Songwriters Hall Of Fame
06/13/2025
P-Funk, EGOTs, Beach Boys, surprise guests and more.
06/13/2025
On Thursday (June 12) evening in New York City, The Beach Boys legend Mike Love was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The massive honor for the veteran singer-songwriter came in the wake of huge loss to fans of the Beach Boys: just one day prior to the induction ceremony, news broke that Brian Wilson, one-time leader of the peerless pop-rock group, had died at 82. Wilson and Love were not just bandmates, but co-writers on some of the biggest Billboard Hot 100 hits of the ‘60s – not to mention cousins.
So when John Stamos – the Full House alum who has been performing with his beloved Beach Boys for four decades now – took the stage to introduce Love, he took a pause to mention the loss. “I’d like to take a moment and acknowledge the heartbreaking loss of Brian Wilson,” said Stamos. “A genius whose melodies shaped millions of dreams, including those in this room.”
Of Love, Stamos noted that the new inductee was the main man behind many of the Beach Boys’ most recognizable hooks, and said his induction was “long overdue.”
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Love, wearing a dapper blue blazer and Beach Boys call cap, paid tribute to his departed co-writer and fellow Beach Boy during his acceptance speech, too.
“Gratitude is the main emotion I feel,” Love told the Songwriters Hall of Fame audience. After thanking his wife, children, band and crew, Love added, “I especially want to thank my cousin, Brian Wilson. I believe he’s here with us.
“He’s my first cousin but brother in music together,” Love continued, noting that their partnership “set the stage for some of the most successful collaborations all time.”
“I do feel his presence,” Love said. Sharing “gratitude, love and peace” with the crowd, he added, “I pray that through music, art and kindness, the world heals and love prevails.”
After that, Love sauntered over to the mic to perform (with Stamos on guitar!) a number of his best-loved co-writes, smash hits for the Beach Boys such as “Good Vibrations,” “Kokomo” and “I Get Around.” Needless to say, damn near the entire room was on its feet, singing along.
Wicked anthem “Defying Gravity” changed very little from its initial composition, except for one key change requested by Idina Menzel. The title for Funkadelic’s iconic “One Nation Under a Groove” came from a fan. The co-writer of timeless classic “Build Me Up Buttercup” tried desperately to get the word “Buttercup” out of the song. And […]
Over two distinct sonic eras, The Doobie Brothers — led by singer-guitarist Tom Johnston and singer-pianist Michael McDonald — have sustained a genre-agnostic, commercially viable career since the early 1970s. That includes nine top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 and 10 top 20 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as hits spanning the rock, adult contemporary, R&B and country charts.
But what truly defines the band is that “it’s a democracy,” according to Karim Karmi, its comanager of a decade alongside Irving Azoff.
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Now, 50 years in, the Doobies are proving just that with Walk This Road, their first album to feature significant contributions from all three principal songwriters (Johnston, McDonald and Pat Simmons). Produced by pop-rock stalwart John Shanks, the project is McDonald’s first appearance on a Doobies album in 20 years and will arrive a week before he, Johnston and Simmons are inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (alongside George Clinton, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Ashley Gorley, Mike Love and Tony Macaulay) on June 12. After which, McDonald teases, the Doobies “might even do another” album.
How did working with John Shanks affect your songwriting process for Walk This Road?
Michael McDonald: We found ourselves revisiting old ideas that might have never gotten recorded — in my case, songs that I might have demoed, gosh, 10 years ago, that I would every once in a while run across in my phone. And then some of the stuff was more immediate, where we just sat down with John and came up with a song in a moment.
Tom Johnston: John’s a hell of a guitar player, and he has good ideas on sound. He’s got a place up in the Hollywood Hills overlooking part of the San Fernando Valley and he’s got a lot of toys, so you can try pretty much anything you want to try and that’s liberating.
McDonald: It’s every musician’s fantasy man cave — literally every kind of keyboard, keyboards I never even knew existed.
