REM reunites at Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony

NEW YORK — A comet must have touched down at the 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The members of REM had joked just a few hours earlier it would take “a comet” for the band to perform together for the last time. Yet there they were, gathered during the gala at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on Thursday night.

The annual event celebrated a talented group of songwriters that included REM, Steely Dan and Timbaland, who performed a medley of their greatest hits.

REM Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe were behind several alternative rock hits, such as “Everybody Hurts” and “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”. On Thursday, they surprised the audience with the undisputed highlight of the night: reuniting for an acoustic version of “Losing My Religion.”

“We are REM,” Stipe said. “And that’s what we did.”

Stipe highlighted their strength as a group and their early efforts to own their master recordings and share songwriting credits equally. “There are a lot of people who believed in us,” he said.

Jason Isbell covered the group’s hit, “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Good).” Then he joked: “I’ve never said so many words so quickly in my entire life.”

Nashville hitmaker Hillary Lindsey, who helped write “Girl Crush” for Little Big Town and “Jesus, Take the Wheel” for Carrie Underwood, was inducted along with Dean Pitchford, who helped Kenny Loggins with the megahit “Footloose” and co-wrote “Fame” and “Waiting for a Hero”.

The Bacon Brothers, the folk-rock acting duo Kevin Bacon and Michael Bacon introduced Pitchford with a rambunctious version of “Footloose,” tambourine and all. Denise Williams kicked off her shoes to dance as she sang her Pitchford-penned hit “Let’s Hear It For the Boy.”

“It’s been 40 years, if you can believe it,” Pitchford said. “I am deeply grateful… Most of all, thank you for listening.” He then sang his composition, “Once Before I Go.”

Irving Azoff led the celebration of Steely Dan, telling a story about the legendary band uploading a bright, white image as promotional art.

“To say they had a great sense of humor would be an understatement,” he said.

Co-founded by Donald Fagan and the late Walter Becker, Steely Dan is known for its classic rock songs, including “Do It Again” and “Hey Nineteen.”

“I would like to thank my partner Walter Becker wherever he is,” Fagan said in his acceptance speech.

Phishing frontman Trey Anastácio covered Steely Dan’s “Kid Charlemagne” on “Reelin’ in the Years.” His “true genius” is his music, Anastasio said.

Nile Rodgers presented SZA with the Hal David Starlight Award for “talented young songwriters who are making a significant impact on the music industry.”

“There would be no music industry if there were no songs,” Rodgers told the artists and industry professionals in attendance. “It all starts with a song.”

Rodgers received thunderous applause when he deflected the prompt to comment, “Spotify, we need you to make songwriters your priority.”

“It means a lot to me,” SZA said in front of the crowd that included his parents. “I have difficulty with the artist thing. But writing is where I felt like a person, that I had value… I was beyond, I was beautiful, I was appreciated.”

Receiving the award “validates my entire career,” she said before leading the crowd in a stripped-down version of her hit, “Nobody Gets Me.”

Carrie Underwood paid homage to Lindsey, one of her longtime songwriters who she called “the queen of modern Nashville songwriters,” before jumping into a full-band version of the tearjerker “Jesus, Take the Wheel.”

Lindsey joked that the first song she wrote “was probably about poop and boogers and stuff like that,” later describing a childhood spent singing into anything in the house, including “my mom’s tampons.”

“Country, come to town, guys,” she said, before playing a short medley of songs she co-wrote, including Lady Gaga ‘Million Reasons’ and a duet with Keith Urban on his ‘Blue Ain’t Your Color’.

Missy Elliott screamed late rapper Magoo for introducing her to Timbalândia in a pithy introduction to his longtime writing and producing partner, noting that he had “a gift.”

“Timbaland literally changed the cadence of the era, because he also treated hip hop records like R&B records,” she said. “He would take the choruses and give them a different sound.”

Timbaland told the audience that the songwriting recognition was the best award he could receive.

“I don’t really talk much. I just speak with my music,” she said, focusing her speech on her collaborators and her family, including her grandmother, who allowed her to work in her house to write “One in a Million” for the late singer. Aaliyah.

“I want to thank you girl, rest in peace, I hope you’re watching,” he said.

He led a group of musicians in a medley of some of his most recognized songs, including Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody,” Ginuwine’s “Pony,” Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack” and “Suit & Tie”, “Get Ur Freak On” by Elliott, “Drunk in Love” by Beyoncé and “Promiscuous” by Nelly Furtado.

Paul Williams presented Diane Warren with the Johnny Mercer Award, the highest honor given by the event, joking that artificial intelligence “cares about Diane Warren”. Andra Day sang “Stand Up for Something,” written by Warren, who was previously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001.

“I have to thank my mom for being the first person I had to prove wrong,” Warren said. “Writing songs isn’t something I do, it’s who I am.”

The night ended with a performance marking the 40th anniversary of another song written by Warren: DeBarge’s “Rhythm of the Night.”

Ahead of Thursday’s festivities, country star Cindy Walker was inaugurated posthumously in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Walker has written songs performed by some of the biggest names in country music history and beyond, including Johnny CashMerle Haggard, BB King, CherGlen Campbell, Gene Autry, Bing Crosby and Roy Orbison.

The Songwriters Hall of Fame was created in 1969 to honor those who create popular music. A songwriter with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for induction 20 years after a song’s first commercial release. Some already present include Gloria Estefan, Carole King, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Brian Wilson, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Lionel Richie, Bill Withers, Neil Diamante and Phil Collins.