{"id":1315673,"date":"2019-10-15T14:38:37","date_gmt":"2019-10-15T20:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1813195"},"modified":"2019-10-15T14:38:37","modified_gmt":"2019-10-15T20:38:37","slug":"these-songwriters-have-always-been-heroes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/music-news\/these-songwriters-have-always-been-heroes\/","title":{"rendered":"These Songwriters Have Always Been Heroes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"byline\"> by <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/author\/morrise\/\" title=\"Posts by Edward Morris\" rel=\"author\">Edward Morris<\/a><\/span> <span class=\"date\"><br \/>\n35m ago<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span> <\/p>\n<p>Garth Brooks, Brooks &amp; Dunn, the Oak Ridge Boys and a bevy of other artists came to Nashville\u2019s Music City Center Monday night (October 14) to sing the songs and praises of the six new inductees into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame: Kostas, Marcus Hummon, Dwight Yoakam, Rivers Rutherford, Sharon Vaughn and Larry Gatlin.<\/p>\n<p>The four-hour gala was attended by hundreds of songwriters, music executives, their friends and family and served as the unofficial kickoff to Music Row\u2019s glittering fall awards season that concludes Nov. 13 with the CMA Awards show.<\/p>\n<div class=\"photo\" id=\"42504e9b\">\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;img&quot;}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Garth-perfNaSHOF-1571170749.jpg?quality=0.85&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Garth-perfNaSHOF-1571170749.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=481 481w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Garth-perfNaSHOF-1571170749.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=660 660w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Garth-perfNaSHOF-1571170749.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=768 768w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Garth-perfNaSHOF-1571170749.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=980 980w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Garth-perfNaSHOF-1571170749.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1200 1200w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Garth-perfNaSHOF-1571170749.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1500 1500w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Garth-perfNaSHOF-1571170749.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1800 1800w\" title=\"Garth Brooks\" class=\" js-srcset-img shortcode-image \" alt><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>As the invited guests streamed into the grand ballroom from the opening cocktail to find their assigned seats at the dinner tables, the group Farewell Angelina serenaded them with a medley of songs written by the inductees.<\/p>\n<p>The setup for the presentations was straightforward and smooth. A friend from the music industry would introduce the new inductee and then two different acts would perform two of the writer\u2019s representative songs. After that, the inductee delivered his or her acceptance remarks.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/P3E4ABXYklI?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/P3E4ABXYklI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>Producer Tony Brown introduced Kostas (full name Kostas Lazarides), whose songwriting he first encountered on a Claire Lynch album. He discovered that Kostas was a \u201chippie\u201d songwriting living in Montana and asked to hear more of his songs.<\/p>\n<p>Holly Williams then treated the crowd to a rendition of \u201cTimber, I\u2019m Falling in Love,\u201d a No. 1 for Patty Loveless in 1989. Parker Milsap followed with \u201cAin\u2019t That Lonely Yet,\u201d a Kostas\/James House co-write that netted Yoakam a best country male vocal Grammy in 1993.<\/p>\n<div class=\"photo\" id=\"35577e0d\">\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;img&quot;}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Hanna-Berg-Hummon-1571170832.jpg?quality=0.85&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Hanna-Berg-Hummon-1571170832.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=481 481w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Hanna-Berg-Hummon-1571170832.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=660 660w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Hanna-Berg-Hummon-1571170832.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=768 768w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Hanna-Berg-Hummon-1571170832.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=980 980w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Hanna-Berg-Hummon-1571170832.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1200 1200w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Hanna-Berg-Hummon-1571170832.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1500 1500w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Hanna-Berg-Hummon-1571170832.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1800 1800w\" title=\"Jeff Hanna, Levi Hummon, Matraca Berg Hummon\" class=\" js-srcset-img shortcode-image \" alt><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Darrell Scott presented Hummon, his frequent co-writer as well as a composer of musical plays and operas. Sara Evans sang her 2000 hit, \u201cBorn to Fly,\u201d which she had written with Hummon and Scott. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band\u2019s Jeff Hanna, accompanied by Matraca Berg and Hummon\u2019s son, Levi, rendered \u201cBless the Broken Road,\u201d a 2004 hit for Rascal Flatts.<\/p>\n<p>Music publisher Cameron Strang spoke on behalf of Yoakam, whom he characterized as \u201ccourteous to a fault, incredibly generous and very funny.\u201d Brandy Clark sang a wistful, despairing version of Yoakam\u2019s 1992 Top 20 single, \u201cThe Heart That You Own.