I could not be more proud right now of my wife, Gretchen Peters. I first met her over twenty years ago when I was called to play on a song demo for her. Born just eight miles apart (and a few years) in Westchester County, NY, we felt instantly sympatico about our similar upbringing and interests. She came in the studio one morning not long after our original meeting and had a song called, "Souvenirs", later recorded by Suzy Bogguss. When I heard the first line of that song, "Set out like Kerouac...", I realized this was more than your run-of-the-mill Nashville songwriter at work. We have worked together ever since, on demo sessions, all of her great records, and live tours in the US and Europe. We lived together for many years before getting married in October, 2010. This week, my wife was nominated for induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame. This is the highest honor a Nashville-based songwriter can hope for. She is so deserving of this great honor. I'm going to let our friend Tamara Saviano tell you why I think this. Congratulations, Gretchen! Tamara SAVIANO June 17, 2011 For Immediate Release Gretchen Peters nominated for induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Esteemed songwriter penned hits for artists including Bryan Adams, Bonnie Raitt, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood, George Strait, The Neville Brothers, Shania Twain, Martina McBride, and Randy Travis. Her songs have been included in dozens of motion pictures. The majority of Peters’ compositions written solo Respected Nashville songwriter Gretchen Peters has been nominated for induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the highest honor bestowed by the songwriting community. Candidates are considered for induction when their first significant works achieved commercial success at least 20 years ago and who have positively impacted and been closely associated with the Nashville Music Community and deemed to be outstanding and significant. Peters’ name is on the 2011 ballot along with 14 of her colleagues. Inductees will be determined by votes cast from Hall of Fame members and professional songwriter members of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), as well as the boards of the Songwriter Hall of Fame and NSAI. Of the 167 members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, only 12 are women. Peters has written the vast majority of her hits alone, without a co-writer, which is unusual in modern day freelance songwriting and hasn’t been done consistently since Country Music Hall of Fame songwriter Cindy Walker in the 50s and 60s. Peters arrived in Nashville in the late ‘80s, a singing, songwriting product of New York, Boulder, CO, and politically active parents. She landed a publishing deal and that began a season of striking commercial success. Her closely observed story songs hit a sweet spot with some of mainstream country’s finest voices of the ‘90s; “On A Bus to St. Cloud” with Trisha Yearwood, “You Don’t Even Know Who I Am” with Patty Loveless, “Secret of Life” with Faith Hill, “Chill of an Early Fall” with George Strait, “Let That Pony Run” with Pam Tillis and—most famously—“Independence Day” with Martina McBride. Culturally and critically the impact of “Independence Day”—an arresting song about an abused woman fighting back—still reverberates. It earned Peters a GRAMMY nomination and CMA Song of the Year honors. And there were more bold steps where those came from. Peters has always shown an uncanny ability to capture the stories of people—especially women—who feel trapped in hope-draining situations. With her 2007 Burnt Toast & Offerings, she mined her own life—the disintegration of her twenty-year marriage and risk-taking on a new love—for just such affecting vignettes, and set a new high watermark for her songwriting. https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:718.9462461817/rid:e7b76796a91b734dba5feb2b4fdd1414 For more information check out gretchenpeters.com