Christopher \u201cTricky\u201d Stewart Gets an Assist From Tamar Braxton<\/h2>\n\n\n\tFollowing a performance of\u00a0Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s\u00a0\u201cSingle Ladies (Put a Ring On It)\u201d by Tamar Braxton (which Taylor Swift enthusiastically danced to in the audience), the night kicked off with\u00a0storied writer\/producer and\u00a0SHOF\u00a0member\u00a0Dallas Austin\u00a0\u2014 himself inducted by Jermaine Dupri\u00a0in 2019 \u2014 declaring his joy at seeing \u201canother Atlanta legend take his rightful place\u201d in the Hall of Fame:\u00a0Austin\u2019s dear friend, the\u00a0five-time Grammy winner and\u00a0pop, R&B and hip-hop hitmaker Christopher \u201cTricky\u201d Stewart. As Austin noted, Tricky has been behind modern smashes like\u00a0the aforementioned Beyonc\u00e9 Hot 100 topper,\u00a0Rihanna\u2019s \u201cUmbrella,\u201d\u00a0Mariah Carey\u2019s \u201cTouch My Body\u201d and\u00a0Justin Bieber\u2019s \u201cBaby,\u201d but more importantly, \u201che\u2019s a kind-hearted person.\u201d\u00a0(Descendants<\/em>\u00a0actor and Republic Records artist Kylie Cantrall performed \u201cUmbrella.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\tTricky\u2019s\u00a0warm and humble acceptance speech traced his path in music,\u00a0recalling\u00a0when his mother \u201cplanted the seed for [me] to become a producer when I wanted to be a drummer,\u201d nodding\u00a0to his\u00a0aunts\u2019\u00a0and mother\u2019s background as session singers in Chicago. \u201cI\u2019m honored to be part of my family\u2019s musical lineage,\u201d Tricky said of his own \u201crespect for the craft of making music.\u201d\u00a0He announced his own new publishing partnership with \u201cthe BMG family\u201d before also tributing L.A. Reid and Kenneth \u201cBabyface\u201d Edmonds (\u201cno one impacted me more\u201d) and Austin himself (the best advice he ever received from him was, \u201cIf four people can\u2019t play it, don\u2019t add it to a song\u201d)\u00a0as crucial mentors and influences.\u00a0\u2013 Rebecca Milzoff<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nTerry Britten and Graham Lyle Fight Jet Lag to Go Beyond Thunderdome<\/h2>\n\n\n\tAfter a pensive, folky acoustic version of their best-known hit, \u201cWhat\u2019s Love Got to Do With It\u201d (which hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 and reinvigorated Tina Turner\u2019s career, propelling her to solo superstardom) by Madison Cunningham, Jane Seymour took the stage to introduce Terry Britten and Graham Lyle. Seymour explained how Britten \u2013 a hitmaking writer for Cliff Richard \u2013 and Lyle, formerly of \u201860s pop duo Gallagher & Lyle, offered a \u201cfresh, inventive take\u201d on Turner\u2019s sound while staying true to her \u201cmusical legend\u201d via songs such as \u201cTwo People,\u201d \u201cTypical Male\u201d and the aforementioned smash. Taylor Dayne covered another one of their cowrites for Turner, \u201cWe Don\u2019t Need Another Hero,\u201d displaying a surprising flair for the grit and control the song demands (she truly took things well Beyond Thunderdome).<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThis will be short. Jet lag\u2019s got to me, so sorry,\u201d Britten said before sharing that the first song this duo ever wrote together was the game-changing \u201cWhat\u2019s Love Got to Do With It.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s only today I realized I didn\u2019t thank Graham for being a great partner,\u201d he said, admitting both of them still felt some \u201cimpostor syndrome\u201d and that the honor was \u201cbeyond our dreams.\u201d Of Turner, he said, \u201cShe was an amazing talent, an amazing woman and is sorely missed. She was a one-off. Even though she said I look like a leprechaun.\u201d Lyle said the honor was especially meaningful to him given the preeminence of the song in the music business. \u201cThat little spark of an idea, which can ignite things in an amazing way: in the case of some of these songs, 40 years on, they still have relevance. The message carries on,\u201d he said. \u2013 Joe Lynch<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nWalter Afanasieff Takes Us Back to Where It Began<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\u201cIt was the joy of my life to get to watch Taylor [Swift] sing some of my songs,\u201d said Afanasieff as he accepted his statue from actor\/musician Jeremy Renner, with whom he has been friends for 22 years. Swift had sung along to a gorgeous medley of some of his biggest hits delivered flawlessly by soulful singer\u00a0Shel\u00e9a, including Mariah Carey\u2019s\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAll I Want For Christmas Is You,\u201d \u201cHero\u201d and \u201cMy All,\u201d as well as \u201cOne Sweet Day\u201d from Carey and Boyz II Men.