Staff Writer
Are you ready to rock? Last night’s Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted so many musical powerhouses; it’s hard to know where to begin!
The 44th annual ceremony kicked off with Sting performing a rocking rendition of Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting,” in honor of Sir Elton who, along with his long-time writing partner, Bernie Taupin, were the recipients of the Johnny Mercer Award. (John was inducted in the HOF in 1992).
Last night’s inductees included Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm, Holly Knight
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DJ Souther, and Tony Hatch
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Billy Joel was a part of the spectacle as he performed “Jukebox Hero” and “I Want to Know What Love Is,” as a tribute to Gramm and his band mate, Mick Jones.
For some reason, Nickleback was recruited to honor Aerosmith with their rendition of one of Aerosmith’s biggest hits, “Sweet Emotion.” The party really got started with Tyler and Perry took the stage and got the crowd moving with their uber-hit, “Walk This Way.”
Patty Smyth honored her longtime partner Knight- who is best known for writing hits for Pat Benatar and Tina Turner—with her rendition of “The Warrior” before Knight took the state to perform Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield.”
The evening continued with Petula Clark performing “Downtown” in honor of Hatch. Hatch is an English composer behind many of Clark’s hits such as “Valentino” and “My Love.”
Other stars in attendance were American Idol’s Jordin Sparks, Wiz Khalifa, Alison Krause, Rob Thomas, and Smokey Robinson.Robinson was given the honor of introducing legendary Motown founder, Barry Gordon, who received the night’s Pioneer Award. Benny Blanco was also a big winner for his work with Katy Perry and Britney Spears. Blanco was the recipient of the Hal David Starlight Award.
Former POTUS, Bill Clinton, also contributed in the form of a video message showing his love for Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” which earned him the Towering Song Award.
Congratulations to all of the deserving recipients!
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