Songwriters Hall of Fame Makes This Year's Noms

Eminem, Boy George, George Clinton, Sheryl Crow, Janet Jackson, the Doobie Brothers, NWA, and Alanis Morissette are among the nominees for the 2025 class at the Songwriters Hall of Fame, an eclectic group of rap, rock, hip-hop, and pop pioneers. Joining them on the ballot are Bryan Adams, with radio staples like "Summer of '69" and "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?," and Mike Love of the Beach Boys, hoping to get in 25 years after band founder Brian Wilson. David Gates, co-lead singer of the pop music group Bread, is also looking for entry, reports the AP.

The Hall of Fame annually inducts performers and nonperformers alike, and the latter category 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." 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.

Hip-hop this year is represented by Eminem—whose hits include "Lose Yourself" and "Stan"—and NWA members Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and DJ Yella. Tommy James, with hits including "Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover," and "I Think We're Alone Now," has also earned a nod. If Jackson, whose 1989 album Rhythm Nation was a landmark, gets into the Hall of Fame, it will be more than two decades after her late brother Michael. Morissette, whose influential Jagged Little Pill won Grammys, Tonys, Junos, and MTV awards, would also add to the Hall's rocking women. As would Crow: The "All I Wanna Do" 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." (More songwriter stories.)