Don Covay

A Pioneer Award recipient from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, Don Covay took his beginnings as a performer in a family gospel quartet to a minor career as an r&b artist in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. But his big success came with his songwriting: Chubby Checker had a No. 1 hit with his “Pony Time,” Aretha Franklin won a Grammy with his “Chain Of Fools,” and his hit “Mercy Mercy” was notably covered by The Rolling Stones. Steppenwolf, Bobby Womack, Wilson Pickett and The Small Faces are among other artists who have scored with songs by Don Covay.

Key songs in the Covay catalog include “Sookie, Sookie,” “Mercy, Mercy,” “Tonight’s The Night,” “Chain Of Fools” and “Seesaw.”

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Jerry Fuller

Forth Worth native Jerry Fuller, whose father sang with Bob Wills, performed with his brother before pursuing a solo career as a versatile pop singer-songwriter and producer. Fuller has had over 40 top 10 hits, and his song “Travelin’ Man,” which was intended for Sam Cooke, became a huge hit for Ricky Nelson—for whom he wrote 19 songs including “It’s Up To You” and Young World.” He discovered the pop group Gary Puckett and The Union Gap, for whom he wrote the big hits “Young Girl,” “Lady Willpower” and “Over You.”

Key songs in the Fuller catalog include “Travelin’ Man,” “Over You,” “Young Girl,” “Lady Willpower” and Al Wilson’s “Show And Tell.”

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Sandy Linzer/Denny Randell

As a team, Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell wrote and produced The Toys classic “A Lover’s Concerto” and “Attack!,” and wrote many other pop-rock hits of the 1960s. For Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons they provided “Working My Way Back To You,” “Opus 17 (Don’t You Worry ‘Bout Me),” and (with Bob Crewe) “Let’s Hang On (To What We’ve Got).” The duo also wrote songs for The Monkees and had numerous credits with other writers outside their own partnership.

Key songs in the Linzer/Randell catalog include “A Lover’s Concerto,” “Workin’ My Way Back to You,” “Let ‘s Hang On To What We’ve Got,” “Native New Yorker” and “Opus 17 (Don’t Worry ’bout Me).”

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Tony Hatch

English songwriter / pianist / arranger / producer Tony Hatch wrote Garry Mills’ 1960 U.K. and U.S. hit “Look For A Star,” then went on to produce and write for numerous hit artists on both sides of the Atlantic including Bobby Rydell (“Forget Him”) and The Searchers (“Sugar And Spice”). Most significant was his producer/songwriter relationship with Petula Clark, which yielded such classic British Invasion pop hits as “Downtown” and “I Know A Place.” He wrote more songs with his then wife Jackie Trent (as a performing act they were called “Mr. & Mrs. Music”) and also excelled in composing TV themes, most notably the Australian soap opera “Neighbours.”

Key songs in the Hatch catalog include “Downtown,” “Don’t Sleep In The Subway,” “I Know A Place,” “My Love” and “Sign Of The Times.”

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Graham Gouldman

Graham Gouldman is one of England’s most successful songwriters, penning such classic 1960s hits as “For Your Love” and “Heart Full of Soul” for The Yardbirds, “Bus Stop” and “Look Through Any Window” for The Hollies, and “No Milk Today” and “Listen People” for Herman’s Hermits, while also writing hits for Jeff Beck, Cher and the Shadows. A former member of the Mindbenders, he joined with that band’s Eric Stewart and Kevin Godley and Lol Crème in forming pop group 10cc. For that band he delivered such hits as “The Things We Do For Love.”

Key songs in the Gouldman catalog include “Bus Stop,” “I’m Not In Love,” “For Your Love,” “The Things We Do For Love” and “No Milk Today.”

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Tony Macaulay

A much-awarded songwriter in England, Tony Macaulay was a staff producer at Pye Records, where he supplied The Foundations with his co-written song “Baby Now That I’ve Found You” and follow-up “Build Me Up Buttercup.” Other hits followed for the likes of Herman’s Hermits (“I Can Take or Leave Your Lovin’”), The Hollies (“Sorry Suzanne”) and the Flying Machine (“Smile a Little Smile For Me”). His hitmaking ways continued in the 1970s with songs like “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” (Edison Lighthouse) and “Here Comes that Rainy Day Feeling Again” (The Fortunes).

Key songs in the Macaulay catalog include “Baby Now That I’ve Found You,” “Build Me Up Buttercup,” “Don’t Give Up On Us,” “Last Night I Couldn’t Get To Sleep At All” and “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes).”

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Chips Moman

Songwriter/producer Chips Moman was a guitarist for Johnny Burnette and Gene Vincent before producing records in Memphis for the likes of Carla Thomas, and later, Elvis Presley and The Box Tops. As a songwriter, his compositions include such much-covered classics as Aretha Franklin’s “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man” and James Carr’s “The Dark End Of The Street.” After moving to Nashville he earned a Grammy for the B.J. Thomas hit “Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song,” and also penned country hits like Waylon Jennings’ “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love).”

Key songs in the Moman catalog include “Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song,” “At The Dark End Of The Street,” “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man,” “Lukenbach, Texas” and “Wurlitzer Prize.”

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Artie Resnick/Kenny Young

Artie Resnick and Kenny Young came out of the Brill Building songwriting scene. Together they co-wrote the Drifters’ “Under The Boardwalk” and Ronnie Dove’s “One Kiss For Old Times Sake.” Resnick went on to co-write the Rascals’ “Good Lovin’” and was also a member of the bubblegum rock trio The Third Rail of “Run, Run, Run” fame. Young had his own songwriting and performing success as well, penning hits for the likes of Herman’s Hermits and Quincy Jones and recording solo and in bands including Fox and Yellow Dog.

Key songs in the Resnick/Young catalog include “Under The Boardwalk,” “I’ve Got Sand In My Shoes,” “One Kiss For Old Time’s Sake,” “Good Lovin’” and “Just A Little Bit Better.”

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Don Schlitz

Much decorated country songwriter Don Schlitz has won four ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year awards, and is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. His first hit, Kenny Rogers’ country crossover “The Gambler,” became one of Rogers signature songs and even inspired a series of five TV movies. He went on to write several major hits for Randy Travis including “Forever And Ever, Amen,” and the late Keith Whitley’s classic “When You Say Nothing At All.”

Key songs in the Schlitz catalog include “The Gambler,” “Forever And Ever, Amen,” “When You Say Nothing At All,” “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her” and “On The Other Hand.”

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P.F. Sloan/Steve Barri

The songwriting team of P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri was one of the most successful of the pop-rock scene based in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. Barry McGuire’s hit recording of their apocalyptic “Eve Of Destruction” was a signpost for a generation and its era. But Sloan/Barri’s lighter fare was equally impressive and significant, and included songs for The Turtles (“You Baby” and “Let Me Be”), Herman’s Hermits ("A Must to Avoid” and “Hold On!"), The Grass Roots (“Where Were You When I Needed You”) and Johnny Rivers (“Secret Agent Man”).

Key songs in the Sloan/Barri catalog include “Secret Agent Man,” “Eve of Destruction,” “Where Were You When I Needed You,” “You Baby (Nobody but You)” and “Can I Get to Know You Better.”

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Jim Steinman

The creative genius behind Meat Loaf, Jim Steinman brought an operatic flair to rock songs that helped make Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell one of rock’s landmarks. The 1978 album yielded the hits “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad,” “Paradise By The Dashboard Light” and “You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth.” He followed it with big hits for other artists, most notably “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” (Bonnie Tyler) and “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All” (Air Supply).

Key songs in the Steinman catalog include “I’d Do Anything For Love But I Won’t Do That,” “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All,” “Paradise By The Dashboard Light,” “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” and “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad.”

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Paul Vance/Lee Pockriss

Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss wrote several classic pop hits in the 1950s and ‘60s. “Catch A Falling Star” was a major hit in 1957 for Perry Como, and “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” made a star of Brian Hyland in 1960. The partners also supplied such hits as “Leader Of The Laundromat” by The Detergents, which was a take-off on The Shangri-Las’ “Leader Of The Pack,” and The Cuff Links’ tuneful “Tracy.”

Key songs in the Vance/Pockriss catalog include “Catch A Falling Star,” “Dommage Dommage,” “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,” “Playground In My Mind” and “She Lets Her Hair Down (Early In The Morning).”