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tAfanasieff, who was born to Russian and Chinese parents in Brazil, spoke of growing up in the Bay Area and his life changing when he was six years old. \u201cMy parents bought a little radio and a song came on that changed my life. It was [the Beatles\u2019] \u2018I Want to Hold Your Hand.\u2019 I didn\u2019t speak English, but I knew that\u2019s what I wanted to do,\u201d he said, noting that 60 years later he got to produce Paul McCartney for Barbra Streisand\u2019s latest album. He has also worked with such legendary divas as Whitney Houston and Celine Dion, for which he thanked Narada Michael Walden and Tommy Mottola respectively. He also thanked A&R executive Jay Landers, who hired Afanasieff to write, produce and arrange a number of Disney projects.\u00a0\u201cMusic is the only thing I know to think of and dream of and love,\u201d he added. \u201cMy heart beats because of music.\u201d \u2013 Melinda Newman<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nJohn Fogerty\u2019s Freewheeling, Career-Spanning Speech<\/h2>\n\n\n\tThe legendary Creedence Clearwater Revival founder, the recipient of the Songwriter Hall of Fame\u2019s highest honor the Johnny Mercer Award, gave a speech for the ages that literally spanned his entire life and lasted more than 35 minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tFellow guitar great Steve Miller, who was inducted into the SHOF in 2022, called Fogerty \u201cone of America\u2019s most gifted and enduring songwriters [who has] forged something uniquely American.\u201d Miller also praised Fogerty for his fight for artists\u2019 rights, including his long battle to claim ownership of his own work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tFogerty then took the stage and ran through his musical life, starting with hearing Stephen Foster\u2019s \u201cOh! Susanna\u201d and \u201cCamptown Races\u201d when he was three, forging a lifelong love for music. That led to writing his first song, \u201cWash Day Blues,\u201d on his way to school when he was eight, based on a laundry product advertisement.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI love music! It\u2019s supposed to be about joy; it\u2019s supposed to be about having fun. The great ones seem to flow effortlessly,\u201d he exclaimed, adding that the first song that ever flowed for him was \u201cProud Mary,\u201d and then, remarkably, pulled out a brown book from 1967 that included the first phrases of his most beloved, well-known classic. He dissected writing the rock standard, saying he started to \u201cactually shake and tremble,\u201d as the words poured out of him. \u201cIt was like being struck by lightning.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tFogerty ran through his decades-long career\u2014 the good and bad\u2014including releasing three hit-filled albums in one year and finding tremendous success, as well as CCR breaking up, and Fantasy Records\u2019 Saul Zaentz then holding him to a contract that would have taken him more than 20 years to fulfill and the label suing him \u201cfor sounding like myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tFinally, in 2023, Fogerty, with the help of his wife\/manager Julie Fogerty and noted manager Irving Azoff, Fogerty gained worldwide control of his CCR publishing rights. As Fogerty wrapped up his speech, expressing delight in finally getting his songs, he gleefully said, \u201cI had a plan and it was I outlived the sons of b-tches!\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tFogerty, 81, joined by his sons Shane and Tyler, then turned in an incredibly robust, full-throttle medley of \u201cOh! Susanna,\u201d \u201cProud Mary,\u201d \u201cHave You Ever Seen the Rain\u201d and \u201cThe Old Man Down the Road.\u201d\u00a0\u2013 M.N.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nPaul Stanley Would Like His Flowers Now, Please<\/h2>\n\n\n\tSporting a black tuxedo crossed with a trench coat and eyeliner, Billy Corgan ripped through KISS\u2019 signature song, \u201cRock and Roll All Nite,\u201d to kick off the tribute to Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, the songwriters behind the outrageous rock band. Johnny Rzeznik joined him shortly thereafter for a duet on the fist-pumping \u201cShout It Out Loud,\u201d another KISS classic of the sing-along meets ball-buster variety. Corgan, who counts himself among the KISS Army, hailed their \u201cgloom and glam,\u201d songwriting chops and 50-year partnership.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI am humbled to be here in this eclectic and amazing group of songwriters,\u201d Stanley said, taking the stage sans Simmons. \u201cUnfortunately my partner of 57 years had a family emergency and is at a hospital locally and would love to be here.