\u201d and Jeffrey Steele rocked the room with \u201cGuitars, Cadillacs &amp; Hillbilly Music,\u201d a Top 5 for Yoakam in 1986.<\/p>\n<div class=\"photo\" id=\"ab33ebae\">\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;img&quot;}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Jeffrey-Steele-1571169922.jpg?quality=0.85&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Jeffrey-Steele-1571169922.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=481 481w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Jeffrey-Steele-1571169922.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=660 660w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Jeffrey-Steele-1571169922.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=768 768w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Jeffrey-Steele-1571169922.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=980 980w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Jeffrey-Steele-1571169922.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1200 1200w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Jeffrey-Steele-1571169922.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1500 1500w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Jeffrey-Steele-1571169922.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1800 1800w\" title=\"Jeffrey Steele\" class=\" js-srcset-img shortcode-image portrait\" alt><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Songwriter Tom Shapiro introduced Rutherford, noting that when the two of them first wrote together, he thought Rutherford was too artsy and Rutherford thought him too commercial. Ace songwriters Brett James and Hillary Lindsey stilled the crowd with a soaring rendition of \u201cWhen I Get Where I\u2019m Going,\u201d which Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton took to No. 1 in 2006. <\/p>\n<p>Then Brooks &amp; Dunn, backed by their full band, ripped through \u201cAin\u2019t Nothing \u2019Bout You,\u201d the Rutherford-Shapiro co-composition that gave the duo a six-weeks No. 1 in 2001. Master of ceremonies Bill Cody reminded the crowd that Brooks &amp; Dunn will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this coming Sunday (Oct. 20).<\/p>\n<div class=\"photo\" id=\"ac5e2fb7\">\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;img&quot;}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/thumbnail_Brooks-and-Dunn-perfNaSHOF-2019-Moments-By-Moser-Photography-10-15-19-784-1571170980.jpg?quality=0.85&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/thumbnail_Brooks-and-Dunn-perfNaSHOF-2019-Moments-By-Moser-Photography-10-15-19-784-1571170980.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=481 481w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/thumbnail_Brooks-and-Dunn-perfNaSHOF-2019-Moments-By-Moser-Photography-10-15-19-784-1571170980.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=660 660w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/thumbnail_Brooks-and-Dunn-perfNaSHOF-2019-Moments-By-Moser-Photography-10-15-19-784-1571170980.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=768 768w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/thumbnail_Brooks-and-Dunn-perfNaSHOF-2019-Moments-By-Moser-Photography-10-15-19-784-1571170980.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=980 980w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/thumbnail_Brooks-and-Dunn-perfNaSHOF-2019-Moments-By-Moser-Photography-10-15-19-784-1571170980.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1200 1200w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/thumbnail_Brooks-and-Dunn-perfNaSHOF-2019-Moments-By-Moser-Photography-10-15-19-784-1571170980.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1500 1500w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/thumbnail_Brooks-and-Dunn-perfNaSHOF-2019-Moments-By-Moser-Photography-10-15-19-784-1571170980.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1800 1800w\" title=\"Brooks &amp; Dunn\" class=\" js-srcset-img shortcode-image \" alt><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Grand Ole Opry star Bill Anderson presented Sharon Vaughn, whom he first met in 1974 when a mutual friend suggested he listen to some of Vaughn\u2019s songs. She came to his office, he said, without a tape of her songs to play or even a guitar to play them on. He said when he asked her how she was going to present herself as a songwriter, she moved over to his desk, began tapping out a rhythm on it and sang a capella, \u201cShe played tambourine with a silver jingle\/And she must have known the words to at least a million tunes.\u201d Those were, of course, the opening lines to \u201cY\u2019all Come Back Saloon,\u201d the 1977 breakthrough hit for the Oak Ridge Boys.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sH_4dSOXj90?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sH_4dSOXj90?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>Anderson said when he asked her the question every songwriter dreads, \u201cWhat else have you got,\u201d she told him she\u2019d also written something called \u201cMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys. That gem gave Willie Nelson a No. 1 in 1980 and was featured in the Robert Redford-Jane Fonda movie, The Electric Horseman.<\/p>\n<p>John Rich and the Isaacs stirred memories with their emotionally dead-on interpretation of \u201cY\u2019all Come Back Saloon,\u201d and Garth Brooks, accompanying himself on guitar, seemed to transport both himself and the crowd with his subtle, understated take of \u201cMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"photo\" id=\"c52fea79\">\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;img&quot;}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Gatlins-etc-1571172285.jpg?quality=0.85&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Gatlins-etc-1571172285.