As we say every year, the annual Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony is a combination of an awards show and a family reunion — an annual gathering of superstars virtually everyone recognizes, iconic behind-the-scenes songwriters that a few people recognize, and top executives from the music industry who hardly any normal person recognizes. And every non-pandemic year for the last half-century-plus, the ceremony has inducted several legendary, contemporary and up-and-coming talents — and often as not, the inductees say the honor means more to them than any other, because it’s recognition from their peers, many of whom are in the room.
However, when one of the inductees is the most popular musician in the entire world, much of that intimacy inevitably vanishes, and on this night, along with Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of Kiss, John Fogerty, Alanis Morissette, Raye, Kenny Loggins, and non-performing songwriters Walter Afanasieff, Terry Britten & Graham Lyle and Christopher “Tricky” Stewart, one of those inductees was Taylor Swift. Thus, security was tight and the event did not allow for the usual socializing and table-hopping — and the press, as social media shows, was banished to the balconies.
