Don McLean News

The 2004 Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards dinner June 10 in New York will be another star-studded affair. But this year's ceremony, which honors songwriting legends, also will include an announcement of a possible physical home for the Songwriters Hall of Fame in Washington D.C.

Although the deal is not yet complete, Hal David, chairman/CEO of the National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall, tells Billboard there is an agreement "to house the Songwriters Hall of Fame in the new National Music Center and Museum, which will be constructed on the site of the old Washington Convention Center in downtown Washington, D.C."

News of a proposed home for the Songwriters Hall of Fame is just one highlight of this year's dinner, where inductees will include Charles Fox, Al Green , Daryl Hall & John Oates, Don McLean , Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield.

Special awards will go to leading publishers, songwriters and patrons, including Neil Sedaka , who will receive the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award.

The inaugural Starlight Award, which honors a "rising star," will go to Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty. Garth Brooks will perform in honor of Don McLean, while India.Arie and Johnny Lang will salute Stevie Wonder , this year's recipient of the Johnny Mercer Award.

A PLACE FOR SONGWRITERS

Mercer and publishers Howie Richmond and Abe Olman founded the National Academy of Popular Music and Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1969.

Since then, the hall has honored some 300 songwriters and publishers, representing every era of popular music dating back to the era of Stephen Foster in the mid-19th century.

The National Academy of Popular Music complements the hall of fame by offering workshops, showcases, networking opportunities and other support services for less-established songwriters.

Despite the delay in building a physical home for the Songwriters Hall of Fame, co-founder Richmond in 1999 offered a grant for the creation of a "virtual" hall online at shof.org.

Songwriters Hall of Fame president Linda Moran notes the increasing significance of the annual induction dinner, which will take place at the Marriott Marquis Hotel.

"It's becoming bigger and bigger, because the writer/artists who are getting inducted now are at a stage in their careers where they're taking greater pride in their songwriting -- it's where their roots are," she says.

She also offers an assessment of the event in the context of the current music business climate.

"Our membership has increased tremendously over the last few years," Moran notes. "With all the layoffs in the music industry, networking is more important than anything. But it's still just a very special evening for the whole songwriting profession and the publishers who are so very involved in it."

Reuters/Billboard