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=481 481w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Gatlins-etc-1571172285.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=660 660w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Gatlins-etc-1571172285.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=768 768w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Gatlins-etc-1571172285.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=980 980w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Gatlins-etc-1571172285.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1200 1200w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Gatlins-etc-1571172285.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1500 1500w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Gatlins-etc-1571172285.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1800 1800w\" title=\"Vince Gill, Rudy Gatlin, Steve Gatlin, Larry Gatlin, William Lee Golden (Oak Ridge Boys), Duane Allen (Oak Ridge Boys), Joe Bonsall (Oak Ridge Boys), Richard Sterban (Oak Ridge Boys)\" class=\" js-srcset-img shortcode-image \" alt><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Vince Gill joked that Gatlin had to get \u201call the way to the V\u2019s in his Rolodex\u201d to find someone willing to introduce him. In a more serious vein, he said he had studied and admired Gatlin\u2019s songs before becoming acquainted with him personally on the golf course.<\/p>\n<p>After the introduction, Gill moved to another stage to join Gatlin\u2019s brothers, Rudy and Steve, on \u201cI\u2019ve Done Enough Dyin\u2019 Today,\u201d with Gill taking on the stratospherically high lead. \u201cDyin\u2019\u201d was a Top 10 for Gatlin in 1979. Then, bracketed by Rudy and Steve, the Oak Ridge Boys gave forth with a gloriously buoyant rendition of \u201cAll the Gold in California,\u201d which yielded Gatlin a No. 1, also in 1979.<\/p>\n<div class=\"photo\" id=\"323aba14\">\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;img&quot;}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/thumbnail_Oaks-perfNaSHOF-2019-Moments-By-Moser-Photography-10-15-19-969-1571169853.jpg?quality=0.85&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/thumbnail_Oaks-perfNaSHOF-2019-Moments-By-Moser-Photography-10-15-19-969-1571169853.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=481 481w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/thumbnail_Oaks-perfNaSHOF-2019-Moments-By-Moser-Photography-10-15-19-969-1571169853.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=660 660w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/thumbnail_Oaks-perfNaSHOF-2019-Moments-By-Moser-Photography-10-15-19-969-1571169853.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=768 768w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/thumbnail_Oaks-perfNaSHOF-2019-Moments-By-Moser-Photography-10-15-19-969-1571169853.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=980 980w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/thumbnail_Oaks-perfNaSHOF-2019-Moments-By-Moser-Photography-10-15-19-969-1571169853.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1200 1200w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/thumbnail_Oaks-perfNaSHOF-2019-Moments-By-Moser-Photography-10-15-19-969-1571169853.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1500 1500w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/thumbnail_Oaks-perfNaSHOF-2019-Moments-By-Moser-Photography-10-15-19-969-1571169853.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1800 1800w\" title=\"The Oak Ridge Boys\" class=\" js-srcset-img shortcode-image \" alt><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Second only to the music as entertainment were the remarks the presenters and recipients made.<\/p>\n<p>Kostas recalled hearing Harlan Howard songs on the jukeboxes in Billings. Montana, where he grew up and then the joy of co-writing with Howard after he began making trips to Nashville. One of their co-writes was the Patty Loveless 1993 No. 1, \u201cBlame It on Your Heart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI loved music,\u201d Kostas said. \u201cIt was my best friend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hummon spun a myth of how the first songwriter came into being by stretching a string on a bone and placing it over a drum, then singing a story to it. He joked to the music publishers in the crowd, \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve been signed and dropped by most of you.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6N0sJWiJD7I?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6N0sJWiJD7I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>After leaving Columbus, Ohio, where he grew up, Yoakam said he had auditioned to sing at the Opryland USA amusement park in Nashville but had decided to move on to California after he was told he would have to fill in as an \u201calternate\u201d rather than work as a full-time performer.<\/p>\n<p>He said that the always quotable Roger Miller told him that songwriting should be like a cat having kittens: \u201cIt\u2019s something you crawl up under the house and do by yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSongwriters,\u201d Yoakam mused, \u201cremind us we\u2019re not all alone.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/q6F7xMRWB10?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/q6F7xMRWB10?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>Rutherford expressed his appreciation to his parents who sat in the audience. \u201cThank you for the Martin guitar I was too young to have and you were too poor to buy.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>He said after he moved from Memphis to Nashville and was trying to support his wife and two young daughters, he went to the little grocery store where he shopped, took his purchases to the cash register and was asked by the store owner whether he wanted the groceries or to make good his check that had bounced. Finally, he said, the grocer agreed to accept his credit card, and that particular calamity was averted \u2014 even though it made him reconsider the wisdom of trying to make it as a writer.