Allen Shamblin Set For Country Music Hall Of Fame And Museum’s Poets and Prophets Series

Songwriter Allen Shamblin, whose compositions include the award-winning songs “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and “The House That Built Me,” will be the next subject in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s interview series exploring and documenting the work of songwriters, Poets and Prophets.

Set for Saturday, Nov. 17, at 2 p.m. in the museum’s Ford Theater, the program will feature an in-depth interview with Shamblin, conducted by Senior Museum Editor Michael Gray. The interview will incorporate vintage photos, film, and recordings from the museum’s collection. Following the program, Shamblin will sign commemorative posters from Hatch Show Print, available for purchase in the Museum Store.

Though he was born in Tennessee, Shamblin grew up in Huffman, Texas, near Houston. He worked for a time as a real estate appraiser in Austin, but moved from Texas to Nashville in 1987 to pursue a career as a songwriter. In 1990, he had his first hit, “He Walked on Water,” sung by Randy Travis. He has gone on to write impactful hits including “Thinkin’ Problem” (David Ball), “Life’s a Dance” (John Michael Montgomery), “We Were in Love” (Toby Keith), “Don’t Laugh at Me” (Mark Wills), “Where the Blacktop Ends” (Keith Urban) and “The House That Built Me” (Miranda Lambert). Some of Shamblin’s most notable work is in collaboration with Mike Reid. They wrote Reid’s No. 1 hit “Walk on Faith,” Collin Raye’s “In This Life,” and Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” which is in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Admission to Poets and Prophets is included with museum admission and free to museum members. Seating is limited and program passes are required for admittance. The program will also be streamed live at countrymusichalloffame.org.

This Poets and Prophets program is presented by SunTrust. “SunTrust is proud to support the legacy of songwriters here in Nashville and beyond and to partner with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to honor Allen Shamblin for his outsized contribution to our music and culture,” said Ashleigh Overly, managing director, sports & entertainment group for SunTrust.