Miami's own Gloria Estefan inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame
MIAMI - Singer and songwriter Gloria Estefan made history on Thursday night in New York as the first Latina to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
"It's an honor to be the first that anything. And I've had quite a few firsts in my life more than any person deserves. So, I'm very thrilled to push that door open a little more for more Latinos to come up and get this," she said.
The Cuban-born singer was inducted alongside country songwriter Liz Rose, ELO co-founder Jeff Lynne, hip-hop and R&B producer Teddy Riley and Glen Ballard, who said he still gets a kick out of hearing his songs.
"Every now and then I'm in like CVS Pharmacy and I hear a couple of my songs and, and I just stop. I stop shopping, you know? So, it's always a thrill. It's, you know, I'll never get over the thrill," he said.
Rapper Post Malone was honored with the Hal David Starlight Award which goes to young songwriters and veteran composer Tim Rice earned the Johnny Mercer prize.
Inductees qualify for the Hall of fame 20 years after the first commercial release of a song. There are roughly 400 inductees currently in the Hall of Fame.