The 2011 Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductees have been announced and Garth Brooks is among the honorees.

Garth released the following statement with his thoughts on the honor:

I want to thank the Songwriters Hall of Fame for this distinguished honor. To consider myself a "songwriter" is something I find hard to agree with, for it is the songwriter that is the most gifted and most important ingredient in the music formula. I am humbled and flattered by this award and want to thank the songwriters I have written with in the past. I feel it is because of them I am receiving this award.

Garth joins fellow inductees including John Bettis, Leon Russell, Allen Toussaint, Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly.

From the press release:

SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES 2011 INDUCTEES

John Bettis, Garth Brooks, Leon Russell, Billy Steinberg & Tom Kelly
and Allen Toussaint

New York, NY – February 22, 2011 – Musical titans John Bettis, Garth Brooks, Leon Russell, Billy Steinberg & Tom Kelly and Allen Toussaint will become the newest members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame at the organization’s 42nd Annual Induction and Awards Dinner. The star-studded event is slated for Thursday, June 16th at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Additional special award honorees will be announced soon.

“We are inspired by the striking caliber and range of the 2011 Songwriters Hall of Fame class,” says SHOF Chairman, legendary songwriter, and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Jimmy Webb. “John, Garth, Leon, Billy, Tom and Allen each represent a unique breed of artist, warmly respected by their peers and revered by all lovers of song. As songwriters, their work has forever enriched our world’s music.”

Established in 1969, the Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) serves as a vital bridge between music’s past and future. In the museum, musical pioneers are enshrined and celebrated, while the organization’s music community outreach grooms the next generation of troubadours. In entering the Hall, John Bettis, Garth Brooks, Leon Russell, Billy Steinberg & Tom Kelly and Allen Toussaint join an elite family that includes Kris Kristofferson, Carole King, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Dolly Parton, James Taylor, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Sir Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Loretta Lynn, Leonard Cohen, James Brown, and more.