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Ray Davies, Donovan, Mark James, Graham Gouldman and Jim Weatherly were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on Thursday night.

Sadly, Ray Davies, lead singer and main songwriter for the Kinks, could not attend because of the death of his sister, but he accepted the honour in a video where he said he was proud to be inducted. Jon Bon Jovi was on hand to pay tribute to Davies, closing the show with performances of the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All of the Night.”

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Elton John and Bernie Taupin will be the 2013 recipients of the Songwriters Hall of Fame Johnny Mercer Award at the 44th annual induction ceremony on June 13.

Songwriters Hall of Fame Chairman Jimmy Webb said of the duo:

“Some catalogs are more ‘deep’ and significant than others not only because of their pertinence to the times in which they were written, but because their sheer mass is overpowering. It’s just not that easy to write 40 Top 10 records. It’s kind of like swimming the English Channel with your hands tied behind your back. Elton’s readily identifiable melodic piano style has proven to be a perfect accompaniment to Bernie’s razor sharp lyrics about relationships and living on the edge of life both in good and bad times.”

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Leon Russell, John Bettis, Garth Brooks, Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, and Allen Toussaint have been announced as the 2011 inductees to the Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF).

These great songwriters will join around 400 inductees in the Hall of Fame, including legendary names such as Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Hal David and Burt Bacharach, John Fogerty, Bob Dylan, Isaac Hayes and David Porter, Carole King, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Sir Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Brian Wilson, James Taylor, James Brown, Bruce Springsteen, Curtis Mayfield, Kris Kristofferson, Leonard Cohen and many others.

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The Songwriters Hall of Fame has announced its nominees for the Class of 2010.

Dion DiMucci among nominees

In the writer/ performer category, nominees  include Dion DiMucci, Leonard Cohen, David  Gates (Bread), Tommy James, John Cougar  Mellencamp, Lou Reed, Leon Russell, Cat  Stevens and Earth, Wind & Fire.

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