Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame
1980 - 1989

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.

1980 Inductees

1981 Inductees

1982 Inductees

1983 Inductees

1984 Inductees

1985 Inductees

1986 Inductees

1987 Inductees

1988 Inductees

1989 Inductees

View 1970 - 1979 Inductees

View 1990 - 1999 Inductees