Music Halls of Fame – Honoring Outstanding Achievements

While high profile music awards and inductees into renowned Halls of Fame may be well publicized and capture the attention of worldwide music fans, there are a number of less well known, but no less important, Halls of Fame honoring musicians and entertainers who make a difference in their communities or chosen music genres. Among these are the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, The Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall of Fame, the Brooklyn Jazz Hall of Fame and Museum, the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, to mention just a few.

Established by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Nashville’s unique and extensive songwriting legacy. While many songwriters perform their own songs, there are others who don’t, but deserve the recognition for their contribution to Nashville’s music community. The first twenty-one songwriters who were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1970 included Gene Autry, Johnny Bond, Albert E. Brumley, A.P. Carter, Ted Daffan, Vernon Dalhart, Rex Griffin, Stuart Hamblen, Pee Wee King, Vic McAlpin, Bob Miller, Leon Payne, Jimmie Rodgers, Fred Rose, Redd Stewart, Floyd Tillman, Merle Travis, Ernest Tubb, Cindy Walker, Hank Williams Sr. and Bob Wills. A host of other songwriters have been added to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, highlighting the fact that this part of America has made a huge contribution to US music.

The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame (AJHoF) was established in 1978, with an associated museum opening in 1993, located in the Carver Theater in Birmingham, Alabama. In addition to preserving the legacy of Jazz in Alabama, residents of the state of Alabama are invited to benefit from free jazz classes on Saturday mornings under the direction of well qualified and professional musicians. The tutors of the classes perform as an ensemble known as the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame All-Stars, and so bring their talent and experience to the class for would-be performers. A number of the Saturday class students have progressed to the point of being awarded scholarships at renowned universities. AJHoF also organizes festivals, events, workshops and master classes, ensuring in a practical way that the love of jazz continues into future generations – while having a whole lot of fun right now.