REM in the press room of the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards, held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sept. 8, 1994.
Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images
Being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame is a major accomplishment in the life of any songwriter, and it’s always nice to share life’s big moments with friends and colleagues. So, it’s bound to be extra meaningful on Thursday June 13 when the four former members of R.E.M. are inducted together at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
Another songwriting team – Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan – will also be honored this year, though the celebration will be muted by the fact that Becker is receiving the honor posthumously. He died in 2017 at age 67.
The other inductees at this year’s event are Hillary Lindsey, Dean Pitchford and Timothy Mosley (better known as Timbaland). Diane Warren will receive the night’s top award, the Johnny Mercer Award. SZA will receive the Hal David Starlight Award, which honors a fast-rising songwriter.
R.E.M. will be the ninth collective of three or more songwriters to be inducted into the SHOF on the same night. Seven of them are performing groups. The other two teams worked behind-the-scenes – Holland/Dozier/Holland, the songwriting and production wizards who created some of the most timeless and beloved hits of the 1960s, and Galt MacDermot, James Rado and Gerome Ragni, who wrote the songs for the Broadway musical Hair, which was a sensation in the late 1960s.
Here’s a complete list of the collectives of three or more songwriters that have been (or will soon be) inducted into the SHOF on the same night. They are listed in chronological order.
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Holland/Dozier/Holland
Image Credit: Lester Cohen/Getty Images Inducted members: Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland
Induction date: Jan. 24, 1988
Notes: HDH wrote and produced some of the biggest and best hits in Motown history, including The Supremes’ “Stop! In the Name of Love” and “You Can’t Hurry Love” and Four Tops’ “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” and “Reach Out I’ll Be There” – all of which reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1965-66.
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Bee Gees
Inducted members: Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
Induction date: June 1, 1994
Notes: The brothers co-wrote all 15 of their top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, which stretched from “I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You” in 1968 to “One” in 1989. Nine of those songs reached No. 1, including such all-timers as “How Deep Is Your Love” and “Stayin’ Alive” (the latter, a Grammy song of the year nominee). The brothers also wrote hits for a long list of other performers, including Yvonne Elliman, Andy Gibb, Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick and Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton.
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Queen
Image Credit: Richard E. Aaron/Redferns Inducted members: John Deacon, Brian May, Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor
Induction date: June 12, 2003
Notes: Queen was inducted about midway between Mercury’s death in 1991 and the 2018 release of the band biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. The members of Queen wrote the group’s biggest hits individually: Mercury wrote “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Are the Champions” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” May contributed “We Will Rock You.” Deacon wrote “Another One Bites the Dust.”
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Crosby, Stills & Nash
Inducted members: David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash
Induction date: June 18, 2009
Notes: Nash wrote both of the trio’s top 10 hits, “Just a Song Before I Go” and the philosophical “Wasted on the Way,” by himself. Stills wrote The Buffalo Springfield’s 1967 classic “For What It’s Worth (Stop, Hey What’s That Sound)” by himself. Neil Young, who joined CSN in 1970 to make it a foursome, is not in the SHOF. The writer of “Heart of Gold” (and many other classics) needs to be there.
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MacDermot, Rado & Ragni
Inducted members: Galt MacDermot, James Rado, Gerome Ragni
Induction date: June 18, 2009
Notes: The songwriters’ names may not ring a bell, but their songs sure do. The three creatives wrote the songs for the Broadway musical Hair, including four that reached the top five on the Hot 100: “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” (by The 5th Dimension), “Hair” (by The Cowsills), “Good Morning Starshine” (by Oliver) and “Easy to Be Hard” (by Three Dog Night). The Hair cast album topped the Billboard 200 for 13 weeks. Ragni’s SHOF induction was posthumous; he had died in 1991 at age 55.
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Earth, Wind & Fire
Inducted members: Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Larry Dunn, Al McKay
Induction date: June 17, 2010
Notes: Group leader Maurice White co-wrote four of the group’s seven top 10 hits: “Shining Star” (with Bailey), “Sing a Song” (with McKay), “September” (with McKay and Allee Willis, who was voted into the SHOF in 2018, the year before her death) and “Let’s Groove” (with Wayne Vaughn). “Shining Star” was the band’s sole No. 1 on the Hot 100, but the irresistible “September” is probably its most popular song today.
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Kool & the Gang
Inducted members: Robert “Kool” Bell, Ronald Bell, George Brown, James “JT” Taylor
Induction date: June 25, 2018
Notes: The band members wrote all 12 of their top 10 hits, including their sole No. 1, “Celebration,” which has become as much a fixture at wedding receptions as a big, frosted cake. Group member George Brown co-wrote “Too Hot,” the mid-tempo ballad that underscored the group’s broad appeal.
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The Isley Brothers
Inducted members: Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley, Rudolph Isley, Ronald Isley, O’Kelly Isley, Chris Jasper
Induction date: June 13, 2022
Notes: The Isleys are the largest collective to be honored to date – six members were inducted in 2022. O’Kelly, Ronald and Rudolph co-wrote the band’s first two top 10 hits on the Hot 100 – “It’s Your Thing” and “That Lady (Part 1).” Ernie, Marvin and Chris joined them to write the band’s third top 10 hit, “Fight the Power (Part 1).” O’Kelly’s induction was posthumous. He had died in 1986 at age 48.
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R.E.M.
Inducted members: Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe
Induction date: June 13, 2024
Notes: The four members of R.E.M. co-wrote all four of the band’s top 10 hits on the Hot 100: “The One I Love,” “Stand,” “Losing My Religion” and “Shiny Happy People.” The masterful “Losing My Religion” received a Grammy nod for song of the year and probably would have won if the Grammys hadn’t inexplicably let a 40-year-old standard (“Unforgettable”) compete that year.