The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame has announced its Class of 2026, and this year’s group includes some huge names, including two with deep Texas ties.
Taylor Swift, Lyle Lovett, Bruce Channel, Shawn Camp and Lee Thomas Miller will officially join the Hall of Fame during its 56th Anniversary Gala later this year.
Camp and Miller were elected in the contemporary songwriter category, Swift in the contemporary songwriter/artist category, Channel as a veteran songwriter, and Lovett as a veteran songwriter/artist.
Here’s a look at the Class of 2026:
Taylor Swift
Before she became one of the biggest pop stars in the world, Taylor Swift got her start as a teenage country songwriter in Nashville. She moved with her family to Hendersonville, Tennessee, and at just 14 years old became the youngest songwriter ever signed by Sony/ATV Tree Music Publishing.
Swift has written or co-written every song across her 12 studio projects, with songwriting credits including “Teardrops on My Guitar,” “Love Story,” “You Belong With Me,” “Mean,” “Blank Space,” “Anti-Hero” and “Cruel Summer.” She also wrote Little Big Town’s “Better Man,” which earned the CMA Award for Song of the Year.
Swift becomes the youngest person ever inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Lyle Lovett
Texas legend Lyle Lovett was born in Houston and raised in Klein, Texas, a community named for his great-grandfather.
After earning degrees in journalism and German from Texas A&M University, Lovett built his career playing clubs and developing his distinctive mix of country, folk, blues, jazz and western swing.
His songwriting catalog includes “Cowboy Man,” “Give Back My Heart,” “Why I Don’t Know,” “God Will” and “She’s No Lady.”
Lovett was named Texas State Musician in 2011, was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012 and joined the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame in 2019.
Bruce Channel
Another Texan joining the Hall is Bruce Channel, who was born in Jacksonville and grew up around Grapevine.
Channel is best known for co-writing and recording the 1962 smash “Hey! Baby!”, which topped the pop chart and sold more than a million copies. The song found an entirely new generation of fans when it was prominently featured in the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing.
After moving to Nashville in 1978, Channel became a successful country songwriter, helping write hits including T.G. Sheppard’s “Party Time,” Janie Fricke’s “Don’t Worry ’Bout Me Baby” and John Conlee’s “As Long As I’m Rockin’ With You.”
Channel was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011.
Shawn Camp
Arkansas native Shawn Camp moved to Nashville at 20 and initially made his living playing fiddle for artists including The Osborne Brothers, Jerry Reed, Shelby Lynne, Alan Jackson and Trisha Yearwood.
He eventually became one of Nashville’s most successful songwriters, earning his first pair of No. 1 hits in 1998 with Garth Brooks’ “Two Piña Coladas” and Brooks & Dunn’s “How Long Gone.”
Camp also helped write Josh Turner’s “Would You Go With Me,” Blake Shelton’s “Nobody But Me” and George Strait’s “River of Love.” His credits stretch into bluegrass as well, and he wrote the title track of Willie Nelson’s Grammy-winning album A Beautiful Time.
Lee Thomas Miller
Kentucky native Lee Thomas Miller moved to Nashville in 1991 and has gone on to write some of the most recognizable country songs of the past two decades.
His breakthrough came with Joe Nichols’ “The Impossible,” followed by songs including Terri Clark’s “I Just Wanna Be Mad” and Brad Paisley’s “The World.”
Two of Miller’s biggest songs arrived around the same time: Trace Adkins’ “You’re Gonna Miss This” and Jamey Johnson’s “In Color.” “You’re Gonna Miss This” won ACM Single of the Year, while “In Color” earned both the ACM and CMA Song of the Year honors.
His other credits include Tim McGraw’s “Southern Girl,” Chris Stapleton’s “Whiskey and You,” Brothers Osborne’s “It Ain’t My Fault” and Scotty McCreery’s “It Matters to Her.”
The five new members will join the 254 songwriters previously inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame when they are formally honored at the invitation-only gala later this year.
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