Nashville, Tenn. 

The Kentucky Headhunters, Exile, Skeeter Davis, The Hilltoppers, Old Joe Clark, Emory & Linda Martin and Steven Curtis Chapman will make up the 2013 class of Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum inductees.  These artists will join other Kentucky native music professionals to be honored for their contribution to music in the state of Kentucky and around the world. The induction ceremony will take place on Friday, April 12 at the Lexington Center Bluegrass Ballroom (430 West Vine Street, Lexington, KY 40507).Tickets for this prestigious induction ceremony are currently on sale. For more information please visit www.kentuckymusicmuseum.com.

“I am deeply thrilled and honored to be recognized by the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. It’s been a wonderful journey from my childhood in Hazel and I’ve always kept a piece of Kentucky in my songs as well as in my heart,” said DeShannon.

Singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon is the soulful voice behind two enduring 1960s anthems — Burt Bacharach & Hal David’s “What The World Needs Now Is Love” and DeShannon’s own “Put A Little Love In Your Heart.”  Beyond those standards is an artist who has created a body of work covering a diverse range of genres including rock, folk, R&B, country, gospel, reggae and jazz.  Her songs have been performed by Brenda Lee, The Byrds, Marianne Faithfull, Al Green, Annie Lennox, The Searchers, Pam Tillis, The Carpenters, Kim Carnes, The Temptations, Rick Nelson, Cher, Van Morrison, Ella Fitzgerald, Dolly Parton, Irma Thomas, Bruce Springsteen and dozens more.

Born in Kentucky, Jackie started her career on live radio while in her teens.  Her earliest recordings were rooted in rockabilly, such as her Buddy Holly tribute composition, “Buddy.” Jackie wrote dozens of songs with Sharon Sheeley (“Dum Dum,” “The Great Imposter,” “Breakaway”).  Collaborations followed with Randy Newman, Jack Nitzsche and Jimmy Page.  In 1964, Jackie toured as an opening act for The Beatles across the United States.  Writing solo, she composed the hits “When You Walk In The Room” (covered by The Searchers) and “Come And Stay With Me”  (given to Marianne Faithfull).

In the 1960s, Jackie also travelled to London to write and record with Jimmy Page at Abbey Road Studios. She also appeared on the famed “Ready, Steady, Go!” pop music show and subsequently returned to England to record additional songs with Burt Bacharach and Hal David producing, following the success of “What The World Needs Now Is Love.” (Jackie’s recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008.)

Her rising popularity brought Jackie to television, where she regularly performed on the legendary “Shindig!” and “Hollywood A-Go-Go” programs in addition to guest appearances on music-variety series with Glen Campbell, Andy Williams, The Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash, Burt Bacharach and many others.  During this time, Jackie also enjoyed a mini-acting career, starring in the motion pictures “C’mon Let’s Live A Little” (with fellow rocker Bobby Vee), “Surf Party” (with balladeer Bobby Vinton) and “Intimacy,” while also appearing on television series such as “The Wild, Wild West” and “My Three Sons.”

Jackie earned a million-seller in 1969 with “Put A Little Love In Your Heart,” (which was also a UK hit for The Dave Clark Five) written with her brother Randy Myers and Jimmy Holiday.  Subsequent writing partners include Van Morrison, John Bettis and Donna Weiss, with whom Jackie earned a 1982 Grammy for Song of the Year with “Bette Davis Eyes.”  In 2010, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame.  Most recently, she was the honoree of a retrospective tribute at the Grammy Museum in January, 2012.

Jackie has just released her latest album, WHEN YOU WALK IN THE ROOM (Rock Beat Records), which features highly-personal, acoustic renderings of ten of her greatest signature songs as well as offering the new composition “Will You Stay In My Life.” In addition, on November 10, 2012, Ace Records issues “Keep Me In Mind,” the third and final CD of Jackie’s original 1960s-1970s Liberty & Imperial Records singles.

About the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum: 
The Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum exists both to honor native Kentucky music professionals who have made significant contributions to the music industry in Kentucky and around the world and to be an educational source for anyone desiring to increase their knowledge of Kentucky’s music.