Songwriters Hall of Fame Unveils 2023 Class: Sade, Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, More
by Jem Aswad • Jan 18, 2023 •
Variety
Sade Adu, Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Electric Light Orchestra mastermind Jeff Lynne, Alanis Morrisette collaborator Glen Ballard, New Jack Swing icon Teddy Riley and Taylor Swift collaborator Liz Rose will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at the organization’s 52nd annual Induction and Awards Gala. The event is scheduled for Thursday, June 15, at its longtime home, the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York.
Between them, the songwriters are credited with hits such as “Smooth Operator,” “Man In the Mirror,” “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,” “Mr. Blue Sky,” “My Prerogative,” and “You Belong With Me” — a partial list of their hits appears below. Additional special award honorees will be announced soon.
SHOF Chairman Nile Rodgers said, “The music industry does not exist without songwriters delivering great songs first. Without them there is no recorded music, no concert business, no merch . . . nothing, it all starts with the song and the songwriter. We are therefore very proud that we are continually recognizing some of the culturally most important songwriters of all time and that the 2023 slate represents not just iconic songs but also diversity and unity across genres, ethnicity and gender, songwriters who have enriched our lives and, in their time, literally transformed music and the lives of billions of listeners all over the world.”
Blondie, R.E.M., the Doobie Brothers, Patti Smith and Steve Winwood were among the nominees who were not inducted this year (see the full list of nominees
here.)
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is dedicated to recognizing the work and lives of those composers and lyricists who create music around the world. A songwriter with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for induction 20 years after the first significant commercial release of a song.
Last year, the ceremony — which is one of the most unique and star-studded in the music industry — returned after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. Mariah Carey, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), the Isley Brothers, Steve Miller, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo (the Neptunes), Rick Nowels, and William “Mickey” Stevenson were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Songwriter Paul Williams received the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award, Universal Music Publishing Chairman-CEO Jody Gerson received the Abe Olman Publisher Award, and rapper Lil Nas X received the Hal David Starlight Award — the first rapper to receive that honor since Drake.
