USA: WILLIE NELSON ,DOLLY PARTON, DIONNE WARWICK AND BILLY JOEL INTRODUCED INTO THE SONG WRITERS HALL OF FAME IN NEW YORK

Record ID: 391385

  • Title: USA: WILLIE NELSON ,DOLLY PARTON, DIONNE WARWICK AND BILLY JOEL INTRODUCED INTO THE SONG WRITERS HALL OF FAME IN NEW YORK
  • Date: 14th June 2001
  • Summary: VARIOUS, WHITNEY HOUSTON AND DIONNE WARWICK EMBRACE
  • Embargoed: 29th June 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA3522T20WC5POSQMR7GL4MBEDA
  • Story Text: The Song Writers' Hall of Fame Induction ceremony took place In New York City Thursday night featuring Billy Joel, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Dionne Warwick as the honorees.
    The National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame held there 32nd annual induction and awards dinner in New York on Thursday, June 14th. Singing greats such as honorees Billy Joel and Gloria Estefan got together with performer Marc Anthony before the rock studded affair. Deborah Cox, who sings the Pearl Harbor theme song "There You'll Be" was there to perform for song writer Diane Warren. Kermit the Frog of the American Children's program "Sesame Street" also was a presenter for song writer Paul Williams. It was a great night to see your favorite recording artist from the last 30 to 40 years.
    The first to inducted this evening was music icon Willie Nelson, the song writer singer who helped shape country music.
    He is best know for the hits "on the Road Again," and "mama's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys."
    Nelson was proud of the company he joined tonight. " Well it is a great honor to be recognized by all of your piers and writers that you admire their work a whole lot and to know they think you should be recognized for what you have done, it is a great honor."Dave Matthews of the Dave Matthews Band would perform "Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away."
    Soulful vocalist Dionne Warwick was first discovered by composer Burt Bacharach in 1962. Later she would go on to win 5 Gold albums and 5 Grammy's, including "That's What Friends Are For," recorded with none other than Stevie Wonder and Elton John. Warwick received the Hitmaker Award tonight, which was presented by her cousin and recording artist Whitney Houston."I just kept saying, wow, Songwriters' Hall of Fame, wow! It is quite an honor to have those wonderful, wonderful songwriters to decide that because of me I had the ability to keep those songs living. To keep great songs was not really hard to do because they are automatically hits, automatically.
    So, I feel wonderful." said the elated recording star. Elvis Costello would perform Warwick's first hit called "Don't Make Me Over" which hit number one in 1962.
    From her modest beginnings in grassroots country to her current international acclaim, Grammy award winning country star Dolly Parton was inducted in the Hall of Fame tonight. By 1980, Parton had become such a media darling that performed in such movies as 9-to-5, which she wrote and sang the theme song to the movie. Parton feels lucky to be in the same company as Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John. "It is very special, this is one of the greatest compliments I have been paid in my whole life, because I always loved to write songs, I have always pride myself on that. I am certainly not as great as some of the people in the Hall of Fame. I am just honored that they thought I was good enough to be here, but I was very flattered, and it is great to see your work go down in some sort of books and so it feels great to be part of all of this," said Parton.
    Pop star Marc Anthony was the highlight of tonight's induction ceremony when he sang the song "Innocent Man" for Johnny Mercer Award winner Billy Joel. Joel who was elected to the Hall of Fame 10 years. Joel, know for such album greats as "The Stranger," 52nd Street" and Glass Houses," talked about his successful song writing. "This award has me completely bamboozled, and one of the things I always wanted to be from day one since I was a little boy was a writer, because I never liked my own voice, I liked everyone else's voice. Even when I was writing songs, I was thinking of other singers singing them, so this is kind of things come in full circle now. Marc Anthony is singing my song and that is my baby. Ya know, kind of taking off, and that is cool."
    After Joel received his award, Marc Anthony and Joel started the song "Not Fade Away" before other artists joined them on stage. Eric Clapton, another 2001 inductee, was not at the event.
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