A sense of social conscience is central to the band’s music, especially on this album’s title track with Mavis Staples. Do you feel a responsibility to address current times in your writing?
Johnston: The civic duty bit that you express when writing, that’s something that you just feel — it’s an organic thing.
McDonald: With “Walk This Road,” I think John had the original idea for the title — of us getting back together, here we are still trudging the same road all these years later. But it immediately took on a bigger meaning, and I think bringing Mavis onto the track cemented that idea because she is an ambassador of the gospel of humanity. The sound of her voice and her intent made it clear what we might be talking about in the bigger sense, which is, we’re all here together. As a band, we hope to appeal to the collective better nature of people.
You have a long track record on the Billboard charts. What does it take to write a hit?
Johnston: When you’re writing a song, you’re not thinking about that; you’re just trying to put into it what you feel at that moment. The only time I ever even thought [about] that was on “Listen to the Music.” You just want to do the best you can.
McDonald: We came up in the middle of the ’60s and the ’70s, when recording artists were starting to exercise a lot more latitude in terms of style and genre, and the Doobies were always a very eclectic band; we were free to do what we wanted or whatever we thought we could be sincere at portraying musically. I always felt fortunate that we came up in a time when there were a lot less limitations set on artists to stay in their lane.
HBO’s Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary highlights that aspect of you and your contemporaries — as well as your habit of turning up in unexpected places, Mike, both in the Doobies and as a solo artist. What’s the most unexpected place or collaborator you’ve found yourself around recently?
McDonald: I wrote a couple songs recently with a kid named Charlie Puth, who’s a really talented musician. And I find that I’m being taken more places than I would ever have gone on my own. I’ve been trying to co-write with people, which I always do with a little bit of mixed feelings. I never really know if what I’m writing is good or not. You start to compare yourself to everything else, and it gets a little scary sometimes. But I do like co-writing because it gets me out of the house and it makes me do something rather than watch another episode of HGTV. (Laughs.)
This story appears in the June 7, 2025, issue of Billboard.
Stephen Schwartz, who wrote both music and lyrics to all the songs in Wicked, is about to become even more “Popular.” The veteran songwriter is set to receive the 2025 Johnny Mercer Award at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Gala on Thursday, June 12, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
The award presentation will come near the midpoint between the November 2024 release of Wicked, which quickly became the highest-grossing film ever based on a Broadway musical, and the November 2025 release of a sequel, Wicked: For Good. Both films are based on the 2003 stage musical Wicked.
Schwartz, 76, has won three Oscars, four Grammys, four Drama Desk Awards and a Golden Globe. He has received six Tony nominations, in addition to receiving their Isabelle Stevenson Award in 2015 for his support of young artists.
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The Mercer Award, the highest honor bestowed by the SHOF, is reserved for a songwriter or songwriting team who has already been inducted into the SHOF and whose body of work upholds the high standards set by Mercer, wrote dozens of hits from the 1930s through the 1960s. (Learn more about Mercer here.) Schwartz was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.
“With every lyric and melody, Stephen invites us on an unforgettable journey,” SHOF chairman Nile Rodgers said in a statement. “From his iconic list of award-winning musicals, including Godspell, Wicked and Pippin, Stephen continually proves that he is the only person who can turn a simple story into a Broadway musical masterpiece, one catchy chorus at a time!”
Schwartz won his first two Oscars – best original song for “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas and best original musical or comedy score for that same film, in tandem with Alan Menken, who received the Johnny Mercer Award in 2017. Schwartz won his third Oscar – best original song for “When You Believe” from The Prince of Egypt – by himself.
Schwartz is the second Mercer recipient in the past three years who is largely known for his work in theater. Tim Rice, who teamed with Andrew Lloyd Webber to write such classics as Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, won the award in 2023.
Schwartz has been a major force in the American musical theater since the early 1970’s, when he had three hit shows running on Broadway – Godspell, Pippin, and The Magic Show.
