2004 2004 Hall of Fame Inductees (l-r) Dennis Morgan, Freddie Hart, Billy Joe Shaver, Guy Clark Guy Clark, Billy Joe Shaver, Dennis Morgan & Freddie Hart inducted into Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame “Live Like You Were Dying” is NSAI Song of the Year; Scotty Emerick is Songwriter of the Year; Toby Keith is Songwriter/Artist of the Year Guy Clark, Billy Joe Shaver, Dennis Morgan and Freddie Hart are the newest additions to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The four men were inducted Sunday, Nov. 7, during annual ceremonies conducted by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation at Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville. In conjunction with the Hall of Fame inductions, the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) conferred a series of Songwriter Achievement Awards. “Live Like You Were Dying,” by Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman, was named Song of the Year. The Songwriter of the Year prize went to Scotty Emerick, co-writer of “Beer For My Horses” and “I Love This Bar” with Songwriter/Artist of the Year Toby Keith. Lyle Lovett and Verlon Thompson paid tribute to Clark by treating the audience to a sampling of his legendary songs, which include “L.A. Freeway,” “Desperados Waiting For A Train,” “Texas Cookin’,” “Heartbroke,” “She’s Crazy For Leavin’,” “Home Grown Tomatoes,” “The Carpenter,” “Oklahoma Borderline,” “Baby I’m Yours,” “Fair Shake,” “Too Much” and “Boats To Build.” Longtime friend and Hall of Fame member Wayland Holyfield provided the induction speech. Kris Kristofferson joined Joe Ely to celebrate Shaver, whose classics include “Good Christian Soldier,” “Old Five And Dimers,” “Honky Tonk Heroes,” “Willy The Wandering Gypsy And Me,” “I Been To Georgia On A Fast Train,” “Ride Me Down Easy,” “You Ask Me To,” “I Couldn’t Be Me Without You,” “I’m Just An Old Chunk Of Coal” and “Live Forever.” Longtime friend and Hall of Fame member Tom T. Hall provided the induction speech. Keith Urban, Ronnie Milsap, Jessica Andrews, Marcel and James Slater saluted Morgan, whose hits include “Sleepin’ Single In A Double Bed,” “Smoky Mountain Rain,” “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool,” “I Wouldn’t Have Missed It For The World,” “Nobody,” “She Keeps The Home Fires Burning,” “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” “My Heart Can’t Tell You No” and “Let Me Let Go.” Nashville Songwriters Foundation Board member David Conrad provided the induction speech. T. Graham Brown reprised Hart’s classic “Easy Lovin’,” while Freddy Weller, Jim Casey and Hall of Fame member Dickey Lee performed Hart hits from a catalog that includes "Bless Your Heart," "Got The All Overs For You (All Over Me)," "My Hang-Up Is You," "Trip To Heaven," "If You Can’t Feel It (It Ain’t There)," "Hang In There Girl" and "The Want-Tos." Hall of Fame member Bill Anderson provided the induction speech. Each Hall of Fame inductee was presented with the coveted “Manny” (short for “Manuscript”) Award. Besides honoring the Song, Songwriter and Songwriter/Artist of the Year, the writers of NSAI’s Professional Songwriters Division also singled out 10 songs and their writers for its 2004 Achievement Awards (informally dubbed “The Songs I Wish I’d Written”). Recipients were “It's Five O'Clock Somewhere” (Jim Brown, Don Rollins), “Letters From Home” (Tony Lane, David Lee), “Live Like You Were Dying” (Tim Nichols, Craig Wiseman), “Long Black Train” (Josh Turner), “Paint Me A Birmingham” (Gary Duffey, Buck Moore), “Redneck Woman” (John Rich, Gretchen Wilson), “There Goes My Life” (Wendell Mobley, Neil Thrasher), “What Was I Thinkin'” (Brett Beavers, Dierks Bentley, Deric Ruttan), “Whiskey Lullaby” (Bill Anderson, Jon Randall) and “You'll Think Of Me” (Darrell Brown, Ty Lacy, Dennis Matkosky). “Live Like You Were Dying” was the top choice of the NSAI Pro writers. The duo of Scotty Emerick and Toby Keith placed a pair of Keith songs among the top 40 vote-getters (“Beer For My Horses” and “I Love This Bar”), earning Songwriter of the Year honors for Emerick and Songwriter/Artist of the Year for Keith. mail@nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com