in memorium
(February 2, 1963 – November 2, 1996) was an American singer and guitarist known for her interpretations of jazz and blues. In 1992, she released her first album, The Other Side, a set of duets with go-go musician Chuck Brown, followed by the 1996 live solo album titled Live at Blues Alley.
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Norah Jones
Norah Jones
is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. She has won multiple awards and has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. Billboard named her the top jazz artist of the 2000s decade. She has won nine Grammy Awards and was ranked 60th on Billboard magazine’s artists of the 2000s decade chart. Wikipedia
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Rodney Crowell
Born in 1950 in Houston, Texas, Rodney Crowell has built a career as one of the most significant figures in the evolution of Americana music. Raised in a musical household where his father led a honky-tonk band, Crowell began playing drums in that group at age 11. His journey took him to Nashville in 1972, where he befriended a circle of legendary songwriters, including Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. This early period was formative, as Crowell absorbed the craft of songwriting with a literary and poetic lens that would define his life’s work. His talent was quickly recognized by Emmylou Harris, who recorded his song “Bluebird Wine” and invited him to join her famous Hot Band as a guitarist and harmony singer in 1975.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Crowell established himself as a premier songwriter for other artists. His compositions reached the top of the charts via icons like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Bob Seger, whose recording of Crowell’s “Shame on the Moon” became a massive pop and country success. Crowell also served as a producer, notably for his then-wife Rosanne Cash, helping to shape the sound of neo-traditionalist country music. However, it was his 1988 solo album, Diamonds & Dirt, that made him a superstar in his own right. The album achieved the unprecedented feat of producing five consecutive #1 country singles, including “After All This Time,” which won him his first Grammy for Best Country Song.
As the 1990s progressed, Crowell consciously moved away from the mainstream country machine to pursue more personal and autobiographical projects. This shift began in earnest with the 2001 release of The Houston Kid, a semi-autobiographical collection that explored his childhood and roots with stark honesty. This record, along with follow-ups like Fate’s Right Hand and The Outsider, is regarded by critics and Crowell himself as some of his most vital work. His literary prowess eventually extended to the page with his acclaimed memoir, Chinaberry Sidewalks, published in 2011.
Crowell’s later career has been marked by high-profile collaborations and continued innovation. He reunited with Emmylou Harris for the 2013 album Old Yellow Moon, which earned another Grammy for Best Americana Album. He has remained remarkably prolific well into his 70s, releasing projects like the Jeff Tweedy-produced The Chicago Sessions (2023) and his 20th studio album, Airline Highway (2025), which features contributions from younger artists like Ashley McBryde and Lukas Nelson. Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and recipient of the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Crowell is celebrated as a “songwriter’s songwriter” whose influence spans over five decades of American roots music.
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John Hiatt
John Robert Hiatt is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues, and country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has been awarded a variety of other distinctions in the music industry.
COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME® AND MUSEUM TO FEATURE JOHN HIATT AS NEXT POETS AND PROPHETS HONOREE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – July 9, 2024 – The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will feature singer-songwriter John Hiatt in the next installment of its in-depth interview series Poets and Prophets. The series features songwriters who have made significant contributions to country music. The program will take place on Saturday, Aug. 10, at 2:30 p.m. in the museum’s Ford Theater and is included with museum admission.
Throughout his 50-year recording career, Hiatt has established himself as one of the most acclaimed singer-songwriters of his generation, as well as a hit composer for country and rock artists alike. Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Country Music Hall of Fame members Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson are among the artists who have covered his acerbic, soul-stirring songs.
Hiatt began his professional songwriting career at age 18, when he moved to Nashville to work at Tree Publishing. Over the next two decades, his songs became hits for Rosanne Cash (“The Way We Make a Broken Heart”), the Desert Rose Band (“She Don’t Love Nobody”) and Three Dog Night (“”Sure as I’m Sittin’ Here”). Hiatt found success as a recording artist with his landmark 1987 album, Bring the Family, which featured “Have a Little Faith in Me” and “Memphis in the Meantime,” among other enduring songs. In its wake, he went from earning cuts to being covered by some of music’s biggest names, including Bonnie Raitt (“Thing Called Love”) and B. B. King and Eric Clapton (“Riding with the King”).
Following a stint in Los Angeles, Hiatt returned to Nashville in the mid-1980s and has continued to write, perform and record. He has released more than two dozen albums, most recently 2021’s Leftover Feelings, a highly regarded collaboration with the Jerry Douglas Band, recorded at historic RCA Studio B. In 2008, Hiatt was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and received a lifetime achievement award for songwriting from the Americana Music Association. In 2019, he became the third recipient of the BMI Troubadour Award, which recognized his work as a songwriter.