Four of Schwartz’s songs – two from stage musicals and two from films – have become top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. “Day by Day” from Godspell (credited to Godspell) reached No. 13 in 1972. The Jackson 5’s cover version of “Corner of the Sky” from Pippin reached No. 18 in 1972, Vanessa Williams’ “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas hit No. 4 in 1995, and Whitney Houston & Mariah Carey’s “When You Believe” from The Prince of Egypt reached No. 15 in 1999. The latter film was DreamWorks’ first animated feature.
Schwartz’s other musicals, in addition to those already named, include The Magic Show, The Baker’s Wife, Working, Rags, Children of Eden, and the upcoming The Queen of Versailles, which is slated to open on Broadway this fall. His other films, in addition to those already named, include The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Enchanted.
In the classical field, Schwartz collaborated with Leonard Bernstein on Mass and composed the opera, Seance on a Wet Afternoon. He has also released two singer/songwriter albums, Reluctant Pilgrim and Uncharted Territory.
Under the auspices of The ASCAP Foundation, Schwartz runs musical theater workshops in New York and Los Angeles, and serves on the ASCAP Foundation board. He is also a member of the Council of the Dramatists’ Guild.
Gracie Abrams, 25, was announced two weeks ago as the recipient of the SHOF’s other major honorary award, the Hal David Starlight Award. That award, named after the Oscar- and Grammy-winning lyricist, is presented to young songwriters who are making a significant impact in the music industry with their original songs.
Previously announced 2025 SHOF inductees are George Clinton, Ashley Gorley, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Mike Love, Tony Macaulay and three members of The Doobie Brothers (Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald and Patrick Simmons).
A songwriter with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for induction into the SHOF 20 years after the first commercial release of a song.
Gracie Abrams is set to receive the Hal David Starlight Award at the 54th Annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner slated for Thursday, June 12, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
The award, created in 2004, is presented to “gifted young songwriters who are making a significant impact in the music industry with their original songs,” according to the announcement. The award was named after the late Oscar- and Grammy-winning lyricist and SHOF chairman emeritus, best-known for his long, hit-studded collaboration with Burt Bacharach.
Abrams, 25, has received Grammy nominations in each of the year two years. In 2024, she competed for best new artist. This year, she competed for best pop duo/group performance for “Us.” (featuring Taylor Swift, the 2010 recipient of the Hal David Starlight Award).
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Abrams’ sophomore album, The Secret of Us, reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It spawned a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, “I Love You, I’m Sorry.” The deluxe edition of the album spawned a top 10 hit, “That’s So True.”
Abrams, the daughter of celebrated filmmaker J.J. Abrams, is a Universal Music Publishing Group writer.
The Hal David Starlight Award is meant as a balance to the Johnny Mercer Award, the organization’s top award, which is a career-capping honor. This year’s Mercer recipient has not yet been announced. (This is a reversal from last year, when Diane Warren was announced as the Mercer recipient on Feb. 22, nearly two months before SZA was announced as the Hal David recipient.)
Previously announced 2025 SHOF inductees are George Clinton, Ashley Gorley, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Mike Love, Tony Macaulay and three members of The Doobie Brothers (Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald and Patrick Simmons).
Here’s the complete list of recipients of the Hal David Starlight Award:
2004: Rob Thomas (Matchbox Twenty)
2005: Alicia Keys
2006: John Mayer
2007: John Legend
2008: John Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls)
2009: Jason Mraz
2010: Taylor Swift
2011: Drake
2012: Ne-Yo
2013: Benny Blanco
2014: Dan Reynolds (Imagine Dragons)
2015: Nate Ruess (Fun.)
