That Eric Alper

The Songwriters Hall of Fame has unveiled its expanded traveling exhibit “The Power of Song: A Songwriters Hall of Fame Exhibit,” which will be on display at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles now through September 4, 2023.

Curated by the museum in partnership with SHOF, the exhibit illuminates the art of songwriting, celebrating the creative work and legacy of inductees into the Hall of Fame, and other renowned songwriters who have received the esteemed Johnny Mercer Award and Hal David Starlight Award presented to gifted young songwriters.

The exhibit marked its debut in June 2022 at CUNY Graduate Center in New York, where it was on display for a month. Due to its success and a mass of support from across the music industry, the Songwriters Hall of Fame Board of Directors greenlit the continued collaboration to significantly broaden the scope for the launch in Los Angeles at the GRAMMY Museum.

Expansive wall murals and educational panels showcase a songwriting history timeline from 1828 to the present, as well as explain the business of songwriting and showcase all the Hall of Fame inductees and special award winners. A SHOF Original Film and several interactive displays examine the creative process in interviews with inductees Jimmy Jam, Toby Keith, Carole King, Alan Menken, Smokey Robinson, Carole Bayer Sager, Don Schlitz, and Diane Warren.

Visitors to “The Power of Song: A Songwriters Hall of Fame Exhibit” can get a rare glimpse at hundreds of never-before-seen artifacts related to popular songs that make up the American music treasury. Although there are far too many items to detail, highlights include the following:

The exhibit features masterworks created by some of the world’s most prolific songwriters, including the original handwritten lyrics, scores, or sheet music for Diane Warren’s song “How Do I Live,” Mariah Carey’s “Fly Like A Bird,” Steve Miller’s “Fly Like An Eagle,” Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel’s “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” Steve Dorff’s “Murphy Brown TV Theme” and “Cowboys and Clowns,” Desmond Child’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” and “Born To Be My Baby,” Will Jennings and Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven,” Annie Lennox’s “Sweet Dreams [Are Made of This],” Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “I Say A Little Prayer” and “Walk On By,“ and Jimmy Webb’s “Wichita Lineman.” It also includes: Alan Menken’s production notes for “Little Shop of Horrors” and spotting notes with musical cues for the “The Little Mermaid”; Billy Steinberg’s lyrics for “True Colors,” “Like A Virgin,” and “Eternal Flame”; Tom Petty’s lyrics for “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” and “Into the Great White Open”; Alan and Marilyn Bergman’s lyrics for “Papa Can You Hear Me”; and a multitude of other items from the iconic Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Jackie DeShannon, Lamont Dozier, Gerry Goffin, Holly Knight, John Mellencamp, Smokey Robinson, Carole Bayer Sager, James Taylor, Allee Willis, Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds, and Taylor Swift among many others.

Instruments on display include legendary lyricist Sammy Cahn’s typewriter, Irving Berlin’s transposing upright piano, Stevie Wonder’s harmonica, Bill Wither’s acoustic guitar, Jimmy Jam’s keytar and Terry Lewis’ bass guitar and drum machine, John Mellencamp and Tom Petty’s acoustic guitars, Allee Willis’ Casio keyboard, Benny Blanco’s keyboard, Halsey’s acoustic guitar, Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White And Blue” guitar, and more.

Historic photos of hitmakers from decades of SHOF induction and awards galas are on display, along with many of their personal artifacts, such as: an extensive array of SHOF founder Johnny Mercer’s memorabilia; Paul Williams’ Best Original Song Academy Award for “Evergreen (Love Theme from ‘A Star Is Born’)”; Jimmy Webb’s cherished copy of “The Complete Rhyming Dictionary”; Billy Steinberg’s cassette demo of “True Colors”; a number of Henry Mancini’s GRAMMYs, including the award for Song of the Year for “Moon River” (which he co-wrote with Johnny Mercer for Audrey Hepburn in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s), and many more. There are also notable red-carpet outfits and signature clothing items featured that have been worn by SHOF Chairman Nile Rodgers, Annie Lennox, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Jimmy Webb, Brian Wilson, Allee Willis, John Legend, Ne-Yo, and others.

The GRAMMY Museum is open from 11:00 am – 5:00 pm (Monday, Tues., Wed., Thurs, Fri., and Sunday), and 10:00 am – 6 pm on Saturdays. It is closed on Tuesdays. For more information on “The Power of Song: A Songwriters Hall of Fame Exhibit,” or to purchase tickets in advance, go to https://tickets.grammymuseum.org/event/general-admission-tickets.