Songwriters Hall of Fame

Phil Spector has seen many descriptions beside his name over some four decades in the public eye. The nice ones run along the line of "legendary record producer," which ultimately puts all the not-so-nice ones in perspective.

But one description that doesn't show up often enough is one without…

In America's country music capital, Nashville, Tennessee, there are probably more successful songwriters per square mile than anywhere else in the whole United States. Despite the sheer number and profundity of the talent, Harlan Howard stands out as the true royalty of the genre, the kind of songwriting genius whose…

Joni Mitchell, whose highly personal and compelling songwriting first appeared in our culture during the tumultuous sixties, is an artist with consummate credentials in her craft. Her debut recording, in 1968, the self titled Joni Mitchell, not only established her as a performer to be reckoned with, but also as…

While Jimmy Kennedy was a true son of Ireland, the appeal of his music is lasting and universal and stretches far beyond the Irish Sea and the beautiful, inspiring West country. If music indeed is international, Kennedy's many memorable songs are living proof of the fact. They began their lives…

Cuban-born, Ernesto Lecuona is the dominant musical force to have come out of the island nation, and without question one of the major contributors to the emergence of Latin music as a power in the world marketplace. Often called 'the Gershwin of Cuba,' he was friendly with George Gershwin and…