2016: Nick Jonas (Jonas Brothers)
2017: Ed Sheeran
2018: Sara Bareilles
2019: Halsey
2022: Lil Nas X
2023: Post Malone
2024: SZA
2025: Gracie Abrams
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is hosting its ninth annual virtual “Conversation With Oscar-Nominated Songwriters,” which will be available to watch for free on the organization’s website for three weeks. The conversation, moderated by SHOF inductees Nile Rodgers (SHOF chairman) and Paul Williams (a member of the SHOF board of directors) will become available on […]
George Clinton, Ashley Gorley, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Mike Love, Tony Macaulay and three members of The Doobie Brothers (Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald and Patrick Simmons) are the 2025 inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The organization’s 2025 Induction and Awards Gala is slated for Thursday, June 12 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
This is the first SHOF class to include no women since 2017. The SHOF, like most awards organizations, has been more mindful of gender diversity in recent years. The initial list of nominees included four women – Franne Golde, Sheryl Crow, Janet Jackson and Alanis Morissette – but none made it this year.
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Induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame ranks with the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song as the ultimate honor for a songwriter. A songwriter with a catalog of notable songs qualifies for induction 20 years after their first significant commercial release of a song.
Love is being ushered into the SHOF 25 years after Brian Wilson, his colleague in The Beach Boys, was honored by the organization.
Love, Clinton and the three Doobies have all been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Love was inducted in 1988 as a member of The Beach Boys; Clinton in 1997 as the leader of Parliament/Funkadelic; and The Doobies in 2020. The Beach Boys and P-Funk have also received lifetime achievement awards from the Recording Academy.
McDonald is a five-time Grammy winner. Simmons and Jerkins are both two-time Grammy winners. All three musicians have won record of the year — McDonald and Simmons as performers on The Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes”; Jerkins for co-producing Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me (Darkchild Mix),” the subtitle a nod to Jerkins’ nickname.
Gorley, one of the top songwriters in country music, has been voted into the all-genre SHOF before he made it into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, a rarity for a Nashville writer. Gorley and Jerkins are both 47, which made them the youngest songwriters vying for induction this year.
Twenty-six songwriters or songwriting teams vied for induction into the SHOF this year. Just six were elected – three from 13 nominees in the performing songwriters category and three from 13 nominees in the songwriters category, which is reserved for non-performing songwriters. The nominations were announced on Nov. 12. Voting closed on Dec. 22.
The SHOF has yet to announce the recipients of its two honorary awards – the Johnny Mercer Award (a career-capping award) and the Hal David Starlight Award (which goes to a hot current writer).
Here’s a complete list of the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s 2025 nominees for induction, with those inducted flagged INDUCTED: and bolded. The SHOF supplied the five songs listed after each nominees’ name, which they stress “are merely a representative sample of their extensive catalogs.”
Songwriters
Walter Afanasieff – “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” “Hero,” “License to Kill,” “Love Will Survive,” “One Sweet Day”
Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan – “Secret Agent Man,” “Eve Of Destruction,” “Where Were You When I Needed You,” “You Baby,” “Can I Get to Know You”
Mike Chapman – “The Best,” “Love Is a Battlefield,” “Ballroom Blitz,” “Stumblin’ In,” “Kiss You All Over”
Sonny Curtis – “Love Is All Around (Theme from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”),” “I Fought the Law,” “Walk Right Back,” “More Than I Can Say,” “I’m No Stranger to the Rain”
Tom Douglas – “The House That Built Me,” “Little Rock,” “I Run to You,” “Grown Men Don’t Cry,” “Love Me Anyway”
Franne Golde – “Dreaming of You,” “Nightshift,” “Don’t Look Any Further,” “Don’t You Want Me,” “Stickwitu”
INDUCTED: Ashley Gorley – “I Had Some Help,” “Last Night,” “You Should Probably Leave,” “Play It Again,” “You’re Gonna Miss This”
INDUCTED: Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins – “Say My Name,” “The Boy Is Mine,” “You Rock My World,” “Déjà vu,” “Telephone”
Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter – “One Tin Soldier (Theme from “Billy Jack”),” “Don’t Pull Your Love,” “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got),” “It Only Takes a Minute,” “Country Boy (You Got Your Feet In L.A.)”
