Inspired:
On the red carpet, Judy Collins recalled that she wasn't yet writing songs when she met inductee Cohen (elegant in black tie and a fedora), “and he asked me why. I started writing as a result. So he's not just someone whose work I've admired and recorded for years, but an inspiration to me as a songwriter."
What's luck got to do with it? Uber-producer Phil Ramone, recipient of the Howie Richmond hitmaker award, figures, “I've been lucky -- like a director who gets great scripts."
Phil Collins' writing advice:
“Always try to do something different. You can't be afraid to fail."
Multitasking:
Inductee David Foster noted that “when I go to the doctor's office and they ask me to fill in my occupation, I don't put record executive or producer -- I put songwriter. Being a songwriter comes first." Peter Cetera helped induct the prolific Canadian with a medley of Hard to Say I'm Sorry, You're the Inspiration and Glory of Love. Foster gave raves to Charice, a petite teen with 10-octave talent, as “the latest great voice to stumble into my world." She applied her pipes to one of Foster's many contributions to diva-dom, Whitney Houston's I Have Nothing.
Songs of love and loss:
Inducting Jackie DeShannon, Kim Carnes revisited her old smash single Bette Davis Eyes; DeShannon dipped further back with Put A Little Love in Your Heart. Karrin Allyson and Joan Osborne welcomed composer Johnny Mandel with fittingly wistful renditions of, respectively, The Shadow of Your Smile and Suicide Is Painless (the theme from M*A*S*H).
He's their man:
Before inducting Cohen, Judy Collins re-created her sparkling version of Suzanne, while k.d. lang paid homage to her fellow Canadian with a rapturous reading of Hallelujah. Both got standing ovations.
There in spirit:
Paul Shaffer (on piano and backing vocals) and singer Elizabeth Withers remembered this year's posthumous inductees (a new category) -- Tom Adair and Matt Dennis, Bob Marley, Laura Nyro, Sunny Skylar and Jesse Stone-- who were recognized with a medley of songs including I Shot the Sheriff,Sweet BlindnessandShake Rattle & Roll.
She's got a way about her:
Presenting Swift with the Hal David starlight award, John Mayer praised her as “not a product of the hype machine" but rather of “everyone agreeing that something is fabulous. I've never in my life seen a more fearless creator." With acoustic guitar in hand, Swift sang White Horse and described what she loved about songwriting: “For me, songwriting is an escape -- an escape from reality, where you have to say exactly the right thing at exactly the right time."
Towering Bridge:
Broadway baritone Brian Stokes Mitchell belted out a fervid Bridge Over Troubled Water, this year's Towering Song. Simon recalled that the song was “quite a surprise" when he wrote it at 27. “It all came at once, and I thought, 'Ooh -- that's better than I usually write.' “
Soft rock & soul:
Bruce Hornsby paid tribute to Phil Collins, winner of the Johnny Mercer award, with an acoustic version of Another Day in Paradise. Collins joined Earth Wind & Fire's famed falsetto Philip Bailey for their '80s hit Easy Lover.
“Somebody who really knows what he's doing":
To demonstrate Ramone's studio prowess, Billy Joel sat at the piano and, with generous comic license, charted the evolution of hits such as Just the Way You Are and Uptown Girl. Thanking Joel “for many years of fun," Ramone added, after a pretty serious and touching speech, “Everything I care about is here tonight."
Do you remember:
After latter-day soul man Raphael Saadiq saluted Earth Wind & Fire with Can't Let Go, Bailey joined his bandmates (except for Maurice White, who skipped the festivities to attend his son's high school graduation) for a jubilant trip back to September.
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