She wrote “Bubbles in My Beer” for Bob Wills without ever been in a honky tonk.  Now, in death, Texas songwriting legend Cindy Walker has done something incredible again.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum announced that Walker has left a very generous gift: her catalog of 500 songs, including many pop and country classics.  The gift includes her share of the songs, including future royalties. This is the first donation of its kind to the Hall.
Walker’s two most famous works include Roy Orbison’s “Dream Baby” and Ray Charles’ “You Don’t Know Me.”  But her works also include many Western swing standards. Bing Crosby, Ernest Tubb, Eddie Arnold, Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson are among those who have recorded a Walker tune. Nelson even released a tribute album called “You Don’t Know Me: the Songs of Cindy Walker.”
Her lyrics were pure and plainspoken. They often talked of romance, heartbreak and picturesque prairies.  She had top 10 hit songs in every decade from the ‘40s through the ‘80s.
A native of Mexia, near Waco, Walker was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997. In 1970, she became the first woman inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. She was 87 when she died in 2006.
The Country Music Hall of Fame has not yet announced what it plans to do with the donation.