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yYHT-TF4KO4?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yYHT-TF4KO4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>Anderson said he thought Vaughn should be given a prize for coming up with the most inventive rhyme ever coined by a Nashville songwriter \u2014 rhyming \u201cCincinnati\u201d with \u201cSerengeti.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before she distinguished herself as a songwriter, Vaughn was a background singer working in recording studios. \u201cIt was the best schoolroom anybody could have in the music business,\u201d she said. \u201cI got to see songs created from the bones out.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>She said she moved to Nashville from Florida in 1969 and that when she came over a hill and saw the skyline for the first time, \u201cIt looked like the Emerald City, and it still does.\u201d Then, noting that she was paraphrasing Bonnie Raitt, she proclaimed, \u201cIt took a while to get here, but I\u2019m right on time.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0DgtSMOPcR0?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0DgtSMOPcR0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>In explaining how he got to this moment and this honor, Gatlin led the audience through a literary landscape that included references to the King James Bible, Shakespeare, William Blake, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner and James Joyce, all of whom had served as his inspirations. <\/p>\n<p>He said that he wrote \u201cAll the Gold in California\u201d in eight minutes after spotting a car with an Oklahoma license plate in the Los Angeles traffic and flashing back to Steinbeck\u2019s <em>The Grapes of Wrath<\/em>. Of his own approach to songwriting he said, \u201cWhen I get the words right, the words hum the melodies in my ear.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"photo\" id=\"5c26bbc3\">\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;img&quot;}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Nashville-Songwriters-Hall-of-Fame-1571171709.jpg?quality=0.85&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Nashville-Songwriters-Hall-of-Fame-1571171709.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=481 481w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Nashville-Songwriters-Hall-of-Fame-1571171709.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=660 660w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Nashville-Songwriters-Hall-of-Fame-1571171709.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=768 768w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Nashville-Songwriters-Hall-of-Fame-1571171709.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=980 980w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Nashville-Songwriters-Hall-of-Fame-1571171709.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1200 1200w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Nashville-Songwriters-Hall-of-Fame-1571171709.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1500 1500w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/10\/Nashville-Songwriters-Hall-of-Fame-1571171709.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1800 1800w\" title=\"Nashville-Songwriters-Hall-of-Fame\" class=\" js-srcset-img shortcode-image \" alt><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Midway in the inductions, songwriter Pat Alger gave an appreciation of Ralph Murphy, the beloved songwriter, music publisher and musical mentor who died this past May. \u201cHe was always looking for the next great song,\u201d Alger said, pointing out that he was a familiar and welcome face in publishing circles from Nashville to New York, Los Angeles, Toronto and London. <\/p>\n<p>After Alger announced that Murphy was being awarded the Frances Williams Preston Mentor Award, Murphy\u2019s daughter Kerry brought a glass of wine to the stage, said a few words about her father\u2019s impact, and led the crowd in a toast to his memory.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><em>Pictured (L-R): NaSHOF Board chair Sarah Cates; inductees Larry Gatlin, Dwight Yoakam, Sharon Vaughn, Rivers Rutherford, Kostas and Marcus Hummon and NaSHOF executive director Mark Ford. Photo Credit: Moments by Moser<\/em> <\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n<div class=\"description\"> Edward Morris is a veteran of country music journalism. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a frequent contributor to CMT.com. <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/1813195\/these-songwriters-have-always-been-heroes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: CMT News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Edward Morris 35m ago Garth Brooks, Brooks &amp; Dunn, the Oak Ridge Boys and a bevy of other artists came to Nashville\u2019s Music City Center Monday night (October 14) to sing the songs and praises of the six new inductees into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame: Kostas, Marcus Hummon, Dwight Yoakam, Rivers Rutherford, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1315673","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-14 03:34:00","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1315673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1315673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1315673\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1315673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1315673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1315673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}