Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Norro Wilson will take a seat at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum on Saturday, March 5, as the latest subject of the quarterly programming series Poets and Prophets: Legendary Country Songwriters. The 1:30 p.m. in-depth interview and performance, held in the Museum’s Ford Theater, is included with Museum admission and free to Museum members. The program will be streamed live at www.countrymusichalloffame.org.

     The 90-minute program, hosted by Museum Editor Michael Gray, will include recordings, photos and film clips from the Museum’s collection. Immediately following, Wilson will sign autographs in the Museum Store. (Visit the Museum’s Web site for signing details.)

     Norro Wilson has written some of country music’s most indelible hits, including “The Most Beautiful Girl,” “A Picture of Me (Without You),”  “The Grand Tour” and “Soul Song.”  David Houston, George Jones, Charley Pride, Charlie Rich, Joe Stampley and Tammy Wynette are among the many artists who have recorded Wilson’s songs.

     In addition to writing award-winning songs, Wilson is also a legendary producer whose list of album credits reads like a who’s who of country music.  He has produced records for John Anderson, Kenny Chesney, Sara Evans, Janie Fricke, George Jones, Sammy Kershaw, Reba McEntire, Steve Wariner, Tammy Wynette and more. Wilson also has found success as a performer, a publisher and an A&R executive.

     Norris D. “Norro” Wilson was born on April 4, 1938, in Scottsville, KY. He got his first taste of musical success when he and three high school friends formed a barbershop quartet and won a local contest. During that time, Wilson made regular trips to Nashville with his family to attend an all-night gospel review. It was there that he received an offer to sing tenor for the Southlanders Quartet.

     Wilson toured with the Southlanders until 1960, when he left to perform as a duo with Don Gant. He got his first publishing contract with Acuff-Rose in 1962. In 1967, Wilson became a songplugger for Al Gallico Music, a job that would last fourteen years. During his tenure at Gallico, Wilson began writing songs for the publisher. By 1970, he had penned “I’ll See Him Through,” a Top Five hit for Tammy Wynette.

     During the 1970s and 1980s, Wilson continued to score #1 hits such as Charlie Rich’s “The Most Beautiful Girl” (1973) and “A Very Special Love Song” (1974); “He Loves Me All the Way” (1970) and “Another Lonely Song” (1973) for Tammy Wynette; “The Grand Tour” (1974) by George Jones; and “Never Been So Loved (in All My Life)” (1981) and “Night Games” (1983) for Charley Pride.

     A lesser known part of Wilson’s musical career is his time as a solo recording artist. His biggest chart success came with the 1970 Top Twenty hit “Do It to Someone You Love.”  As Wilson’s career as a writer and music business executive flourished, he quit recording in 1977.

     In 1975, Wilson accepted an A&R-producer position with Warner Bros. Records. He moved to RCA in 1982 and became CEO of Merit Music in 1987.  Wilson started Norro Productions after Merit was sold in 1990. He quickly secured Sammy Kershaw as a production client, a relationship that would spawn several albums. Wilson and partner Buddy Cannon produced albums for artists like George Jones and Kenny Chesney. The two went on to form Bud Ro Productions in 1998. Wilson also has produced albums for Sara Evans, John Michael Montgomery, Steve Wariner and Chely Wright.

     Wilson has received numerous industry awards. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame in 2008. He has earned more than 30 BMI Awards and has received BMI One Million performance awards for “The Most Beautiful Girl,” “My Man,” “Never Been So Loved (in All My Life),” “A Picture of Me (Without You)” and “A Very Special Love Song.”

     The Poets and Prophets series honors songwriters who have made significant contributions to country music history.  Previous Poets and Prophets honorees include Bill Anderson, Matraca Berg, Bobby Braddock, Jerry Chesnut, Hank Cochran, Dean Dillon, Dallas Frazier, Red Lane, John D. Loudermilk, Bob McDill, Roger Murrah, Dan Penn, Curly Putman, Whitey Shafer, Jeffrey Steele and Craig Wiseman.

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

     Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and 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’s mission is the preservation of the history of country and related vernacular music rooted in southern culture. With the same educational mission, the Foundation also operates CMF Records, the Museum’s Frist Library and Archive, CMF Press, Historic RCA Studio B, and Hatch Show Print®.

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