Marsha Blackburn: “in Nashville, we have a saying: It all begins with a song. That is the truth, but that is not where the story ends. It…”

“in Nashville, we have a saying: It all begins with a song. That is the truth, but that is not where the story ends. It is where it begins. Every record that makes it out into the world is backed by a team of hard-working and creative individuals whose job is to bring the music to the masses: the songwriters, who find a way to express feelings that we mere mortals could never hope to put down on paper; the studio musicians, whose refined techniques satisfy even the most sensitive microphones; the producers, whose vision and intuition can turn a song into a hit cut; and the label heads, whose job it is to take a chance on new artists in hopes of discovering the next country music superstar. Each year the music industry's movers and shakers come together to decide who among them is worthy of a place in the industry's most sought-after circle: the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Country Music Association inducted their first Hall of Fame class in 1961. Since then, the CMA has welcomed some of the most well-known and beloved members of Nashville's entertainment community into the Hall's ranks. This year's inductees have made their mark on both sides of the studio glass. Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn--we know them as Brooks & Dunn--started out as solo singer-songwriters, but rocketed to stardom as a duo. Their first album produced four No. 1 singles and sold almost 3 million copies, all in the pre-smartphone, pre-streaming era.…”