Meet the 7 Women Who Have Been Selected for Both the Songwriters Hall of Fame & Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame

SHOF induction: 1986

Nashville SHOF induction: 1972

Key songs: “Bye, Bye Love,” “Rocky Top,” “Sleepless Nights,” “Wake Up Little Susie,” “We Could”

Grammy wins in songwriting categories: none

Notes: Bryant and her husband Boudleaux Bryant wrote some of the most memorable songs of the 1950s and 1960s. They wrote 80 songs before “Country Boy” was recorded by Jimmy Dickens and became a big hit in 1949. With the aid of legendary publisher Fred Rose, the couple moved to Nashville in 1950. The team hit its stride in the late 1950s with a string of hits they wrote for the Everly Brothers. The Bryants’ “Rocky Top” is a state song of Tennessee. The couple was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1991. One of their sons, Dane Bryant, went on to operate the family publishing business. Another son, Del Bryant, became the president and CEO of BMI in New York. Felice Bryant died in April 2003 at age 77.

SHOF induction: 2001

Nashville SHOF induction: 1986

Key songs: “9 to 5,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “I Will Always Love You,” “Jolene,” “Joshua,” “Love Is Like a Butterfly”

Grammy wins in songwriting categories: (3) “9 to 5” (best country song); “God Only Knows” and “There Was Jesus” (best contemporary Christian music performance/song)

Notes: In 1967, Parton scored her first solo hits and began a partnership with Porter Wagoner. In 1973, as she was stepping away from that partnership, she wrote “I Will Always Love You” as a bittersweet farewell to her mentor. Her initial version of the song topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in 1974. A second version, recorded for the 1982 movie The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, also hit No. 1. A decade later, Whitney Houston’s soaring version of the song from The Bodyguard soundtrack became one of the biggest hits of its time. Parton was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. In addition, she has been awarded the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy.

SHOF induction: 2008

Nashville SHOF induction: 1983

Key songs: “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind),” “The Pill,” “You Ain’t Man Enough,” “You’re Lookin’ at Country”

Grammy wins in songwriting categories: none

Notes: Lynn’s storied country music career spanned more than six decades and includes an Oscar-winning movie about her life (Coal Miner’s Daughter) and a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 1960, at the encouragement of her husband, Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn, she began singing in bars. Just 12 years later, she became the first woman to win entertainer of the year at the CMA Awards. Lynn was known for presenting a strong, unfiltered female point of view. “I wrote it like women lived it,” she once said. With Conway Twitty, Lynn was half of one of country’s most successful duos of the ’70s and ’80s, with No. 1 hits on Hot Country Songs such as “After the Fire Is Gone” (1971) and “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man.” (1973). In 2004, she won a new audience, thanks to Van Lear Rose, her Grammy-winning collaboration with Jack White. Lynn died in October 2022 at age 87.

SHOF induction: 2024

Nashville SHOF induction: 2022

Key songs: “American Honey,” “Blessed,” “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” “Girl Crush,” “Jesus Take the Wheel”

Grammy wins in songwriting categories: (3) “Jesus, Take the Wheel” and “Girl Crush” (best country song); “I’ll Never Love Again” from A Star Is Born (best song written for visual media)

Notes: Born in Washington, GA, Lindsey moved to Nashville in 1994 to attend Belmont University. During her senior year she signed her first publishing deal. In March 2002 she landed her first No. 1 hit on Hot Country Songs – “Blessed” by Martina McBride. In 2005, Lindsey co-wrote Carrie Underwood’s first single from her debut album – the multi-award-winning “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” Underwood has recorded nearly 40 of Lindsey’s songs, also including “So Small” and “Wasted.” Other hits co-written by Lindsey include “American Honey” by Lady Antebellum, “A Little Bit Stronger” by Sara Evans, “Shotgun Rider” by Tim McGraw, “Girl Crush” by Little Big Town and “Blue Ain’t Your Color” by Keith Urban. Lindsey was named ACM Songwriter of the Year in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

SHOF induction: 2023

Nashville SHOF induction: 2024

Key songs: “Girl Crush,” “It All Comes Out in the Wash,” “Songs About Rain,” “Teardrops on My Guitar,” “White Horse”

Grammy wins in songwriting categories: (2) “White Horse” and “Girl Crush” (best country song)

Notes: Dallas-born Liz Rose got a late start as a songwriter. She was 37 (older than her frequent collaborator Taylor Swift is now) when she wrote her first songs. By 2004, she had her first top 20 hit on Hot Country Songs, Gary Allan’s “Songs About Rain.” By mid-decade, Rose’s co-writes with Swift yielded the teen phenom’s debut hits “Tim McGraw” and “Teardrops on My Guitar.” Their other collaborations include “You Belong With Me,” “White Horse” and “All Too Well.” Other hits from Rose’s catalog include “Burn It Down” by Parker McCollum, “It All Comes Out in the Wash” by Miranda Lambert, “Crazy Girl” by Eli Young Band and “Girl Crush” by Little Big Town.

SHOF induction: 2024 (posthumous)

Nashville SHOF induction: 1970

Key songs: “Bubbles in My Beer,” “Cherokee Maiden,” “Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream),” “I Don’t Care,” “You Don’t Know Me”

Grammy wins in songwriting categories: none

Notes: A charter member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Walker wrote hit songs across five decades. Her best-known works include Bob Wills’ Western swing classic “Cherokee Maiden,” Roy Orbison’s shimmering “Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)” and the exquisite torch ballad “You Don’t Know Me.” The latter song has been recorded by Ray Charles, Eddy Arnold, Elvis Presley, Van Morrison, Bette Midler, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris and dozens of others. Walker’s first hit was “Lone Star Trail,” recorded by Bing Crosby. She remained in Los Angeles for more than a decade, becoming a top writer for Western movie soundtracks and, beginning in 1941, for Bob Wills, who recorded more than 50 of her songs. Walker was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997. She died in March 2006 at age 87. Her 2024 induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame was posthumous.

SHOF induction: 2026

Nashville SHOF induction: 2026

Key songs: “You Belong With Me,” “All Too Well,” “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” “I Knew It, I Knew You”

Grammy wins in songwriting categories: “White Horse” and “Mean” (best country song); “Safe & Sound” from The Hunger Games (best song written for visual media)

Notes: Swift will become the first woman songwriter to be inducted into both Halls in the same year. In 2010, at age 20, Swift became the youngest recipient of the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s Hal David Starlight Award, an award for a writer who shows promise. She was also the first person to graduate from that award to full induction into the SHOF. In 2010, she also became the youngest artist to win the Grammy for album of the year – a distinction now held by another youthful prodigy, Billie Eilish. Swift won that album of the year Grammy for Fearless. For her follow-up, Speak Now, Swift wrote every song by herself.