Lionel Richie was among music stars, including Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Nile Rodgers and Marvin Gaye, honoured by the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Richie won the most prestigious prize, given to a songwriter who has already been inducted.
The inductees also included Rodgers’ writing partner Bernard Edwards and Wild Thing songwriter Chip Taylor.
Richie, 66, who sang Hello at the piano, said: “This is the best night of my entire life as a songwriter.”
The celebration in New York also featured live performances by Jennifer Hudson, the B-52s, Marcus Mumford, Sister Sledge, Jussie Smollett and Rachel Platten.
Petty, whose hits include I Won’t Back Down and Free Fallin’, called on the audience to encourage young rockers “to live out their dreams like I have mine”.
Rodgers was joined by Sister Sledge for We Are Family, the 1978 hit which he and Edwards wrote for them.
Costello performed his 1977 song Alison, and said how grateful he was to Linda Ronstandt for her cover version, which he said helped keep him afloat.
“This honour means all the more to me because I am probably the least commercially successful songwriter to have ever been inducted,” he joked.
Seymour Stein, who co-founded Sire Records and signed acts from punk pioneers The Ramones to pop star Madonna, was also honoured, along with Nick Jonas, the singer, songwriter and actor, who is best known as one of the Jonas Brothers.
BBC