\u201d After paying homage to a diverse group of songwriting duos who inspired him (Leiber and Stoller, Rodgers and Hammerstein), Stanley thanked the SHOF for the honor (which closely follows their Kennedy Center Honors) while he was still kicking: \u201cIf you love me, let me know. Don\u2019t put it my obituary, don\u2019t put it in my eulogy.\u201d \u2013 J.L.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nKenny Loggins\u2019 Brotherly Love<\/h2>\n\n\n\tLike many of the honorees, Kenny Loggins shared the exact moment in his childhood when he realized his desire to make music. He described being 10 years old and seeing James Cagney in\u00a0Yankee Doodle Dandy<\/em>, the classic movie about Broadway composer George M. Cohan.\u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s a scene in the movie where he visits a famous female singer before she goes on and says, \u2018I\u2019m a songwriter I want to show you what I\u2019ve got,\u2019\u201d Loggins recalled. \u201cHe sits at the piano and writes her a song and I\u2019m watching that movie and I thought \u2018I could do that.\u2019 I have no idea why I thought I could.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\tBut he could, and as presenter Gavin DeGraw lightly touched upon, Loggins then went on to create some of the most memorable songs written for movies such as \u201cI\u2019m Alright\u201d for\u00a0Caddyshack<\/em>, \u201cDanger Zone\u201d for\u00a0Top Gun<\/em>\u00a0and, of course, the title theme for\u00a0Footloose.\u00a0<\/em>\u201cHis music works so well for films because Kenny is, first and foremost, a storyteller,\u201d said DeGraw, before performing a soulful, extended version of \u201cDanny\u2019s Song,\u201d Loggin\u2019s first hit as part of the duo Loggins & Messina.<\/p>\n\n\tIn a sweet tribute, Loggins\u2019 acceptance speech focused largely on his older brother Danny\u2014\u201dDanny\u2019s Song\u201d was written about his becoming a first-time father\u2014and the vast influence his sibling had on Loggins\u2019 musical development. \u201cAround 1966, I had been taking guitar lessons. I got a letter from my brother who told me they just had a son\u2026 and I was so moved by that I wrote \u2018Danny\u2019s Song.\u2019 He and [his wife] Sheila are at my table tonight. He was my first inspiration, my most important and biggest musical influence\u2026 He turned me on to Bill Haley & the Comets, Dion and the Belmonts\u2026 I had to sneak into his room to play his records before he got home. Then I would steal his guitar and learn how to play it.\u00a0I would recommend if you want your kids to love music, forbid it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tLoggins then performed \u201cHeart to Heart,\u201d accompanied by singer\/prot\u00e9g\u00e9 Hunter Hawkins,\u00a0and DeGraw came back for a heartfelt version of \u201cCelebrate Me Home,\u201d which Loggins dedicated to late renowned producer, Phil Ramone.\u00a0\u2013 M.N.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nAlanis Morissette Stuns With a Singular Performance<\/h2>\n\n\n\tHow to pay tribute to one of the most singular\u00a0voices to come out of the \u201890s, a trailblazer for women bridging rock and pop music? Bring out one of the most singular\u00a0voices\u00a0and musical trailblazers\u00a0of\u00a0the current moment: accompanied by the fierce duo Sista Strings, Brandi Carlile turned in a\u00a0performance\u00a0highlight of the night with her\u00a0incisive\u00a0rendition of Morissette\u2019s \u201cUninvited.\u201d The haunting alternative track from the\u00a0City of Angels<\/em>\u00a0soundtrack was an unexpected choice \u2014 and a raw reminder of Morissette\u2019s power as a lyricist and unconventional vocalist.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tWith her signature blend of heart and humor, Carlile recounted her upbringing outside Seattle at a time when \u201cthe charts were dominated by some very intense white men\u201d and she fancied herself a grunge enthusiast \u2014 \u201cbut the truth was I was quite the dramatic\u00a0young\u00a0gay, and I needed to hear a woman\u2019s voice singing rock n\u2019 roll\u2026.and that voice came not from Seattle but from Ottawa, Canada.\u201d In her wide-ranging appreciation of Morissette\u2019s long and varied career,\u00a0Carlile called her \u201ca singular, once-in-a-lifetime voice,\u201d \u201can empowered femme, fragile queen and everything in between\u201d and noted her own favorite albums (Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie<\/em>) and songs (\u201cThat I Would Be Good\u201d), dialing into Morissette\u2019s uncanny ability to telegraph emotion in both the simplest and most\u00a0poetic terms.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tIn her eloquent acceptance speech, Morissette focused on the power of writing, which \u201chas always been a survival strategy for me,\u201d confessing she has at times felt suicidal when not writing \u2014 hence her own \u201cwrite or die\u201d mantra.