Alanis Morissette, Bryan Adams nominated for 2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Associated Press | Posted: November 13, 2024 4:20 PM | Last Updated: November 13
Eminem, Boy George, Janet Jackson and more are also among the nominees
Eminem, Boy George, Sheryl Crow, George Clinton, Janet Jackson, the Doobie Brothers, N.W.A. and Alanis Morissette are among the nominees for the 2025 class at the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Joining the group of rap, rock, hip-hop and pop pioneers on the ballot are Bryan Adams, with radio staples including "Summer of '69" and "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" and Mike Love of the Beach Boys, who is hoping to get in 25 years after band founder Brian Wilson. David Gates, co-lead singer of the pop group Bread, is also looking for entry.
WATCH | The official music video for 'Summer of '69':
The Songwriters Hall of Fame annually inducts performers and non-performers alike, and the latter category this year includes: Walter Afanasieff, who helped Mariah Carey with her smash "All I Want for Christmas Is You;" Mike Chapman, who co-wrote Pat Benatar's "Love Is a Battlefield;" and Narada Michael Walden, the architect of Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know" and Aretha Franklin's "Freeway of Love."
Eligible voting members have until Dec. 22 to turn in ballots with their choices of three nominees from the songwriter category and three from the performing songwriter category. The Associated Press got an early copy of the list.
Several performers are getting another shot at entry, including Clinton, whose Parliament-Funkadelic collective was hugely influential with hits like "Atomic Dog" and "Give Up the Funk," and the Doobie Brothers — Tom Johnston, Patrick Simmons and Michael McDonald — with such classics as "Listen to the Music" and "Long Train Runnin."' Steve Winwood, whose hits include "Higher Love" and "Roll With It," has also been on the ballot before.
WATCH | The official music video for 'Higher Love':
Hip-hop this year is represented by Eminem — whose hits include "Lose Yourself" and "Stan" — and N.W.A. members Dr. Dre, Eazy E, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella. Already in the Hall are hip-hop stars Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg and Missy Elliott. Tommy James, with hits including "Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover" and "I Think We're Alone Now," has also earned a nod.
If Jackson gets into the Hall, it will be more than two decades after her late brother Michael. If Morissette gets inducted, it would add to the list of accolades her influential 1995 album, Jagged Little Pill has won, including Grammys, Tonys, Junos and MTV awards. (Glen Ballard, who helped produce and write the album, is already in.)
WATCH | The official music video for 'You Oughta Know':
As for Crow, the "All I Wanna Do" and "Everyday Is a Winding Road" singer-songwriter is having a critical resurgence after being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023. Boy George lifts the flag for '80s new wave with the Culture Club hits "Karma Chameleon" and "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me."
Other nominees for the non-performing category include: Franne Golde, who co-wrote Selena's "Dreaming of You;″ Tom Douglas, who wrote country hits for Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum and Miranda Lambert; Ashley Gorley, fresh off his co-writing smash "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen; and Roger Nichols, who co-wrote the Carpenters' ″We've Only Just Begun.″
They join Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, who contributed to the hit ″The Boy Is Mine″ by Brandy and Monica, Sonny Curtis, former member of the Crickets who wrote and performed the theme song for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, "Love Is All Around," and British composer Tony Macaulay, who wrote "Build Me Up Buttercup."
WATCH | The official music video for 'The Boy Is Mine':
The Hall also put forward three songwriting teams: Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan, who wrote "Secret Agent Man;" Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, who penned the Four Tops hit "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got);" and Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham, who wrote the Percy Sledge tune "Out of Left Field."
The Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1969. A songwriter with a notable catalogue of songs qualifies for induction 20 years after the first commercial release of a song, and some already in the hall include 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 Diamond and Phil Collins. Last year saw R.E.M., Steely Dan, Dean Pitchford, Hillary Lindsey and Timbaland inducted.