NASHVILLE, Tenn., – Sept. 29, 2016 – Grammy award-winning songwriter and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Paul Overstreet will be honored in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s songwriter series Poets and Prophets on Saturday, October 8, at 1:30 p.m. An in-depth interview hosted by museum editor Michael Gray will be illustrated with rare vintage photos, film footage and recordings from Overstreet’s career. Overstreet also will perform a few of his compositions.

Raised in Mississippi, Overstreet moved to Nashville in 1973 and had his first hit in 1982 with George Jones’ “Same Ole Me,” which climbed to #5 on the country chart. Overstreet became a chief source of material for Randy Travis, and by the end of the 1980s Travis had topped the charts with “On the Other Hand,” “Diggin’ Up Bones,” “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “Deeper than the Holler.” Overstreet went on to write dozens of  other hits, including “When You Say Nothing at All” (Keith Whitley, followed by Alison Krauss), “Love Can Build a Bridge” (the Judds), “A Long Line of Love” (Michael Martin Murphey) and “Some Beach” (Blake Shelton).

Overstreet also has had a career as an artist, with #1 hits “I Won’t Take Less than Your Love” and “Daddy’s Come Around.” In addition to Grammy awards for “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “Love Can Build a Bridge,” Overstreet has received numerous CMA, ACM and Dove Awards. He was BMI’s Country Songwriter of the Year every year from 1987 to 1991.

The Poets and Prophets program is included with museum admission and free to museum members. Seating is limited, and passes are required for admittance. Museum members can reserve program passes in advance by phone (615-416-2050) or via reservations@countrymusichalloffame.org. The program will be streamed live at countrymusichalloffame.org/streaming. Following the program, Overstreet will sign a commemorative Hatch Show Print poster, available for purchase in the Museum Store.

For nearly 10 years, the Poets and Prophets series has honored songwriters who have made significant contributions to country music history. Previous subjects include Al Anderson, Bill Anderson, Matraca Berg, Bobby Braddock, Wayne Carson, Buzz Cason, Jerry Chesnut, Hank Cochran, Roger Cook, Sonny Curtis, Dean Dillon, Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Kye Fleming, Jerry Foster, Dallas Frazier, Red Lane, Dickey Lee, John D. Loudermilk, Shane McAnally, Bob McDill, Roger Murrah, Dan Penn, Gretchen Peters, Curly Putman, Allen Reynolds, Mark D. Sanders, Don Schlitz, Whitey Shafer, Red Simpson, Jeffrey Steele, Sonny Throckmorton, Billy Edd Wheeler, Norro Wilson and Craig Wiseman.

Poets and Prophets is made possible by grants from the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and by an agreement between the Tennessee Arts Commission and National Endowment for the Arts.

The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum collects, preserves, and interprets country music and its history for the education and entertainment of diverse audiences. In exhibits, publications, and educational programs, the museum explores the cultural importance and enduring beauty of the art form. The museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, and in 2015 welcomed over one million patrons, placing it among the ten most-visited history museums in the U.S. The Country Music Foundation operates Historic RCA Studio B, Hatch Show Print® poster shop, CMF Records, the Frist Library and Archive, and CMF Press. Museum programs are supported by the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and the Tennessee Arts Commission.

More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.org or by calling (615) 416-2001.     

The Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums