Never say never.
71 year old Paul Franklin is well-recognized as the one of the most important steel guitar players and musicians in all of country music. Having credits on over 500 recordings, he was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 2000, the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2019, and his name is brought up as a potential Country Music Hall of Fame musician inductee when the category comes around every three years. Along with guitarist Brent Mason, Paul Franklin has defined the sound of country music for a generation.
But Paul Franklin had never won a CMA Award. He’d been nominated for the CMA’s Musician of the Year many times. In fact, he’d been nominated more than anyone else without winning. He’d been nominated so many times, he’d amassed more CMA nominations than many major country music stars. Franklin is the most nominated person in the 59-year history of the CMA Awards in any specific category.
How many times had Paul Franklin been nominated? 33 times. But he’d never won.
Susan Lucci is the name people love to cite when it comes to someone who’s accrued a long string of nominations for a certain award without ever actually winning it. The iconic actress on the ABC soap opera All My Children was nominated a whopping 19 consecutive times by the Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actress before she finally won in 1999. In total, Lucci was nominated for the award 21 times. Paul Franklin actually had Susan Lucci beat, and by a dozen years.
Only four times since 1989 had Franklin not been nominated in the Musician of the Year category. One of the reasons Paul Franklin has been locked out over the last many years is due to the runs other musicians have enjoyed in the winners circle. From 1991 to 1996, fiddle player Mark O’Connor won it every year. Between 2008 and 2018, guitar player Mac McAnally won every year except for 2016.
Fiddle player Jenee Fleenor had won the award five consecutive years starting in 2019. As the first woman to ever win the award, she was easy to root for. Banjo/guitar player, and solo performer Charlie Worsham surprisingly won the award in 2024.
Then on Wednesday, November 19th at the 49th Annual, 2025 CMA Awards, Paul Franklin finally won the CMA’s Musician of the Year. The award is usually announced before the telecast. In this instance, it was mentioned as an image of Franklin appeared on a screen. Franklin then played during the tribute to his good friend and frequent collaborator Vince Gill who was receiving the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. Franklin came in with a killer steel guitar solo during Brandi Carlile and Patti Loveless singing “When I Call Your Name.”
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Paul Franklin started his career as a touring musician playing in the band of Barbara Mandrell. Those who know their country music history know that Mandrell was a skilled steel guitarist herself, and recognized the unique talent Paul Franklin brought to the table. He later toured with Mel Tillis, Jerry Reed, even British rock band Dire Straits, and also Vince Gill, where a lifelong friendship was forged.
One of Franklin’s first bits of steel guitar work in the studio came on the pop rock hit “Nice to Be with You” from the Detroit-based band Gallery in 1972. As time went on, Franklin became country music’s go-to steel guitar session musician, playing on albums from Alan Jackson, George Strait, Clint Black, Reba McEntire, Lee Ann Womack, Patty Loveless, Kathy Mattea, and obviously Vince Gill.
Paul Franklin has also been an innovator of the instrument. His father was also a musician and developed an instrument called the Pedabro, which is basically a dobro with pedals. That’s how Franklin got into the steel guitar at such an early age. The unique sound of the dobro found on the iconic hit “Forever and Ever, Amen” by Randy Travis, that is Paul Franklin playing a Pedabro.
But Paul Franklin also has played on the recordings of many contemporary artists as well like Luke Bryan, Kane Brown, and Lauren Alaina. He’s also the go-to guy for those who want steel guitar who reside outside of the country music genre. Toni Braxton, Peter Frampton, and even Megadeth have all solicited his services.
And perhaps most importantly, Paul Franklin is not just a creature of the recording studio. He was a long time member of Nashville’s resident Western swing band The Time Jumpers before leaving in 2024. He was one of the guys who helped convince Vince Gill to join in. The two also released a collaborative record in 2013 called Bakersfield, and then Sweet Memories: The Music of Ray Price and the Cherokee Cowboys in 2023.
What do these silly awards mean? Should we devalue music into a competition? These are fair questions. But for Paul Franklin, the win has to be especially sweet, perhaps more sweeter than anyone who’s ever been nominated for anything ever, in music or otherwise.
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