Tony Hatch, Mick Jones & Lou Gramm, Holly Knight, JD Souther, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry to be Inducted June 13th in NYC
New York, NY – February 22, 2013 – Musical titans Tony Hatch, Mick Jones & Lou Gramm, Holly Knight, JD Souther and Steven Tyler & Joe Perry will become the latest inductees of the Songwriters Hall of Fame at the organization’s 44th Annual Induction and Awards Dinner. These legendary songwriters wrote such mega-hits as “Downtown,” “I Want To Know What Love Is,” “Love Is A Battlefield,” “Best Of My Love” and “Dude (Looks Like A Lady).” The star-studded induction event is slated for Thursday, June 13th at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Additional special award honorees will be announced soon.
“Each of our 2013 inductees has been responsible for captivating the world with their creativity for decades, serving up a rich variety of songs for our global soundtrack,” said SHOF Chairman Jimmy Webb. “We are looking forward to celebrating their contributions at our Annual Awards Gala.”
Established in 1969, the Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) serves as a vital bridge between music’s past and future. In the Hall, musical pioneers are enshrined and celebrated, while the organization’s outreach to the music community grooms the next generation of troubadours.
Tony Hatch:
Multifaceted British songwriter, producer, arranger, conductor and pianist Tony Hatch is credited for his musical contributions both in the UK and US, with his international hit for Garry Mills in 1960; “Look For A Star.” The song launched Hatch’s career and provided him with a platform to write and produce for hit artists on both sides of the Atlantic, including Bobby Rydell with “Forget Him,” and The Searchers with “Sugar And Spice.” Hatch’s most significant relationship as a songwriter, arranger and producer was with Petula Clark, which yielded classic British Invasion pop hits including “Downtown,” “I Know A Place” and “My Love.” He had huge success with Chris Montez and “Call Me,” which launched the song as an album ‘must’ with covers later by legendary artists including Frank Sinatra, Nancy Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald, George Shearing, Astrud Gilberto and Eliane Elias. Hatch continued to write songs with his wife at the time, singer Jackie Trent, which included her #1 UK hit “Where Are You Now.“ The duo also wrote Clark’s “Don’t Sleep In The Subway,” “I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love,” “Colour My World,” and “Sign Of The Times” and “Joanna” for Scott Walker. Hatch has also composed TV theme songs; most notably for the Australian soap Neighbours and the UK soap Emmerdale, now in its 40th year.
Mick Jones & Lou Gramm:
Foreigner’s legendary songwriting partners, Mick Jones and Lou Gramm, have together propelled an arsenal of ten multi-platinum albums and multiple Top 30 hits. Universally hailed as one of the most popular rock acts in the world, the band is responsible for some of the greatest rock anthems of our time, including the worldwide #1 hit, “I Want To Know What Love Is,” which today remains as one of the 25 most performed songs in the ASCAP catalog. Other iconic songs include “Feels Like The First Time,” “Cold As Ice” and “Long, Long Way From Home” from their self-titled 1977 debut album. Major songs in the Jones and Gramm catalog include “Juke Box Hero,” “Hot Blooded” and “Waiting For A Girl Like You.” A multi-talented and multi-dimensional “musician’s musician,” Jones has also written songs such as “Bad Love” with Eric Clapton and “Dreamer” with Ozzy Osbourne, and produced records for others including Billy Joel’s Storm Front and Van Halen’s 5150. A Grammy® and Golden Globe-nominated songwriter, Jones is the winner of the prestigious British Ivor Novello songwriter award for the song “The Flame Still Burns,” from the soundtrack Still Crazy. In the late 80s, Gramm released two solo albums to critical and commercial acclaim entitled Ready or Not and Long Hard Look, respectively, which produced several Top 10 hit singles including, “Midnight Blue”, “Just Between You And Me” and the Top 40 hit “True Blue Love.” Gramm also contributed a song to the soundtrack for the 1987 movie The Lost Boys, titled “Lost In The Shadows.” In May 2013, Triumph Books will release Gramm’s biography, Juke Box Hero.
