Collins to receive writers’ top honor

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Even though he has written songs that have become etched into pop culture, from “Against All Odds” to “In the Air Tonight,” Phil Collins insists he has no special formula for writing a hit.

“It’s all a stroke of luck; it’s a complete accident,” he said in an interview this week. “I’ve never purposely crafted a song to be a hit in my life.”

But luck rarely strikes so often. So, today, the Songwriters Hall of Fame will give the former Genesis frontman its highest honor, the Johnny Mercer Award, during ceremonies in New York City.

It’s the second major honor this year for the 59-year-old Collins; in March, Genesis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Collins already has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, but getting this special honor was such a shock, he didn’t quite believe it.

When he got the e-mail, he called his manager and asked if he would be presenting the award instead.

“That’s something that I never thought I’d be qualified to get; I still don’t think I’m qualified to get,” he said.

Collins will join a star-studded cast among the honorees. Taylor Swift is getting the Hal David Starlight Award for emerging songwriters, and the inductees for the hall will include David Foster, Earth, Wind & Fire, Leonard Cohen, Jesse Stone, Laura Nyro, Jackie DeShannon, Johnny Mandel, Matt Dennis, Bob Marley and Sunny Skylar.

The hall also will honor “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” written by Paul Simon, as it celebrates its 40th anniversary. Other special tributes include one for producer Phil Ramone and publisher Keith Mardak.