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NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME TO INDUCT MAC MCANALLY

NASHVILLE, TENN. (September 10, 2007)—The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF) is pleased to announce this year’s Hall of Fame inductees: from the Songwriter category, hit country tunesmiths Mac McAnally and Bob DiPiero; and from the Songwriter/Artist category, iconic bluegrass duo Flatt & Scruggs and country/Southern rock superstar Hank Williams, Jr. A tie during the voting process resulted in two inductees from the Songwriter/Artist category instead of one. In recognition of her extraordinary career achievements, gospel music legend Dottie Rambo will be honored with special induction at the direction of the NaSHOF board.
The five new inductees will officially join the elite songwriting fraternity at the 38th Annual Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony on October 14 at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel.
“We extend to all of these fine writers and artists our heartiest congratulations,” said Roger Murrah, Chairman of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation. “They have honed their craft to perfection. For a writer who is connected to the Nashville music community, there is no higher honor than induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.”
There are 162 current members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Hank Williams, Sr. and Hank Williams, Jr. are the only father/son members, and Hank Williams, Sr. was inducted in the charter group of 1970. Flatt & Scruggs are the fourth artist duo to be inducted, joining the Delmore Brothers, the Louvin Brothers and the Everly Brothers. Dottie Rambo is the tenth woman to join the prestigious group.
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony will feature special performances of the inductees’ songs, as well as annual awards presented by NaSHOF’s sister organization, the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI). In addition to presenting its Songwriter Achievement Awards honoring the year’s best Song, Songwriter and Songwriter/Artists, the Professional Songwriters Division of NSAI will recognize ten songs and their writers in a list affectionately known as “The 10 Songs I Wish I’d Written.” Tickets for the event are $200 each. A limited number of seats are available to the public and may be purchased by contacting event director Mark Ford at [email protected] or 615-256-3354.
Raised in Belmont, Mississippi, Mac McAnally was a guitar and piano prodigy who was performing in clubs by age 13. By age 18, he was a session guitarist in Muscle Shoals. He began his recording career in 1977, and his ten albums have garnered him a loyal cult following. In addition to being a successful musician, singer, arranger, publisher and studio owner, this Southern renaissance man is a major songwriting talent, having provided hits to Alabama (“Old Flame”), Shenandoah (“Two Dozen Roses”), Steve Wariner (“Precious Thing”), Ricky Van Shelton (“Crime of Passion”) and T.G. Sheppard (“One Owner Heart”), among others. He has produced artists from Ricky Skaggs to Chris LeDoux to Sawyer Brown (for whom he also penned the hits “Café on the Corner,” “All These Years,” “The Boys and Me” and “Thank God For You”). McAnally is a longtime member of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer band, has produced Buffett records and has co-written Buffett hits such as “It’s My Job” and “License to Chill.”