The Songwriters Hall of Fame got a big dose of country last night with the induction of Garth Brooks. The Yukon, Oklahoma native, who rose to stardom in the late ’80s/early ’90s on the strength of such hits as “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” “Unanswered Prayers” and “The Thunder Rolls,” was inducted by Billy Joel, who wrote the hit, “Shameless,” for Brooks’ 1991 album, Ropin’ the Wind.
“You talk about songwriters,” Brooks gushed to the Associated Press. “[Joel is] one of the greatest songwriters of all time. And he's taken a day out of his life to do this. I feel very lucky.”
Joining Brooks at the New York City gala was fellow 2011 inductee Leon Russell, who performed “Superstar” with Dwight Yoakam. Other inductees included Allen Toussant, Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly, John Bettis and the duo of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who co-wrote the Righteous Brothers’ classic, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” with Phil Spector, as well as hits by The Animals, The Crystals and Paul Revere & the Raiders.
Regarding “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” presenter Bill Medley of the aforementioned Righteous Brothers said, “We were just lucky that they wrote that song for us.”
