A pair of prominent bluegrass writers have been nominated for induction into the 2019 class of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Among the 8 announced nominees for this year are Shawn Camp and Jerry Salley. Both are highly visible performers as well as tunesmiths, Camp taking the Lester Flatt role with The Earls of Leicester, and Salley with his own group and in frequent sets with his friends, Carl Jackson and Larry Cordle.
Jerry has writer’s credits on a great many songs in the country, bluegrass, and Gospel categories, more than 500 in total. Since he started in 1982, he has seen record sales of 17 million copies of his songs. Nearly ever artist of note in those genres has cut one of songs, from Reba McEntire and Patty Loveless to Loretta Lynn and Toby Keith. Bluegrass acts like Mountain Heart, The Osborne Brothers, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Rhonda Vincent, Lonesome River Band, Balsam Range, Seldom Scene, Flatt Lonesome, IIIrd Tyme Out, Larry Stevenson, Donna Ulisse, and Irene Kelley have featured his contributions, and in the Gospel world, he has cuts by Cece Winans, Steven Curtis Chapman, and The Isaacs on his resume.
Camp has likewise impressive credentials, with major bluegrass hits like My Love Will Not Change for Del McCoury, Hillbilly Heartache for Don Rigsby, Tune of a Twenty Dollar Bill, recorded by both Joey + Rory and Lonesome River Band, and Sis Draper for Ricky Skaggs. Major country acts like George Straight, Josh Turner, Alan Jackson, and Brooks and Dunn have used his material as well.
The 8 nominees announced this week include:
- Shawn Camp
- Ed Hill
- Marcus Hummon
- Archie Jordan
- Kostas
- Rivers Rutherford
- Ronnie Rogers
- Jerry Salley
All are surely deserving of this honor, but we can’t help but root for our two bluegrass guys. Good luck Jerry and Shawn!
The inductees will be named at the 49th Anniversary Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala on Monday, October 14, at the Music City Center in Nashville.
