With an unprecedented 83 No. 1 radio singles to his name, Ashley Gorley was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame yesterday, June 12, alongside The Doobie Brothers, George Clinton, Mike Love of the Beach Boys, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins and Tony Macaulay.
Following an introduction and performance by Dan + Shay – whose smash hits “Nothin’ Like You” and “Save Me The Trouble” were co-written with the inductee – Gorley’s daughter Sadie took the stage to welcome her father, adding a personal note to the milestone moment.
“I spent the last few weeks trying to internalize that this is a real thing, and that I somehow belong on this list, and in this room with you guys,” Gorley shared during his speech. “And as much as part of me is still in shock, I look around this room, and I know I belong.
“I belong because it’s a room full of people who love music. People who are passionate about creating. Who have 10,000 untitled voice memos on their phones of random gibberish and melody scats, like me. Who write down titles and ideas in the middle of the night and hope the next morning they look half as brillant…I look around this room, and I see family.”
Ahead of the induction ceremony, Gorley joined Anthony Mason, Adriana Diaz and Vladimir Duthiers on CBS Mornings Plus to discuss the honor. Watch the segment HERE.
He also appeared on the debut episode of Sony Music Publishing Nashville’s new podcast Thank A Songwriter, hosted by SMPN’s CEO Rusty Gaston. Part 1 of his in-depth conversation with Gorley is available now. Listen HERE.
Gorley recently received his 25th and 26th CMA Triple Play Awards, continuing his reign as the most-decorated recipient. He is ASCAP’s 2024 Country Songwriter of the Year and has been honored with the award 11 times. ASCAP also celebrated his co-written monster hit, “Last Night,” released by Wallen, as their 2024 Country Song of the Year.
In recent years, Gorley has held the number-one spot on Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100 Songwriter chart for multiple weeks, earned GRAMMY, CMA and ACM Award honors, including Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year, and has co-written multiple most-played songs of the year on country radio, including Nate Smith’s ten-week number-one, “World On Fire,” in 2024. He was named Songwriter of the Decade for 2010-2019 at the Nashville Songwriter Awards and has earned all-genre Songwriter of the Year honors from Variety and iHeart Radio. Gorley’s songs “Last Night” by Wallen and “I Had Some Help” by Malone and Wallen are two of the biggest country crossover hits of all time.
Recent hit, “I Am Not Okay” released by Jelly Roll, has served as a platform for important conversations about mental health, sparking an initiative cultivated by Gorley to create songwriter-specific therapy programs at Onsite in Nashville, Tenn.
In 2011, Gorley formed his own publishing and artist development company, Tape Room Music. Under his leadership and mentorship, writers for Tape Room have celebrated over No. 1 songs, including 2018 ASCAP Country Song of the Year, “Body Like A Back Road,” 2021 ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC Country Song, “One Of Them Girls,” and 10-week Country Airplay number-one hit, “World On Fire.”