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Elvis Costello

One of the most acclaimed singer-songwriters of the modern rock era, Elvis Costello burst upon the scene in 1977 at the height of the New Wave and has been writing songs—many of which have been covered by artists from Linda Ronstadt to Johnny Cash--at full throttle ever since. But rock is only one of the many genres he has conquered. The indefatigable Costello has also written country and classical music while collaborating with Burt Bacharach and Paul McCartney and earning his way into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Key songs in the Costello catalog include “Accidents Will Happen,” “Alison,” “Veronica,” “Pump It Up” and “Watching The Detectives.”

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Dion DiMucci

Dion DiMucci first found fame as the leader of Dion & The Belmonts. The doo-### group (named for an avenue in the Bronx) scored high on the pop charts in the late 1950s with hits like “A Teenager In Love,” then found bigger success in the early 1960s with songs like the 1961 chart-topper “Runaround Sue” and its No. 2 follow-up “The Wanderer.” DiMucci later delivered solo hits including “Abraham, Martin & John,” and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

Key songs in the DiMucci catalog include “Born to Cry,” “Donna The Prima Donna,” “King Of The New York Streets,” “Love Came To Me” and “Runaround Sue.”

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Deborah Harry/Chris Stein (Blondie)

The creative duo at the core Blondie, lead singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein artfully managed to span punk rock, disco, rap and reggae. Their No. 1 hit compositions “Heart Of Glass” and “Rapture” brought them international popularity and made them by far the most commercially successful group to emerge from New York’s thriving underground music scene of the late 1970s. With Blondie, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

Key songs in the Harry/Stein catalog include “Dreaming,” “Heart Of Glass,” “In The Flesh,” “Rapture” and “One Way Or Another.”

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Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens)

Born Steven Demetre Georgiou and now known as Yusuf Islam following his conversion to Islam, Cat Stevens was one of the most successful singer-songwriters of the 1970s. After securing a U.K. deal with his song “I Love My Dog”—which eventually charted there in 1966—he wrote “Here Comes My Baby,” a hit for the Tremeloes in both the U.K. and U.S. P.P. Arnold’s 1967 British hit of Stevens’ ”The First Cut Is The Deepest” would later be a U.S. hit for both Rod Stewart and Sheryl Crow; meanwhile, Stevens became a major star on both sides of the Atlantic with his version of “Wild World,” which was a previous hit for Jimmy Cliff in England, and such follow-up hits as “Moon Shadow,” “Peace Train” and “Morning Has Broken.”

Key songs in the Islam catalog include “Moonshadow,” “Morning Has Broken,” “Peace Train,” “The First Cut Is The Deepest” and “Wild World.”

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Annie Lennox/Dave Stewart

As the hugely successful Eurythmics, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart brought an innovative sound and plenty of style to the 1980s. After “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)” topped the charts in 1983, they achieved international fame, their career buoyed by follow-up hits like “Here Comes The Rain Again” and “Would I Lie To You?” Following the band’s breakup, Lennox scored solo with hits including “Why” and “Walking On Broken Glass.”

Key songs in the Lennox/Stewart catalog include “Here Comes The Rain Again,” “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This),” “Would I Lie To You,” “Missionary Man” and “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves.”

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Gordon Lightfoot

Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot came to fame first in the 1960s when his compositions became hits for other artists, among them Peter, Paul & Mary (“Early Morning Rain”) and Marty Robbins (“Ribbon Of Darkness”). He came into his own as an artist during the following decade with such original folk-pop hits as “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Sundown” and the contemporary Great Lakes shipwreck narrative “Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald.”

Key songs in the Lightfoot catalog include “Carefree Highway,” “Early Morning Rain,” “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Sundown” and “Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald.”

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George Michael

George Michael burst on the scene in 1984 when he hit No. 1 with “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” the first of his three consecutive chart-toppers as the singer and songwriter of Wham! His success only grew when he went solo, topping the charts again and again with hits like “Faith” and “One More Try.” With over 100 million records sold, he has been cited in England as the most played artist on radio between 1984 and 2004.

Key songs in the Michael catalog include “Careless Whisper,” “Faith,” “Father Figure,” “I Want Your Sex” and “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.”

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Steve Miller

Schooled in guitar by his father’s friend Les Paul, Steve Miller picked up a heavy blues influence from the likes of T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy, eventually forming his own Steve Miller Blues Band—at one time including pal Boz Scaggs. After removing “Blues” from the band’s name, he became an album rock-era figurehead before breaking through to pop with the chart-topping title track of his 1973 album “The Joker.” His other compositions “Rock ‘n Me” and “Abracadabra” likewise went to No. 1.

Key songs in the Miller catalog include “Abracadabra,” “Fly Like An Eagle,” “Living In The USA,” “Take The Money And Run” and “The Joker.”

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Lou Reed

Lou Reed began the songwriting side of his influential music career as an in-house songwriter for Pickwick Records, delivering a hit in 1964 with the novelty dance hit “The Ostrich.” The Primitives were formed around Reed to support it, and also included Welsh musician John Cale, with whom Reed would form the Velvet Underground in 1965 along with Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker. The historic group helped pave the way for the punk rock explosion of the 1970s with songs like “Heroin” and “Sweet Jane”; they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, long after Reed had established himself as a major solo singer-songwriter thanks to such titles as “Walk On The Wild Side” and “Dirty Boulevard.”

Key songs in the Reed catalog include “Dirty Boulevard,” “Heroin,” “Rock & Roll,” “Sweet Jane” and “Walk On The Wild Side.”

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Bob Seger

Detroit singer-songwriter Bob Seger is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee thanks to 1970s album rock-era favorites like “Night Moves” and “Old Time Rock & Roll” (a “Songs of the Century” designee). His 1986 hit “Like a Rock” became monumental when it was the centerpiece of a Chevy truck commercial for over a decade. The “heartlands rock” pioneer also co-wrote the Eagles’ chart-topping “Heartache Tonight.

Key songs in the Seger catalog include “Like A Rock,” “Night Moves,” “Rock & Roll Never Forgets,” “Still The Same” and “We’ve Got Tonight.”

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Pete Townshend

Pete Townshend, of course, is renowned as The Who’s lead guitarist. But his songwriting--for the Who and for his solo recordings--is likewise celebrated for its innovation. From The Who’s age group-defining hit “My Generation,” which incorporated stuttering, to his virtual invention of the “rock opera” concept album format with Tommy, the prolific Townshend has been one of the most inventive songwriters in the genre.

Key songs in the Townshend catalog include “I Can See For Miles,” “Magic Bus,” “My Generation,” “See Me, Touch Me, Feel Me” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

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Tom Waits

One of the most distinctive singer-songwriters in rock, Tom Waits has nevertheless succeeded in placing his singular blues and jazz-derived songs elsewhere. The Grammy-winner’s lovely “Jersey Girl” has become a Bruce Springsteen favorite, while “Downtown Train” became a big hit for Rod Stewart. The Eagles, Sarah McLachlan, Bob Seger, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Patty Smyth are among those who have also covered Waits, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.

Key songs in the Waits catalog include “Ol’ 55,” “Jersey Girl,” “(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night,” “Innocent When You Dream” and “Downtown Train.”

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Frank Beard/Billy Gibbons/Dusty Hill (ZZ Top)

Drummer Frank Beard, guitarist Billy Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill formed ZZ Top in Houston in 1969--and have been together ever since. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame trio is one of the major acts of the MTV era, due to the classic clips for their songs “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs.” But the so-called “little old band from Texas” made their mark early with hits “La Grange” and “Tush.”

Key songs in the Beard, Gibbons and Hill catalogs include “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “La Grange,” “Legs,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Tush.”

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Sylvester “Sly Stone” Stewart

Sylvester “Sly Stone” Stewart is up there with James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic as a pioneer of funk. A former disc jockey and producer of Bay Area bands including The Beau Brummels and the Great Society, he formed the boundary-breaking multi-racial, gender and genre group Sly & the Family Stone in San Francisco in 1967. The group’s hits included “Dance to The Music,” “Everyday People” and “Family Affair,” and their hugely influential recordings have been sampled time and again.

Key songs in the Stewart catalog include “Dance To The Music,” “Everyday People,” “Family Affair,” “Hot Fun In The Summertime” and “Thank You (Falettin’ Me Be Mice Elf Again).”

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Leon Russell

A versatile musician whose session credits ranged from Herb Alpert to Phil Spector, Oklahoma native Leon Russell also had wide-ranging success as a songwriter. His stint as music director for Joe Cocker resulted in his initial songwriting success—Cocker’s 1969 hit “Delta Lady.” He scored his own hit in 1972 with “Tight Rope,” and also wrote “Superstar,” which became a big hit for both the Carpenters and Luther Vandross.

Key songs in the Russell catalog include “A Song for You,” “Delta Lady,” “Superstar,” “This Masquerade” and “Tight Rope.”

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Nile Rodgers/Bernard Edwards (d)

With the late Bernard Edwards, fellow producer Nile Rodgers formed Chic--one of the most important bands of the disco era. Both “Le Freak” and “Good Times” went to No. 1 on the pop charts, prompting Rodgers and Edwards to produce and write for other artists on their Atlantic Records roster, including Sister Sledge, whose “We Are Family” was a huge hit--and remade by Rodgers as a benefit recording for his “We Are Family Foundation” after 9-11. But Rodgers and Edwards also wrote and produced for other artists including Diana Ross (her hits “Upside Down” and “I’m Coming Out"), and Rodgers went on to compose soundtracks while continuing his songwriting and production efforts.

Key songs in the Rodgers and Bernard catalogs include “Good Times,” “I’m Coming Out,” “Le Freak,” “Upside Down” and “We Are Family.”

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George Michael

George Michael burst on the scene in 1984 when he hit No. 1 with “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” the first of his three consecutive chart-toppers the singer and songwriter of Wham! His success only grew when he went solo, topping the charts again and again with hits like “Faith” and “One More Try.” With over 100 million records sold, he has been cited in England as the most played artist on radio between 1984 and 2004.

Key songs in the Michael catalog include “Careless Whisper,” “Faith,” “Father Figure,” “I Want Your Sex” and “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.”

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Phil Everly/Don Everly

While many of the Everly Brothers classic hits were written by the Songwriters Hall of Fame team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, Phil and Don Everly wrote many of their own. These included the chart-topper “Cathy’s Clown,” and “Gone, Gone, Gone,” which was recently covered by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss on their Grammy-winning album “Raising Sand.” “Cathy’s Clown” later became a hit for Reba McEntire, while Linda Ronstadt had a hit cover of their classic “When Will I Be Loved.”

Key songs in the Everly catalogs include “Cathy’s Clown,” “Gone, Gone, Gone,” “(‘Til) I Kissed You,” “When Will I Be Loved” and “So Sad To Watch Good Love Go Bad”

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Annie Lennox/Dave Stewart

As the hugely successful Eurythmics, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart brought an innovative sound and plenty of style to the 1980s. After “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)” topped the charts in 1983, they achieved international fame, their career buoyed by follow-up hits like “Here Comes The Rain Again” and “Would I Lie To You?” Following the band’s breakup, Lennox scored solo with hits including “Why” and “Walking On Broken Glass.”

Key songs in the Lennox and Stewart catalogs include “Here Comes The Rain Again,” “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This),” “Walking On Broken Glass,” “Why” and “Would I Lie To You.”

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Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham

Dan Penn, who co-wrote “Dark End of the Street” and “Do Right Woman” with Chips Moman, partnered with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame sideman Spooner Oldham (organ player on hits like “When a Man Loves a Woman” and “Mustang Sally") to pen some of the most memorable pop and r&b hits of the 1960s. For The Box Tops they wrote “Cry Like A Baby,” and they supplied James and Bobby Purify with “I’m Your Puppet.” Aretha Franklin had a big hit with “Do Right Woman,” while Janis Joplin’s recording of Penn/Oldham’s “A Woman Left Lonely” is among her top album cuts.

Key songs in the Penn and Oldham catalogs include “A Woman Left Lonely,” “Cry Like A Baby,” “I’m Your Puppet,” “It Tears Me Up” and “Sweet Inspiration.”

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Dean Pitchford

A Broadway ("Godspell," “Pippin") and cabaret performer, lyricist Dean Pitchford achieved songwriting success with a number of composers, notably including Stephen Schwartz, Alan Menken, Rupert Holmes, Marvin Hamlisch and Peter Allen. Teaming with Michael Gore, he wrote three songs for the 1980 movie “Fame,” including Linda Clifford’s disco hit “Red Light” and Irene Cara’s titletrack hit, which went on to win an Academy Award as well as a Grammy nomination. With Kenny Loggins he co-wrote Loggins’ massive hit “Footloose,” and was named BMI Songwriter of the Year (1984); he won BMI’s Country Song of the Year in 1986 for Dolly Parton’s “Don’t Call It Love,” co-written with Tom Snow.

Key songs in the Pitchford catalog includes “Almost Paradise,” Don’t’ Call It Love,” “Fame,” “Footloose” and “Let’s Hear It for the Boy.”

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Jerry Ragovoy/Bert Berns (d)

As a songwriting team, Jerry Ragovoy and the late Bert Berns supplied such classic hits as “Cry Baby” and “Piece Of My Heart”—both of which were immortalized by Janis Joplin (“Cry Baby” had been a hit first for Garnet Mimms, while “Piece Of My Heart” was later countrified by Faith Hill). Both writers also had notable success separately: Ragovoy scored with “Time Is On My Side,” a hit for both Irma Thomas and The Rolling Stones, and Miriam Makeba’s “Pata Pata.” Berns had Them’s hit “Here Comes The Night,” and “Twist And Shout”—a hit for both The Isley Brothers and The Beatles.

Key songs in the Ragovoy and Berns catalogs include “Cry Baby,” “Here Comes the Night,” “I’ll Take Good Care Of You,” “Pata Pata,” and “Piece of My Heart.”

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Joe South

Songwriter-producer-performer Joe South was an important session guitarist in the 1960s, his estimable credits including Bob Dylan’s “Blonde on Blonde” album. But he was also writing songs like Lynn Anderson’s Grammy-winning signature “(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden” and Billy Joe Royal’s “Down In The Boondocks” and “Hush” (the latter also a later hit for Deep Purple). His songwriting prowess paved the way for his own recording career, which was marked by such hits as “Games People Play” and “Don’t It Make You Want To Go Home.”

Key songs in the South catalog include “Down In The Boondocks,” “Games People Play,” “Hush,” “(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden” and “Walk A Mile In My Shoes.”

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Billy Steinberg/Tom Kelly

Both Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly wrote songs for Pat Benatar before joining forces and creating major hits for many artists in the 1980s. One of the biggest was Madonna’s “Like A Virgin,” which was followed by Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” and “I Drove All Night,” Whitney Houston’s “So Emotional” and The Bangles’ “Eternal Flame.” In the 1990s they wrote The Divinyls’ hit “I Touch Myself,” and with Chrissie Hynde co-wrote The Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand By You.”

Key songs in the Steinberg and Kelly catalogs include “Alone,""Eternal Flame,” “Like A Virgin,” “I Touch Myself” and “True Colors.”

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Jim Steinman

The creative genius behind Meat Loaf, Jim Steinman brought an operatic flair to rock songs that helped make Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out Of Hell” one of rock’s landmarks. The 1978 album yielded the hits “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” and “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth.” He followed it with big hits for other artists, most notably “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” (Bonnie Tyler) and “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All” (Air Supply).

Key songs in the Steinman catalog include “I’d Do Anything For Love But I Won’t Do That,” “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All,” “Paradise By The Dashboard Light,” “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” and “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad.”

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Allen Toussaint

As Al Tousan, New Orleans r&b legend Allen Toussaint recorded the instrumental “Java,” which became a hit in 1964 for Crescent City trumpet king Al Hirt. But he wrote many other classic songs for many other New Orleans artists, including “Working In The Coal Mine” for Lee Dorsey and “Mother-In-Law” for Ernie K-Doe, and others including Otis Redding ("Pain In My Heart") and Glen Campbell ("Southern Nights"). More recently, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee collaborated on a post-Katrina album with Elvis Costello.

Key songs in the Toussaint catalog include “Fortune Teller,” “Java,” “Mother-In-Law,” “Southern Nights and “Working In The Coal Mine.”

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Garth Brooks

Garth Brooks became a country music superstar on the strength of dozens of hit singles including several chart-toppers that he wrote, among them “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” “Unanswered Prayers,” “The Thunder Rolls” and “What She’s Doin’ Now.” His songs crossed him over into the mainstream and attracted arena audiences for his sold-out concert tours. They also made him one of the biggest selling recording artists of all time.

Key songs in the Garth Brooks catalog include “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” “Papa Loved Mama,” “The Thunder Rolls,” “What She’s Doin’ Now” and “Unanswered Prayers.”

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Harry Wayne Casey/Richard Finch

The leader of KC and the Sunshine Band Harry Wayne Casey and the group’s Richard Finch wrote some of the biggest and most enduring songs of the disco era. Together, they wrote George McCrae’s 1974 No. 1 hit “Rock Your Baby,” and also wrote songs for Betty Wright and Jimmy “Bo” Horne. Hits for KC and the Sunshine Band include the chart-toppers “Get Down Tonight” and “That’s The Way I Like It.”

Key songs in the Casey/Finch catalog include “Boogie Shoes,” “Get Down Tonight,” “Rock Your Baby,” “Shake Your Booty” and “That’s The Way I Like It.”

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Tom Johnston/Patrick Simmons (Doobie Brothers)

Singer-guitarists Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons formed the pre-Michael McDonald songwriting backbone of the Doobie Brothers. Their songs gave the group its unique blend of pop styles, including country, rock and r&b. They became one of the top acts of the 1970s, thanks to such hits as “Listen To The Music,” “Long Train Runnin’,” and of course, their 1975 chart-topper “Black Water.”

Key songs in the Johnston and Simmons catalogs include “Black Water,” “China Grove,” “Listen To The Music,” “Long Train Runnin’” and “Rockin’ Down The Highway.”

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Tony Macaulay

A much-awarded songwriter in England, Tony Macaulay was a staff producer at Pye Records, where he supplied The Foundations with his co-written song “Baby Now That I’ve Found You” and follow-up “Build Me Up Buttercup.” Other hits followed for the likes of Herman’s Hermits (“I Can Take or Leave Your Lovin’”), The Hollies (“Sorry Suzanne”) and the Flying Machine (“Smile a Little Smile For Me”). His hitmaking ways continued in the 1970s with songs like “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” (Edison Lighthouse) and “Here Comes that Rainy Day Feeling Again” (The Fortunes).

Key songs in the Tony Macaulay catalog include “Baby Now That I’ve Found You,” “Build Me Up Buttercup,” “Don’t Give Up On Us,” “Last Night I Couldn’t Get To Sleep At All” and “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes).”

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Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds

Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds (the name “Babyface” was given to him by Bootsy Collins) teamed up with Antonio “L.A.” Reid when he was keyboardist in The Deele (Reid was drummer). After an early songwriting success in 1983 with “Slow-Jam” for Midnight Star, Edmonds helped pioneer the new jack swing style of r&b with his writing and production work for the likes of Bobby Brown, Karyn White and Sheena Easton; he also co-founded LaFace Records with Reid, and it became the home of TLC and Toni Braxton. Later clients included Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, Madonna, Eric Clapton and Mary J. Blige, and in 2006 he was named a BMI Icon--having won the BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year award seven times.

Key songs in the Edmonds catalog include “Another Sad Love Song,” “Breathe Again,” “End Of The Road,” “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” and “I’ll Make Love To You.”

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Dennis Lambert/Brian Potter

The versatile team of Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter first found success in 1969 with their antiwar hit for Coven “One Tin Soldier,” which graced the soundtrack of “The Legend Of Billy Jack.” They stayed busy throughout the ‘70s, frequently scoring with catchy hits like Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds’ “Don’t Pull Your Love (Out),” the Grass Roots’ “Two Divided By Love” and Glen Campbell’s “Country Boy (You Got Your Feet In L.A.).” Their work with the Four Tops yielded the legendary vocal group’s first post-Motown hits “Keeper Of The Castle” and “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got).”

Key songs in the Lambert/Potter catalog include “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got),” “Country Boy (You Got Your Feet In L.A.),” “Don’t Pull Your Love,” “Night Shift” and “One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack).”

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Ivy George Hunter (d)/Mickey Stevenson

Detroit songwriter/producer/singer George Ivy Hunter (who was best known as Ivy Jo Hunter) teamed with Motown A&R director William “Mickey” Stevenson in co-writing some of the greatest songs to come out of the Motown hit factory. Among their most memorable compositions were Martha & the Vandellas’ “Dancing In The Street” and the Four Tops’ “Ask The Lonely.” Hunter and Stevenson also found songwriting success independent of each other, with Hunter contributing to Francis Nero’s “Footsteps Keep Following Me” and Stevenson co-writing Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels’ “Devil With The Blue Dress On.”

Key songs in the Ivy George Hunter/Mickey Stevenson catalog include “Ask The Lonely,” “Beechwood 4-5789,” “Dancing In The Street,” “It Takes Two” and “Pride And Joy.”

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Steven Tyler/Joe Perry (Aerosmith)

Aerosmith’s frontman Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry have collaborated on many of the band’s biggest hits. Songs like “Dude Looks Like A Lady” and “Love In An Elevator,” besides being big hits, were highlights of the MTV era. Their 1977 hit “Walk This Way” was covered by Run-D.M.C. in 1986 and broke the rap act into the mainstream.

Key songs in the Tyler and Perry catalogs include “Dream On,” “Dude Looks Like A Lady,” “Love In An Elevator,” “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way.”

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Tony Hatch

English songwriter/ pianist /arranger/ producer Tony Hatch wrote Garry Mills’ 1960 U.K. and U.S. hit “Look For A Star,” then went on to produce and write for numerous hit artists on both sides of the Atlantic including Bobby Rydell (“Forget Him”) and the Searchers (“Sugar And Spice”). Most significant was his producer/songwriter relationship with Petula Clark, which yielded such classic British Invasion pop hits as “Downtown” and “I Know A Place.” He wrote more songs with his then wife Jackie Trent (as a performing act they were called “Mr. & Mrs. Music”) and also excelled in composing TV themes, most notably the Australian soap opera “Neighbours.”

Key songs in the Tony Hatch catalog include “Downtown,” “Don’t Sleep In The Subway,” “I Know A Place,” “My Love” and “Sign Of The Times.”

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John Bettis

Lyricist John Bettis used his stint in the band Spectrum, which included Richard and Karen Carpenter, as the launching pad for a major songwriting career. His hits for The Carpenters include such classic pop hits “Top Of the World” and “Only Yesterday,” but his songs have also graced the hit catalogs of Madonna ("Crazy for You"), Michael Jackson ("Human Nature") and the Pointer Sisters ("Slow Hand"). His 1988 Summer Olympics anthem “One Moment in Time” was sung by Whitney Houston and earned him an Emmy Award.

Key songs in the John Bettis catalog include “One Moment In Time” (the 1988 Olympics theme), “Slow Hand,” “Top Of The World,” “Human Nature” and “Yesterday Once More.”

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Get Out The Vote! And the Nominees are…

The nominees in both the non-performing and performing songwriter categories for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011 follow. Note that the five songs listed after the brief biographies of each nominee are merely a representative sample of their extensive catalogs. Please make sure to vote by the December 17th deadline—and congratulations to all the nominees!

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Maurice White / Philip Bailey / Verdine White / Larry Dunn / Al McKay (Earth, Wind and Fire)

The most popular r&b band of the mid-1970s, Earth, Wind and Fire won Grammy Awards for songs including “Shining Star” and “Runnin’” while staging ambitious and enormously entertaining concert productions. Founded by former session drummer Maurice White and featuring vocalist Philip Bailey, the nine-piece group’s uniquely employed White’s African kalimba-playing, but was heavily influenced by great jazz singers as well as legendary instrumentalists like Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Besides hit singles, they enjoyed multiplatinum album success, and were rewarded in 2000 with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Key songs in the Earth, Wind and Fire catalog include “Reasons,” “September,” “Shining Star,” “Sing A Song” and “That’s The Way Of The World.”

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Bono (Paul Hewson) / The Edge (David Evans) / Adam Clayton / Larry Mullen (U2)

Together as U2, Bono (Paul Hewson), The Edge (David Evans), Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen have enjoyed unprecedented success as songwriters, recording artists and concert performers. Their catalog includes two No. 1 hits, “With Or Without You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” Other hits have been used in movies (“All I Want Is You” from “Reality Bites,” “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” from “Batman Forever”) and have tributed Martin Luther King (“Pride [In The Name Of Love]”) and Billie Holiday (“Angel Of Harlem”).

