The CMA Foundation is donating $250,000 to help construct the first-ever physical Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame at the new Music City Center. The announcement was made today by CMA Board Chairman and member of The CMA Foundation Troy Tomlinson during the annual CMA Triple Play Awards and Songwriters Luncheon at Marathon Music Works in Nashville. (l-r) CMA Chief Executive Officer, Steve Moore; 2011-12 Chairman of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation Board, John Van Mol; CMA Board Chairman, Troy Tomlinson; and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member and Chair of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation Board, Pat Alger.
Photo credit: Donn Jones/CMA
NASHVILLE – The CMA Foundation is donating $250,000 to help construct the first-ever physical Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame at the new Music City Center. The announcement was made today by CMA Board Chairman and member of The CMA Foundation Troy Tomlinson during the annual CMA Triple Play Awards and Songwriters Luncheon at Marathon Music Works in Nashville.
“Songwriters are an important constituency group for the Country Music Association,” said Tomlinson. “For the CMA Foundation to see fit to honor the songwriters in order to preserve the legacy of their work and creative impact on the format, speaks to the very heart of why the CMA Foundation was created.”
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame consists of two elements. The actual Hall of Fame inside the Music City Center will feature graphic displays and artifacts as well as a state-of-the-art interactive, digital exhibit. Outside the Music City Center’s Hall of Fame lobby will be a “Songwriters Square” complex, consisting of an exterior plaza and stair-step walkway that will be engraved with the names of Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame members, the year they were inducted, and the title of their most well-known composition. The project will be unveiled when the Music City Center officially opens this summer.
“Honoring the accomplishments of our songwriting community is important to CMA,” said Steve Moore, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “The CMA Foundation’s decision to fund this important initiative is just another example of our commitment to preserving the legacy and recognizing excellence in our songwriter community.”
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1970 and boasts 188 members representing all genres of music. For 42 years, the Hall of Fame has been a virtual one, until the announcement that it would occupy space in the Music City Center. Members include Bobby Braddock, Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, Rodney Crowell, Hal David, CMA Board member Bob DiPiero, Bob Dylan, Don and Phil Everly, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Vince Gill, Harlan Howard, Alan Jackson, Bob McDill, Roger Miller, Bill Monroe, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Carl Perkins, Dottie Rambo, Jimmie Rodgers, Don Schlitz, Cindy Walker, Jimmy Webb, Hank Williams Sr., and Hank Williams, Jr.
“As a past songwriter member of the CMA Board, it is so inspiring to have the CMA Foundation help honor the songwriters whose timeless songs are the bedrock of our Country Music industry,” said Pat Alger, a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and Chair of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation Board. “The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation is truly grateful for this generous contribution – it exemplifies the CMA Foundation’s commitment to enriching the heritage of all of its members.”
“We are truly overwhelmed at this lead gift from the CMA Foundation as the ultimate show of respect and admiration for songwriters,” said John Van Mol, 2011-12 Chairman of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation Board and CEO of DVL Public Relations & Advertising. “It is a big and important exclamation point as we continue to work on securing long-term operating funds so this Hall of Fame can be enjoyed for generations to come.”
“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to outreach to this important constituent group and demonstrate our appreciation for the outstanding talent and undeniable contributions made by our songwriters to the popularity and vitality of Country Music,” said Kitty Moon Emery, Chair of The CMA Foundation Board of Directors.
CMA created The CMA Foundation (a nonprofit 501c3) in 2011. The Foundation exists to provide financial support to worthwhile causes that are important to CMA and the Country Music community. The group places special emphasis on serving the needs of CMA’s core constituents and nonprofit organizations with initiatives that preserve the legacy of the format, support music education, and respond to other needs identified by CMA.
About the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation
To the world, Nashville is synonymous with music and songwriting because each art is crafted and perfected in the town known as Music City. Songwriters in particular have found a nurturing home in this culturally rich, diverse and growing city. To acknowledge and celebrate those who create the songs, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1970, and currently boasts 188 members. Annually, at a joint dinner with the Nashville Songwriters Association International, four additional writers are inducted into the elite Hall of Fame, which claims members from all genres of music, underscoring Nashville's musical diversity in the songwriting world. In addition to funding and operating the Hall of Fame, the broader mission of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation is to educate, archive and celebrate the songwriters that are uniquely associated with the Nashville music community. Plans include an expanded digital museum on its website and an educational partnership with the Belmont University Songwriting Program at its Music Row location, adjacent to the historic Quonset Hut in the shared space donated by Mike Curb. More information is available at nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com.
About CMA
More than 11,000 industry professionals and companies around the globe are members of the Country Music Association. Formed in 1958 as the first trade association for a single genre of music, the organization’s objectives are to serve as an educational and professional resource for the industry while advancing the growth of Country Music around the world. This is accomplished through CMA’s core events – CMA Music Festival and the CMA Music Festival television special, “CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock”; the annual CMA Awards, which are recognized as Country Music’s Biggest Night™; and CMA’s newest TV property, “CMA Country Christmas.” All of CMA’s television properties will air on the ABC Television Network through 2021. For more information about CMA visit CMAworld.com.