Carole Bayer Sager

* Carole Bayer Sager was also the 2019 recipient of The Johnny Mercer Award, the SHOF’s highest honor

Recording stars from Frank Sinatra to Dolly Parton have recorded the songs of Carole Bayer Sager. So also have Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, Melissa Manchester, Christopher Cross, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, The Doobie Brothers, Gladys Knight, Roberta Flack, Johnny Mathis, Leo Sayer, Carly Simon, Bette Midler, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Patti LaBelle, El DeBarge, Bob Dylan, Kenny Rogers and even Carole herself.

The petite lyricist constitutes one-half of one of the world's most successful songwriting teams, as she and husband, Burt Bacharach, have proven many times. During the past year, the couple have enjoyed two number one songs, "On My Own," recorded by Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald, and "That's What Friends Are For." Records of both songs went gold. "That's What Friends Are For," recorded by Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder, also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the American Foundation for AIDS Research. "That's What Friends Are For"-nominated for Grammys for "Song of the Year" and "Record of the Year" in 1986-was the number one song of the year. And, "On My Own" was the second-biggest seller of 1986.

She has been writing professionally for more than 20 years, and began when she was a student at New York City’s High School of Music and Art. She graduated from New York University where she focused on English, Dramatic Arts and Speech. Sager, with her husband, made their debut as a team, by winning an Oscar for Best Song for the 1981 "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)." Their songs for other films include "Making Love," three songs for the film, Night Shift, and the Roberta Flack-Peabo Bryson hit recording of "Romantic Comedy."

Two other Sager songs, "Looking Through the Eyes of Love," (from Ice Castles) and "Nobody Does It Better," (from The Spy Who Loved Me) were also nominated for Oscars, and her songs have also received Grammy nominations. Sager's lyrics are also heard in the long-running play, They're Playing Our Song, (the result of a collaboration with Marvin Hamlisch and Neil Simon).

A singer as well as a writer, Sager has had three self-penned albums. Her own hit singles have included "Stronger Than Before," and "You're Moving Out Today."

In addition to Burt Bacharach, Sager's list of collaborators includes Neil Diamond, Melissa Manchester, Bette Midler, Peter Allen, Quincy Jones, Bruce Roberts, David Foster and Michael McDonald.

Other hit titles in the Sager catalog include "Come in from the Rain," Don't Out Loud," “When I Need You," "Midnight Blue," "It's My Turn," "Everything Old Is New Again," “Break It to Me Gently," "Making Love," "Heartlight" and her very first hit, "A Groovy Kind of Love."