Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame - Class of 2025

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Don Cook was born in San Antonio, TX.  He was writing songs by age 12, recording his first demo by age 14 and playing various Houston coffeehouses throughout his teenage years.  Three days after his graduation from the University of Texas, Cook arrived in Nashville. He soon met publisher Don Gant, who signed him to a deal at Acuff-Rose Publishing.  When Gant moved to Tree Publishing, Cook followed.  In his first year at Tree, he had 11 cuts, including “Cryin’ Again” by The Oak Ridge Boys and “Lady Lay Down” by John Conlee — Cook’s first #1 as a songwriter.  Other hits followed in the ’80s, including “Julia” by Conway Twitty, “I Wish That I Could Hurt That Way Again” by T. Graham Brown, “Small Town Girl” by Steve Wariner and “Somebody’s Gonna Love You” by Lee Greenwood.  In the early ’90s, Cook co-wrote “Brand New Man,” the first single for Brooks & Dunn, and began to produce the duo, a collaboration that yielded the co-written #1 hits “My Next Broken Heart,” “Only In America” and “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone,” among others.