By Mark Kennedy, Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Steely Dan, R.E.M., Timbaland, Hillary Lindsey and Dean Pitchford will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, an incoming class of musicians who have scaled the heights of country, classic rock, pop, hip-hop and alt-rock.
Steely Dan — co-founded by Donald Fagan and the late Walter Becker — finally get into the hall despite being a staple of classic rock with songs like "Reelin' in the Years," "Do It Again" and "Hey Nineteen." They went into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
R.E.M. — the inducted members are Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe — are behind such alt-rock hits as "Losing My Religion," "Everybody Hurts" and "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." And Nashville hitmaker Lindsey helped write "Girl Crush" for Little Big Town and "Jesus, Take the Wheel" for Carrie Underwood.
The class of 2024 also includes Pitchford, who helped Kenny Loggins with the megahit "Footloose" and also co-wrote "Fame" and "Holding Out For a Hero," and producer-writer Timbaland, the mastermind behind Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack" and Missy Elliot's "Get Yer Freak On."
On the ballot but unlucky this year were Public Enemy, Bryan Adams, George Clinton, Tracy Chapman, Blondie, Heart, The Doobie Brothers and David Gates.
Eligible voting members turned in ballots with their choices of three nominees from the songwriter category and three from the performing-songwriter category. The induction ceremony will be held on June 13 in New York City.
Last year's inductees included Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Sade, Jeff Lynne, Glen Ballard and Teddy Riley. Some of those already in the hall include Carole King, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Brian Wilson, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty.
The Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1969 to honor those creating the popular music. A songwriter with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for induction 20 years after the first commercial release of a song.
Damien Chazelle, Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons On The Return Of “Whiplash” To Theaters After 10 Years
Ten years after " Whiplash " took the film world by storm, Damien Chazelle's breakthrough feature is returning to theaters nationwide Friday.
In 2014, "Whiplash" was the ultimate indie movie Cinderella story — a Sundance discovery made by a 20-something that that would go on to become both a box office hit and an awards darling: It won three Oscars, including for J.K. Simmons ' portrayal of a semi-sadistic and ever quotable jazz ensemble instructor; launched Chazelle's directing career into the A-list stratosphere; and established Miles Teller as a next generation movie star. Now, audiences will get another chance to experience it on the big screen.
Chazelle, Teller and Simmons spoke recently about the re-release, their memories of the 20-day shoot (including when Teller accidentally broke his co-star's rib) and making something with staying power. Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: What has it been like watching "Whiplash" settle into the culture in the past decade?
CHAZELLE: It's very cool, a little surreal. It doesn't feel like 10 years. It's fun to have a moment like this to relive it a little bit.
SIMMONS: It's sobering to know that I'm 10 years older. It's kind of shocking and kind of awesome that the movie actually holds up. I just saw it a few days ago in Toronto: That's a good piece of cinema.
TELLER: This is the first time I've ever had a movie re-released. I'm still fairly young into my career, but it's an incredible movie. The one thing that's frustrating for me is that people just yell out at me all the time, " not my tempo." So that's stuck around well.
SIMMONS: Maybe if you get the tempo... Read More