Music Notes

Missy Elliott, the creative mastermind who has written hit songs for a number of female acts and created camaraderie among women in the music industry for more than two decades, felt the love back from her musical sisters as she became the first female rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

During a performance, breakthrough singer-rapper Lizzo brought Elliott's colorful and eccentric music videos to life in an ensemble similar to what Elliott sported in the late '90s — the finger wave hairdo included. Da Brat, fiery as ever, joined Lizzo onstage for "Sock It 2 Me" in New York on Thursday night.

Queen Latifah, a Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe winner, inducted Elliott with kind words as she paid homage to their long-lasting friendship. And even former first lady Michelle Obama took her turn to say how much of a Missy Elliott fan she is.

"Missy, I want to thank you for all of your trailblazing ways," Obama said in a taped video that aired during the event. "Thank you not for just sharing your gift with the world, but for being an advocate for so many people out there, especially young girls who are still figuring out how to make their voices heard."

It all brought Elliott to tears: Near the end of her 10-minute speech, the Grammy winner broke down after telling funny and deep stories about how her creative mind worked as a child.

"I am thankful," she said, pausing for a few seconds.

"Every time I come up to a podium ... even with all the work that I've done, I don't know, and I'm assuming it's just God, I don't know why I am here," she said with tears in her eyes as the audience erupted with cheers and applause. "I want to say one thing to the writers, to the upcoming writers, 'Do not give up.' We all go through writer's block. Sometimes you just have to walk away from a record and come back to it. But don't give up because I'm standing here. And this is big for hip-hop, too."

Elliott is just the third rapper to enter into the Songwriters Hall, following Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri's inductions in 2017 and 2018, respectively. While she's written her own hit songs — from "Get Ur Freak On" to "Work It" to "Lose Control" — Elliott has also lent her writing skills to others — specifically girl groups and pop and R&B soloists, including the late icon Aaliyah, Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, Monica, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Ariana Grande, Destiny's Child, Fantasia, Jazmine Sullivan, SWV, Total, 702, Mya, Tweet and others.

Elliott entered the 2019 class alongside heavyweights in the music industry, including legendary British singer Cat Stevens and country-folk icon John Prine.

"I love songwriting. I love to paint myself into a corner and have to write my way out of it," said Prine, who performed onstage with Bonnie Raitt. "And when I co-write I always try to pick out a really good restaurant, so if things ain't happening in the first 30 minutes, just go: 'Hey man, let's go get some lunch.'"

Cat Stevens, who converted to Islam and now goes by Yusuf/Cat Stevens, said as his life took several journeys, so did his songwriting.

"My first search was for wealth and success but then I was dragged underground after the first battle with fame and the demands of the music business. I was hospitalized with a thing called TB, but that was a great opening for me, a great chance, and that's when my real journey started," he said. "And that journey was to do a search for meaning, so that kind of defined, I think, my main contribution to being a songwriter."

Songwriters are eligible for induction after writing hit songs for at least 20 years. Other inductees were Jack Tempchin, who co-wrote songs for the Eagles and Glenn Frey's solo albums; Dallas Austin, the songwriter behind radio hits for TLC, Monica, Pink, Boyz II Men and Madonna; and Tom T. Hall, who Johnny Cash called his "all-time favorite songwriter." Hall didn't attend the 50th annual induction ceremony but taped an acceptance speech.

Sara Bareilles, who was honored at last year's ceremony, stole the show Thursday when she beautifully sang her hit "Brave." She was on piano while Jack Antonoff, the song's co-writer, assisted on guitar. They gave Martin Bandier, who stepped down as CEO and chairman of Sony/ATV Music Publishing this year, the Visionary Leadership Award.

Pop singer Halsey performed and earned the Hal David Starlight Award, while Oscar winner Carole Bayer Sager — who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall in 1987 — received the Johnny Mercer Award and sang with Patti LaBelle onstage. The president and CEO of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Linda Moran, earned the Champion Award.

Justin Timberlake received the Contemporary Icon Award and closed the multi-hour event with a performance, singing "New York, New York" and then going into his own hits that he had a hand in writing, including "My Love" and "Cry Me a River."

Associated Press Writer Brooke Lefferts contributed to this report.

"Stairway to Heaven" will get another hearing, this time to a packed house.

A panel of 11 judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed Monday to hear Led Zeppelin's appeal in a copyright lawsuit alleging the group stole its 1971 rock epic from an obscure 1960s instrumental.

In a 2016 trial that included testimony from Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant, a jury found that "Stairway to Heaven" did not significantly resemble the song "Taurus," written by the late Randy Wolfe and performed by his band Spirit.

Page said he wrote the music for the song and Plant the lyrics, and that both were original.

But in September, a three-judge panel from the 9th Circuit ruled that the judge at the trial had failed to advise the jury properly, and ordered a new trial . The judges unanimously found that the trial judge was wrong to tell jurors that individual elements of a song such as its notes or scale may not qualify for copyright protection, because a combination of those elements may qualify if they are sufficiently original.

Led Zeppelin's lawyers moved to the next level of appeal, asking for the larger group of judges to rehear the case, and the request was granted. The 11-judge panel will hear the case in late September in San Francisco.

Leon Redbone, the blues and jazz artist whose growly voice, Panama hat and cultivated air of mystery made him seem like a character out of the ragtime era or the Depression-era Mississippi Delta, died Thursday. He was 69.

No details about his death were provided.

Redbone's career got a boost in the early 1970s when Bob Dylan met him at the Mariposa Folk Festival in Ontario, Canada, and praised his performance. Dylan said that if he ever started a label, he would have signed Redbone.

