Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductees Announced With the Help Of Hot Performances

(andPOP) - The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame is probably the only awards event in the world that honours its recipients twice. Artists and industry types flocked to the Le Royal Meridien King Edward hotel in downtown Toronto Thursday morning for an action-packed press conference to announce inductees into the 2008 hall of fame for the first time. Unlike most other press conferences, which are typically staid, quiet affairs, this one featured four performances from up-and-coming Canadian singers, and Styx’s Lawrence Gowan as droll host. It was a show in itself.

This year’s inductees include Alex Kramer, Andre Lejeune, Claude Dubois, and Paul Anka, and 23 well-known songs, written between 1921 and 1982. Jazz great Oscar Peterson was also named winner of the Founders Award.
But Petersen and the rest of the inductees will have to wait several months before they’ll be able to hold the CSHF award, a golden statuette based on a sculpture by Ontario artist Elizabeth Wyn Wood, in their hands.

The 5th Annual Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala won’t be held until March 1 of next year. But it promises to be a good one – in past years, the event has featured performances from the likes of Herbie Hancock, Rufus Wainwright, Michael Buble, and James Taylor. Parts of the party will be broadcast on CBC in a television special.

Not that press conference attendees got shafted. Four of the songs to be inducted into the hall of fame were given new life at the conference thanks to live performances from four young Canadian artists.

Rockstar: INXS winner Suzie McNeil opened the show with an energetic rendition of Les Emmerson’s Signs. Later, Quebecois singers Cindy Daniel and Dave Bourgeois hit the stage to perform Andre Lejeune’s Une Promesse, and Claude Dubois’s Le Labrador, respectively. Sugar Jones alumna Julie Crochetiere wrapped everything up with a beautiful solo performance of Paul Anka’s Put Your Head On My Shoulder that had guests chatting about her talent long after she left the stage.

The real star of the conference, though, was Gowan, whose valiant efforts to speak French were both amusing and commendable. “English is my second language,” he joked during introductions. As long as the gala in March includes Gowan, the CSHF should have no problem attracting listeners and viewers.