Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Elton John and Bernie Taupin Honored at Songwriting Hall of Fame Ceremony

Posted on June 14, 2013

The Songwriters Hall of Fame honored its 2013 inductees last night at the Mariott Marquis in New York City. Tony Hatch, Mick Jones & Lou Gramm of Foreigner, Holly Knight, JD Souther, and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry are the newest members. Elton John and Bernie Taupin won the Mercer Award for their long collaboration and Sam Cooke won the Towering Song Award for "A Change Is Gonna Come." Cooke's granddaughter accepted the award on his behalf.

Songwriters Hall of Fame Chairman Jimmy Webb said in a statement, "Each of our 2013 inductees has been responsible for captivating the world with their creativity for decades, serving up a rich variety of songs for our global soundtrack. We are looking forward to celebrating their contributions at our Annual Awards Gala."

There were a number of special honorees: Berry Gordy received the Pioneer Award. Gordy currently has a musical about Motown playing on Broadway. Songwriter and producer Benny Blanco receiving the Hal David Starlight Award. Blanco is only 25 and has co-written number one hits for Kesha, Katy Perry and Maroon 5. As is tradition, the hits penned by the inductees were performed at the event. Sting, Foreigner, Aerosmith and Petula Clark all took the stage. Take a look: