Songwriters Hall of Fame Debuts New Traveling Exhibit

Songwriters Hall of Fame Exhibit timeline display

Songwriters Hall of Fame Debuts New Traveling Exhibit

The Songwriters Hall of Fame has launched a new traveling exhibit, the “Songwriters Hall of Fame Songwriting Experience,” currently on display at New York’s CUNY Graduate Center James Gallery through July 24. The new exhibit will also travel to other cities around the country to be announced later this year.

Curated by the Grammy Museum, the Songwriters Hall of Fame Songwriting Experience digs deep into the great compositional works that make up the treasure trove of American music. Through graphic panels, artifact displays, and interactive experiences, it examines the creative process and works of some of the world’s most prolific songwriters.

Artifacts on display represent the work of renowned writers including Sammy Cahn, Desmond Child, Steve Dorff, Woody Guthrie, John Mellencamp, Alan Menken, and Carole Bayer Sager, among others.

Visitors can watch highlights from Songwriters Hall of Fame galas and interviews with inductees including Jimmy Jam, Toby Keith, Carole King, Smokey Robinson, Carole Bayer Sager, and Diane Warren, as well as Hal David Starlight Award honorees John Legend, Taylor Swift and Nick Jonas. A songwriting interactive also features Toby Keith, Carole King, Smokey Robinson, and Don Schlitz dissecting their hits.

Established in 1969, the Songwriters Hall of Fame honors a spectrum of the most beloved songs from the world’s popular music songbook. The non-profit’s ongoing mission is to celebrate and honor the contributions and legacies of songwriters of all genres while developing and nurturing the next generation of songwriters through Master Sessions, songwriting craft forums, scholarships, and digital initiatives.

By: Lorie Hollabaugh at Music Row Magazine

The piano of legendary Tin Pan Alley- era songwriter Victor Herbert, who composed “Babes in Toyland”

WHO KNEW The Smartest People In The Room

WHO KNEW The Smartest People In The Room

Steve Dorff and Bobby Tomberlin

We might call this one two hall of fame level songwriters walk into a bar...Seriously, these two have penned more hits for more A-listers than you can imagine. And they just might be two of the nicest guys you've ever met.

Steve Dorff has written dozens & dozens of career making hits for the likes of Barbra Streisand, George Strait, Whitney Houston, The Carpenters, Dolly Parton, Celine Dion, just to name a few. He has delivered number 1 songs across four decades. When we say he's a decorated songwriter, we really mean it.

Bobby Tomberlin is also a prolific hit songwriter himself. He landed his first gig at 11 years old and has worked in entertainment ever since. Along the way, he has written top hits for every single Nashville A-lister you can name- Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Blake Shelton, Faith Hill, Diamond Rio, Willie Nelson and many others including even Barbra Streisand herself. He is also a very popular TV and movie actor to boot.

These two songwriting legends are our special guests on the next Smartest People In The Room. Watch now!

Steve Dorff Heads To Demolition Music Publishing

Steve-Dorff-Signing-Photo.png

Pictured (First Row, L-R): Jon D’Agostino, President of Demolition Music/Staff Writer; Michael August, General Manager/Staff Writer; Lauren Spahn, Attorney at Shackelford Law; Jordin Wentworth, Assistant to Bruce Phillips; (Second Row, L-R): Adam Epstein, Head of A&R; Brian Smith, Management, Leadership Artists; Amanda Cooksey, A&R and Head of PR; Steve Dorff, Staff Writer; (Third Row, L-R): Jamie Dryburgh, Creative Director; Bruce Phillips, Law Office of Bruce H. Phillips; Shane Barrett, Song Plugger/Creative Consultant; Steve Bloch, Creative Consultant; (Fourth Row): Jessica Dock, Assistant to Steve Dorff.

Songwriter Steve Dorff has inked an exclusive deal with Demolition Music Publishing.

Previously based in Los Angeles, Dorff was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018 and has earned more than 40 BMI honors during his career.

“I’ve been coming to work in Nashville for the better part of 25 years and feel this is a great new beginning. Having been here for over a year, I realize how important it is to have a team who loves and appreciates songs,” says Dorff.

A three-time Grammy-nominee, Dorff has had more than 400 songs recorded by artists including Barbra Streisand (“Higher Ground,” “It Must Be You”), Whitney Houston (“Take Good Care of My Heart” ft. Jermaine Jackson), George Strait (“I Cross My Heart,” “The Man In Love With You”), Garth Brooks (“Baby, Let’s Lay Down and Dance”), Ronnie Milsap (“Cowboys and Clowns”), Celine Dion (“Miracle”), Kenny Rogers (“Through The Years”), and more. He has had 14 No. 1 hits, and an American Music Award win.

