Friday, January 24, 2025

The Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductees, 1969-2025

Songwriters Hall of Fame:

1969-2025

Songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond established the Hall in 1969. As the website says, “To be nominated for induction…a songwriter must have been active for a minimum of 20 years and have written an extensive catalogue of hit songs. Once candidates are determined, ballots are sent to the members of the National Academy of Popular Music, which comprises songwriters and other music industry professionals.”

There were no awards given in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Hall has also given out special awards (noted in listing below by two-letter code after award name), including:

  • Johnny Mercer Award (JM) 1980-2022. Given to previous inductees (with the exception of Frank Sinatra) who have been determined by the nominating committee to have “established a history of outstanding creative works.” Personally, this seems like an unnecessary award designed to create double inductees. Noted in list below as JM.

  • Sammy Cahn Award (SC). 1980-2012. Given “to individuals or teams who are recognized as having done a great deal to further the successes of songwriters.”

  • Howie Richmond Hitmaker Award (HR). 1981-2018. Acknowledges “artists or ‘star makers’ in the music industry who have been responsible for a substantial number of hit songs for an extended period of time.”

  • Hal David Starlight Award (HD). 2004-2023. Honors “gifted songwriters who are at an apex in their careers and are making a significant impact in the music industry via their original songs.”

  • Pioneer Award (PA). 2012-2013. Established to “recognize the career of a historic creator of an extensive body of musical work that has been a major influence on generations of songwriters.”

  • Contemporary Icon Award (CI). 2015-2019. Established “to celebrate a songwriter-artist who has attained an iconic status in pop culture.”

Here are the inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (and recipients of special awards – noted by two-letter codes). Note: click on the name to see the act’s bio in Dave’s Music Database Music Maker Encyclopedia. Click on “bio” to see the act’s bio at the Songwriters Hall of Fame website.

Click here to see a list of recipients of special awards who have not been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

See other Hall of Fames.

SONGWRITER HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P-Q

R

S

T

U-V

W

X-Y-Z



Non-Inductee, Special Award Recipients
These are recipients of special awards (noted by two-letter codes – key at top of page) who have not been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame:

Resources/Related Links:

Last updated 1/24/2025.
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Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Today in Music (1965): The Rolling Stones No. 2 released

No. 2/Now!

The Rolling Stones

Released: 1/15/1965 (#2); 2/2/1965 (Now!)

Peak: 5 US, 110 UK, -- CN, 2 AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): 0.7 US, -- UK, 2.05 world (includes US and UK), 3.05 EAS

Genre: classic rock

Tracks (No. 2):

Click on a song title for more details.
  1. Everybody Needs Somebody to Love [3:00]
  2. Down Home Girl [4:13]
  3. You Can’t Catch Me [3:40]
  4. Time Is on My Side [2:50]
  5. What a Shame [3:06]
  6. Grown Up Wrong [2:04]
  7. Down the Road a Piece [2:56]
  8. Under the Boardwalk [2:45]
  9. I Can’t Be Satisfied [3:26]
  10. Pain in My Heart [2:12]
  11. Off the Hook [2:35]
  12. Susie Q [1:59]

Total Running Time: 36:58

Tracks (Now!):

Click on a song title for more details.
  1. Everybody Needs Somebody to Love [3:00]
  2. Down Home Girl [4:13]
  3. You Can’t Catch Me [3:40]
  4. Heart of Stone [2:49]
  5. What a Shame [3:06]
  6. Mona (I Need You Baby) [3:33]
  7. Down the Road a Piece [2:56]
  8. Off the Hook [2:35]
  9. Pain in My Heart [2:12]
  10. Oh Baby (We Got a Good Thing Goin’) [2:09]
  11. Little Red Rooster [3:06]
  12. Surprise, Surprise [2:31]

Total Running Time: 35:58

The Players:

  • Mick Jagger (vocals, tambourine, harmonica)
  • Keith Richards (guitar, backing vocals)
  • Brian Jones (guitar, backing vocals, harmonica, tambourine, maracas)
  • Bill Wyman (bass, backing vocals)
  • Charlie Watts (drums)
  • Ian Stewart (keyboards)

Rating (No. 2/Now!):

3.940 out of 5.00 (average of 27 ratings)

Awards (No. 2/Now!):

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Album

The U.S.-only album Now! pulls seven songs from The U.K. album (No. 2 (songs noted above). "Mona" was first released on the U.K. album The Rolling Stones while “Heart of Stone” and “Little Red Rooster” were originally released only as singles in the U.K.

