{"id":181951,"date":"2025-06-13T20:15:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T20:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/181951\/"},"modified":"2025-06-13T20:15:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T20:15:14","slug":"gracie-abrams-garth-brooks-mike-love-at-songwriters-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/181951\/","title":{"rendered":"Gracie Abrams, Garth Brooks, Mike Love at Songwriters Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIt\u2019s safe to say that very few shows could feature performances by Gracie Abrams<\/a>, Garth Brooks, George Clinton, Kristen Chenoweth, Dan & Shay, the Doobie Brothers, Debbie Gibson and what\u2019s left of the Beach Boys, and have them all seem so honored and excited to be there.<\/p>\n

\n\tYet similar things happen every single year at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony<\/a>, the greatest awards show that most of the world knows nothing about. Established in 1969 and with over 400 inductees, the ceremony is a combination of a trade-organization social and a family reunion, bringing together the songwriting and publishing communities. For decades, it has been presided over \u2014 and kept in line by \u2014 its president\/CEO, former Warner Music executive Linda Moran, who last year was absent for the first time in anyone\u2019s memory due to a serious battle with leukemia, but thankfully she has returned to health and was back in force on Thursday night at the show\u2019s longtime home of the Marriott Marquis in New York\u2019s Times Square.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGarth Brooks (Photo by Theo Wargo\/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame<\/a>)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame<\/p>\n

\n\tOver the years we\u2019ve seen global icons like Neil Diamond, Drake, Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt,\u00a0Justin Timberlake, Ariana Grande, Van Morrison, Eurythmics, John Prine, Leon Russell, Gordon Lightfoot, Dwight Yoakam, Elvis Costello and many others perform at the event, but also people you\u2019ve barely heard of, even though you probably know a dozen of their songs \u2014\u00a0and all are treated equally in the eyes and ears of the Hall and the tight-knit songwriting and publishing community that attends the invite-only event every year.<\/p>\n

\n\tWe\u2019ve seen Lady Gaga singing Four Non-Blondes\u2019 hit \u201cWhat\u2019s Up\u201d to Linda Perry; Stevie Nicks belting \u201cThe Rose\u201d to Bette Midler; Emmylou Harris performing Eric Clapton\u2019s heartbreaking hit \u201cTears in Heaven\u201d for the song\u2019s co-writer Will Jennings; Joe Walsh performing ELO\u2019s \u201cDon\u2019t Bring Me Down\u201d (and saying, \u201cI always wanted to be in ELO \u2014 now I have\u201d), and in 2011, the evening ended with Billy Joel and Garth Brooks duetting at the piano in matching Stetson hats.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 2025 edition found the show\u2019s standards as high as ever. Moran received a huge applause from the audience at the top of the show and spoke to the vibe by quoting SHOF chairman and legendary Chic songwriter-producer Nile Rodgers during her speech, saying \u201cNile said in his classic song \u2018We Are Family,\u2019 and the next generation has to remember that yes, this is about the love of music, but even more it\u2019s about the people.\u201d And with that, we were into the show.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGeorge Clinton and Vernon Reid (screen shot)<\/p>\n

\n\tThe as-always psychedelically attired Living Colour (accompanied by the ace SHOF house band) kicked off the evening paying tribute to Parliament-Funkadelic mastermind George Clinton with a hard-funking version of that group\u2019s 1974 classic \u201cCosmic Slop.\u201d All four bandmembers then presented Clinton with his award, with vocalist Corey Glover asking the audience to raise their right hands and \u201cpledge allegiance to the funk, and nothing but the funk\u201d and guitarist Vernon Reid loading up with P-Funk references by calling him \u201cthe maggot overlord, the atomic dog, uncle jam himself!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tClinton gave a brief but warm acceptance, speech, recalling his 1950s childhood in Newark, New Jersey, when there were \u201cdoo-wop singers on every corner and next thing you knew, you were hearing them on the radio.\u201d He made that move himself, ultimately getting an audition at Motown Records with his group the Parliaments and scoring an early hit with 1967\u2019s \u201cI Just Wanna Testify.\u201d He then sang the song with the house band, stomping across the stage in a beige pinstripe suit, sparkly gold captain\u2019s hat and, significantly, a Sly and the Family Stone t-shirt, a tribute to his mentor and friend who died earlier this week. It was also the first time we\u2019d ever seen Clinton, who usually tours with some approximation of P-Funk\u2019s heyday of outrageous costumes and pyrotechnics and as many as two dozen musicians, in such a spare musical setting \u2014 and at 83, he can still hold the stage and delivering a gut-busting vocal.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tDebbie Gibson (Photo by Theo Wargo\/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame<\/p>\n

