Van Morrison, Patti LaBelle, Little Richard To Be Honored By Songwriters Hall Of Fame
Yahoo! Music, May 21, 2003 5:00 pm PDT(5/21/03, 5 p.m. ET) -- Van Morrison, Patti LaBelle, and Little Richard will be honored by the Songwriters Hall Of Fame at their 34th Annual induction and awards dinner on June 12 in New York City. Morrison and Little Richard are among this year's inductees while LaBelle will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the organization.
Though Little Richard's been claiming for the past couple of years that he plans to retire, he's still on the road. He said he tries to bring just as much passion to his songs as he did almost 50 years ago.
"I love rock and roll," Little Richard said. "When I play my dates in person, I sing 'Tutti Frutti' the same as I did when I recorded it years ago. I sing 'Long Tall Sally,' 'Slippin' And Slidin'' it, 'Rip It Up,' 'Ready Teddy,' the same as I did many years back. And I don't sing it like it's something old--I sing it like it's a hit now."
Other special honors include the presentation of the first "Towering Performance Award" to Tony Bennett for his 1962 classic, "I Left My Heart In San Francisco." Songwriter Jimmy Webb will receive the Johnny Mercer Award for his body of work, which includes Glen Campbell's "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" and "Wichita Lineman," the 5th Dimension's "Up, Up And Away," and "MacArthur Park" by the late Richard Harris.
The National Academy Of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall Of Fame is the organization dedicated to recognizing the work and lives of those composers and lyricists who create popular music around the world.
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