Keith Urban, Kix Brooks, David Lee Murphy, Casey Beathard, and Rafe Van Hoy were inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame on Wednesday (October 11). Their work was celebrated by the likes of Dolly Parton, Eric Church, and Kenny Chesney who were on hand to honor their friends and collaborators who’ve collectively penned such hits as “The Boys of Fall” (Chesney), “Like Jesus Does” (Church), “Golden Ring” (George Jones and Tammy Wynette) among countless others. It was an evening honoring the songwriters—check out some of the best moments below.
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5. Kenny Chesney is “Living in Fast Forward”
Kenny Chesney honored one of his frequent collaborators who has penned several of his hits, David Lee Murphy. The superstar opened his set congratulating all the honorees, including “friend” Keith Urban, and sang a few notes of his Beathard-penned hit “The Boys of Fall.” This led to a stripped-down performance of one of the many hits Murphy has penned for Chesney, “Living in Fast Forward.” The singer kept it cool and casual with his understated performance that still captured the upbeat nature of the chart-topping song, serving as a fitting tribute to his longtime friend.
4. Eric Church performs “Like Jesus Does”
The “Chief” was on hand to pay tribute to his longtime collaborator, Casey Beathard, who he’s written many hits with including “Hell of a View” and “The Outsiders.” “I don’t know that there’s ever been a songwriter in my career that’s been more influential on my career than Casey has,” Church professed when he took the stage. But rather than performing one of the hits they wrote together, Church instead chose a Beathard song he didn’t have a hand in writing, “Like Jesus Does.”
Church recalled how his wife came into the studio when he was listening to the demo of the song that Beathard sent and she urged him to cut it. “I have three outside cuts in my career, and Casey Beathard’s responsible for all three of them,” he said. “As great as he’s been as a songwriter and a mentor and a north star for me as a writer, he’s an even better person. I’m honored to be here.”
Accompanied by his former longtime backup singer Joanna Cotten, he launched into a stirring performance of “Like Jesus Does.” Lightly plucking an electric guitar, Church’s stirring vocals were no match for Cotten’s, who took the lead in the second verse. The two harmonized beautifully on the chorus in a worthy tribute to Beathard.
3. Dolly Parton inducts Keith Urban
Each of the honorees got to select who inducted them into the Hall of Fame. Urban was so passionate about having Parton do the honors that he wrote her a handwritten letter explaining how she’s impacted his life and been a “north star” for him as an artist, his touching words compelling Parton to say yes. The sheer sight of Parton sent gasps throughout the room as she delivered her signature quick wit and charm in celebration of Urban, who she’s known since he moved to Nashville from Australia in 1992.
“Now who don’t love Keith Urban?” Parton proclaimed, eliciting cheers from the industry audience. “I’ve never seen a person with everything – Keith is so good-looking, he’s so nice and he’s so kind and an unbelievable musician, same for a performer. But tonight, we get to honor him as a songwriter,” she continued, adding that being inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame is “one of the greatest things that ever happened to me.”
[RELATED: Keith Urban, Kix Brooks Among Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Class of 2023]
2. Eric Church serenades Keith Urban with “Who Wouldn’t Want to Be Me”
Eric Church returned to the stage to recognize another one of his friends and inspirations, Keith Urban. Church recalled how he moved to Nashville in 2002 after graduating college and while trying to make it as a songwriter, he made ends meet by selling knives on the Home Shopping Network during the overnight shift. But he found a glimmer of hope when he heard Urban’s music.
“I hear this record on the radio, it was Keith’s Golden Road album. I was looking for myself in this town…I heard myself in that record,” Church narrated. “I love Keith Urban and I love what he’s meant to country music and what he’s meant to me.”
The sentimental introduction led to an honorable cover of “Who Wouldn’t Want to Be Me,” one of Urban’s early No. 1 hits. Church’s acoustic rendition combined his edgy style with the heartfelt nature of the song, outdoing himself as the best performance of the night. A hush fell over the audience with his soulful interpretation that earned a standing ovation.
1. Keith Urban previews new song “Just Getting Started”
Keith Urban brought the night to a fitting close when he took to the stage to accept his award and placed an “In Dolly We Trust” sticker that his wife Nicole Kidman and daughter Faith gave him on the front of the podium. At the end of his beautiful speech reflecting on his journey to Nashville, his highly successful career, and the people who’ve helped him get here, Urban captured the spirit of the evening by quoting lines from a new song he’s working on, “Just Getting Started.”
“I want to dedicate it to everybody on my team that’s been with me a long time,” he said as he recited the empowering lyrics: I swing from the fence / I shoot from the hip / I have my dad to thank for my spark and spit / Faith for the corners I’m still turning / Damn this life just ain’t for the faint-hearted / And as far as I’ve come I’m just getting started…I come from nothing but love and hard work / Born in the city but raised in the dirt / And I wasn’t made to be put in my place / I’m a lover, a fighter, whatever it takes…I’ll be right by your side saying / Hey, we’re just getting started.
Photo Credit: Bev Moser, Moments By Moser Photography / Courtesy of Alliance Management and Artist Media Relations
