Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame 2012 Inductees

Mary Chapin Carpenter has been selected as this year's Songwriter/Artist inductee to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. She was chosen over fellow nominees Ronnie Dunn, Kix Brooks and Larry Gatlin by Hall of Fame members, members of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), in addition to the boards of the Nashville Songwriters Foundation and NSAI.

Also coming into the esteemed club of tunesmiths are Tony Arata (Garth Brooks, "The Dance") and Kim Williams (Randy Travis, "Three Wooden Crosses") in the Songwriter category. Larry Henley (Bette Midler, "The Wind Beneath My Wings"), who is one of the few Nashville songwriters to receive a Grammy for Song of the Year, will be the first inductee in the newly created Veteran Songwriter category. This designation was created for, and voted on, by those whose "first significant songs appeared 30 or more years ago."

"Among all the great songwriters who have put the music in Music City, only a select few are elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame," says the Nashville Songwriters Foundation board of directors chairman John Van Mol. "We are delighted to accord this honor to Tony, Kim and Mary Chapin, and pleased as well to recognize Larry as the first inductee in the Veteran Songwriter category."

The four songwriters will be inducted at the 42nd Anniversary Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Dinner & Induction Ceremony on Oct. 7, at Nashville's Renaissance Hotel. Tickets are available to the public, priced at $225 each, and are available by contacting event director Mark Ford via email or by calling 615-256-3354.