Songwriters Hall of Fame awards for Irish singer Van Morrison, Lady Gaga, Cyndi Lauper and blues legend Willie Dixon.

Van Morrison was awarded the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award at the 46th annual Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony in New York on June 18, 2015. In a ceremony at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, Michael Bublé sang an upbeat version of Morrison's Moondance, and they sang a duet on Real Real Gone.

Carly Rae Jepsen sang Cyndi Lauper's memorable ballad "Time After Time" in tribute to the 61-year-old New Yorker, who was among the musicians inducted into the Hall of Fame. "I still can't believe I make a living making music," Lauper said.

Other new inductees included country music stars Toby Keith and Bobby Braddock, Linda Perry, the late Chicago bluesman Willie Dixon, the Grateful Dead songwriting team of Robert Hunter and the late Jerry Garcia.

Bernie Taupin, Elton John's songwriting partner, called Dixon, who wrote classics such as "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "the Shakespeare of the blues". Taupin noted that many bands in England in the Sixties started out by playing "Little Red Rooster" and other Dixon standards. Taupin credited Dixon with providing the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton with great material and giving them "the wings to fly".

Lady Gaga was presented with a Contemporary Icon Award by her 88-year-old singing partner Tony Bennett.

Back to Headlines