Bert Berns, the late songwriter whose many hits embody “Twist and Shout,” “Piece of My Coronary heart,” “Cling on Sloopy” and “I Need Sweet,” was inducted posthumously into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in a ceremony held on Wednesday (Sept. 10) at 54 Beneath cabaret membership in New York Metropolis.
Berns died greater than a half-century in the past, so whereas his title is probably not acquainted to all, his songs are.
“Twist and Shout” was a prime 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for The Isley Brothers in 1962 and a No. 2 smash for The Beatles in 1964. The Beatles’ recording returned to the prime 30 in 1986, when it was featured in the box-office hit Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
“Piece of My Coronary heart” was a No. 62 hit on Sizzling 100 hit in 1967 for Erma Franklin (Aretha’s elder sister) and a No. 12 smash in 1968 for Massive Brother & the Holding Firm, with Janis Joplin out entrance.
“Cling on Sloopy” was a No. 1 hit in 1965 for The McCoys. It was additionally a No. 11 hit that very same 12 months for Ramsey Lewis Trio.
“I Need Sweet” was a No. 11 hit on the Sizzling 100 in 1965 for The Strangeloves.
Different hits that Berns wrote or cowrote embody The Exciters’ “Inform Him” (No. 4 on the Sizzling 100 in 1963), Betty Harris’ “Cry to Me” (No. 23 in 1963) and Wilson Pickett’s “Everyone Wants Any person to Love” (No. 29 in 1967).
As well as, he produced songs he didn’t have a hand in writing, together with The Drifters’ “Underneath the Boardwalk” and Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Lady,” each of which made the prime 10 on the Sizzling 100.
The occasion was hosted by musician Paul Shaffer and Berns’ son Brett and daughter Cassandra. Tributes included video messages from SHOF inductees Paul McCartney and Van Morrison. Visitors included Steven Van Zandt and SHOF inductee Steve Miller. Additionally in attendance had been business veterans Joel Selvin, Russ Titelman, Avery Lipman, Kenny Laguna and SHOF Board members Charlie Feldman and Pete Ganbarg, chairman of the SHOF Legacy Committee.
The celebration of Berns’ legacy included dwell performances by Cassandra Berns, singer Betty Harris, Tony-nominated actress Mary Bridget Davies (A Evening With Janis Joplin) and Broadway stars from the musical Piece of My Coronary heart: The Bert Berns Story. Highlights included a efficiency of “Cry to Me” by Harris, an artist signed to Berns’ Jubilee file label. The evening concluded with Fenkart main the viewers in a finale of “Twist and Shout.”
The annual SHOF gala in June doesn’t usually embody posthumous inductions – the SHOF prefers that occasion to have a celebratory temper. However the group has began internet hosting particular posthumous inductions at distinctive venues and occasions. In April 2024, it awarded Cindy Walker, whose many hits included the cross-genre basic “You Don’t Know Me,” in a particular occasion at historic Columbia Studio A in Nashville. Walker died in 2006 at age 87.
“The ceremony at Columbia Studio A was heat, intimate, and respectful,” SHOF board member Fletcher Foster mentioned in an announcement at the time of the ceremony for Walker. “SHOF president and CEO Linda Moran says this now units the stage for future posthumous inductions.”
Deceased writers to be thought-about for posthumous induction had been included in a particular phase of the 2025 SHOF poll.
In 1963, Berns’ work with Solomon Burke caught the consideration of Atlantic Information’ chiefs Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler, and he joined the label as a producer, changing Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. He flourished beneath the encouragement of Wexler. In 1965, he began his personal rock n’ roll label, BANG Information, whose roster included the likes of Neil Diamond, Van Morrison and The McCoys. The next 12 months, he established R&B and soul music label Shout Information.
Berns, who had a historical past of cardiac hassle, died in his New York residence of coronary heart failure in December 1967 at age 38.
