LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The Songwriters Hall of Fame has its newest class of inductees.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CALIFORNIA GIRLS")
THE BEACH BOYS: (Singing) Well, East Coast girls are hip. I really dig those styles they wear.
FADEL: The Beach Boys basically created surf rock.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The co-founder of the group, Brian Wilson, went into the Hall of Fame years ago. His partner, Mike Love, had to wait until yesterday to get his nod.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CALIFORNIA GIRLS")
THE BEACH BOYS: (Singing) I wish they all could be California - I wish they all could be California...
FADEL: The main songwriters behind The Doobie Brothers are in, too.
MARTIN: Interestingly, none of them are named Doobie, and none of them are brothers.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LISTEN TO THE MUSIC")
THE DOOBIE BROTHERS: (Singing) Gotta get a message. Get it on through. Oh, now, mama, don't you ask me why. Whoa, listen to the music.
FADEL: The Hall is recognizing someone behind many of the biggest R&B and pop songs of the last 30 years. Rodney Jerkins is better known as Darkchild.
MARTIN: He co-wrote "The Boy Is Mine" for Brandy and Monica. He wrote hits for Whitney Houston, Jennifer Lopez and this one.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SAY MY NAME")
DESTINY'S CHILD: (Singing) Say my name, say my name when no one is around you.
FADEL: That's Beyonce when she was with Destiny's Child. The group's "Say My Name" went to No. 1 here in the U.S. and around the world.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SAY MY NAME")
DESTINY'S CHILD: (Singing) Better say my name. Any other day I would call, you would say, Baby, how's your day? But today, it ain't the same. Every other word is uh-huh, yeah, OK. Could it be that you are at the crib with another lady?
MARTIN: They're also honoring the prolific national songwriter Ashley Gorley, 1960s and 1970s English pop writer Tony Macaulay, and finally, one of the forefathers of funk, George Clinton.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GIVE UP THE FUNK (TEAR THE ROOF OFF THE SUCKER)")
PARLIAMENT: (Singing) You've got a real type of thing going down, getting down.
MARTIN: "Give Up The Funk," "Flashlight," "Atomic Dog." I could go on. If you want to throw a party, have George Clinton's music on standby. I know I do.
FADEL: Great list, but I can't help but notice that's all dudes.
MARTIN: That's right. No women were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year.
FADEL: That continues to be a problem for different halls of fame for various award shows on and off.
MARTIN: Apparently, this is the first songwriters class without women since 2017. Just looking over the list of nominees passed over - Sheryl Crow, Janet Jackson, Alanis Morissette. So there's time to make up some ground next year.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GIVE UP THE FUNK (TEAR THE ROOF OFF THE SUCKER)")
PARLIAMENT: (Vocalizing). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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