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The Songwriters Hall of Fame has announced its nominees for the Class of 2010.

Dion DiMucci among nominees

In the writer/ performer category, nominees  include Dion DiMucci, Leonard Cohen, David  Gates (Bread), Tommy James, John Cougar  Mellencamp, Lou Reed, Leon Russell, Cat  Stevens and Earth, Wind & Fire.

Non-performing writers nominated are Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, Jackie DeShannon and Joe South, Mark James (‘Suspicious Minds’), Luther Dixon (‘Soldier Boy’) and the teams of Jerry Ragavoy and Bert Burns (‘Twist & Shout’) and Paul Vance and Neil Pockriss (‘Itsy Bitsy Bikini’).

It’s a mystery why Jackie DeShannon and Joe South are in the ‘non-performing’ category instead of the ‘writer/performer’ category.

Two performers and three non-performers will be chosen and announced early next year and the ceremony will take place in June.

The Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1969 and there have been well over 300 inductees, including John Fogerty, Bill Withers, Carole King, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Sir Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Brian Wilson, James Taylor, James Brown, Bruce Springsteen, Curtis Mayfield, Hal David and Burt Bacharach, Van Morrison, Kris Kristofferson and many others.

The full list of nominees for 2010 is available at:
http://www.songhall.org/vote