On Tuesday, May 21, The ASCAP Foundation and The Library of Congress will jointly present the 11th annual “We Write the Songs” event at the historic Coolidge Auditorium in The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The evening celebrates the gift by The ASCAP Foundation to the Library of Congress of the original manuscripts, lead sheets, lyrics sheets, photos and letters of some of America’s greatest creators of words and music.
The evening is hosted by Chief of the Library of Congress Music Division Susan H. Vita and ASCAP Foundation President Paul Williams, and will include performances by several of ASCAP’s leading songwriter and composer members. Performers at the event will include: Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go’s (“Our Lips Are Sealed,” “We Got The Beat”), Don Felder (“Hotel California,” “Victim of Love”), Felix Cavaliere (“Beautiful Morning,” “People Gotta Be Free”), Andrea Martin (“Breathe”), Kany Garcia (“Hoy Ya Me Voy”) and composer Siddhartha Khosla (television series This is Us).
Celebrating its eleventh year, “We Write the Songs” has become a Washington tradition and an exclusive invitation-only event for legislative and cultural dignitaries where dozens of Members of Congress crowd Coolidge Auditorium for an evening of classic songs and stories.
The ASCAP Collection at the Library of Congress was established to preserve the history and create a repository for video and audio materials, photos, scores, documents and artifacts. Each is relevant to the rich history of ASCAP and its members as contributors to American culture. Some archival materials record the day-to-day workings of ASCAP; others provide insights into the life and music of individual ASCAP members. The ASCAP Collection at the Library of Congress gives historians, students and the public access to this valuable trove of musical history.
“We Write the Songs” takes place the evening before ASCAP’s “Stand with Songwriters” Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill. On Wednesday, May 22, all of the “We Write the Songs” music creators will meet with Members of Congress to discuss the challenges facing songwriters in the digital music age and urge them to protect songwriters from further regulation.
—
Photo Credit: Be Good / Shutterstock.com