The Songwriters Hall of Fame hosted a preview of a new exhibit devoted to songwriters at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles on Wednesday April 26. At least nine SHOF inductees were present, including Charles Fox, Steve Dorff, Jimmy Jam, Holly Knight, Billy Steinberg, Rick Nowels, Mike Stoller, Jimmy Webb and Diane Warren.
The exhibit, which occupies an entire floor of the Grammy Museum, has a treasure trove of artifacts and memorabilia on display. Linda Moran, president and CEO of the SHOF, personally twisted arms to get songwriters, or their families, to loan out prized items.
One display case focuses on recipients of the Hal David Starlight Award, which goes to current writers at the peak of their game, who have not yet been inducted into the SHOF (but in many cases, probably will be). This brought in memorabilia by such younger writers as John Legend, Taylor Swift, Benny Blanco, Ne-Yo and Dan Reynolds (Imagine Dragons).
A mural on a side wall captured historical music moments from 1828 to the present. The oldest entries included Stephen Foster writing “Oh! Susanna” (1847), Thomas Edison inventing the phonograph (1877), the first issue of Billboard (1894) and Scott Joplin publishing “Maple Leaf Rag” (1899). The newest entries included the launch of YouTube (2005), the debut of the iPhone (2007), Jay-Z becoming the first hip-hop artist in the SHOF (2017) and the spate of catalog sales by such top songwriters as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen (the 2020s).
Here are eight items showcased in the exhibit that especially caught our eye.