\n\tNext up were a trio of songs by British hitmaker Tony Macaulay, whose career spans six decades, climaxing with an astonishing performance of the Foundations\u2019 1966 hit \u201cBuild Me Up Buttercup\u201d performed by Debbie Gibson. She was a dynamo onstage, wearing a spangly minidress and high-heeled sandals, working every corner of the stage before going out into the audience, saying \u201cWhere\u2019s Tony?,\u201d finding him, singing to him and then racing back onstage in time to play a barrelhouse piano solo \u2014\u00a0all without missing a note. Even after that, she said, \u201cWhen you get to perform a song like that, the song is the star.\u201d Maybe it was a tie.<\/p>\n

\n\tNext up, Dan & Shay took the stage to play a lightning-round medley of songs by record-smashing Nashville hitmaker Ashley Gorely (Variety\u2019s Hitmakers Songwriter of the Year in 2023), that went by so fast that Shazam couldn\u2019t have kept up, but we did hear Chris Stapleton\u2019s \u201cYou Should Probably Leave,\u201d Morgan Wallen\u2019s \u201cLast Night,\u201d Post Malone\u2019s \u201cI Had Some Help,\u201d and Luke Bryan\u2019s \u201cPlay It Again\u201d blaze past. They spoke of his 83 No. 1 singles, the way he \u201cexpanded the sound of Nashville without losing its heart,\u201d and his powerhouse publishing company Taperoom Music, which has incubated the careers of multiple songwriters.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney (Photo by Theo Wargo\/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame<\/p>\n

\n\tThen Gorley\u2019s 21-year-old daughter Sadie took the stage to pay tribute to her father with a short speech, recalling him \u201ccancelling on writing sessions with iconic musicians to come to a school sporting event.\u201d She then delivered a strong version of his song \u201cYou\u2019re Gonna Miss This\u201d accompanied by the house band. Finally, an emotional Gorley accepted his award, thanking the songwriting community and his family effusively, and saying how grateful he was that \u201cnone of them told me I was crazy, even though it was 11 years before I had a hit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNext, R&B maestro Teddy Riley took the stage to pay tribute to Rodney \u201cDarkchild\u201d Jerkins, who he\u2019d actually met when the young hopeful was 16 years old, a moment captured in a photo from 1993 projected onto the video screen: For his birthday, Jerkins had asked his parents to drive him to Virginia to meet Riley \u2014 unannounced \u2014\u00a0they obliged, and even though Riley was working on songs for Michael Jackson that day, he took the time to meet with the young man. Jerkins kept in touch and before long was auditioning songs for Riley. \u201cI heard his music and saw that he had his own sound: innovative soul.\u201d In his speech, Jerkins thanked God most effusively, then his wife \u201cfor pushing me to be the best version of myself \u2014 sometimes a producer needs to be produced!,\u201d and then his parents, as he recalled his father taking $1,200 out of his life insurance policy to buy his son Akai MPC 3000 Production unit. He also thanked Clive Davis, who was in the audience, remembering being rejected by him multiple times, but \u201cThe greatest way to be successful is to be turned down,\u201d and finally scored with his hit for Whitney Houston, \u201cIt\u2019s Alright, It\u2019s OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI think you finally got it, Rodney,\u201d he recalled Davis saying. \u201cI think you finally got it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAstyn Turrentine, Heavenly Joy Jerkins, Hannah Joy Jerkins and Royal Jerkins (Photo by Theo Wargo\/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame<\/p>\n

