Songwriters hall of fame 2024
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Founded 1967
(72), singer-songwriter and leader of The Dwight Twilley Band.
Dwight Twilley, born Dwight Arthur Twilley, on June 6, 1951, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, hailed from a family deeply rooted in the heart of America. His father, Vernon Tilley, a carpenter by trade, and his mother, Madeline, a homemaker who dedicated herself to caring for the family, instilled in him a love for classic rock and roll, while his older brother who played guitar, introduced him to the sounds of the early rockabilly pioneers, sparking a lifelong passion for both the guitar and that particular musical genre.
Dwight's early years were spent in the vibrant city of Tulsa, and following his graduation from Nathan Hale High School where he had founded his first band, The Escorts, he met Phil Seymour in 1967, and together they formed Oister (late to become The Dwight Twilley Band) in the early 1970s soon after Dwight's stint at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College. This collaboration yielded their eponymous debut album, "Sincerely" (1976), which stands as one of the cornerstones of the power pop ge
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Percy French was born William Percy French on May 1, 1854. He was one of the most popular and well-known Irish singers and songwriters of his time. He grew up and attended school in County Roscommon, graduating from Trinity College in Dublin in 1881 with a degree in civil engineering. But he also discovered a love for writing while at Trinity, and wrote his first successful song while a student there. He sold that song, Abdul Abulbul Amir, to a publisher for £5 and never saw another cent for it, even when it became very popular. In fact, a number of other authors stepped forward and claimed to have written it.
French took a job as a drain inspector for County Cavan upon his graduation. He held that position till 1885, and it was during those years that he wrote his best work. He also took up watercolor painting, and his paintings from that period are generally regarded as outstanding works of the art. One sold at auction recently for the astonishing sum of £44,000.
When that job ended rather abruptly in 1885, French relocated to Dublin where he took a position as editor of a wee
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Object Details
- Creator
- DeVincent, Sam, 1918-1997
- Provenance
- This collection was purchased by the Smithsonian Institution in 1988 from Sam and Nancy Lee DeVincent.
- Creator
- DeVincent, Sam, 1918-1997
- See more items in
- Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 4: Songwriters Volumes I and II
- Summary
- Sam DeVincent loved music and art and began collecting sheet music with lithographs at an early age. Series 4: Songwriters: A "songwriter" for this series is defined as a composer, a lyricist, or both. An overview to the entire DeVincent collection is available here: Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music.
- Biographies of Song Writers
- 4.42 ADAMS, STANLEY -- (8/14/1907-1/27/1994). Lyricist. Former President of ASCAP; was a leader in the successful effort for Congressional revision of copyright law. Best known song is "What a Diff'rence a Day Made." 4.43 AGER, MILTON -- (10/6/1893-5/6/1979). Composer, publishers, pianist, arranger, vaudeville accompanist, stage entertainer for silent movies. First hit was "Everything is
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