Taylor Swift to Be Inducted Into Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame: ‘I Wanted to Learn With & From the Best’

UPDATE (Sept.

15): The late J.I.

Allison, best known as the drummer and only constant member of Buddy Holly ’s backing group, The Crickets, has been added to the list of 2026 inductees into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Allison has been elected in the legacy category, which is designed to honor songwriters who are deceased.

He will be inducted alongside the previously announced members of the Class of 2026 — Taylor Swift , Lyle Lovett , Bruce Channel, Shawn Camp and Lee Thomas Miller — during the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala on Monday, Oct.

26, at the Music City Center.

“What an honor it is to have J.I.

Allison join this year’s class,” Rich Hallworth, chair of the organization’s board of directors, said in a statement.

“His body of work as both a songwriter and an artist continues to endure through classics like ‘That’ll Be the Day,’ ‘Peggy Sue,’ and ‘More Than I Can Say.’” Allison was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as member of The Crickets.

He died in 2022 at age 82.

PREVIOUSLY (Aug.

11): “Today Was a Fairytale” for Taylor Swift .

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame announced on Tuesday (Aug.

11) that the pop superstar — who began her musical career as a country artist with her 2006 self-titled debut album — is being inducted into the contemporary songwriter/artists category as part of the Class of 2026.