\u00a0\u00a0She called the writing process one that \u201chonors even as it dissects,\u201d that \u201callows for the contextualization of life\u2019s waves, storms and bright, bright sunshine.\u201d Closing\u00a0by making her case for the importance of keeping arts education in schools, Morissette then offered an intimate acoustic performance of two\u00a0Jagged Little Pill<\/em>\u00a0classics: the poignant \u201cMary Jane\u201d and \u201cYou\u00a0Oughta\u00a0Know\u201d \u2014 both sung\u00a0in an astoundingly supple,\u00a0clear voice that seemed to have only gained power in the decades since her breakout.\u00a0\u2013 R.M.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nRAYE Makes a Plea for Master Royalty Points for Songwriters<\/h2>\n\n\n\tAs has become the custom,\u00a0Nile Rodgers\u00a0\u2014 the Chic co-founder, musical multi-hyphenate and current chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame \u2014 introduced this year\u2019s Hal David Starlight Award, given to\u00a0\u201cgifted songwriters who are at an apex in their careers and are making a significant impact in the music industry via their original songs.\u201d In recent years, the award has gone to the likes of SZA and Post Malone, and this year was bestowed upon a musician with one of the most transformational stories\u00a0and lauded albums (This Music May Contain Hope<\/em>)\u00a0in pop music, RAYE (who two days prior to the SHOF accepted Billboard<\/em>\u2019s Indie Spirit Award at our Indie Power Players event).<\/p>\n\n\tThough her speech was significantly shorter than all the others\u2019 Thursday night, RAYE packed a lot of emotion into just a few minutes, stating simply, \u201cI live for music,\u201d before relating how, as a kid growing up in the rough\u00a0Croydon\u00a0section of London, she told her father at age 10 that she planned to become a singer, but first a songwriter. \u201cIt\u2019s such a wild miracle when you get to\u00a0tell that story and people like it or connect to it or sing it back at you \u2014 that\u2019s when it gets\u00a0really<\/em>\u00a0crazy,\u201d she said, before offering special tribute to her musical family, including a grandfather who was himself a songwriter and\u00a0who \u201chad a song stolen from him\u201d (RAYE joked that she didn\u2019t have the money to level a lawsuit about it). She concluded with an impassioned plea for the industry to have a bigger \u201cconversation about master royalty points for songwriters\u201d and to allow artists to prioritize making their art over radio play, before giving a powerful, minimalist performance of one of the most maximalist songs on her new album, \u201cClick Clack Symphony\u201d \u2014 wearing an elegant strapless gown and, in trademark RAYE fashion, barefoot.\u00a0\u2013 R.M.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nTaylor Swift, Knicks Mania Victim, Soldiers On<\/h2>\n\n\n\tAfter a two-song tribute (\u201cCardigan\u201d and \u201cDear John\u201d) from Sombr and an introduction from Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg (both are favorites of hers), Taylor Swift took the stage as the night\u2019s final inductee. From the moment she opened her mouth, it was clear that Knicks Mania \u2014 which is currently gripping New York \u2014 had gotten the best of her. A hoarse-voiced Swift, who was courtside at Madison Square Garden Wednesday (June 10) night with fiance Travis Kelce (also present at the induction), nevertheless delivered a thoughtful, beautifully written 23-minute speech despite her strained vocal cords. (Read all about that here.) Swift, who filmed Fogerty\u2019s \u201cFortunate Son,\u201d fist-pumped during Morissette\u2019s \u201cYou Oughta Know\u201d and shimmied during \u201cRock and Roll All Nite,\u201d explained that the evening\u2019s performances didn\u2019t help her vocal cord recovery: \u201cI got to witness the amazing performances I saw tonight, and I just kept screaming and I never stopped screaming and this is what you get. I make no apologies for that \u2014 I\u2019ve had a blast.\u201d \u2013 J.L.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/lists\/songwriters-hall-of-fame-2026-best-moments\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/kiss-taylor-swift-nile-rodgers-2026-press-lede-company-1800-billboard.jpg?w=1024″] The Songwriters Hall of Fame is always one of the most prestigious, surprise-filled nights in the music industry calendar: celebrated stars, low-key legends, power players and rising talents mingle to salute great songs and the remarkable, eclectic writers who craft them. The 2026 event saw Taylor Swift, Alanis Morissette, Kenny Loggins, Gene […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-1986675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1986675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986675\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1986675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1986675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1986675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\tFollowing