Key songs in the U2 catalog include “Beautiful Day,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “New Year’s Day,” “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” and “Where The Streets Have No Name.”

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Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens)

Born Steven Demetre Georgiou and now known as Yusuf Islam following his conversion to Islam, Cat Stevens was one of the most successful singer-songwriters of the 1970s. After securing a U.K. deal with his song “I Love My Dog”—which eventually charted there in 1966—he wrote “Here Comes My Baby,” a hit for the Tremeloes in both the U.K. and U.S. P.P. Arnold’s 1967 British hit of Stevens’ ”The First Cut Is The Deepest” would later be a U.S. hit for both Rod Stewart and Sheryl Crow; meanwhile, Stevens became a major star on both sides of the Atlantic with his version of “Wild World,” which was a previous hit for Jimmy Cliff in England, and such follow-up hits as “Moon Shadow” and “Peace Train” and “Morning Has Broken.”

Key songs in the Islam catalog include “Moonshadow,” “Morning Has Broken,” “Peace Train,” “The First Cut Is The Deepest” and “Wild World.”

(Photo by Aminah Islam)

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Joe South

Songwriter-producer-performer Joe South was an important session guitarist in the 1960s, his estimable credits including Bob Dylan’s “Blonde on Blonde” album. But he was also writing songs like Lynn Anderson’s Grammy-winning signature “(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden” and Billy Joe Royal’s “Down In The Boondocks” and “Hush” (the latter also a later hit for Deep Purple).” His songwriting prowess paved the way for his own recording career, which was marked by such hits as “Games People Play” and “Don’t It Make You Want To Go Home.”

Key songs in the South catalog include “Down In The Boondocks,” “Games People Play,” “Hush,” “I Never Promised You A Rose Garden” and “Walk A Mile In My Shoes.”

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Paul Vance & Lee Pockriss

Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss wrote several classic pop hits in the 1950s and ‘60s. “Catch A Falling Star” was a major hit in 1957 for Perry Como, and “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” made a star of Brian Hyland in 1960. The partners also supplied such hits as “Leader Of The Laundromat” by The Detergents, which was a take-off on The Shangri-Las’ “Leader Of The Pack,” and The Cuff Links’ tuneful “Tracy.”

Key songs in the Vance/Pockriss catalog include “Catch A Falling Star,” “Dommage Dommage,” “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,” “Playground In My Mind” and “Tracy.”
(Photo of Paul Vance)

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Garth Brooks

Garth Brooks became a country music superstar on the strength of dozens of hit singles including several chart-toppers that he wrote, among them “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” “Unanswered Prayers,” “The Thunder Rolls” and “What She’s Doin’ Now.” His songs crossed him over into the mainstream and attracted arena audiences for his sold-out concert tours. They also made him one of the biggest selling recording artists of all time.

Key songs in the Garth Brooks catalog include “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” “Papa Loved Mama,” “The Thunder Rolls,” “What She’s Doin’ Now” and “Unanswered Prayers.”

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Leonard Cohen

Canadian singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen turned to songwriting after establishing himself as an acclaimed novelist and poet. His resultant songs have earned him an adoring following of music fans and fellow artists including Judy Collins, who expanded his audience in 1966 when she recorded his song “Suzanne” (actor/singer Noel Harrison also had a hit with it) and Jennifer Warnes, who had been a backup singer for Cohen before releasing her own acclaimed album of his material, “Famous Blue Raincoat,” in 1987. His uniquely intelligent output was celebrated earlier this year with the documentary “Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man.”

Key songs in the Cohen catalog include “Bird On The Wire,” “Hallelujah,” “Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye,” “So Long Marianne” and “Suzanne.”

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Elvis Costello

One of the most acclaimed singer-songwriters of the modern rock era, Elvis Costello burst upon the scene in 1977 at the height of the New Wave and has been writing songs—many of which have been covered by artists from Linda Ronstadt to Johnny Cash--at full throttle ever since. But rock is only one of the many genres he has conquered. The indefatigable Costello has also written country and classical music while collaborating with Burt Bacharach and Paul McCartney and earning his way into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Key songs in the Costello catalog include “Accidents Will Happen,” “Alison,” “Radio, Radio,” “Pump It Up” and “Watching The Detectives.”

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Dion DiMucci

Dion DiMucci first found fame as the leader of Dion & The Belmonts. The doo-### group (named for an avenue in the Bronx) scored high on the pop charts in the late 1950s with hits like “A Teenager In Love,” then found bigger success in the early 1960s with songs like the 1961 chart-topper “Runaround Sue” and its No. 2 follow-up “The Wanderer.” DiMucci later delivered solo hits including “Abraham, Martin & John,” and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

Key songs in the DiMucci catalog include “Born To Cry,” “Donna The Prima Donna,” “King Of The New York Streets,” “Love Came To Me” and “Runaround Sue.”

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David Gates (Bread)

Keyboardist/vocalist David Gates founded the hugely successful soft-rock group Bread in 1968 as a vehicle for singing his own songs. He wrote most of their trademark hits including “Make It With You,” “Baby I’m-a Want You” and “Everything I Own.” His songs have been covered extensively by others and also include the Murmaids’ 1963 Top 10 entry “Popsicles And Icicles.”

Key songs in the Gates catalog include “Baby I’m-a Want You,” “Diary,” “Everything I Own,” “If” and “Make It With You.”

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Tommy James

With his backing band the Shondells, Tommy James created truly classic pop-rock hits in the late 1960s. “I Think We’re Alone Now,” which broke Top 40 radio ground for its suggestive lyrics, and psychedelic masterpiece “Crimson & Clover” would be hits again much later via respective covers from Tiffany and Joan Jett. James’ 1968 album titletrack “Mony, Mony,” meanwhile, later became a signature song for Billy Idol, and over the years, James’ songs have been covered by many other artists, such as Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., Prince, Tom Jones, Dolly Parton, Cher and Kelly Clarkson.

Key songs in the James catalog include “Crimson And Clover,” “Crystal Blue Persuasion,” “Draggin’ The Line,” “I Think We’re Alone Now” and “Mony, Mony.”

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John Mellencamp

Finding fame first as rocker Johnny Cougar, John Mellencamp gradually reclaimed his real name while staking out his own singular rock sound. Indeed, songs like “Small Town” and “Cherry Bomb” embodied the genre of music now known as roots rock, or Americana. Together with massive Top 40 hits like “Hurt So Good” and “R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A.,” they propelled Mellencamp into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—one of many honors bestowed on him during his venerable career.

Key songs in the Mellencamp catalog include “Jack And Diane,” “Lonely Ol’ Night,” “Pink Houses,” “Small Town” and “The Authority Song.”

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Lou Reed

Lou Reed began the songwriting side of his influential music career as an in-house songwriter for Pickwick Records, delivering a hit in 1964 with the novelty dance hit “The Ostrich.” The Primitives were formed as a band to support it, and also included Welsh musician John Cale, with whom Reed would form the Velvet Underground in 1965 along with Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker. The historic group helped pave the way for the punk rock explosion of the 1970s, with songs like “Heroin” and “Sweet Jane.” They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, long after Reed had established himself as a major solo singer-songwriter thanks to such titles as “Walk On The Wild Side” and “Dirty Boulevard.”

Key songs in the Reed catalog include “Heroin,” “Pale Blue Eyes,” “Rock & Roll,” “Sweet Jane” and “Walk On The Wild Side.”

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Leon Russell

A versatile musician whose session credits ranged from Herb Alpert to Phil Spector, Oklahoma native Leon Russell also had wide-ranging success as a songwriter. His stint as music director for Joe Cocker resulted in his initial songwriting success—Cocker’s 1969 hit “Delta Lady.” He scored his own hit in 1972 with “Tightrope,” and also wrote “Superstar,” which became a big hit for both the Carpenters and Luther Vandross.

Key songs in the Russell catalog include “A Song For You,” “Delta Lady,” “Superstar,” “This Masquerade” and “Tightrope.”

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Johnny Mandel

Johnny Mandel played trombone and trumpet in big bands of the 1940s, most memorably including Woody Herman’s Second Herd. He wrote “Not Really The Blues” for that band and later worked with the likes of Count Basie before settling in Los Angeles and composing for films. His film work included music for “The Sandpiper,” which yielded Tony Bennett’s 1965 hit “The Shadow Of Your Smile,” and the famed theme from “M*A*S*H*,” “Suicide Is Painless.”