Holly Knight:
Holly Knight has had a wild 36-year ride in the music business that ignited when she met songwriter/producer Mike Chapman with her band Spider in 1981. They penned Spider’s single, “Better Be Good To Me,” which music icon Tina Turner recorded six months later on her 1984 album Private Dancer. Knight’s success continued when she wrote the chart-topping, “Love Is A Battlefield” and “Invincible” for Pat Benatar, “The Warrior” for Patty Smyth, “Change” for John Waite, “Baby Me” for Chaka Khan, “Never” for Heart and “Pleasure And Pain” for Divinyls. In total, Knight has written nine songs for Turner, including “The Best” and “Wildest Dreams,” both signature songs for the legend. She also wrote “Love Touch” for Rod Stewart, “Obsession” for Animotion, “Hide Your Heart” for KISS, “Rag Doll” with Aerosmith, “Space” for Cheap Trick and the list continues. Her songs have appeared in movies as varied as Thelma and Louise, Mad Max Beyond The Thunderdome, Stewart Little and Hot Tub Fantasy, and on TV shows such as American Idol, The Voice, 30 Rock, Family Guy, The Simpsons and South Park. Knight’s songwriting has earned her numerous awards including three Grammys® and thirteen ASCAP songwriter awards.
JD Souther:
An architect of the Southern California sound and an influence on modern songwriting, JD Souther has written and co-written many Eagles hits including “Heartache Tonight,” “Victim Of Love,” “New Kid In Town,” “Best Of My Love,” Don Henley’s “The Heart Of The Matter,” and the Eagles hit from 2007, “How Long.” Linda Ronstadt recorded ten of his songs, including “Faithless Love,” “Simple Man, Simple Dream,” and “Prisoner In Disguise.” His hit “You’re Only Lonely” reached the top ten followed by “Her Town, Too” with James Taylor. He has written with Warren Zevon, Paul Williams, Burt Bacharach, Brian Wilson, Arthur Hamilton, Roy Orbison, Will Jennings, and Jackson Browne. His songs appear on more than 150 million records worldwide including Hugh Masekela, Bonnie Raitt, Glen Campbell, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Najma Akhtar, George Strait, India Arie, Trisha Yearwood, and Bernadette Peters. Souther has released eight solo albums, including the 2011 collection Natural History, about which Jazz Times Magazine said, “Souther proves his work holds up as well as Dylan’s, Simon’s, or Lennon and McCartney’s.” In 2012 he was cast as a guest star on ABC’s Nashville. Souther has received Grammy® nominations, Academy of Country Music and American Music Awards, 21 ASCAP performance awards, and the prestigious ASCAP Golden Note Award in 2009. He is currently writing and recording and believes in “music without boundaries.”
Steven Tyler & Joe Perry:
As co-founding members of Aerosmith, America’s greatest Rock & Roll band, the songwriting team of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry have sold more than 150 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They are the recipients of countless awards including four Grammy’s®, eight American Music Awards, six Billboard Awards and 12 MTV Video Music Awards, among many other honors. With scores of multi-platinum albums, Aerosmith continues to inspire generations to get their wings, to get a grip and to just push play. Their songs remain relevant to this day and they are considered one of the most beloved bands of all time. Aerosmith’s 15th studio album released in 2012, Music From Another Dimension!, features songs penned by both Tyler and Perry, who also served as producers on the album. Tyler and Perry are the iconic songwriters of Aerosmith. Tyler is considered one of rock’s most recognizable and dynamic frontmen and Rolling Stone has called him “one of the greatest singers of all time.” As the electrifying lead guitarist of Aerosmith, Perry has achieved permanent iconic stature in the pantheon of rock, as he was immortalized in 2008 when Aerosmith made history and created a cultural firestorm when Activision released Guitar Hero®: Aerosmith®.
Ticket Information:
Tickets for the Songwriters Hall of Fame event begin at $1000 each, and are available through Buckley Hall Events, (212) 573-6933. Net proceeds from the event will go toward the Songwriters Hall of Fame programs.
CONTACT:
Fran Curtis
Rogers & Cowan
212-878-5002
[email protected]
Lauren Wilsman
Rogers & Cowan
212-878-5007
[email protected]