Some of country music's most laureled songwriters trekked to the ASCAP building on Music Row Wednesday afternoon (March 25) to toast Guy Clark and Allen Shamblin on being named to the Texas Heritage Songwriters' Association's Honor Roll.

The association officially welcomed Clark, Shamblin, Willie Nelson and Michael Martin Murphey to its Honor Roll earlier this month at ceremonies held in the Paramount Theater in Austin. (Nelson and Murphey are members of BMI, ASCAP's major performance rights competitor.)

Among the 75 or so guests attending the ASCAP reception were songwriters Mike Reed ("Stranger in My House"), Richard Leigh ("Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue"), Wayland Holyfield, ("Could I Have This Dance"), Jim Rushing ("Nothing Sure Looked Good on You"), Gary Nicholson ("One More Last Chance"), Buzz Cason ("Timeless And True Love"), J. D. Souther ("New Kid in Town"), Lionel Cartwright ("Give Me His Last Chance") and Austin Cunningham ("If Your Heart Should Ever Roll This Way Again").

Shamblin, whose hits include "Don't Laugh at Me" and "He Walked on Water," told the gathering that it seemed like only yesterday that he was parking cars at Nashville's Centennial Hospital until publisher Pat Halper drove up with a royalty check and informed him he'd never have to park cars again.

"I've had one goal," Shamblin continued, "to make enough money [songwriting] to wake up and do it tomorrow."

"Ditto to all that Allen said," Clark growled. He was elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004 for having penned such imperishables as "L.A. Freeway" and "Desperados Waiting for a Train."

In spite of the Texas tie-in, only two cowboy hats were spotted in the crowd, neither worn by the guests of honor.