Ahead of its semicentennial this June, industry executives share the G.O.A.T. performances from the Songwriters Hall of Fame gala -- from Lady Gaga and k.d. lang to Foreigner and Neil Diamond.
Martin Bandier, former chairman/CEO, Sony/ATV Music Publishing: Two things stand out in my mind. First, Irving Burgie was so happy to be inducted. He grew up in America but wrote a lot of songs about the Caribbean, and the audience still, most of us, didn’t have any idea who he was. And he said, "Here’s one of the songs I wrote," and he starts to sing "Day-O." The whole place erupted. He was so demure and understated, people had tears in their eyes ... The second one was Foreigner. Lou Gramm really hadn’t been well, and I don’t think the band had performed for a long time, but Lou got up and sang "I Want To Know What Love Is," and it was the most incredible moment. He looked old when he got on the stage, but by the time he finished he looked like the youngest rocker ever.