a performance of\u00a0Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s\u00a0\u201cSingle Ladies (Put a Ring On It)\u201d by Tamar Braxton (which Taylor Swift enthusiastically danced to in the audience), the night kicked off with\u00a0storied writer\/producer and\u00a0SHOF\u00a0member\u00a0Dallas Austin\u00a0\u2014 himself inducted by Jermaine Dupri\u00a0in 2019 \u2014 declaring his joy at seeing \u201canother Atlanta legend take his rightful place\u201d in the Hall of Fame:\u00a0Austin\u2019s dear friend, the\u00a0five-time Grammy winner and\u00a0pop, R&B and hip-hop hitmaker Christopher \u201cTricky\u201d Stewart. As Austin noted, Tricky has been behind modern smashes like\u00a0the aforementioned Beyonc\u00e9 Hot 100 topper,\u00a0Rihanna\u2019s \u201cUmbrella,\u201d\u00a0Mariah Carey\u2019s \u201cTouch My Body\u201d and\u00a0Justin Bieber\u2019s \u201cBaby,\u201d but more importantly, \u201che\u2019s a kind-hearted person.\u201d\u00a0(Descendants<\/em>\u00a0actor and Republic Records artist Kylie Cantrall performed \u201cUmbrella.\u201d)<\/p>\n \n\tTricky\u2019s\u00a0warm and humble acceptance speech traced his path in music,\u00a0recalling\u00a0when his mother \u201cplanted the seed for [me] to become a producer when I wanted to be a drummer,\u201d nodding\u00a0to his\u00a0aunts\u2019\u00a0and mother\u2019s background as session singers in Chicago. \u201cI\u2019m honored to be part of my family\u2019s musical lineage,\u201d Tricky said of his own \u201crespect for the craft of making music.\u201d\u00a0He announced his own new publishing partnership with \u201cthe BMG family\u201d before also tributing L.A. Reid and Kenneth \u201cBabyface\u201d Edmonds (\u201cno one impacted me more\u201d) and Austin himself (the best advice he ever received from him was, \u201cIf four people can\u2019t play it, don\u2019t add it to a song\u201d)\u00a0as crucial mentors and influences.\u00a0\u2013 Rebecca Milzoff<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tAfter a pensive, folky acoustic version of their best-known hit, \u201cWhat\u2019s Love Got to Do With It\u201d (which hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 and reinvigorated Tina Turner\u2019s career, propelling her to solo superstardom) by Madison Cunningham, Jane Seymour took the stage to introduce Terry Britten and Graham Lyle. Seymour explained how Britten \u2013 a hitmaking writer for Cliff Richard \u2013 and Lyle, formerly of \u201860s pop duo Gallagher & Lyle, offered a \u201cfresh, inventive take\u201d on Turner\u2019s sound while staying true to her \u201cmusical legend\u201d via songs such as \u201cTwo People,\u201d \u201cTypical Male\u201d and the aforementioned smash. Taylor Dayne covered another one of their cowrites for Turner, \u201cWe Don\u2019t Need Another Hero,\u201d displaying a surprising flair for the grit and control the song demands (she truly took things well Beyond Thunderdome).<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThis will be short. Jet lag\u2019s got to me, so sorry,\u201d Britten said before sharing that the first song this duo ever wrote together was the game-changing \u201cWhat\u2019s Love Got to Do With It.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s only today I realized I didn\u2019t thank Graham for being a great partner,\u201d he said, admitting both of them still felt some \u201cimpostor syndrome\u201d and that the honor was \u201cbeyond our dreams.\u201d Of Turner, he said, \u201cShe was an amazing talent, an amazing woman and is sorely missed. She was a one-off. Even though she said I look like a leprechaun.\u201d Lyle said the honor was especially meaningful to him given the preeminence of the song in the music business. \u201cThat little spark of an idea, which can ignite things in an amazing way: in the case of some of these songs, 40 years on, they still have relevance. The message carries on,\u201d he said. \u2013 Joe Lynch<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\t\u201cIt was the joy of my life to get to watch Taylor [Swift] sing some of my songs,\u201d said Afanasieff as he accepted his statue from actor\/musician Jeremy Renner, with whom he has been friends for 22 years. Swift had sung along to a gorgeous medley of some of his biggest hits delivered flawlessly by soulful singer\u00a0Shel\u00e9a, including Mariah Carey\u2019s\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAll I Want For Christmas Is You,\u201d \u201cHero\u201d and \u201cMy All,\u201d as well as \u201cOne Sweet Day\u201d from Carey and Boyz II Men.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAfanasieff, who was born to Russian and Chinese parents in Brazil, spoke of growing up in the Bay Area and his life changing when he was six years old. \u201cMy parents bought a little radio and a song came on that changed my life. It was [the Beatles\u2019] \u2018I Want to Hold Your Hand.