Showbiz411

Berry Gordy, the legend behind Motown, will be getting the Pioneer Award this June from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The SHOF dinner- a coveted ticket–comes just a couple of days after the Tony Awards, where Gordy might snag a couple of statues for his “Motown” musical opening on Broadway in mid April.  Gordy follows the late Woody Guthrie as the second recipient of the newish Pioneer Award. This year’s inductees into the SHOF are Tony Hatch, Mick Jones & Lou Gramm of Foreigner, Holly Knight, JD Souther,  and Steven Tyler & Joe Perry of Aerosmith. The dinner takes place June 13th at the Marriott Marquis.

Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.