Natchez native Glen Ballard to be inducted into Mississippi Songwriters Hall of Fame

OCEAN SPRINGS — Natchez native and renowned songwriter Glen Ballard will be inducted into the Mississippi Songwriters Hall of Fame on Sept. 19 in Ocean Springs.

Ballard, born and raised in Natchez, began his career writing songs and performing with local bands. He studied literature at the University of Mississippi before moving to Hollywood. He worked for Elton John and later Quincy Jones in his first decade in Los Angeles, becoming a staff songwriter at Universal. He was just last month honored with the 2,784th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Recording category.

The six-time Grammy Award-winner has sold over 150 million copies of his records worldwide.

Of the four honorees being inducted in 2024, Ballard is the only surviving artist and will be performing at the induction ceremony on Sept. 19 at the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Arts Center, 1600 Government St., said Andy Dalgo, Mississippi Songwriters Hall of Fame board member.

“The other three inductees are blues legends Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon,” he said. “These artists have 450 million songs sold and 100-plus Grammy Awards between them.”

The event is first come-first served and free and open to the public.

The evening begins with a meet and greet starting at 6 p.m. with the ceremony at 7 p.m.

The Hall of Fame induction kicks off the 2024 Mississippi Songwriters Festival, a four-day award-winning event beginning on Sept. 19 through 22 at various venues around Ocean Springs.

“Thousands of people show up for this fun, free weekend each year,” Dalgo said. “The songwriting event started 15 years ago and is now one of the largest in the south. We started in 2019 with our first Hall of Fame inductee Paul Overstreet and shortly after Jimmy Buffet.”

The Mississippi Songwriters Hall of Fame now includes a total of 23 world-renowned artists from Mississippi, including BB King, Sam Cooke, Tammy Wynette, Robert Johnson, Jimmy Rogers and more.

“A groundbreaking is planned later next year in the town next to us in Gautier for a 10,000 square foot Mississippi Songwriters Performing Arts Center right next to an 8,000-seat amphitheater called The Sound. They’ll each have a pretty good-sized display in that museum,” Dalgo said.

Ballard produced and co-wrote Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill as well as songs for Wilson Phillips, Dave Matthews, Christina Aguilera, George Strait, Josh Groban, Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Shakira, Katy Perry, Van Halen, Chaka Khan, Andrea Bocelli, Ringo Starr, George Benson, Patti Austin, Al Jarreau, Idina Menzel and many more.

His production credits include producing and arranging records for Annie Lennox, No Doubt and P.O.D. Key songs in the Ballard catalog include “Man in the Mirror” for Michael Jackson which he co-wrote and arranged, “You Oughta Know,” “Hold On,” “The Voice Within,” “The Space Between” and “Believe” for the feature film The Polar Express.

Ballard’s international production company based in Los Angeles, Augury, is a producer of the stage adaptation of 1985’s Back to the Future, having worked on the project’s development for more than 14 years.
Through his company, Ballard continues developing a diverse slate of projects in which music plays a central role. His most recent television project is the Netflix Original series The Eddy (2020).

“Glen is one of the most talented and accomplished songwriters of all time, having sold over 150 million records as well as winning six Grammys and seven Oscar nominations,” Dalgo said. “Glen will be there and performing some of his songs. We’ve also contacted the Natchez mayor’s office and invited him to be part of the induction.”

For more festival information visit mssongwritersfestival.com.

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