Music wouldn't be music without songwriters. You can play, you can sing, but without the song itself it's just noise. Some, but not all, performers are songwriters. Yesterday, some of the best songwriters in music were recognized as the inductees for the 2024 Songwriters Hall Of Fame were revealed.
The names cover multiple genres: alternative rock legends R.E.M. and classic rock giants Steely Dan, along with non-performing songwriters Hillary Lindsey, Timbaland and Dean Pitchford.
R.E.M and Steely Dan require no introduction, as both legendary acts are members of the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. The non-performers, most people know, at least by their work.
- Hillary Lindsey: a singer/songwriter whose biggest success has come from penning tunes for Carrie Underwood, including eleven #1 country songs like "Jesus Take The Wheel," "So Small" and "Two Black Cadillacs." She's also written hits for or with Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Shakira and many others.
- Timbaland: while he's scored hits as a performer ("Apologize" with OneRepublic, "Give It To Me" featuring Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake), he's known as much if not more for his production and songwriting skills, penning hits for Justin Timberlake ("Cry Me A River"), Nelly Furtado ("Promiscuous"), Madonna ("4 Minutes"), Rihanna ("Rehab") and many more.
- Dean Pitchford: Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Pitchford has written hits for and with Melissa Manchester ("You Should Hear How She Talks About You"), Steve Perry and Kenny Loggins ("Don't Fight It"), Peter Cetera and Cher ("After All"), Eric Carmen ("Make Me Lose Control"), along with writing the screenplay and being the creative mind behind the movie and soundtrack "Footloose".
The Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees will be honored during the 53rd Annual Induction and Awards Gala at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on June 13.
See some of the biggest hits written or co-written by Hillary Lindsey, Timbaland and Dean Pitchford to the right.
Songwriters that were nominated but didn't get in this year included Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke of Blondie; Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart; Bryan Adams; Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings of The Guess Who; Tracy Chapman; George Clinton; Tom Johnston, Patrick Simmons and Michael McDonald of The Doobie Brothers; David Gates of Bread; Kenny Loggins; and Chuck D and Flavor Flav of Public Enemy.
The full story is here courtesy of AmericanSongwriter