Songwriters Hall of Fame: 8 Standout Moments From the 2025 Gala

Following an introduction by Living Colour, who ripped through a crunchy version of the Funkadelic classic “Cosmic Slop,” George Clinton strode onstage in a generously sized suit, paired with a Sly Stone t-shirt and a gold-colored captain’s hat that said “Atomic Dog” on top. “This one hits different,” he said, comparing his songwriters Hall of Fame induction to other recognitions he’s received. “I am so honored.”

Clinton then joined the house band to play one of the first songs that shaped the sound of Parliament – “(I Wanna) Testify,” released by his early group the Parliaments in 1967. It’s a groovy rave-up, and Clinton’s weathered voice gave it a rough edge. The backup singers soared, and Clinton came in with a lower growl. This was Clinton as R&B songwriter – the closest he got to the mainstream sound of the day. Upon forming Parliament-Funkadelic, he went into space and dared his peers to follow.

After his performance, he sat outside the main ballroom, on his scooter, posing for photos and talking to fans. – Robert Levine

After the British songwriter was feted by SHOF scholarship recipients performing several of his ‘60s classics — MŌRIAH sang “Last Night (I Didn’t Get To Sleep At All),” Sam Opoku delivered “Don’t Give Up on Us”  and Daphne Browdy offered up “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You” — Debbie Gibson strode out into the audience and pounded the piano for a lively rendition of “Build Me Up, Buttercup” (which Gibson noted has been streamed on Spotify more than 500 million times). Gibson aptly described Macaulay’s music as “setting the gold standard for infectious tunes.” Macaulay’s acceptance speech also set the gold standard for the most humorous of the night. Trained as a civil engineer, he said the only job he could get was designing sewage treatment plumbing. “Years later, a critic who disliked me wrote ‘Songwriter Tony Macaulay used to work in the sewers. Now instead of shoveling it, he writes it,’” he said, before deadpanning, “He’s dead now.”

Macaulay then shared one of his biggest thrills was being commissioned to write a work to commemorate the 60th birthday of Queen Elizabeth that was performed by 6,000 children at Buckingham Palace. Later, while having tea with the Queen, he asked her the worst part of her big day and she said, “having one’s hair messed around with three times in a day.” Without missing a beat, he said, “Well, this is my big day, as you can see my hair is not a problem,” doffing his hat to share his bald pate. – Melinda Newman

Grammy-winning duo Dan + Shay opened the induction with a five-song medley that included such massive Gorley hits as “You Should Probably Leave” (originally performed by Chris Stapleton), “Last Night” (Morgan Wallen), “Play It Again” (Luke Bryan), “All American Girl” (Carrie Underwood) and “I Had Some Help” (Post Malone and Wallen), which represented only a smattering of the country writer’s 83 No. 1s on various charts. They credited Gorley with shaping the sound of country music and creating songs that “travel not just across charts, but across aisles,” before introducing Gorley’s daughter, Sadie, who saluted her father with her tender rendition of Trace Adkins’ “You’re Gonna Miss This.” She praised her father for his work ethic as a songwriter, but more so for never “missing a single sports game. You canceled on iconic artists just to come to a parents’ weekend at school. You took days and weeks off of writing to come to a college visit and even made time for an Escape Room in every single city.”

Gorley, who noted he lived in Nashville 11 years before he landed his first No. 1, expressed sentiments all songwriters could relate to, noting he felt at home in a room filed with people “who are passionate about creating, who have 10,000 voice notes in their phones of random gibberish, who write down titles in the middle of the night and ideas and hope the next morning they look half as brilliant and are sometimes disappointed like me.” – M. Newman

Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins’ Mutual Admiration Society

Whether being introduced by Teddy Riley, being feted by his own talented performer children, or shouting out his own unlikely hero in the audience, it was clear that Jerkins — known for his late ’90s into 2000s R&B diva anthems for the likes of Brandy and Monica, Destiny’s Child, Toni Braxton and Whitney Houston — adopts the “pass it on” ethos.  His own idol Riley recounted a teenaged Jenkins showing up on his doorstep in Virginia with “a goal to change the music industry,” who “stayed grounded, he was humble, uplifting others — a sign of true greatness” even as his own star rose. A band including Jerkins’ son on cello and daughters on violin, guitar and vocals performed a medley of his hits as Jerkins watched (and conducted, playing air violin) in the audience. When Jerkins himself spoke, he immediately called out another award recipient that night — “It’s not every day you get to be in the same room as [Doobie Brothers’] Michael McDonald” — who would shout him out later (upon the Doobies’ induction, McDonald called Jerkins “One of our faves”). – Rebecca Milzoff

