NEW YORK -- After a glittering career stuffed with No. 1 hits 鈥 not to mention a two-year pandemic delay 鈥 Mariah Carey was finally inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on Thursday, but not before challenging her new fellow members to do better by women.
"I read that out of the 439 total inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, only 32 have been women, until now," she said Thursday at the end of a four-hour celebration at the Marriott Marquis in New York. The line got a huge applause.
Carey was the headliner, following the inductions of the weirdly cool producers the Neptunes, the British electro-pop band Eurythmics, psychedelic bluesman Steve Miller and the iconic Isley Brothers. Special guests included Smokey Robinson, Leslie Odom Jr. Questlove, Jon Batiste and Usher.
Songwriters are eligible for induction after writing hit songs for at least 20 years and the hall includes such iconic songwriters as Burt Bacharach, Missy Elliott, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Billy Joel and Carly Simon. New annual slates are voted on by the membership.
St. Vincent kicked off the night with a blistering cover of Eurythmics' 鈥淪weet Dreams (Are Made of This).鈥 She later came to the podium to recount the time she first caught a glimpse on MTV when a 鈥渂eautiful, orange-haired androgynous creature appeared wearing a suit and tie.鈥
That was Annie Lennox, who with Dave Stewart led the New Wave charge in the 1980s. 鈥淭hey were scary, they were sexy, they were smart and they were impossibly cool,鈥 St. Vincent said. The Eurythmics then reunited for a rendition of 鈥淗ere Comes the Rain Again.鈥 Lennox, looking out at the audience, said everyone had gone through so much during the past few years. 鈥淚 feel like it's a miracle that we're here tonight,鈥 she said.
Bryan Cranston introduced his friend Miller, who perfected a psychedelic blues sound with such hits as 鈥淭ake the Money and Run,鈥 鈥淎bracadabra,鈥 鈥淭he Joker,鈥 鈥淛et Airliner鈥 and 鈥淛ungle Love.鈥 Miller took to the stage for a spacy, effect-heavy version of his hit 鈥淔ly Like an Eagle.鈥 Cranston jokingly called Miller "the space cowboy himself."
Lil Nas X was honoured with the Hal David Starlight Award, which recognizes 鈥済ifted young songwriters who are making a significant impact in the music industry via their original songs.鈥 He took the award wearing a white tuxedo and a mob of frizzy blond hair, tweaking the usual acceptance speech: 鈥淭hank you to my imaginary husband and kids,鈥 he said.
Representing the Isley Brothers, were Elaine Isley Goodstone, Ernie Isley and Ronald Isley. Ernie Isley reminded the guests that their early hit 鈥淪hout,鈥 was recorded 63 years ago and their music would go on for decades, prompting the Beatles to cover them. The two men then joined up for a medley of hits that included 鈥淭hat Lady," 鈥淚t鈥檚 Your Thing鈥 and 鈥淏etween the Sheets.鈥 Lil Nas X was one of the members of the audience on his feet bopping along.
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis introduced another songwriting duo 鈥 Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo who as the Neptunes shaped pop and urban radio from the 鈥90s well into the 2000s thanks to crafting hits for Britney Spears, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Usher and Beyoncé.
Williams tried to give advice to up-and-coming songwriters, warning them that the music industry was an often dangerous place. 鈥淟ife is like Legos. Songs, like life, are put together piece by piece,鈥 he said. 鈥淚f you build a really strong foundation, you won't fall.鈥
Questlove introduced Carey and regretted that all too often her songwriting chops were often overlooked. With 19 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, she is only behind the Beatles, and Questlove remined the crowd that she did it as a Black woman. 鈥淪uccess at this level, especially for Black artists, is a real obstacle course,鈥 he said.
Carey said a dysfunctional background prompted a dark vision of the world as a 6-year-old, so music and melodies and lyrics were her escape. She said she always has to remind people she's a songwriter first, but the diva label seems to stick more. She left the crowd revved up for a performance but other artists came onstage to sing a medley of her songs, including 鈥淔antasy,鈥 鈥淗ero,鈥 鈥淢ake It Happen鈥 and 鈥淲e Belong Together.鈥
Non-performing solo nominees this year were William 鈥淢ickey鈥 Stevenson, a producer during Motown's golden era, who was serenaded by Robinson, calling Stevenson 鈥渕y brother brother,鈥 and Rick Nowels, who co-wrote over 60 Top 20 singles worldwide, including Belinda Carlisle鈥檚 global hit 鈥淗eaven is a Place on Earth.鈥
Master songwriter Paul Williams received the Johnny Mercer Award, and Universal executive Jody Gerson received the Abe Olman Publisher Award.