INDUCTED: Tony Macaulay – “Baby Now That I’ve Found You,” “Build Me Up Buttercup,” “Don’t Give Up On Us,” “(Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep at All,” “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)”
Roger Nichols – “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Rainy Days and Mondays,” “I Won’t Last a Day Without You,” “Out in the Country,” “Times of Your Life”
Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham – “I’m Your Puppet,” “Cry Like a Baby,” “A Woman Left Lonely,” “Out of Left Field,” “It Tears Me Up”
Narada Michael Walden – “How Will I Know,” “Freeway of Love,” “You’re a Friend of Mine,” “Baby Come to Me,” “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?”
Performing Songwriters
Bryan Adams – “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You,” “Heaven,” “All for Love,” “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?,” “Summer of ‘69”
George Alan O’Dowd p/k/a Boy George – “Karma Chameleon,” “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” “Time (Clock Of The Heart), “Love Is Love,” “Miss Me Blind”
INDUCTED: George Clinton – “Atomic Dog,” “Flash Light,” “(Not Just) Knee Deep,” “I’d Rather Be With You,” “Give Up The Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)”
Sheryl Crow – “All I Wanna Do,” “Soak Up The Sun,” “If It Makes You Happy,” “A Change Would Do You Good,” “Everyday Is a Winding Road”
INDUCTED: Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald and Patrick Simmons p/k/a Doobie Brothers – “Listen to the Music,” “Takin’ It to the Streets,” “Black Water,” “What a Fool Believes,” “Long Train Runnin’”
Marshall Mathers p/k/a Eminem – “Lose Yourself,” “Stan,” “Mockingbird,” “Houdini,” “Rap God”
David Gates – “Everything I Own,” “Make It With You,” “Baby I’m-A Want You,” “The Guitar Man,” “If”
Janet Jackson – “Black Cat,” “Together Again,” “Again,” “Got ‘til It’s Gone,” “Rhythm Nation”
Tommy James – “Mony Mony,” “Crimson and Clover,” “Crystal Blue Persuasion,” “Sweet Cherry Wine,” “Tighter, Tighter”
INDUCTED: Mike Love – “California Girls,” “Good Vibrations,” “The Warmth of the Sun,” “I Get Around,” “Fun, Fun, Fun”
Alanis Morissette – “You Oughta Know,” “Ironic,” “Hand in My Pocket,” “Thank U,” “Uninvited”
Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella p/k/a N.W.A – “Express Yourself,” “Dopeman,” “Fu*k Tha Police,” “Gangsta Gangsta,” “Straight Outta Compton”
Steve Winwood – “Higher Love,” “Gimme Some Lovin’,” “I’m a Man,” “Valerie,” “Roll With It”
In 2003, Eminem made Oscar history with “Lose Yourself,” the first rap song to win best original song. Now he’s in contention for another top honor. He’s one of 26 songwriters or songwriting teams vying for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year.
Just six will be elected – three from 13 nominees in the performing songwriters category and three from 13 nominees in the songwriters category, which is reserved for non-performing songwriters. The six inductees will be celebrated at the SHOF’s 2025 Induction & Awards Gala in New York City, which is expected to be in June at the event’s usual home, the Marriott Marquis.
All but five of the 26 nominees are individuals. The five collaborations on the ballot are Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan; Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter; Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham; three members of The Doobie Brothers (Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald and Patrick Simmons); and five former members of N.W.A (Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella).
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Almost all the nominees are still living. The only exceptions are Sloan, who died in 2015 at age 70, and N.W.A’s Eazy-E, who died in 1995 at age 30.
The youngest nominees are Ashley Gorley and Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, both 47. The list includes four women – Franne Golde, Sheryl Crow, Janet Jackson and Alanis Morissette.
