Athens, Georgia’s R.E.M. will join Georgia native Hillary Lindsey, Steely Dan, Timbaland and Dean Pitchford in being 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.
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).”
Nashville hitmaker Lindsey helped write “Girl Crush” for Little Big Town and “Jesus, Take the Wheel” for Carrie Underwood. Lindsey hails from Washington, Georgia, in east central Georgia.
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.
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.”