“In addition to my catalog, I’m especially excited about bringing Latigo Shore Music into the deal, which showcases some of Andrew Dorff’s early works. Some of the songs written in this catalog were written with some of Nashville’s greatest songwriters including Josh Osborne, Rodney Clawson, and Eric Church. A lot of these songs, in addition to songs by Jeston Cade, are ‘hits waiting to happen’ and I’m thrilled that they will get a new lease on life,” says Dorff.

“I’ve had a great relationship with Steve for years and adding him to our Demolition team takes me back to when the Yankees added Reggie Jackson to their lineup. He’s a hall of fame songwriter who has proven time and time again that no matter the genre, he plays to win,” says Jon D’Agostino, President of Demolition Music.

“Jon and I have been good friends, and I think the Demolition team is a great place to call home,” says Dorff. “I’m looking forward to working with the creative team at Demolition, and am currently working on a lot of exciting projects including records, films, and other productions,” says Dorff.

By: Jessica Nicholson at Music Row Magazine

COUNTRY NEWCOMER LIV CHARETTE IS 'THE RIGHT VOICE' FOR A BALLAD PRODUCED BY STEVE DORFF 10 YEARS IN THE MAKING

Good things come to those who wait, right? 

That sounds like the case for Nashville producer Steve Dorff, who waited about a decade before finding "the right voice” for a song co-written by his late son Andrew Dorff and “Pontoon” penman Barry Dean. 

The tune — a thundering ballad called “That Kind of Song" — demanded an impassioned and vocally empowering performance, which Dorff found in country music newcomer Liv Charette.

“That Kind of Song” enters wide release Friday. Spin an exclusive first listen, paired with a music video filmed at the Franklin Theatre via The Tennessean in the player above 

“It’s a very special song, both musically and lyrically,” said Dorff, a Songwriters Hall of Fame member whose credits include George Strait and Dolly Parton. “It’s relentless in its drive. It just drives. From the opening moment of the song, it never stops.” 

He added: “The minute I heard her sing it, I knew it was the right voice for the right song.”

LIV CHARETTE

LIV CHARETTE

And, as the song’s “drive” requires both feet pushing pedal to the floor, Charette can be heard cruising smoothly at full speed with both hands confidently gripping the wheel. For a Canadian-raised singer working to climb the ranks in Nashville, cutting “That Kind of Song” was a “meant-to-be moment,” Charette said. 

“The essence of song and message and dynamics,” Charette said, “honestly I don’t know if we could capture that again. That is a take that everybody dreams to have.” 

Each line of the song “brings you somewhere,” Charette said. 

In the first verse, she sings: “I love Jesus, but this ain’t a song about Jesus/ No, this ain’t about a broken heart, or picking up all those little pieces/ No, this ain’t that kinda song/ It’s all looking back at the questions you ask or losing people way too soon …” 

The chorus belts, “This is a song about my life/ This is a song about you …” 

“Everybody’s interpretation could be different,” Charette said. “(It could be about) a loved one, a friend. A person that matters most to you in your life. I loved how many pictures it had in the lyrics.” 

Steve Dorff arrives during the 49th annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards gala at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel on June 14, 2018 in New York. 

Steve Dorff arrives during the 49th annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards gala at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel on June 14, 2018 in New York.

Charette and Dorff cut “This Kind of Song” in December, the last in seven songs they tracked together. On the song, Dorff used an instrumental track captured when he first started working on it.

He had intentions to re-cut the music, but after dusting the track off, Dorff said all it needed was a “great mix and great vocal.” 

Safe to say, he found both. 

“It was the right place, the right time for the song,” Dorff said.

RASCAL FLATTS RELEASES TOUCHING RENDITION OF KENNY ROGERS’ “THROUGH THE YEARS” TO ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS

RASCAL FLATTS RELEASES TOUCHING RENDITION OF KENNY ROGERS’ “THROUGH THE YEARS” TO ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS

RASCAL FLATTS RELEASES TOUCHING RENDITION OF KENNY ROGERS’ “THROUGH THE YEARS” TO ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS

“'Through The Years’, written by Steve Dorff and Marty Panzer, is a perfect love song, and it only felt right that this was the song we chose to pay tribute to Kenny,” shared Gary LeVox. “We’re honored to be able to keep shining Kenny’s light on the world in this small way. Music is healing and I think it’s important for us to keep embracing the power of music right now. Kenny would have wanted it that way.”