*The Women Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards (WSHOF) returns for the second year to induct female iconic hitmakers!
WSHOF, founded to honor women whose body of work represents the best of the heritage and legacy of modern American music will pay homage to 10 noteworthy female songwriters on June 25, 2022.
The First Six announced honorees include Jody Watley, Loretta Lynn, Gloria Estefan, Siedah Garrett, Indigo Girls, and Marilyn Bergman (Posthumously), all bring an arsenal of artistry, along with hits covering the last five decades of popular music, to their induction with more to be added.
The stellar event will take place at the opulent Bellevue Center, 43350 John Mosby Hwy in Chantilly, Virginia, and will celebrate some of music’s finest songwriters and composers in a magnificent moment to mark their careers and their classics.
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Music royalty and iconic singer Jody Watley will return to host and serve as the emcee for the prestigious award ceremony. She is also amongst the esteemed honorees for this year’s event.
“I am excited to host this wonderful ceremony again and also honored to be included as an honoree with my other esteemed songwriter peers,” says Watley.
There will be a special performance by singer-songwriter Tayla Lynn, the granddaughter of Loretta Lynn with Tre Twitty.
The Women Songwriters Hall of Fame honors women whose work represents the heritage and legacy of the world’s music songbook. It not only celebrates established women songwriters, but also serves as a resource for developing new songwriting talent through workshops, showcases, discovery and scholarship.
Previous honorees include Roberta Flack, Valerie Simpson, Naomi Judd, Jekalyn Carr, Bunny Hull, The Go-Go’s, Klymaxx, Dr. Veryl Howard, Dawnn Lewis, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Deneice Williams.
Founder, chief executive, and chairman Dr. Janice McLean DeLoatch of The Women Songwriters Hall of Fame is a passionate advocate for entrepreneurs and women in the entertainment industry. As an entrepreneur and songwriter herself, Janice realized that songwriter awards policies have barred women from achieving parity and recognition in comparison to male songwriters. The impact is many women in the music industry rarely achieving recognition or accolades. DeLoatch created the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame to honor women whose work represents the heritage and legacy of the world’s music songbook.
About the Honorees
Jody Watley is a celebrated singer-songwriter-businesswoman, GRAMMY-winning trendsetting pioneer in music, video, fashion and style. As a solo artist, the ageless pop and R&B singer has 6 Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten Singles, 13 Number 1 Dance Singles, 2 R&B Number 1’s, 15 Top 40 Singles, Gold and platinum albums, 2007 Billboard Dance Lifetime Achievement, 2017 recipient of the Black Music Honors Crossover Music Icon Award and nominations from the American Music Awards, MTV Awards, NAACP Awards and Soul Train Awards. Her blockbuster hits include “Looking For A New Love,” “Still A Thrill,” “Some Kind of Lover,” “Real Love,” “Friends,” “I Want You,” and many more. The cultural music iconic singer in Pop/Soul/R&B is one of the architects of 21st-century pop and continues to amass chart-toppers!
Loretta Lynn is a singer-songwriter with a career that spans six decades in country music. Lynn has released multiple gold albums and is famous for hits such as “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)”, “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)”, “One’s on the Way”, “Fist City” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter” along with the 1980 biographical film of the same name. Lynn has received numerous awards and other accolades for her groundbreaking role in country music, including awards from both the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music as a duet partner and an individual artist. She has been nominated 18 times for a GRAMMY Award, and has won 3 times. Lynn is the most awarded female country recording artist and the only female ACM Artist of the Decade (1970s). She has scored 24 No. 1 hit singles and 11 number one albums.
Gloria Estefan is a songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. She started her career as the lead singer in the group Miami Latin Boys, which later became known as Miami Sound Machine. She earned worldwide success with “Conga” in 1985, which became Estefan’s signature song and led to Miami Sound Machine winning the grand prix in the 15th annual Tokyo Music Festival in 1986. In 1988, she and the band got their first number-one hit with the song “Anything for You“. She is considered the Latin artist who broke down the barriers of Latin music in the international market and opened the doors to several Latin artists such as Shakira, J.Lo, Ricky Martin, Selena, among others. Estefan has won three Grammy Awards and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Las Vegas Walk of Fame. In 2015, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contributions to American music and received the Kennedy Center Honors in December 2017 for her contributions to American Culture Life. Estefan also won an MTV Video Music Award, was honored with the American Music Award for Lifetime Achievement, as well as being named BMI Songwriter of the Year. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and has received multiple Billboard Awards. She is also on the Top 100 Greatest Artists of All Time lists of VH1 and Billboard. She is listed in Billboard as the third Most Successful Latina and 23rd Greatest Latin Artist of all Time. Hailed as the “Queen of Latin Pop” by the media, she has amassed 38 number one hits across Billboard charts including 15 chart-topping songs on Hot Latin Songs chart. Rolling Stone Magazine has listed her hit song “Conga” as the 11th Greatest Latin Pop Songs of all time.
Siedah Garrett is an R&B singer, Academy Award-nominated and Grammy-winning songwriter and performer. A triple-threat singer, songwriter and performer, Siedah has written for a diverse selection of recording artists, from Aretha Franklin to Al Jarreau, from The Corrs to Vanessa Williams, and from Barry White to Amy Grant. Siedah’s songs are featured on hit albums such as Quincy Jones’s Back on the Block and Paula Abdul’s Forever Your Girl. Siedah is probably best known for co-writing Michael Jackson’s worldwide hit, “Man in the Mirror.” As a vocalist, she not only duetted with Jackson on the hit single “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” but she has also sung with a wide array of acts including Johnny Mathis, Patti Austin, Quincy Jones, The Pointer Sisters, The Commodores, Kenny Loggins, Chaka Khan and others. With an illustrious career that includes two Academy Award nominations, Garrett is an accomplished recording artist and vocalist who has recorded and performed with an illustrious roster including Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson and Madonna.
Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, known as the Indigo Girls began singing together during high school and have remained partners ever since, adopting the moniker Indigo Girls in 1985. That partnership has proven profitable for the folk-rock duo. Epic Records signed them to a recording contract in 1988. The following year, they released the eponymously titled Indigo Girls, featuring the hit single, Closer to Fine. The album earned Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Contemporary Folk Recording. They received the Grammy in the latter category. Indigo Girls have subsequently released Nomads*Indians*Saints, Rites of Passage, Swamp Ophelia, Shaming the Sun, as well as the live discs Back on the Bus, Y’all and 1200 Curfews. In addition, Indigo Girls have appeared as themselves in the feature film Boys on the Side and on the television situation comedy Ellen.
Marilyn Bergman (Posthumously) – The songs of Alan and Marilyn Bergman have been enriching the great American songbook for over five decades. As lyricists for film, stage and television, they have created many unforgettable images with their lyrical mastery. Theirs is one of the most successful songwriting collaborations in an era of great popular music. They have earned numerous awards, including 16 Academy Award nominations, multiple Emmys, Grammys, and three Oscars for “The Windmills of Your Mind,” “The Way We Were,” and the score for “Yentl.” Alan & Marilyn’s long list of television credits includes the theme songs for “Maude,” “Good Times,” “Alice,” “Brooklyn Bridge” and “In the Heat of the Night.” They have received four Emmy Awards: For the award-winning drama, “Sybil,” and for the first made-for-TV dramatic musical, “Queen of the Stardust Ballroom,” music by Billy Goldenberg, which was later adapted for the Broadway stage as “Ballroom.” In 1995, for their original song “Ordinary Miracles,” music by Marvin Hamlisch, from the HBO Special “Barbra Streisand: The Concert.” Their fourth Emmy came in 1999 for Outstanding Music and Lyrics for “A Ticket to Dream” with Marvin Hamlisch from AFI’s 100 Years 100 Movies Special. Two years later they were nominated for their original song “On the Way to Becoming Me” also written with Marvin Hamlisch for the AFI Tribute to Barbra Streisand. Alan & Marilyn wrote the 1986 “One Voice” concert starring Barbra Streisand, and in 1994 they scripted the legendary Barbra Streisand Concert Tour and HBO Special “Barbra Streisand: The Concert” for which they were nominated for a Cable Ace Award.
source: Pamela Broussard / BNM Publicity & Management Group
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