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The late Ralph Murphy will be honored with the Frances Williams Preston Mentor Award during the upcoming Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala on Monday, Oct. 14, it was announced today by Sarah Cates, Chair of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation.
“Ralph Murphy lived his life in service to songwriters; sharing his time and his expertise to help them achieve their potential,” said Cates. “He personified the qualities that this award strives to recognize, and it is our privilege to honor him and his legacy in this way.”
NaSHOF Board member/Hall of Fame songwriter Pat Alger joined Cates to praise his longtime friend, adding, “Ralph Murphy, successful songwriter, publisher and legendary international raconteur, who wrote an extremely popular book called Murphy’s Laws of Songwriting: The Book, sadly passed away this spring. Although he was unfortunately still unaware of it, the nominating committee and board of directors had already voted to present this award to Ralph in honor of the many years of service and stewardship he brought to the songwriting community. His door was literally and metaphorically always open to songwriters from all over the world who, upon passing through Nashville, knew that Ralph was a welcoming friend and trusted adviser who might not always tell you what you wanted to hear, but would leave you enlightened and encouraged. Ralph was the epitome of what this award is all about – a man who was generous with his time and resources with no personal agenda attached as well as a personal friend to so many of us.”
Murphy receives the award named for Frances Williams Preston, who influenced and nurtured the careers of thousands of songwriters, performers and publishers in all genres of music during her five-decade career at BMI.
Previous recipients of the award are music publisher Bob Beckham (2008), music publisher Bill Hall (2009), Preston (2010), music publisher David Conrad (2011), music publisher Donna Hilley (2012), Bluebird Café founder Amy Kurland (2013), music publisher Pat Higdon (2014) and music publisher Bill Lowery (2016).
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala is one of the music industry’s premier events of the year. The evening features tributes and performances of the inductees’ songs by special guest artists. In recent years artists such as Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, Jimmy Buffett, Ronnie Dunn, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Alan Jackson, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, Marty Stuart, Taylor Swift, Josh Turner and Trisha Yearwood have performed at or participated in the event. As previously announced, this year’s inductees are Larry Gatlin, Marcus Hummon, Kostas, Rivers Rutherford, Sharon Vaughn and Dwight Yoakam.
The 49th Anniversary Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala will take place at the Music City Center. Tickets for the event are $250 each. Select seating is available to the public and may be purchased as available by contacting Executive Director Mark Ford at hoftix@nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com or 615-460-6556.