\u2019 I didn\u2019t speak English, but I knew that\u2019s what I wanted to do,\u201d he said, noting that 60 years later he got to produce Paul McCartney for Barbra Streisand\u2019s latest album. He has also worked with such legendary divas as Whitney Houston and Celine Dion, for which he thanked Narada Michael Walden and Tommy Mottola respectively. He also thanked A&R executive Jay Landers, who hired Afanasieff to write, produce and arrange a number of Disney projects.\u00a0\u201cMusic is the only thing I know to think of and dream of and love,\u201d he added. \u201cMy heart beats because of music.\u201d \u2013 Melinda Newman<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tThe legendary Creedence Clearwater Revival founder, the recipient of the Songwriter Hall of Fame\u2019s highest honor the Johnny Mercer Award, gave a speech for the ages that literally spanned his entire life and lasted more than 35 minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tFellow guitar great Steve Miller, who was inducted into the SHOF in 2022, called Fogerty \u201cone of America\u2019s most gifted and enduring songwriters [who has] forged something uniquely American.\u201d Miller also praised Fogerty for his fight for artists\u2019 rights, including his long battle to claim ownership of his own work.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tFogerty then took the stage and ran through his musical life, starting with hearing Stephen Foster\u2019s \u201cOh! Susanna\u201d and \u201cCamptown Races\u201d when he was three, forging a lifelong love for music. That led to writing his first song, \u201cWash Day Blues,\u201d on his way to school when he was eight, based on a laundry product advertisement.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI love music! It\u2019s supposed to be about joy; it\u2019s supposed to be about having fun. The great ones seem to flow effortlessly,\u201d he exclaimed, adding that the first song that ever flowed for him was \u201cProud Mary,\u201d and then, remarkably, pulled out a brown book from 1967 that included the first phrases of his most beloved, well-known classic. He dissected writing the rock standard, saying he started to \u201cactually shake and tremble,\u201d as the words poured out of him. \u201cIt was like being struck by lightning.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tFogerty ran through his decades-long career\u2014 the good and bad\u2014including releasing three hit-filled albums in one year and finding tremendous success, as well as CCR breaking up, and Fantasy Records\u2019 Saul Zaentz then holding him to a contract that would have taken him more than 20 years to fulfill and the label suing him \u201cfor sounding like myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tFinally, in 2023, Fogerty, with the help of his wife\/manager Julie Fogerty and noted manager Irving Azoff, Fogerty gained worldwide control of his CCR publishing rights. As Fogerty wrapped up his speech, expressing delight in finally getting his songs, he gleefully said, \u201cI had a plan and it was I outlived the sons of b-tches!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tFogerty, 81, joined by his sons Shane and Tyler, then turned in an incredibly robust, full-throttle medley of \u201cOh! Susanna,\u201d \u201cProud Mary,\u201d \u201cHave You Ever Seen the Rain\u201d and \u201cThe Old Man Down the Road.\u201d\u00a0\u2013 M.N.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tSporting a black tuxedo crossed with a trench coat and eyeliner, Billy Corgan ripped through KISS\u2019 signature song, \u201cRock and Roll All Nite,\u201d to kick off the tribute to Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, the songwriters behind the outrageous rock band. Johnny Rzeznik joined him shortly thereafter for a duet on the fist-pumping \u201cShout It Out Loud,\u201d another KISS classic of the sing-along meets ball-buster variety. Corgan, who counts himself among the KISS Army, hailed their \u201cgloom and glam,\u201d songwriting chops and 50-year partnership.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI am humbled to be here in this eclectic and amazing group of songwriters,\u201d Stanley said, taking the stage sans Simmons. \u201cUnfortunately my partner of 57 years had a family emergency and is at a hospital locally and would love to be here.\u201d After paying homage to a diverse group of songwriting duos who inspired him (Leiber and Stoller, Rodgers and Hammerstein), Stanley thanked the SHOF for the honor (which closely follows their Kennedy Center Honors) while he was still kicking: \u201cIf you love me, let me know. Don\u2019t put it my obituary, don\u2019t put it in my eulogy.\u201d \u2013 J.L.