\n\tHe then literally conducted his four children \u2014 Rodney III, Hannah Joy, Heavenly Joy and Royal, ranging in age from 21 to 10 \u2014 along with the house band on his 1998 smash with Brandy and Monica, \u201cThe Boy Is Mine,\u201d followed by a 10-song medley that included \u201cSay My Name,\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s Not Right But It\u2019s Ok,\u201d \u201cHe Wasn\u2019t Man Enough,\u201d \u201cIf You Had My Love.\u201d Ten-year-old Royal, playing cello, in particular had the eye of the tiger as he performed, watching his father closely; the elder Jerkins blew kisses at his children at the end of their performance. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t Royal Jerkins a (Photo by Theo Wargo\/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame<\/p>\n

\n\tThe evening took a turn to Broadway to honor living legend Stephen Schwartz, who in 50-plus years has written \u201cGodspell,\u201d \u201cPippin,\u201d \u201cEnchanted,\u201d \u201cPocahontas\u201d and of course \u201cWicked.\u201d First, budding legends Pasek & Paul (\u201cDear Evan Hansen\u201d) recalled meeting him when they were sophomores in college and \u201cshamelessly\u201d handing him a CD of their songs. Several months went by, then one day in class their phones buzzed and there was an email from Schwartz, who apologized for taking so long but he wanted to properly process their songs \u2014\u00a0and had written \u201cten pages of notes on every single song \u2014 it was the most unexpected and gracious thing to do.\u201d They then recalled feeling slightly less special when they learned that Schwartz has shown similar generosity in mentoring many, many young writers over the years.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKristin Chenoweth and Mary Kate Morrissey (Photo by Theo Wargo\/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame<\/p>\n

\n\tAdmitting they\u2019re songwriters not singers, regardless they rolled through a medley of Schwartz\u2019s greatest songs including Miracles and \u201cWhen You Believe\u201d before ceding the stage to two major Broadway stars, Kristen Chenoweth \u2014 who noted that she was \u201cthe original Glenda\u201d in the first production of \u201cWicked\u201d \u2014 and Mary Kay Morrissey. The two sang a soaring medley of even more Schartz classics before presenting him with his award. He thanked many people, including the \u201csongwriters I learned from \u2014 and stole from\u201d before performing one of his less-known songs, which he did not name but felt was especially fitting for the occasion, about \u201cwhat it\u2019s like to be a writer in a room full of writers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNext up was one of the more controversial inductees in SHOF history, the Beach Boys\u2019 Mike Love<\/a>, whose induction was made even more pointed by the death of Brian Wilson, the group\u2019s primary songwriter and his cousin, just two days before the ceremony. The two had famously battled for decades, and over the years many felt that Love has overstated his contributions to the group\u2019s hits, and his profile with some has not been enhanced by his often-hostile far-right statements; on Wednesday, the day before the ceremony, he posted an effusive if revisionist tribute to Wilson on Facebook<\/a>, then followed it two hours later with a bellicose anti-immigrant screed (which he has apparently deleted). <\/p>\n

\n\tHowever, he wrote lyrics for several of the group\u2019s major hits \u2014 there are many lyricists in the Hall of Fame \u2014 and his voice was a cornerstone of their sound. He kept it respectful during his induction, although he mentioned Wilson only very briefly: \u201cI especially must thank my cousin Brian Wilson,\u201d he said. \u201cMy first cousin by blood but brother in\u00a0music, together we set the stage for some of the most successful music collaborations of all time.\u201d He was introduced by actor-musician John Stamos, a former member of the group, who said he \u201cdidn\u2019t just write songs but created a technicolor tableaux of the American dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMike Love and John Stamos (Photo by Theo Wargo\/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame<\/p>\n

