Music: Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil

Their website says it well: "It would be impossible to imagine the last four decades of pop music without the melodies of Barry Man and the lyrics of Cynthia Weil. Mann and Weil have created a body of work so significant it has often been described as 'a soundtrack to our lives.'" Uploaded by rockhall.com.

This husband and wife team were a part of the famous Brill Building songwriters (Great American Things, June 18, 2010), and they wrote some of the greatest and biggest hits of the second half of the twentieth century. Here’s a partial list of their hits, along with the artists with whom they’re most closely associated:

Uploaded by songwritersuniverse.com.

• “Don’t Know Much” (Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt)
• “Here You Come Again” (Dolly Parton)
• “Hungry” (Paul Revere and the Raiders)
• “I Just Can’t Stop Believing” (B.J. Thomas)
• “Just Once” (James Ingram)
• “Make Your Own Kind of Music” (Mama Cass Elliott)
• “On Broadway” (The Drifters)
• “Only in America” (Jay and the Americans)
• “Somewhere Out There” with James Horner (Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram)
• “Uptown” (The Crystals)
• “Walking in the Rain” (The Ronettes)
• “We Gotta Get Out of this Place” (The Animals)
• “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration” (The Righteous Brothers)
• “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling” with Phil Spector (The Righteous Brothers

That’s a very impressive list. Mann and Weil won an incredible 112 awards from BMI, and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” was determined to have been the most-played song in the entire twentieth century. “Somewhere Out There” won the Grammy for Song of the Year, and received an Oscar nomination. The couple are members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They will receive the Johnny Mercer Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Songwriters Hall of Fame, at its annual awards next month.

Singer: Carole King

Carole King's album Tapestry stayed at number one for an amazing 17 weeks and remained on the charts for almost six years. Uploaded by cci.tomakomai.or.jp.

One of the standard descriptions of a musical artist today is “Singer-Songwriter.” If Carole King didn’t create that category, she could have.

As a songwriter, she and her then husband and writing partner Gerry Goffin wrote these great songs of the 1960s: “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” (The Shirelles), “Take Good Care of My Baby” (Bobby Vee), “Chains” (The Cookies), “The Loco-Motion” (Little Eva), “Go Away Little Girl” (Steve Lawrence, later Donny Osmond), “Crying in the Rain” (The Everly Brothers), “Don’t Say Nothin’ Bad About My Baby” (The Cookies), “One Fine Day” (The Chiffons), “Up on the Roof” (The Drifters), “Don’t Bring Me Down” (The Animals), “Pleasant Valley Sunday” (The Monkees), and “A Natural Woman” (Aretha Franklin).

With James Taylor. Uploaded by i73.photobucket.com.

Following a number of unsuccessful songwriting and recording ventures, Carole released the album “Tapestry.” It still reigns as one of the most successful albums of all time. The stats are just remarkable: Number One on the chart for 17 consecutive weeks…Spawned two number one singles…and remained on the charts for nearly six years. It was recognized by the Grammys as Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, Record of the Year (“It’s Too Late”) and Song of the Year (“You’ve Got a Friend”).

Carole continues to record and perform, and is on tour this year with James Taylor, who made “You’ve Got a Friend” one of his own signature recordings. She’s been honored by membership in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Great American Things, August 31, 2009), and the Grammy Trustees Award. But considering her immense talent, more honors and recognition may still be coming…