Sade Adu, Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Glen Ballard and Liz Rose are among the songwriters who will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at the organization’s 52nd annual Induction and Awards Gala. The gala is slated for Thursday, June 15, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
Four of this year’s honorees first gained fame in groups, but are being inducted here as individuals. They are Sade Adu (Sade), Estefan (Miami Sound Machine), Jeff Lynne (ELO) and Teddy Riley (Guy).
Three were born outside the U.S. – Sade Adu (Nigeria), Estefan (Cuba) and Lynne (England).
The honorees range in age from 51-year-old Snoop to 75-year-old Lynne.
This will be the fifth consecutive induction ceremony at which a songwriter associated with rap or hip-hop has been honored. Snoop follows Jay-Z (2017), Jermaine Dupri (2018), Missy Elliott (2019), and Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes (2022). (There were no induction ceremonies in 2020-21 because of the pandemic).
This is the latest in a series of major honors for Estefan, who received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2017 and, with her husband Emilio Estefan, the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2019.
Lynne was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 as a member of ELO.
Rose is nominated for a Grammy for song of the year at the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 5 for the expanded version of Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well.” It’s her third nomination in that category.
The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) was established in 1969. A songwriter with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for induction 20 years after the first significant commercial release of a song.
“The music industry does not exist without songwriters delivering great songs first,” SHOF chairman Nile Rodgers (a 2016 SHOF inductee) said in a statement. “Without them there is no recorded music, no concert business, no merch … nothing, it all starts with the song and the songwriter.”
Twelve performing songwriters or songwriting teams and 12 non-performing songwriters or songwriting teams were on the ballot to join the SHOF.
Performing songwriters who were passed over in the voting this year are Bryan Adams, Vince Gill, Patti Smith and Steve Winwood, plus four collectives — Clem Burke/Debbie Harry/Chris Stein (Blondie); Tom Johnston/Michael McDonald/Patrick Simmons (The Doobie Brothers); Ann Wilson/Nancy Wilson (Heart); and Bill Berry/Peter Buck/Mike Mills/Michael Stipe (REM).
Non-performing songwriters who were passed over in the voting this year are Dean Dillon, Franne Golde, Roger Nichols, Dean Pitchford and Tom Snow, plus four collaborations — Lynn Ahrens/Stephen Flaherty; Bobby Hart/Tommy Boyce; Sandy Linzer/Denny Randell; and Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham.
Recipients of special awards, including the Johnny Mercer Award, the SHOF’s top honor, will be announced later.
Tickets for the Songwriters Hall of Fame event begin at $2,000 each, and are available through Buckley Hall Events, (914) 579-1000 and SHOF@buckleyhallevents.com. To join the Songwriters Hall of Fame, visit: https://www.songhall.org/join.
Here are the seven songwriters who will be inducted in 2023. The SHOF supplied the titles of the five songs listed after each nominee’s name, but stresses that these “are merely a representative sample of their extensive catalogs.”
-
Calvin Broadus Jr. (Snoop Dogg)
Image Credit: Paras Griffin/GI for STARZ Sample Credits: “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” “Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang,” “Young, Wild & Free,” “Gin & Juice,” “Next Episode”
Grammy nominations: 16, including four in songwriting categories. He was nominated for best rap song for co-writing “Beautiful,” a collab with Pharrell and Uncle Charlie Wilson (2003); “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” a collab with Pharrell (2004); his solo hit “Sexual Eruption” (2008) and “Young, Wild & Free,” a collab with Wiz Khalifa and Bruno Mars (2012). Despite 16 nominations, Snoop has yet to win a Grammy. But he did win a Primetime Emmy last year for The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent.
-
Sade Adu
Sample Credits: “Smooth Operator,” “No Ordinary Love,” “The Sweetest Taboo,” “By Your Side,” “Is It a Crime”
Grammy nominations: Eight (none for songwriting)
-
Glen Ballard
Sample Credits: “Man in the Mirror,” “You Oughta Know,” “Hold On,” “The Voice Within,” “The Space Between”
Grammy nominations: 12, including four in songwriting categories. Ballard was nominated for song of the year for co-writing Wilson Phillips’ “Hold On” (1990) and Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” (1995). He won best rock song for “You Oughta Know.” He won best song written for a motion picture, television or other visual media for co-writing Josh Groban’s “Believe” from The Polar Express (2005). Ballard would likely have nabbed another song of the year nod for co-writing Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror,” but Grammy rules at the time disallowed it because the song had appeared on an album (Bad) that was nominated the previous year.
-
Gloria Estefan
Image Credit: Jon Kopaloff/GI for The Grove Sample Credits: “Anything for You,” “Don’t Wanna Lose You,” “Words Get In The Way,” “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,” “Let’s Get Loud”
Grammy nominations: 12 (none in songwriting categories)
-
Jeff Lynne
Sample Credits: “Mr. Blue Sky,” “Don’t Bring Me Down,” “Evil Woman,” “Livin’ Thing,” “Telephone Line”
Grammy nominations: Five, including one in a songwriting category. He was nominated for best rock song for co-writing Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ “Learning to Fly” (1991).
-
Teddy Riley
Sample Credits: “Make It Last Forever,” “I Want Her,” “Just Got Paid,” “ I Like,” “My Prerogative”
Grammy nominations: Six, including two in songwriting categories. He was nominated for best rhythm & blues song for co-writing Michael Jackson’s “Jam” (1992) and Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” (1997).
-
Liz Rose
Sample Credits: “You Belong With Me,” “Crazy Girl,” “Girl Crush,” “All Too Well,” “White Horse”
Grammy nominations: Six, all in songwriting categories. Rose was nominated for song of the year for co-writing Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” (2009) and Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” (2015). She is nominated in that category again this year for co-writing the expanded version of Swift’s “All Too Well.” She won best country song for co-writing Swift’s “White Horse” (2009) and Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” (2015) and was nominated in that category for co-writing Miranda Lambert’s “It All Comes Out in the Wash” (2019).