Key songs in the Mandel catalog include “A Time for Love,” “Emily,” “Suicide Is Painless (Theme from M*A*S*H*),” “The Shadow Of Your Smile” and “Where Do You Start?”

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Billy Sherrill

An architect of the “countrypolitan” Nashville sound of the 1960s and ‘70s, producer Billy Sherrill also helped shaped music with some of the biggest country hits of the period. His 1966 collaboration with Glenn Sutton, David Houston’s hit “Almost Pursuaded,” topped the charts for nine weeks and won the Grammy for Best Country & Western Song. That year he also discovered Tammy Wynette, for whom he co-wrote her career-launching “Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad” and signature hit “Stand By Your Man.” He later provided Charlie Rich’s signature hit with “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.”

Key songs in the Sherrill catalog include “Almost Persuaded,” “Every Time You Touch Me,” “The Most Beautiful Girl In The World,” “My Elusive Dreams” and “Stand By Your Man.”

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Tommy Boyce (d) / Bobby Hart

The songwriting team of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart were responsible for such classic hits by the Monkees as their TV theme song “Hey, Hey We’re the Monkees,” “Last Train to Clarksville” and “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone,” which was also a hit for Paul Revere and the Raiders. The duo’s first hit came in 1964 when Jay and the Americans reached No. 3 with “Come a Little Bit Closer.” Boyce & Hart eventually signed with A&M Records, where they recorded such hits as “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight” and “Alice Long (You’re Still My Favorite Girlfriend)” and toured with the Monkees.

Key songs in the Boyce & Hart catalog include “Come A Little Bit Closer,” “I’m Not Your Steppin’ Stone,” “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight?,” “Last Train To Clarksville” and “Valleri.”

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Jackie DeShannon

Prolific songwriter Jackie DeShannon co-wrote songs with the varied likes of Randy Newman, Jimmy Page, and Sharon Sheeley—with whom she wrote Brenda Lee’s 1961 hit “Dum Dum.” With Page, she wrote Marianne Faithfull’s Top 10 U.S. and U.K. hit “Come and Stay With Me.” As a performing artist, DeShannon toured with The Beatles in 1964; she scored with her biggest hit in 1969 when she reached No. 4 with her own “Put A Little Love In Your Heart.” Among the first female singer-songwriters of the rock era, Shannon’s songs have also been covered by The Searchers, Irma Thomas and Kim Carnes, whose cover of DeShannon’s “Bette Davis Eyes” topped the charts in 1981.

Key songs in the DeShannon catalog include “Bette Davis Eyes,” “Breakaway,” “Dum Dum,” “Everytime You Walk In The Room” and “Put a Little Love In Your Heart.”

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Luther Dixon

Luther Dixon had written songs for The Platters, Perry Como and The Crests before he took an artist development position with Scepter Records. He wrote many hit songs at the legendary label including the 1962 No. 1 single “Soldier Boy”—the biggest hit for its top group The Shirelles. He wrote many other classics including The Shirelles’ “Mama Said” and “Boys” (The Beatles covered “Boys”), The Crests’ “Sixteen Candles” and Elvis Presley’s “Big Boss Man.”

Key songs in the Dixon catalog include “Big Boss Man,” “Boys,” “I Don’t Want To Cry,” “Sixteen Candles” and “Soldier Boy.”

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David Foster

To say that everything David Foster touches turns to gold—and usually platinum—would be an understatement.  This stunningly talented songwriter is a 15-time Grammy Award winner with an unprecedented 44 nominations, a recipient of 7 Juno Awards, an Emmy Award in 2004 and a three-time Oscar nominee, all over the course of four extraordinarily successful decades. His newest accolade was his induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2007.  He has worked with the biggest and best talents in the music industry, including Barbra Streisand, Josh Groban, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Buble, Madonna, N’Sync, The Corrs, Natalie Cole, and many more. The good news for the music industry and his followers is that he’s just getting started. 

Key songs in the Foster catalog include “After The Love Is Gone,” “I Have Nothing,” “Look What You’ve Done To Me,” “The Prayer” and “You’re The Inspiration.”

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Mark James

Memphis singer Mark James’ recording of his composition “Suspicious Minds” found its way to producer Chips Momans, who brought it to Elvis Presley. It topped the charts in 1969 for Presley, who hit big again in 1973 with James’ “(You Were) Always On My Mind.” James also wrote B.J. Thomas’s 1968 hit “Hooked On A Feeling” and songs for numerous films including “Kramer vs. Kramer,” “Honeymoon In Vegas” and “Reservoir Dogs.” He composed his first film score for the 2001 short film “Trade Day.”

Key songs in James’ catalog include “(You Were) Always On My Mind,” “Eyes Of A New York Woman,” “Hooked On A Feeling,” “Moody Blue” and “Suspicious Minds.”

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Robert John “Mutt” Lange

An immensely successful rock producer whose credits include Def Leppard, AC/DC, Foreigner, The Cars, Bryan Adams and Shania Twain, Robert John “Mutt” Lange has also enjoyed huge success as a songwriter. Among his major co-writes are “Photograph” and “Rock of Ages” for Def Leppard, and “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” for Bryan Adams. But he also broke ground in country music, producing Shania Twain’s record-setting 1997 album “Come On Over,” which he co-wrote entirely with Twain.

Key songs in the Lange catalog include “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car,” “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman,” “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You,” “Photograph” and “That Don’t Impress Me Much.”

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Jerry Ragovoy / Bert Berns (d)

As a songwriting team, Jerry Ragovoy and the late Bert Berns supplied such classic hits as “Cry Baby” and “Piece Of My Heart”—both of which were immortalized by Janis Joplin (“Cry Baby” had been a hit first for Garnet Mimms, while “Piece Of My Heart” was later countrified by Faith Hill). Both writers also had notable success separately: Ragovoy scored with “Time Is On My Side,” a hit for both Irma Thomas and The Rolling Stones, and Miriam Makeba’s “Pata Pata.” Berns had Them’s hit “Here Comes The Night,” and “Twist And Shout”—a hit for both The Isley Brothers and The Beatles.

Key songs in the Ragovoy and Berns catalogs include “Cry Baby,” “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love,” “Stay With Me,” “Piece Of My Heart” and “Time Is On My Side.”

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Harvey Schmidt & Tom Jones

Composer Harvey Schmidt and lyricist Tom Jones are responsible for “The Fantasticks”--the longest running musical in history. The show ran off-Broadway from 1960 through 2002, and featured the song “Try To Remember”—now a standard. Other Schmidt-Jones musical collaborations included “110 In The Shade,” “I Do! I Do!” (the show that yielded “My Cup Runneth Over,” later a big hit for Ed Ames) and “Celebration.” Additionally, Schmidt composed the music for the 1972 film “Bad Company.” Jones authored the acclaimed book “Making Musicals: An Informal Introduction to the World of Musical Theater.”

Key songs in the Schmidt-Jones catalog include “Much More,” “My Cup Runneth Over,” “Soon It’s Gonna Rain,” “They Were You” and “Try To Remember.”

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Get Out The Vote! And the Nominees are…

The nominees in both the non-performing and performing songwriter categories for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010 follow. Note that the five songs listed after the brief biographies of each nominee are merely a representative sample of their extensive catalogs. Please make sure to vote by the December 11th deadline—and congratulations to all the nominees!

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Get Out The Vote! And the Nominees are:

The nominees in both the non-performing and performing songwriter categories for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009 follow. Note that the five songs listed after the brief biographies of each nominee are merely a representative sample of their extensive catalogs. Please make sure to vote by the December 12th deadline— and congratulations to all the nominees!

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Stephen Schwartz

Composer Stephen Schwartz made his indelible musical mark in the theater and in film. After writing the title song for the play “Butterflies are Free” while still an a&r executive at RCA Records, he won two Grammy Awards for his contributions to the 1971 hit musical “Godspell,” then wrote lyrics for Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass.” Other theater successes included the Bob Fosse-directed “Pippin” and the music for Doug Henning’s “The Magic Show.” Favoring lyric-writing in the 1990s he co-wrote the Oscar-winning score for the animated feature “Pocahontas” and the theme for “Colors of the Wind,” which earned another Grammy and Oscar. Another Oscar came for the song “When You Believe” from the animated feature “The Prince of Egypt.” He also scored the award-winning 2003 Broadway musical “Wicked.”

