Lionel Richie Grabs Songwriters Hall Of Fame Honor
April 11, 2017
Lionel Richie will once again be in the spotlight at this year’s Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards.
It’s been announced that Richie, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall in 1994, will receive the organization’s highest honor: the Johnny Mercer Award, reserved for artists whose work “upholds the gold standard” established by American songbook icon Mercer. Previous recipients include Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Carole King, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Stephen Sondheim, Cy Coleman and teams such as Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Hal David and Burt Bacharach and Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.
Gamble and Huff, who are in their inaugural year as co-chairmen of the Songwriters Hall, said in a statement, “Lionel’s songs made you love and dance and will last forever in American culture; but he truly demonstrated the power of songwriting with his masterful co-writing of the global song We Are The World with Michael Jackson.”
This year’s previous announced inductees include Elvis Costello, Marvin Gaye, Tom Petty, Nile Rodgers and bernard Edwards, and Chip Taylor. (Gaye and Edwards are being inducted posthumously.) The induction and awards dinner will take place at New York’s Marriott Marquis Hotel on June 9.