TT Taylor Swift Shatters Records: Youngest Woman EVER Inducted Into Songwriters Hall of Fame at 36 – Called a ‘Great Puzzle Master’ Crafting Perfect Song Mosaics… Joining Alanis Morissette, KISS Legends Gene Simmons & Paul Stanley, Plus Kenny Loggins in 2026 Class – Swifties, This Honor Feels Like Destiny!
LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 24: Singer-songwriters Alanis Morissette (L) and Taylor Swift perform onstage during Taylor Swift The 1989 World Tour Live In Los Angeles at Staples Center on August 24, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/TAS/Getty Images for TAS)
Taylor Swift, Alanis Morrisette, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS, and Kenny Loggins have been elected into the Songwriters Hall of Fame for its Class of 2026.
Swift becomes the youngest woman ever to be inducted in the Hall of Fame, which describes her as a “great puzzle master” who “scrutinizes each piece to create the perfect mosaic.”
Morissette was recognized by the Hall for her “deeply expressive music,” making her “one of the most influential singer-songwriter-musicians in contemporary music.”
As the main songwriters of KISS, Simmons and Stanley, meanwhile, were celebrated for earning 14 multi-platinum and platinum releases, along with 30 gold records.
And Loggins for giving music fans “the soundtrack of our lives” with his work both as a solo artist and as one half of the duo Loggins & Messina.
Other names to be inducted this year are songwriters and producers Christopher “Tricky” Stewart (Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”), Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”), Terry Britten and Graham Lyle (Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do with It”).
Some of the nominees who missed out on being inducted this year include LL Cool J, P!nk, Sarah McLachlan, David Byrne, Charlotte Caffey, Kathy Valentine and Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go’s, Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings of The Guess Who, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell of America, Richard Carpenter of The Carpenters, Harry Wayne Casey, aka KC of KC and the Sunshine Band, and Boz Scaggs.
According to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, “a songwriter with a notable catalogue of songs qualifies for induction 20 years after the first commercial release of a song.”
