Late songwriter Cindy Walker leaves songs to country museum

Late songwriter Cindy Walker leaves songs to country museum

NASHVILLE (AP) -- The late Texas songwriter Cindy Walker has left an unusual and generous gift to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum: Her catalog of about 500 songs, many of them pop and country classics.

The Nashville museum announced Wednesday that Walker donated her share of the songs, including future royalties. Officials say it's the first donation of its kind.

Several stars recorded Walker's songs, including Bing Crosby, Roy Orbison, Ray Charles, Bob Wills, Ernest Tubb, Eddy Arnold and Willie Nelson.

Orbison's "Dream Baby" and Charles' "You Don't Know Me" may be her best-known work, but there are also Western swing standards like "Sugar Moon" and "Bubbles in My Beer."

Walker died in 2006.

She was inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997.

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