Several songwriters who are strongly associated with songwriters who were previously inducted into the SHOF are on the ballot this year – Walter Afanasieff (his frequent collaborator Mariah Carey was inducted in 2022), Roger Nichols (his frequent collaborator Paul Williams was inducted in 2001), Jackson (her brother Michael Jackson was inducted in 2002) and Mike Love (his Beach Boys colleague Brian Wilson was inducted in 2000).
The list includes eight members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Crow, Eminem, Jackson, George Clinton (who is in the Rock Hall as the leader of Parliament/Funkadelic), Love (who is in the Rock Hall as a member of The Beach Boys), Steve Winwood (who is in the Rock Hall as a member of Traffic), the three aforementioned members of The Doobie Brothers and the five aforementioned former members of N.W.A.
The list includes three members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Sonny Curtis was inducted into that body in 1991, followed by Tom Douglas in 2014 and Oldham in 2020. Curtis, 87, has had many pop and country hits, including “I Fought the Law” and “Walk Right Back,” but he may be best-known for writing “Love Is All Around,” the pitch-perfect theme song from The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Three of the nominees are past winners of the Grammy for producer of the year (non-classical). Narada Michael Walden won that award in 1988, chiefly for his work with Whitney Houston. Afanasieff won in 2000, Dr. Dre in 2001.
A songwriter with a catalog of notable songs qualifies for induction 20 years after their first significant commercial release of a song.
Eligible voting members have until midnight ET on Dec. 22 to turn in their ballots with their choices of up to three nominees in each of the two categories.
Here’s a complete list of the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s 2025 nominees for induction. The SHOF supplied the five songs listed after each nominees’ name, which they stress “are merely a representative sample of their extensive catalogs.”
Songwriters
Walter Afanasieff – “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” “Hero,” “License to Kill,” “Love Will Survive,” “One Sweet Day”
Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan – “Secret Agent Man,” “Eve Of Destruction,” “Where Were You When I Needed You,” “You Baby,” “Can I Get to Know You”
Mike Chapman – “The Best,” “Love Is a Battlefield,” “Ballroom Blitz,” “Stumblin’ In,” “Kiss You All Over”
Sonny Curtis – “Love Is All Around (Theme from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”),” “I Fought the Law,” “Walk Right Back,” “More Than I Can Say,” “I’m No Stranger to the Rain”
Tom Douglas – “The House That Built Me,” “Little Rock,” “I Run to You,” “Grown Men Don’t Cry,” “Love Me Anyway”
Franne Golde – “Dreaming of You,” “Nightshift,” “Don’t Look Any Further,” “Don’t You Want Me,” “Stickwitu”
Ashley Gorley – “I Had Some Help,” “Last Night,” “You Should Probably Leave,” “Play It Again,” “You’re Gonna Miss This”
Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins – “Say My Name,” “The Boy Is Mine,” “You Rock My World,” “Déjà vu,” “Telephone”
Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter – “One Tin Soldier (Theme from “Billy Jack”),” “Don’t Pull Your Love,” “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got),” “It Only Takes a Minute,” “Country Boy (You Got Your Feet In L.A.)”
Tony Macaulay – “Baby Now That I’ve Found You,” “Build Me Up Buttercup,” “Don’t Give Up On Us,” “(Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep at All,” “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)”
Roger Nichols – “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Rainy Days and Mondays,” “I Won’t Last a Day Without You,” “Out in the Country,” “Times of Your Life”
Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham – “I’m Your Puppet,” “Cry Like a Baby,” “A Woman Left Lonely,” “Out of Left Field,” “It Tears Me Up”
Narada Michael Walden – “How Will I Know,” “Freeway of Love,” “You’re a Friend of Mine,” “Baby Come to Me,” “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?”
