Taylor Swift was back in Music City Monday night for a major honor — induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. And we were there!
The Hall honors the greatest songwriters in the world, from Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson to Garth Brooks to Hank Williams. Taylor headlined the 56th anniversary gala, alongside fellow inductees Shawn Camp, Lee Thomas Miller, Bruce Channel, Lyle Lovett and the late J.I. Allison.
Brad Paisley inducted Taylor, and Lainey Wilson sang “Love Story” in her honor. Taylor got a laugh right away, joking that she and Brad have been estranged since 2007 after he filled her tour bus with live crickets.
Then she got real about where her songwriting started. She signed a publishing deal at 14 and wrote every single day, learning, in her words, “by repetition.” And she had a message for anyone who thinks Nashville is just another music town: “There is no music community like this music community. I know. I checked all the communities.”
She talked about writing in a little house on Music Row, a red room and a backyard studio shed, and she said Nashville “ended up being everything.” She also reminded the room that her first album turned 20 just a couple of days ago.
The night also honored George Strait with the Career Maker Award. Nearly 50 Hall of Fame songwriters crowded the stage to hand it to him, along with a guitar they all signed. Strait has recorded 264 songs written or co-written by 72 Hall of Fame members.
Other highlights: Kathy Mattea sang “If I Had a Boat” for Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris helped honor Shawn Camp with “Magnolia Wind,” and Jamey Johnson closed the night with “In Color” for Lee Thomas Miller.