A comet must have landed at the 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The members of R.E.M. had joked only hours before it would take “a comet” to get the band to perform together one last time. Yet there they were, reunited during the gala Thursday in New York City.

The event celebrated a group of songwriters that included R.E.M., Steely Dan and Timbaland, who conducted a medley of his massive hits.

R.E.M.’s Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe were behind numerous alt-rock hits such as “Everybody Hurts” and “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine).” On Thursday, they stunned audiences with the undisputed highlight of the night: reuniting for an acoustic version of “Losing My Religion.”

“We are R.E.M.,” Stipe said. “And this is what we did.”

Nashville hitmaker Hillary Lindsey, who helped write “Girl Crush” for Little Big Town and “Jesus, Take the Wheel” for Carrie Underwood, was inducted along with Dean Pitchford, who helped Kenny Loggins with the megahit “Footloose” and co-wrote “Fame” and “Holding Out For a Hero.”

The Bacon Brothers, the folk-rock duo of actor Kevin Bacon and Michael Bacon, introduced Pitchford with a rambunctious take on “Footloose.” Denise Williams danced while belting her Pitchford- penned hit, “Let’s Hear It For the Boy.”

“It’s been 40 years, can you believe it,” Pitchford said. “I’m deeply grateful … Above all, thank you for hearing me.”

Irving Azoff led the celebration of Steely Dan, telling a story about the legendary band submitting a blank glossy image as its promo artwork. “To say they had a great sense of humor would be an understatement,” he said.

Co-founded by Donald Fagen and the late Walter Becker, Steely Dan is known for classic rock songs such as “Do It Again” and “Hey Nineteen.”

“I’d like to thank my partner Walter Becker, wherever he may be,” Fagen said.

Missy Elliott shouted out the late rapper Magoo for introducing her to Timbaland in an energetic introduction to her longtime writing and production partner, noting he had “a gift.”

Timbaland told the audience the songwriting recognition was the best award he could get.

“I don’t really talk too much. I just talk with my music,” he said.

Songwriter James dies: Mark James, the songwriter behind lovelorn rock and country hits like Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds” and Willie Nelson’s “Always on My Mind,” died June 8 at his home in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 83.

Other hits written by James include “Hooked on a Feeling,” originally written for B.J. Thomas; Brenda Lee’s “Sunday Sunrise”; and Blood Sweat & Tears’ “Roller Coaster.”

James was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014.

June 15 birthdays: Singer Ruby Nash Garnett is 90. Singer Russell Hitchcock is 75. Singer Steve Walsh is 73. Actor Jim Belushi is 70. Actor Julie Hagerty is 69. Actor Helen Hunt is 61. Actor Courteney Cox is 60. Rapper Ice Cube is 55. Actor Leah Remini is 54. Actor Jake Busey is 53. Actor Neil Patrick Harris is 51.