Performing Songwriters
Bryan Adams – “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You,” “Heaven,” “All for Love,” “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?,” “Summer of ‘69”
George Alan O’Dowd p/k/a Boy George – “Karma Chameleon,” “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” “Time (Clock Of The Heart), “Love Is Love,” “Miss Me Blind”
George Clinton – “Atomic Dog,” “Flash Light,” “(Not Just) Knee Deep,” “I’d Rather Be With You,” “Give Up The Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)”
Sheryl Crow – “All I Wanna Do,” “Soak Up The Sun,” “If It Makes You Happy,” “A Change Would Do You Good,” “Everyday Is a Winding Road”
Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald and Patrick Simmons p/k/a Doobie Brothers – “Listen to the Music,” “Takin’ It to the Streets,” “Black Water,” “What a Fool Believes,” “Long Train Runnin’”
Marshall Mathers p/k/a Eminem – “Lose Yourself,” “Stan,” “Mockingbird,” “Houdini,” “Rap God”
David Gates – “Everything I Own,” “Make It With You,” “Baby I’m-A Want You,” “The Guitar Man,” “If”
Janet Jackson – “Black Cat,” “Together Again,” “Again,” “Got ‘til It’s Gone,” “Rhythm Nation”
Tommy James – “Mony Mony,” “Crimson and Clover,” “Crystal Blue Persuasion,” “Sweet Cherry Wine,” “Tighter, Tighter”
Mike Love – “California Girls,” “Good Vibrations,” “The Warmth of the Sun,” “I Get Around,” “Fun, Fun, Fun”
Alanis Morissette – “You Oughta Know,” “Ironic,” “Hand in My Pocket,” “Thank U,” “Uninvited”
Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella p/k/a N.W.A – “Express Yourself,” “Dopeman,” “Fu*k Tha Police,” “Gangsta Gangsta,” “Straight Outta Compton”
Steve Winwood – “Higher Love,” “Gimme Some Lovin’,” “I’m a Man,” “Valerie,” “Roll With It”
Nile Rodgers was unanimously re-elected to serve a third term as chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame at its annual board of directors meeting held in New York City on Oct. 15. In a key change, the chairman, officers and board of directors will all serve terms of five years, up from the original three-year terms.
Rodgers, a four-time Grammy winner, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 (in the musical excellence category) and received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2023.
“Having Nile as a partner has been a very special and rewarding experience for me personally and professionally,” Linda Moran, SHOF president/CEO, said in a statement. “Nile is one of the rare ones who is respected and admired by his peers and his fans of all generations for being a musical pioneer with his multi-cross-genre music. With an ever-expanding list of credits and accomplishments and, more importantly, his eloquence in talking about and especially his love of songwriting and its process makes Nile the ideal voice for the songwriting community to the world at large as Chairman of the SHOF.”
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“Serving as the Chair of The Songwriters Hall of Fame has been one of the highest points of my career,” Rodgers said in a statement. “To be re-elected to serve another term makes me prouder than I could have ever imagined. This distinguished organization is one of the most brilliantly responsible groups I’ve ever had the pleasure to just sit amongst. Songwriters are the pillar of the music industry, and we recognize and celebrate these great creators. For this honor I’m beyond elated.”
Re-elected officers with Moran include CFO and treasurer Tom Kelly and senior vps David Israelite, Elizabeth Matthews and Mike O’Neill, secretary Mary Jo Mennella and deputy secretary Linda Buckley.
Elected members to the board of directors are SHOF inductees Desmond Child, Steve Dorff and Paul Williams, 2012 Hal David Starlight Award recipient Schaffer “Ne-Yo” Smith, Martin N. Bandier, Donna Caseine, Samantha Cox, Charlie Feldman, Fletcher Foster, Pete Ganbarg, Randy Grimmett, John H. Josephson, Jody H. Klein, Evan Lamberg, Carianne Marshall, Nancy Munoz, Jon Platt, Irwin Z. Robinson, Harold Stephan, Bob Valentine and John Titta. Barry Slotnick will continue as counsel.