Key songs in the Schwartz catalog include “Colors Of The Wind,” “Corner Of The Sky,” ”Day By Day,” “Just Around The Riverbend” and “Popular.”

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Joe South

Songwriter-producer-performer Joe South was an important session guitarist in the 1960s, his estimable credits including Bob Dylan’s “Blonde on Blonde” album. But he was also writing songs like Lynn Anderson’s Grammy-winning signature “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden” and Billy Joe Royal’s “Down in the Boondocks” and “Hush” (the latter also a later hit for Deep Purple).” His songwriting prowess paved the way for his own recording career, which was marked by such hits as “Games People Play” and “Don’t It Make You Want to Go Home.”

Key songs in the South catalog include “Down In The Boondocks,” “Games People Play,” “Hush,” “I Never Promised You A Rose Garden” and “Walk A Mile In My Shoes.”

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Galt MacDermot / James Rado / Gerome Ragni (d)

Galt McDermot, James Rado and the late Gerome Ragni wrote the groundbreaking rock musical “Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical,” which furnished such pop hits as “Hair” and “Good Morning Starshine.” Rado and Ragni, who were also actors, later collaborated on the Off-Broadway production “Jack Sound And His Dog Star Blowing His Final Trumpet On The Day Of Doom.” McDermot is also known for scoring productions including “Woman Is Sweeter” and “Rhinoceros” and compositions that have been sampled by hip-hop artists like Busta Rhymes.

Key songs in the McDermot/Rado/Ragni catalog include “Aquarius,” “Easy To Be Hard,” “Good Morning Starshine,” “Hair” and “Let The Sunshine In.”

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Irwin Levine (d) & L. Russell Brown

The team of the late Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown wrote some 40 songs, including “Tie a Yellow Ribbon,” a 1973 chart-topper for Tony Orlando and Dawn that was covered by Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. It took a life of its own following the American hostage crisis in Iran and has now been recorded over 2000 times. Levine and Brown also wrote other big hits for Orlando and Dawn, including “Knock Three Times” and “Candida,” while Brown also co-wrote hits for others like Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels’ “Sock it to Me, Baby!” and the Four Seasons’ “C,mon Marianne.”

Key songs in the Levine-Brown catalog include “Candida,” “I Woke Up in Love This Morning,” “Knock Three Times,” “Say Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose” and “Tie a Yellow Ribbon.”

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Sandy Linzer & Denny Randell

As a team, Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell wrote and produced the Toys classic “A Lover’s Concerto” and “Attack!,” and wrote many other pop-rock hits of the 1960s. For Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons they provided “Working My Way Back To You,” “Opus 17 (Don’t You Worry ‘Bout Me),” and (with Bob Crewe) “Let’s Hang On (To What We’ve Got).” The duo also wrote songs for The Monkees and had numerous credits with other writers outside their own partnership.

Key songs in the Linzer/Randell catalog include “Dawn,” “Let ‘s Hang On To What We’ve Got,” “Native New Yorker,” “Opus 17 (Don’t Worry ‘bout Me)” and “Workin’ My Way Back to You.”

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Robert John “Mutt” Lange

An immensely successful rock producer whose credits include Def Leppard, AC/DC, Foreigner, The Cars, Bryan Adams and Shania Twain, Robert John “Mutt” Lange has also enjoyed huge success as a songwriter. Among his major co-writes are “Photograph” and “Rock of Ages” for Def Leppard, and “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” for Bryan Adams. But he also broke ground in country music, producing Shania Twain’s record-setting 1997 album “Come On Over,” which he co-wrote entirely with Twain.

Key songs in the Lange catalog include “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car,” “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman,” “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You,” “Photograph” and “That Don’t Impress Me Much.”

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Mark James

Singer/songwriter Mark James was convinced the recording of his composition “Suspicious Minds” was the song he had been looking for to pitch to Elvis Presley. It topped the charts in 1969 for Presley, who hit big again in 1973 with James’ “(You Were) Always On My Mind.” James also wrote B.J. Thomas’s 1968 hit “Hooked on a Feeling” and songs for numerous films including “Kramer vs. Kramer,” “Honeymoon in Vegas” and “Reservoir Dogs.” He composed his first film score for the 2001 short film “Trade Day.”

Key songs in the James catalog include “(You Were) Always On My Mind,” “Eyes Of A New York Woman,” “Hooked On A Feeling,” “Moody Blue” and “Suspicious Minds.”

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Ivy George Hunter / Mickey Stevenson

Detroit songwriter/producer/singer George Ivy Hunter (who was best known as Ivy Jo Hunter) teamed with Motown a&r director William “Mickey” Stevenson in co-writing some of the greatest songs to come out of the Motown hit factory. Among their most memorable compositions were Martha & the Vandellas’ “Dancing in the Street” and the Four Tops’ “Ask the Lonely.” Hunter and Stevenson also found songwriting success independent of each other, with Hunter contributing to Francis Nero’s “Footsteps Keep Following Me” and Stevenson co-writing Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels’ “Devil with the Blue Dress On.”

Key songs in the Hunter-Stevenson catalog include “Ask the Lonely,” “Beechwood 4-5789,” “Dancing in the Street,” “Danger- Heartbreak Dead Ahead” and “Wild One.”

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Robert Hunter / Jerry Garcia (d) (Grateful Dead)

Robert Hunter is a hero to legions of Grateful Dead fans. He played in a bluegrass band with Jerry Garcia before being enlisted to supply lyrics for such classic Dead songs as “China Cat Sunflower,” “Dark Star” and “Truckin’”—from which came the immortal line “What a long, strange trip it’s been.” While most of his songs were collaborations with Garcia, he also co-wrote with the band’s Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan. He has recorded several solo albums as well for the Dead’s label.

Key songs in the Hunter-Garcia catalog include “Casey Jones,” “Ripple,” “Touch Of Grey,” “Truckin’” and “Uncle John’s Band.”

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Tony Hatch

English songwriter/ pianist/ arranger/ producer Tony Hatch wrote Garry Mills’ 1960 U.K. and U.S. hit “Look for a Star,” then went on to produce and write for numerous hit artists on both sides of the Atlantic including Bobby Rydell (“Forget Him”) and the Searchers (“Sugar and Spice”). Most significant was his producer/songwriter relationship with Petula Clark, which yielded such classic British Invasion pop hits as “Downtown” and “I Know a Place.” He wrote more songs with his then wife Jackie Trent (as a performing act they were called “Mr. & Mrs. Music”) and also excelled in composing TV themes, most notably the Australian soap opera “Neighbours.”

Key songs in the Hatch catalog include “Downtown,” “Don’t Sleep In The Subway,” “I Know A Place,” “My Love” and “Sugar and Spice.”

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Roger Cook / Roger Greenaway

Teaming for the first time in English harmony group The Kestrels, Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway began writing songs, scoring with “You’ve Got Your Troubles” for The Fortunes in 1965. They went on to become one of the top songwriting teams of the 1960s and ‘70s, thanks to hits like the Hollies “Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress,” White Plains’ “My Baby Loves Lovin’,” the New Seekers’ “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing” and The Fortunes’ “Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again.” After their split in 1975, Cook wrote country hits like Crystal Gayle’s “Talking In Your Sleep” and Don Williams “I Believe In You” and became the first Englishman inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Greenaway took on administrative roles including chairman of the Performing Right Society.

Key songs in the Cook/Greenaway catalog include “Doctor’s Orders,” “Green Grass,” “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing,” “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” and “You’ve Got Your Troubles.”

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Tommy Boyce (d) / Bobby Hart

The songwriting team of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart were responsible for such classic hits by the Monkees as their TV theme song “Hey, Hey We’re the Monkees,” “Last Train to Clarksville” and “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone,” which was also a hit for Paul Revere and the Raiders. The duo’s first hit came in 1964 when Jay and the Americans reached No. 3 with “Come a Little Bit Closer.” Boyce & Hart eventually signed with A&M Records, where they recorded such hits as “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight” and “Alice Long (You’re Still My Favorite Girlfriend)” and toured with the Monkees.

Key songs in the Boyce & Hart catalog include “ “Come A Little Bit Closer,” “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone,” “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight,” “Last Train To Clarksville” and “Valleri.”

