Ronnie Dunn, KT Oslin among 2018 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductees

The ceremony will be held October 28th in Nashville

Ronnie Dunn, K.T. Oslin, Byron Hill, Wayne Kirkpatrick and Joe Melson will be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018. The announcement was made Tuesday (Aug 7th) via a press conference in Nashville. They join Reba McEntire, who will receive the first-ever Career Maker Award for her significant influence on the songwriting careers of Hall of Fame members.

Dunn and Oslin will be inducted into the Songwriter/Artist category. Dunn is best known as one half of Brooks & Dunn, one of country music’s most successful duos. Arista Records paired Dunn with Kix Brooks after winning the Marlboro Talent Search, and the pair went on to record numerous albums from 1991-2011 together. The mega-duo has sold millions of records and was named CMA Vocal Duo 14 times. The Brooks & Dunn hits “Neon Moon,” “Hard Workin’ Man,” “She Used To Be Mine,” “She’s Not The Cheatin’ Kind” and “Little Miss Honky Tonk” were all written solo by Dunn, as was “Boot Scootin’ Boogie,” which was named ACM Song of the Year in 1992.

Oslin had a string of hits in the late 80s/early 90s, but is best known for her 1987 top ten single “80’s Ladies.” She was the first female writer to win Country Music Association’s Song of the Year Award in 1988.

Hill, Kirkpatrick and Melson will be inducted into the Songwriter category. Hill has written songs for George Strait and George Jones while Kirkpatrick co-wrote the Grammy-winning “Change The World” for Eric Clapton and Little Big Town’s signature song, “Boondocks,” among many others. Melson co-wrote many of Roy Orbison’s hits including “Only The Lonely” and “Crying.”

All will be honored during the 48th Anniversary Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala on Sunday, October 28th at the Music City Center. Tickets for the Gala are $250 each and benefit the nonprofit Nashville Songwriters Foundation. Select seating is available to the public and may be purchased as available by contacting Executive Director Mark Ford at hoftix@nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com or 615-460-6556.