REM, Dean Pitchford and Steely Dan are some of the artists who, starting in 2024, will be part of the exclusive Songwriters Hall of Fame. They aren’t the only ones. Artists like the legend of hip-hop and R&B Timbaland and the composer Hillary Lindsey will also join this select group in a ceremony that, as announced by the Hall's Chairman Nile Rodgers, will take place on June 13 at the Marriott Marquis hotel in New York.
Timbaland wrote songs for Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake and Aaliyah. Hillary Lindsey composed songs like "Jesus Take The Wheel" and "Million Reasons.” Dean Pitchford wrote hits like "Footloose," "Fame" and "Let's Hear It for the Boy."
"The music industry does not exist without songwriters delivering great songs first"
All of them, Nile Rodgers said in a statement, are representatives of different cultures, which shows that the Songwriters Hall of Fame does not only recognize the greatest hits, but also "diversity and unity across genres, ethnicity and genres":
I’ve said it before, but the music industry does not exist without songwriters delivering great songs first. Without them there is no recorded music, no concert business, no merch . . . nothing, it all starts with the song and the songwriter. We are therefore very proud that we are continually recognizing some of the culturally most important songwriters of all time and that the 2024 slate represents not just iconic songs but also diversity and unity across genres, ethnicity and gender, songwriters who have enriched our lives and literally enriched music and the lives of billions of listeners all over the world.
The ceremony, which will take place on June 13, is one of the best kept secrets in the music industry. According to Variety, the ceremony is not broadcast live and can only be attended by direct invitation.
Furthermore, the performances are not announced prior to the ceremony. They take place in the presence of big stars and other important people in the music industry. In 2023, for example, there were performances by Jeff Lynne (ELO), Post Malone, Gloria Estefan, Keith Sweat (in tribute to Teddy Rilley) and Heather Headley (in memory of Tim Rice), among many others.
