The 31st annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony will include the induction of Cheap Trick, Chicago, Deep Purple, Steve Miller, N.W.A., and songwriter and record producer Bert Berns. Berns was born Bertrand Russell Berns to Russian Jewish immigrants in the Bronx in 1929. As a child he contracted rheumatic fever which resulted in his early death at the age of 37. As a songwriter, Berns is known for writing several songs including:
- “Twist and Shout” (The Isley Brothers before The Beatles)
- “Tell Him” (The Exciters)
- “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” (Solomon Burke)
- “Under the Boardwalk” (The Drifters)
- “Cry To Me” (Solomon Burke before The Rolling Stones)
- “Piece of My Heart” (Erma Franklin, Janis Joplin, Faith Hill, Melissa Etheridge)
As a producer and owner of Bang Records, Berns is known for working with Van Morrison (“Here Comes the Night”, “Baby Please Don’t Go”, “Brown Eyed Girl”); and the McCoys (“Hang on Sloopy”); among many others. A book on Berns’ life and career, “Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues,” was written by Joel Selvin in 2014. The 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will air on HBO on April 30 at 8pm.
