Keith Urban Will Get One Of The ‘Highest Honors’ Next Week
Keith Urban will be inducted into the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame next week (10/11). He will receive the honor along with Kix Brooks, David Lee Murphy, Casey Beathard, and Rafe Van Hoy. For Urban, it’s a really big deal.
Keith told us, “Being invited into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame is hands down one of the highest honors that’s ever happened to me. I’ve always loved writing songs. I’ve always loved great songwriters, and this is a songwriting town.”
He added, “The song is the very first thing. To be in this group, this incredible group of songwriters is a bit surreal. Honestly, it’s probably still sinking in.”
Urban is thrilled to be inducted alongside many of his friends, especially Kix Brooks of Brooks and Dunn. Brooks was a champion of Keith’s in the early days of his Nashville career. He offered, “This particular group, this Class of ’23, is surreal. I know all of these guys; Casey Beathard is the only guy that I haven’t really met, but I’ve known David Lee Murphy for a long time, Rafe Van Hoy, Kix Brooks, of course.”
Brooks & Urban
He explained, “Kix is like my brother from another mother. He was one of the first people in town to really get behind what I was doing. I had a band at the time called The Ranch, and Kix came and saw us play in a tiny little club. (He) invited us to go out and open some shows for Brooks & Dunn even before we ever had any music out. We had nothing on the radio. He was just a great believer of mine. So to be inducted in the same year that Kix is particularly sweet.”
All five members will be formally inducted during the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala on Wednesday, October 11th, at the Music City Center.
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While most of the songs Keith has written he recorded himself, he has written a few songs recorded by other artists. He wrote “Throw It Back” for Breland, and “Falling,” that American Idol alum Trent Harmon performed on the show. He also co-wrote “Dancin’ In The Country” for Tyler Hubbard, a number one hit.
At the party in downtown Nashville in June (6/13), Keith joined Tyler and talked with us about their first writing together before the party started. Urban said of writing the song with Hubbard, “It was natural because we were gonna be out touring, and it just made sense for Tyler to come out; he was game for it, and it was a great fit.”
Tyler added, “It was. I think that helped us kind of not break the ice, but you know, we were kind of already buddies. Being in a room when you’re writing with somebody for five or six hours, you’re pretty much ultimately as vulnerable as you can be. You become friends pretty quickly.”
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