The songwriting team of Elton John and Bernie Taupin are to be awarded the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Elton John, Photo: Ros O'Gorman
The presentation will be made at the group’s 44th Annual Induction and Awards Dinner on Thursday, June 13 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York.
The Johnny Mercer Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Songwriters Hall of Fame, is exclusively reserved for a songwriter or songwriting team who has already been inducted in a prior year, and whose body of work is of such high quality and impact, that it upholds the gold standard set by the legendary Johnny Mercer.
Jimmy Webb, chairman of the Hall of Fame, said “Some catalogs are more ‘deep’ and significant than others not only because of their pertinence to the times in which they were written, but because their sheer mass is overpowering. It’s just not that easy to write 40 top 10 records. It’s kind of like swimming the English Channel with your hands tied behind your back. Elton’s readily identifiable melodic piano style has proven to be a perfect accompaniment to Bernie’s razor sharp lyrics about relationships and living on the edge of life both in good and bad times.”
Past Johnny Mercer Award recipients have included songwriting giants: Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Phil Collins, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Paul Anka, Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Billy Joel, Jimmy Webb, Hal David, Burt Bacharach, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Paul Simon, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Stephen Sondheim, Cy Coleman, Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne.
Inductees at this year’s event include Tony Hatch, Mick Jones & Lou Gramm, Holly Knight, JD Souther and Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. The Pioneer Award will be presented to Berry Gordy.
