace:
Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, Canada

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Don Wayne
Born: 05-30-1933
Birthplace: Nashville, Tennessee

1979 Inductees

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Thomas A. Dorsey
Born: 07-01-1899
Died: 01-23-1993
Birthplace: Villa Rica, Georgia

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Charlie Louvin
Louvin Brothers
Born: 07-07-1927
Died: 01-26-2011
Birthplace: Henagar, Alabama

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Ira Louvin
Louvin Brothers
Born: 04-21-1924
Died: 06-20-1965
Birthplace: Henagar, Alabama

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Elsie McWilliams
Born: 06-01-1896
Died: 12-30-1985
Birthplace: Harperville, Mississippi

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Joe South
Born: 02-28-1942
Died: 09-05-2012
Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia

View 1980 - 1989 Inductees

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