"Leon interests me," Dylan said in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1974. "I've heard he's anywhere from 25 to 60, I've been (a foot and a half from him) and I can't tell, but you gotta see him. He does old Jimmie Rodgers, then turns around and does a Robert Johnson."

Dylan wasn't the only one who didn't know Redbone's real age since the performer never directly answered questions about his origin or age. Redbone's publicist confirmed he was born in Cyprus on Aug. 26, 1949, but the Thursday statement announcing his death explained that "Leon Redbone crossed the delta for that beautiful shore at the age of 127. He departed our world with his guitar, his trusty companion Rover, and a simple tip of his hat."

"I don't do anything mysterious on purpose. I'm less than forthcoming, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm mysterious. It just means I'm not inclined to go there," Redbone was quoted saying in the press release that announced his death.

Redbone retired from performing in 2015 because his health had "been a matter of concern for some time," a spokesman for the singer said at the time, and it was "too challenging for him to continue the full range of professional activities."

He released his debut album, "On the Track," in 1975, and dropped 16 albums throughout his career.

Most often dressed in a white suit with a string tie, wearing glasses and a panama hat, Redbone performed twice on "Saturday Night Live" in its first season (1975-1976) and was a frequent guest on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson."

He voiced Leon the Snowman in the 2003 Christmas comedy "Elf," starring Will Ferrell, and sang "Baby, It's Cold Outside," a duet with Zooey Deschanel, for the film.

Redbone also sang the theme song for the TV series "Mr. Belvedere" and "Harry and the Hendersons."

A 16-minute documentary about his life aptly titled "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" was released last year.

The Netherlands won the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv Saturday, with Duncan Laurence's doleful piano ballad "Arcade" crowned champion of Europe's annual music extravaganza.

The 25-year-old was tapped as an early front-runner before the Grand Final but was only ranked third after the vote of professional juries from the 41 participating countries, trailing Sweden and North Macedonia. He surged ahead thanks to the fan vote, securing The Netherlands its fifth win ever in the competition. Italy finished second, followed by Russia, Switzerland and Norway.

"This is to dreaming big. This is to music first, always," Laurence said, as he was handed the trophy from last year's winner, Israel's Netta Barzilai.

Some 200 million people around the world were believed to have watched the annual campy contest with 26 nations battling in the Grand Final of the 64th Eurovision.

Madonna was the star attraction, performing her hit staple, "Like a Prayer," marking 30 years since its release, and a new song "Future" from her forthcoming album "Madame X." She took the stage after participants wrapped up their performances shortly after midnight when the elaborate voting process got underway across Europe.

To maximize onscreen tension, performers are ranked by a mix of fan votes and professional juries. Spectators could not vote for their own country, but like-minded nations tend to fall into blocs that back their regional favorites, with politics meshing into art.

The Eurovision debuted in the wake of World War II to heal a divided continent. Over the years, the earnest show of European unity has ballooned into an over-the-top, gay-friendly spectacle that brings together acts from across the continent, including those with little or no connection to Europe, such as Australia.

Israel earned the right to host the show after Barzilai won last year's competition with her catchy pop anthem "Toy."

The ostensibly non-political affair has tried to avoid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has largely succeeded, despite swirling threats of controversy. Calls for performers to boycott the show over Israeli policies toward Palestinians failed to generate much momentum.

A small protest took place outside Tel Aviv's Expo Center before the show, following another one from musicians in Gaza earlier in the week. A recent round of rocket fire toward Israel from there also failed to temper excitement.

Madonna herself had faced calls from a Palestinian-led campaign to avoid performing at the event in Israel. But the Queen of Pop rejected the boycott motions, saying she will "never stop playing music to suit someone's political agenda." Still, two of her embracing dancers sported the flags of Israel and the Palestinians on their backs.

All eyes were on Iceland's controversial steampunk band Hatari, which had drawn attention for initially saying it would be "absurd" to participate in Israel because of its policies toward the Palestinians. They had vowed to use the Eurovision spotlight to expose the "face of the occupation," but their live performance of grinding metal rock passed without incident. Only at the end of the broadcast, when their final vote tally was announced, did they whip out a Palestinian flag, to sounds of boos from the audience.

For Israel, the mega event offered a much-anticipated opportunity to put its good face forward and project an image of normalcy to the world. Israel-themed promotional clips featuring each of the participants dancing in various scenic locations across the country streamed before each performance to a TV audience expected to be larger than that of the Super Bowl.

The event itself was being hosted by a quartet of Israeli celebrities, including top model Bar Refaeli. Israel's own Wonder Woman Gal Gadot also made a cameo video appearance. The Tel Aviv hall was packed with thousands of screaming fans, while tens of thousands gathered to watch the final at the city-sponsored Eurovision village in Tel Aviv and at public screenings elsewhere.

As the reigning champion, Israel swept straight through to the finals — along with the five European countries who most heavily funded the event. The other 20 participants qualified through a pair of semifinal rounds.

Sweden's soulful "Too Late for Love," sung by John Lundvik, topped the professional jury vote and seemed to be on its way to carrying forward Sweden's successful Eurovision track record 45 years after Swedish icons ABBA won with "Waterloo."

Israel has won the Eurovision four previous times and it has provided the country with some of its cultural touchstones. "Hallelujah" became the country's unofficial national song after Milk and Honey won the contest for Israel when it hosted the event in the late 1970s, and Dana International became a national hero and global transgender icon when she won with "Diva" in 1998. Barzilai became a role model for plus-size women after her win last year. She has been unapologetic about her weight, the loud colors she wears, and the funky chicken moves and sounds that have become her trademark.

All of Israel's former winners took part in Saturday's event with Barzilai and Dana International ceremoniously getting it underway.