At the onset of 1965, the Rolling Stones released their sophomore U.K. effort, an album simply called No. 2. “Recorded sporadically in the UK and US during 1964,” WK-2 the album “followed its predecessor's tendency to largely feature R&B covers…[but also added] compositions from the still-developing Mick Jagger/Keith Richard songwriting team.” WK-2 “While Eric Easton was co-credited as producer alongside Andrew Loog Oldham on The Rolling Stones' debut album, Oldham takes full production duties for …No. 2.” WK-2

“In the usual British Invasion tradition,” RU American albums were “patched together from a variety of sources.” RU The result is that Now! is the Stones’ “best early R&B-oriented effort. Most of the Stones' early albums suffer from three or four very weak cuts; Now! is almost uniformly strong start-to-finish.” RU

While four of the songs on No. 2 first saw release on the U.S.-only 12 x 5, seven of the songs from No. 2 show up on Now!, “the third US album…released…by their initial American distributor, London Records.” WK-N No. 2’s only remaining cut, the Stones’ “version of Muddy Waters' ‘I Can't Be Satisfied,’ which…features some killer slide playing by Brian Jones,” BE “wasn't released in America until 1973.” BE

The No. 2 cuts that show up on Now! are “all solid numbers.” BE Among the carry-overs are “covers of Down Home Girl [and] Otis Redding's Pain in My Heart.” RU

Sitting alongside those songs are “Barbara Lynn's Oh Baby” RU and “Bo Diddley's vibrating Mona,” RU which originally appeared on the UK album The Rolling Stones, but had been replaced by the single ‘Not Fade Away’ on the US counterpart England's Newest Hit Makers. They “are all among the group's best R&B interpretations” (Unterbeger).

“The best gem is Little Red Rooster, a pure blues with wonderful slide guitar from Brian Jones (and a #1 single in Britain, although it was only an album track in the U.S.).” RU

Also of note was the song "Surprise, Surprise [which] would not officially appear in the UK for several years.” WK-N

“Four of the songs on…Now! were penned by the songwriting team of Mick Jagger and Keith Richard (who dropped the "s" from his surname until 1978).” WK-N “As songwriters, [they] are still struggling, but they come up with one of their first winners (and an American Top 20 hit) with the yearning, soulful Heart of Stone.” RU

“Due to the preference towards the American albums, ABKCO Records has overlooked both The Rolling Stones and…No. 2 for CD release in 1986 and during its remastering series in 2002. Consequently, the album has been out of print for many years.” WK-2

The Songs

Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Everybody Needs Somebody to Love

The Rolling Stones

Writer(s): Bert Berns, Solomon Burke, Jerry Wexler

Released: No. 2 (1965), Now! (1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

About the Song:

A

Down Home Girl

The Rolling Stones

Writer(s): Jerry Leiber, Artie Butler

Released: No. 2 (1965), Now! (1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

About the Song:

A

You Can’t Catch Me

The Rolling Stones

Writer(s): Chuck Berry

Released: No. 2 (1965), Now! (1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

About the Song:

A

Heart of Stone

The Rolling Stones

Writer(s): Mick Jagger, Keith Richards

Released: 12/19/1964 (US single), Now! (1965)

Peak: 19 BB Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

About the Song:

A

What a Shame

The Rolling Stones

Writer(s): Mick Jagger, Keith Richards

Released: 12/19/1964 (B-side of “Heart of Stone”), No. 2 (1965), Now! (1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

About the Song:

A

Down the Road Apiece

The Rolling Stones

Writer(s): Don Raye

Released: No. 2 (1965), Now! (1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

About the Song:

A

I Can’t Be Satisfied

The Rolling Stones

Writer(s): Muddy Waters

Released: No. 2 (1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

About the Song:

A

Pain in My Heart

The Rolling Stones

Writer(s): Allen Toussaint

Released: No. 2 (1965), Now! (1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

About the Song:

A

Off the Hook

The Rolling Stones

Writer(s): Mick Jagger, Keith Richards

Released: 11/13/1964 (B-side of “Little Red Rooster”), No. 2 (1965), Now! (1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

About the Song:

A

Oh Baby (We Got a Good Thing Goin’)

The Rolling Stones

Writer(s): Barbara Lynn Ozen

Released: Now! (1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

About the Song:

A

Little Red Rooster

The Rolling Stones

Writer(s): ?

Released: 11/13/1964 (UK single), Now! (1965)

Peak: 1 UK Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

About the Song:

A

Surprise, Surprise

The Rolling Stones

Writer(s): Mick Jagger, Keith Richards

Released: Now! (1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

About the Song:

A

Resources/References:

Related DMDB Pages:

First posted 11/30/2009; last updated 12/10/2025.

   
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