NASHVILLE, TN (CelebrityAccess) — The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) announced the posthumous induction of Cindy Walker, the legendary country music songwriter behind hits such as “Cherokee Maiden” “Bubbles in My Beer”, and “You’re From Texas” which Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys turned into a top ten hit in 1944.
Walker, who passed away in 2006, was recognized for her contributions to songwriting during a special tribute during a SHOF Master Session with 2023 SHOF inductee Liz Rose which was hosted by Belmont University’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business.
During the tribute, Rose recalled her past working relationship with Walker and presented the award to Walker’s Neice, Molly, who accepted it on behalf of her family.
“This would’ve made her so proud, and the thing that gets me is, when we hear Cindy’s songs she’s still with us. I can’t tell you how much this would have meant to her and her family,” said Molly Walker.
Walker, who was born in Texas in 1917, Walker wrote “Dusty Skies” which was later recorded by Bob Wills, while she was still a teenager. After relocating to Los Angeles in the 1930s, she began pitching songs for artists such as Bing Crosby, and appeared as a singer in Gene Autry Western Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride.
In 1944, she released “When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again” which peaked at #5 on the country charts, though it was written by Wiley Walker and Gene Sullivan.
Her vast repertoire included hits like “You’re From Texas” and the poignant “You Don’t Know Me,” and other timeless standards such as “Cherokee Maiden,” “Sugar Moon,” “In the Misty Moonlight,” “Dream Baby,” “Take Me in Your Arms & Hold Me,” “Triflin’ Gal,” “Miss Molly,” “When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again,” and “Distant Drums,” to name a few.
Some of the most popular artists in history have recorded her songs, including Eddy Arnold, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Cher, Ralph Emery, Mickey Gilley, Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard, B.B. King, Alison Krauss, Kenny Loggins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dean Martin, Anne Murray, Bill Monroe, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Patti Page, Webb Pierce, Elvis Presley, Kenny Rogers, Charlie Rich, Jerry Reed, Ricky Skaggs, Hank Snow, The Statler Brothers, Jerry Vale, Jackie Wilson, Jerry Wallace, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, among many others.
In addition to her membership in the SHOF, Walker is a charter member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002.
