NEW YORK – Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Sade, Jeff Lynne, Glen Ballard, Teddy Riley and Liz Rose have been chosen to join songwriter hall of fame, a class that includes the authors of hits as diverse as “Man In The Mirror,” “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” and “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You.”
The seven songwriters of the class of 2023 will be introduced at a gala on June 15th at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
Snoop Dogg, whose hits include “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and “Gin & Juice,” will join rappers like Missy Elliott and Jay-Z in the hall. Estefan is credited with popularizing Latin rhythms with crossover hits like “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You” and “Let’s Get Loud.”
New additions include soul-jazz singer Sade, whose 1980s soft-rock hits include “Smooth Operator” and “The Sweetest Taboo,” and ELO’s Lynne, who wrote “Mr. Blue Sky” and “Evil Woman”.
Ballard helped write Alanis Morissette’s 1995 monster album Jagged Little Pill and was involved in the recording and writing of several Michael Jackson albums including Thriller, Bad and Dangerous.
Riley, the singer-songwriter-producer, is credited with creating New Jack Swing and its top anthems such as Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative” and Keith Sweat’s “I Want Her.” Rose has co-written many songs with Taylor Swift, including “You Belong with Me”, “Teardrops on My Guitar” and “White Horse”.
The Class of 2023 “represents not only iconic songs, but also diversity and unity across genres, ethnicity and gender, songwriters who enriched our lives and, in their time, literally transformed the music and lives of billions of listeners around the world.” , she told Nile Rogers, the chairman of the hall.
Eligible voting members cast ballots late last year with their choice of three nominees from the songwriter category and three from the performing songwriter category.
Some of the 2023 nominees who will have to wait include The Doobie Brothers, REM, Heart, Blondie, Bryan Adams, Patti Smith and Steve Winwood.
The Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1969 to honor those who created popular music. A songwriter with a remarkable song catalog qualifies for inclusion 20 years after a song’s first commercial release.
Some already in the hall are Carole King, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Brian Wilson, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Lionel Richie, Bill Withers, Neil Diamond and other Phil Collins.
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On-line: http://www.songhall.org
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Mark Kennedy is there http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
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