\n\tStamos joined the group for their performance of several of the group\u2019s biggest hits, including \u201cCalifornia Girls,\u201d \u201cI Get Around,\u201d \u201cKokomo\u201d and \u201cGood Vibrations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a classic SHOF turnaround, an 84-year-old honoree was then followed by a 25-year-old, Gracie Abrams, who was introduced by her low-key but vitally important collaborator Aaron Dessner of the National (and of course Taylor Swift and Bon Iver), who called her a \u201cgifted lyricist and melody writer\u201d and one of the most natural talents he\u2019d ever worked with \u2014 which is saying something \u2014 and highlighted her \u201cunique phrasing and rhythms,\u201d which he calls \u201cGracie-isms.\u201d \u201cShe is unique in that her work shows such a range, and she\u2019s just getting started.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAbrams was characteristically humble in her acceptance, saying \u201cI\u2019m not at all sure what I\u2019m doing here but this truly means more to me than you will ever know.\u201d She spoke of her multiple influences, especially Joni Mitchell\u2019s \u201cBlue,\u201d and thanked Dessner effusively: \u201cHe really took a chance on me and I will love him for it forever.\u201d She followed it with a solo rendition of \u201cFree Now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFinally, as the time neared 11 p.m., the audience was stunned to see the hulking, black Stetson-and-denim-clad figure of Garth Brooks stride onstage and launch straight into the Doobie Brothers\u2019 1973 hit \u201cLong Train Runnin\u2019,\u201d delivering a verse and chorus before pivoting directly into their classic \u201cChina Grove.\u201d He thundered across the stage and pumped his fist at the house band and raised his arms to the audience like the stadium headliner he is.<\/p>\n

\n\tBrooks then walked over to the podium and recalled his youthful experiences with the band\u2019s music: \u201cI\u2019m the youngest of six, and my brother, the other youngest, got an 8-track tape of \u2018Best of the Doobies\u2019 that my dad wouldn\u2019t let us listen to because their name had \u2018doobie\u2019 in it,\u201d to laughter. He concluded by saying \u201cSome people said, \u2018I can\u2019t believe you\u2019re here, but I\u2019d be here for these guys tomorrow night and the next night \u2014 it\u2019s an honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLargely because of their jokey-stoner name, the Doobie Brothers often are not taken as seriously as they otherwise might have been, considering their formidable battery of hits and how thoroughly they dominated American FM radio throughout the 1970s. But their presence on this hard-earned stage went a long way toward affirming their musical legacy.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t (L-R) Michael McDonald, Patrick Simmons, and Tom Johnston of The Doobie Brothers (Photo by Theo Wargo\/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame<\/p>\n

\n\tThe band\u2019s three main songwriters, Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons and Michael McDonald, all gave gracious acceptance speeches, but McDonald\u2019s last words got the biggest laugh of the night. He said earlier in the day he\u2019d taken a photo with Stamos and texted it to his family, \u201ctrying to get some cred,\u201d and his wlife immediately texted him back, writing, \u201c\u2019Wow, he still looks like a rock star \u2014 but you look like someone\u2019s deranged grandmother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe band then performed one song each per writer, beginning with Simmons\u2019 bayou ode \u201cBlack Water,\u201d following with McDonald\u2019s soulful anthem \u201cTakin\u2019 It to the Streets,\u201d and concluding with one of their most indelible songs, Johnston\u2019s \u201cListen to the Music.\u201d The human voice naturally loses strength and versatility as it ages, and by the time it approaches 80 years old, as all three Doobies are, even the greatest singers are usually left with half of their original power, or less. But somehow, Johnston\u2019s sharp, reedy voice sounded almost as it did 50 years ago, taking soulful liberties with the song\u2019s melodies and showing no weakness at all.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd in a very trouble time, it\u2019s hard to think of a more fitting send-off for this latest installment of the Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony than a song with that title and message.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s safe to say that very few shows could feature performances by Gracie Abrams, Garth Brooks, George Clinton,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":181952,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3936],"tags":[77,74763,74764,269,74765,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-181951","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-gracie-abrams","10":"tag-mike-love","11":"tag-music","12":"tag-songwriters-hall-of-fame","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114677896278706011","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}