Stephen Schwartz: EGOTs Onstage

That Kristen Chenoweth showed up to sing Wicked favorite “For Good” (with recent Broadway Elphaba Mary Kate Morrissey) in Schwartz’s honor wasn’t shocking: the original Galinda is a one-woman Schwartz appreciation society who has a history of performances honoring the composer who wrote her career-changing role.  More surprising was the presence of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the EGOT-winning composer-lyricist duo behind Dear Evan Hansen and The Greatest Showman, who recounted Schwartz’s generous mentorship since their college days before stepping over to the piano and mic to perform a selection of his best-known work — including, most impressively, a full rendition of the challenging “Corner of the Sky” from Pippin. Watch out, Ben Platt! – R. Milzoff

Gracie Abrams Wonders How She Got There

Gracie Abrams accepted the Hal David Starlight Award for 2025, which is awarded to young songwriters who’re making a significant impact on the music industry. Introduced by her collaborator, The National’s Aaron Dessner, Abrams accepted the award with humility. “I’m not at all sure what I’m doing here in your esteemed and brilliant company,” she admitted, “but man, am I incredibly grateful to be here.” She pointed to Joni Mitchell’s Blue as a turning point for herself as a young songwriter. “I was forever hooked,” she said about her early attempts at “turning [her] journal entries into songs.” Abrams then picked up her guitar to perform an acoustic version of her song “Free Now.” – Kristin Robinson

Mike Love Feels Brian Wilson’s Presence

Just one day prior to Mike Love’s induction, news broke that his former Beach Boys bandmate and co-writer Brian Wilson had died at 82. Accepting the honor, Love thanked his wife, children, band, crew and the late Wilson. “He’s my first cousin but brother in music together,” Love said. “I do feel his presence.” Certainly, the collective fruits of their songwriting labor were tasted during the following performance, which included famous Wilson-Love co-writes (“Good Vibrations,” “I Get Around”) as well as “Kokomo,” the smash hit that came from Love’s pen after Wilson exited the band.

Full House alum and Beach Boys superfan John Stamos inducted Love, saluting his “transistor radio” heart and evocative, distinctly American lyrics. He also noted Love’s undersung role as the Beach Boys’ hook writer; Stamos said he once asked the inductee which of the band’s songs he had a hand in, to which Love replied, “I only wrote the hits.” – Joe Lynch

Garth Brooks Rocks Through Two Doobie Classics

An unannounced Garth Brooks inducted one of the favorite bands of his youth, getting the crowd on their feet as he belted “Long Train Runnin’” and “China Grove.” During the induction, he recalled his brother bringing home an 8-track tape of the Doobie Brothers and their strict, former Marine dad “wouldn’t let us listen to it, simply because of the name Doobie Brothers,” he joked, before adding, “We can talk all day about how great they were decades ago…but trust me, more people are listening to the Doobie Brothers now than ever have.”

A self-deprecating McDonald thanked the fellow songwriters in the room for the inspiration, before adding he had texted his wife and daughter a selfie of him with John Stamos, who was performing with the Beach Boys. “My wife texted me back and said, ‘John Stamos looks like a rock star; you look like someone’s deranged grandmother.” Johnston expressed thanks for the ability to write music that “picks people up. I think that’s really important, especially right now,” while Simmons accepted the award in honor of John Titta, the beloved ASCAP exec and SHOF board member who died last year. “His support and belief in us as artists, writers and players was always a shot of confidence.”

The band ended the evening with a spirited, lively set that saw each new inductee taking lead on a Doobie classic: Simmons on “Black Water,” McDonald on “Takin’ It To the Streets” (after a tasty instrumental intro of “Amazing Grace” with just keyboards and saxophone) and Johnston on “Listen to the Music.” – M. Newman

Source: https://www.billboard.com/lists/songwriters-hall-of-fame-2025/tom-johnston-michael-mcdonald-and-patrick-simmons-the-doobie-brothers/