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tLike many of the honorees, Kenny Loggins shared the exact moment in his childhood when he realized his desire to make music. He described being 10 years old and seeing James Cagney in\u00a0Yankee Doodle Dandy<\/em>, the classic movie about Broadway composer George M. Cohan.\u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s a scene in the movie where he visits a famous female singer before she goes on and says, \u2018I\u2019m a songwriter I want to show you what I\u2019ve got,\u2019\u201d Loggins recalled. \u201cHe sits at the piano and writes her a song and I\u2019m watching that movie and I thought \u2018I could do that.\u2019 I have no idea why I thought I could.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBut he could, and as presenter Gavin DeGraw lightly touched upon, Loggins then went on to create some of the most memorable songs written for movies such as \u201cI\u2019m Alright\u201d for\u00a0Caddyshack<\/em>, \u201cDanger Zone\u201d for\u00a0Top Gun<\/em>\u00a0and, of course, the title theme for\u00a0Footloose.\u00a0<\/em>\u201cHis music works so well for films because Kenny is, first and foremost, a storyteller,\u201d said DeGraw, before performing a soulful, extended version of \u201cDanny\u2019s Song,\u201d Loggin\u2019s first hit as part of the duo Loggins & Messina.<\/p>\n \n\tIn a sweet tribute, Loggins\u2019 acceptance speech focused largely on his older brother Danny\u2014\u201dDanny\u2019s Song\u201d was written about his becoming a first-time father\u2014and the vast influence his sibling had on Loggins\u2019 musical development. \u201cAround 1966, I had been taking guitar lessons. I got a letter from my brother who told me they just had a son\u2026 and I was so moved by that I wrote \u2018Danny\u2019s Song.\u2019 He and [his wife] Sheila are at my table tonight. He was my first inspiration, my most important and biggest musical influence\u2026 He turned me on to Bill Haley & the Comets, Dion and the Belmonts\u2026 I had to sneak into his room to play his records before he got home. Then I would steal his guitar and learn how to play it.\u00a0I would recommend if you want your kids to love music, forbid it.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tLoggins then performed \u201cHeart to Heart,\u201d accompanied by singer\/prot\u00e9g\u00e9 Hunter Hawkins,\u00a0and DeGraw came back for a heartfelt version of \u201cCelebrate Me Home,\u201d which Loggins dedicated to late renowned producer, Phil Ramone.\u00a0\u2013 M.N.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tHow to pay tribute to one of the most singular\u00a0voices to come out of the \u201890s, a trailblazer for women bridging rock and pop music? Bring out one of the most singular\u00a0voices\u00a0and musical trailblazers\u00a0of\u00a0the current moment: accompanied by the fierce duo Sista Strings, Brandi Carlile turned in a\u00a0performance\u00a0highlight of the night with her\u00a0incisive\u00a0rendition of Morissette\u2019s \u201cUninvited.\u201d The haunting alternative track from the\u00a0City of Angels<\/em>\u00a0soundtrack was an unexpected choice \u2014 and a raw reminder of Morissette\u2019s power as a lyricist and unconventional vocalist.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tWith her signature blend of heart and humor, Carlile recounted her upbringing outside Seattle at a time when \u201cthe charts were dominated by some very intense white men\u201d and she fancied herself a grunge enthusiast \u2014 \u201cbut the truth was I was quite the dramatic\u00a0young\u00a0gay, and I needed to hear a woman\u2019s voice singing rock n\u2019 roll\u2026.and that voice came not from Seattle but from Ottawa, Canada.\u201d In her wide-ranging appreciation of Morissette\u2019s long and varied career,\u00a0Carlile called her \u201ca singular, once-in-a-lifetime voice,\u201d \u201can empowered femme, fragile queen and everything in between\u201d and noted her own favorite albums (Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie<\/em>) and songs (\u201cThat I Would Be Good\u201d), dialing into Morissette\u2019s uncanny ability to telegraph emotion in both the simplest and most\u00a0poetic terms.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tIn her eloquent acceptance speech, Morissette focused on the power of writing, which \u201chas always been a survival strategy for me,\u201d confessing she has at times felt suicidal when not writing \u2014 hence her own \u201cwrite or die\u201d mantra.\u00a0\u00a0She called the writing process one that \u201chonors even as it dissects,\u201d that \u201callows for the contextualization of life\u2019s waves, storms and bright, bright sunshine.\u201d Closing\u00a0by making her case for the importance of keeping arts education in schools, Morissette then offered an intimate acoustic performance of two\u00a0Jagged Little Pill<\/em>\u00a0classics: the poignant \u201cMary Jane\u201d and \u201cYou\u00a0Oughta\u00a0Know\u201d \u2014 both sung\u00a0in an astoundingly supple,\u00a0clear voice that seemed to have only gained power in the decades since her breakout.