Acclaimed songwriter Diane Warren has a major reason to celebrate. She will earn the 2024 Johnny Mercer Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame at the upcoming ceremony in New York this June. #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos has the scoop.
Warren will be in an elite group of women. She will be the fourth solo songwriter to receive this award joining the ranks of Carole King, Dolly Parton, and Carole Bayer Sager.
The Johnny Mercer Award is the most prestigious award bestowed by the Songwriters Hall of Fame. It is exclusively reserved for a songwriter or songwriting team who has already been inducted in a prior year and whose body of work is of such high quality and impact that it upholds the gold standard set by the legendary Johnny Mercer.
On receiving the Johnny Mercer Award, Warren remarked, “I’m beyond honored to receive the Johnny Mercer Award, especially looking at the names of the other songwriters who have gotten this great honor.”
“When I was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, my mom was there and finally understood that I could make a living and life being what I was born to be and wake up every day loving to be… a songwriter. Now, both she and my dad will be looking down on me with big smiles on their faces. Thank you, Songwriters Hall of Fame,” she expressed, effusively.
Diane Warren was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame back in 2001 where she is credited for being “one of the most prolific American pop songwriters.”
Ms. Warren is one of modern music’s most celebrated songwriters. She penned nine No. 1 and 33 Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and is tied for having written the most No. 1 songs as a sole writer in Billboard history.
Her distinguished catalogue features beloved songs including “Only Love Can Hurt Like This,” “Un-Break My Heart,” and “If I Could Turn Back Time.” She has scored 15 Academy Award nominations and is an Honorary Oscar recipient. She is a Grammy winner with 15 nominations, an Emmy winner, and a two-time Golden Globe winner whose songs have been featured in over 150 films.
This year’s other inductees for the Songwriters Hall of Fame include Hillary Lindsey, Timothy Mosley p/k/a Timbaland, Dean Pitchford, Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe p/k/a R.E.M., and Donald Fagen and Walter Becker p/k/a Steely Dan.