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Bob Seger

Detroit singer-songwriter Bob Seger is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee thanks to 1970s album rock-era favorites like “Night Moves” and “Old Time Rock & Roll” (a “Songs of the Century” designee). His 1986 hit “Like a Rock” became monumental when it was the centerpiece of a Chevy truck commercial for over a decade. The “heartlands rock” pioneer also co-wrote the Eagles chart-topping “Heartache Tonight.”

Key songs in the Seger catalog include “Like a Rock,” “Night Moves,” “Rock & Roll Never Forgets,” “Still the Same” and “We’ve Got Tonight.”

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Leon Russell

A versatile musician whose session credits ranged from Herb Alpert to Phil Spector, Oklahoma native Leon Russell also had wide-ranging success as a songwriter. His stint as music director for Joe Cocker resulted in his initial songwriting success—Cocker’s 1969 hit “Delta Lady.” He scored his own hit in 1972 with “Tightrope,” and also wrote “Superstar,” which became a big hit for both the Carpenters and Luther Vandross.

Key songs in the Russell catalog include “A Song for You,” “Delta Lady,” “Superstar,” “This Masquerade” and “Tightrope.”

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Steve Miller

Schooled in guitar by his father’s friend Les Paul, Steve Miller picked up heavy blues influences from the likes of T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy, eventually forming his own Steve Miller Blues Band—at one time including pal Boz Scaggs. After removing “Blues” from the band’s name, he became an album rock-era figurehead before breaking through to pop with the chart-topping title track of his 1973 album “The Joker.” “Rock ‘n Me” and “Abracadabra” likewise went to No. 1.

Key songs in the Miller catalog include “Abracadabra, “Fly Like an Eagle,” “Living in the USA, “Take the Money and Run” and “The Joker.”

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Tommy James

With his backing band the Shondells, Tommy James created truly classic pop-rock hits in the late 1960s. “I Think We’re Alone Now,” which broke Top 40 radio ground for its suggestive lyrics, and psychedelic masterpiece “Crimson & Clover” would be hits again much later via respective covers from Tiffany and Joan Jett. James’ 1968 album titletrack “Mony, Mony,” meanwhile, later became a signature song for Billy Idol.

Key songs in the James catalog include “Crimson And Clover,” “Crystal Blue Persuasion,” “Draggin’ The Line, “I Think We’re Alone Now” and “Mony, Mony.”

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John Mellencamp

Finding fame first as rocker Johnny Cougar, John Mellencamp gradually reclaimed his real name while staking out his own singular rock sound. Indeed, songs like “Small Town” and “Cherry Bomb” embodied the genre of music now known as roots rock, or Americana. Together with massive Top 40 hits like “Hurt So Good” and “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,” they propelled Mellencamp into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—one of many honors bestowed on him during his venerable career.

Key songs in the Mellencamp catalog include “Jack and Diane,” “Lonely Ol’ Night,” “Pink Houses,” “Small Town” and “The Authority Song.”

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Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens)

Born Steven Demetre Georgiou and now known as Yusuf Islam following his conversion to Islam, Cat Stevens was one of the most successful singer-songwriters of the 1970s. After securing a U.K. deal with his song “I Love My Dog”—which eventually charted there in 1966—he wrote “Here Comes My Baby,” a hit for the Tremeloes in both the U.K. and U.S. P.P. Arnold’s 1967 British hit of Stevens’”The First Cut Is the Deepest” would later be a U.S. hit for both Rod Stewart and Sheryl Crow; meanwhile, Stevens became a major star on both sides of the Atlantic with his version of “Wild World,” which was a previous hit for Jimmy Cliff in England, and such follow-up hits as “Moon Shadow” and “Peace Train” and “Morning has Broken.”

Key songs in the Islam catalog include “Moonshadow,” “Morning Has Broken,” “Peace Train,” “The First Cut Is The Deepest” and “Wild World.”

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David Gates (Bread)

Keyboardist/vocalist David Gates founded the hugely successful soft-rock group Bread in 1968 as a vehicle for singing his own songs. He wrote most of their trademark hits including “Make It With You,” “Baby I’m-a Want You” and “Everything I Own.” His songs have been covered extensively by others and also include the Murmaids’ 1963 Top 10 entry “Popsicles and Icicles.”

Key songs in the Gates catalog include “Baby I’m-a Want You,” “Diary,” “Everything I Own,” “If” and “Make It With You.”

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Ray Davies (The Kinks)

Ray Davies is the lead singer and chief songwriter for the Kinks, with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones one of the seminal bands of the 1960s British rock invasion. He authored widely-ranging rock song classics like “You Really Got Me” and “Lola” in a historic career commemorated in 1990 by the group’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Davies has also written and performed as a solo artist, mixing Kinks material with his own along with stories from his written works in a “Storyteller” format.

Key songs in the Davies catalog include “Come Dancing,” “Lola,” “Tired of Waiting,” “Well-Respected Man” and “You Really Got Me.”

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David Crosby / Stephen Stills / Graham Nash (Crosby, Stills and Nash)

The Byrds’ David Crosby, Buffalo Springfield’s Stephen Stills and the Hollies’ Graham Nash joined forces as rock’s most important vocal supergroup in 1968. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame trio (intermittently a quartet with the addition of Still’s Buffalo Springfield bandmate Neil Young) brought a focus on complicated harmonies—sometimes in such complex song structures as “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”—and the flair for melodic pop songwriting from their past groups. Their popularity, like their music, has endured to this day, even as Crosby, Stills and Nash have simultaneously maintained successful solo careers.

Key songs in the David Crosby-Stephen Stills-Graham Nash catalog include “Guinnevere,” “Love The One You’re With,” “Our House,” “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” and “Teach Your Children.”

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Felix Cavaliere / Eddie Brigati

Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati shared both lead vocal and songwriting duties for the 1960s hitmakers the Rascals. Because of the duo’s latter responsibilities, their group scored such classic chart entries as “How Can I Be Sure,” “Groovin’” and “People Got to Be Free.” These hits were marked by such a distinctive mix of r&b and rock, romance and social consciousness, that in 1997 the Rascals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Key songs in the Cavaliere/Brigati catalog include “Beautiful Morning,” “Groovin’,” “How Can I Be Sure,” “I’ve Been Lonely Too Long” and “People Got To Be Free.”

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Jimmy Buffett

Jimmy Buffett has carved out a unique niche as a singer-songwriter thanks to hits like “Margaritaville,” the 1977 hit that is his signature. The easy-going, laidback tune exemplified a sunny Gulf Coast style that has enamored him to millions of “Parrotheads”—the collective name of his devoted fan base. They turn out ecstatically at concert performances that feature famed parrothead classics also including “Why Don’t We Get Drunk” and “A Pirate Looks at Forty.”

Key songs in the Buffett catalog include “Cheeseburger In Paradise,” “Come Monday,” “Havana Daydreamin’,” “Margaritaville” and “Son Of A Sailor.”

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Benny Andersson/ Stig Anderson(d)/ Björn Ulvaeus (Abba)

Sweden’s international pop phenomenon ABBA took its name from the first-name initials of its four vocalists, two of whom- Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus- collaborated in songwriting along with music publisher Stig Anderson. ABBA (which also included Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad) scored huge hits like “Waterloo” and “Dancing Queen” in the 1970s and early ‘80s before disbanding in 1982. But their body of work has only gained in stature, as evidenced by the huge success of jukebox musical “Mama Mia!,” which used ABBA’s music and originally premiered in London in 1999 before transferring to film in 2008.

Key songs in the Andersson-Ulvaeus-Anderson catalog include “Dancing Queen,” “Fernando,” “Name of the Game,” “Take a Chance on Me” and “Waterloo.”

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Steve Winwood

Only 15 when he joined England’s Spencer Davis Group, Steve Winwood co-wrote and sang on that 1960s band’s hits “Gimme Some Lovin’” and “I’m A Man.” But he left shortly thereafter to form the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group Traffic, then joined Eric Clapton in the short-lived supergroup Blind Faith—for which he wrote “Can’t Find My Way Home.” After reuniting with Traffic, he went solo and delivered such huge hits as the chart-topping compositions “Higher Love” and “Roll With It.”

Key songs in the Winwood catalog include “While You See A Chance,” “Gimme Some Lovin’,” “Back In The High Life Again,” “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” “Can’t Find My Way Home,” “Higher Love” and “Finer Things.”

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