\u00a0\u2013 R.M.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tAs has become the custom,\u00a0Nile Rodgers\u00a0\u2014 the Chic co-founder, musical multi-hyphenate and current chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame \u2014 introduced this year\u2019s Hal David Starlight Award, given to\u00a0\u201cgifted songwriters who are at an apex in their careers and are making a significant impact in the music industry via their original songs.\u201d In recent years, the award has gone to the likes of SZA and Post Malone, and this year was bestowed upon a musician with one of the most transformational stories\u00a0and lauded albums (This Music May Contain Hope<\/em>)\u00a0in pop music, RAYE (who two days prior to the SHOF accepted Billboard<\/em>\u2019s Indie Spirit Award at our Indie Power Players event).<\/p>\n \n\tThough her speech was significantly shorter than all the others\u2019 Thursday night, RAYE packed a lot of emotion into just a few minutes, stating simply, \u201cI live for music,\u201d before relating how, as a kid growing up in the rough\u00a0Croydon\u00a0section of London, she told her father at age 10 that she planned to become a singer, but first a songwriter. \u201cIt\u2019s such a wild miracle when you get to\u00a0tell that story and people like it or connect to it or sing it back at you \u2014 that\u2019s when it gets\u00a0really<\/em>\u00a0crazy,\u201d she said, before offering special tribute to her musical family, including a grandfather who was himself a songwriter and\u00a0who \u201chad a song stolen from him\u201d (RAYE joked that she didn\u2019t have the money to level a lawsuit about it). She concluded with an impassioned plea for the industry to have a bigger \u201cconversation about master royalty points for songwriters\u201d and to allow artists to prioritize making their art over radio play, before giving a powerful, minimalist performance of one of the most maximalist songs on her new album, \u201cClick Clack Symphony\u201d \u2014 wearing an elegant strapless gown and, in trademark RAYE fashion, barefoot.\u00a0\u2013 R.M.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tAfter a two-song tribute (\u201cCardigan\u201d and \u201cDear John\u201d) from Sombr and an introduction from Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg (both are favorites of hers), Taylor Swift took the stage as the night\u2019s final inductee. From the moment she opened her mouth, it was clear that Knicks Mania \u2014 which is currently gripping New York \u2014 had gotten the best of her. A hoarse-voiced Swift, who was courtside at Madison Square Garden Wednesday (June 10) night with fiance Travis Kelce (also present at the induction), nevertheless delivered a thoughtful, beautifully written 23-minute speech despite her strained vocal cords. (Read all about that here.) Swift, who filmed Fogerty\u2019s \u201cFortunate Son,\u201d fist-pumped during Morissette\u2019s \u201cYou Oughta Know\u201d and shimmied during \u201cRock and Roll All Nite,\u201d explained that the evening\u2019s performances didn\u2019t help her vocal cord recovery: \u201cI got to witness the amazing performances I saw tonight, and I just kept screaming and I never stopped screaming and this is what you get. I make no apologies for that \u2014 I\u2019ve had a blast.\u201d \u2013 J.L.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/lists\/songwriters-hall-of-fame-2026-best-moments\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/kiss-taylor-swift-nile-rodgers-2026-press-lede-company-1800-billboard.jpg?w=1024″] The Songwriters Hall of Fame is always one of the most prestigious, surprise-filled nights in the music industry calendar: celebrated stars, low-key legends, power players and rising talents mingle to salute great songs and the remarkable, eclectic writers who craft them. The 2026 event saw Taylor Swift, Alanis Morissette, Kenny Loggins, Gene […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-1986675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1986675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986675\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1986675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1986675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1986675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Terry Britten and Graham Lyle Fight Jet Lag to Go Beyond Thunderdome<\/h2>\n
Walter Afanasieff Takes Us Back to Where It Began<\/h2>\n
John Fogerty\u2019s Freewheeling, Career-Spanning Speech<\/h2>\n
Paul Stanley Would Like His Flowers Now, Please<\/h2>\n
Kenny Loggins\u2019 Brotherly Love<\/h2>\n
Alanis Morissette Stuns With a Singular Performance<\/h2>\n
RAYE Makes a Plea for Master Royalty Points for Songwriters<\/h2>\n
Taylor Swift, Knicks Mania Victim, Soldiers On<\/h2>\n