POP MUSIC REVIEW : Stevie Wonder Serenaded at Songwriters Gala : National Academy of Songwriters gives him its Lifetime Achievement Award at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre.

“Songwriters don’t get enough credit,” griped Stevie Wonder as he was being showered with accolades for his songwriting.

On Thursday at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, he was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Academy of Songwriters at the seventh annual “Salute to the American Songwriter.” “I was wondering when I was going to get one of these,” he quipped.

His acceptance speech, though, didn’t deal much with songwriting, but rather was an eloquent and dramatic call for international brotherhood.

Wonder, who’s known for his humanitarian efforts, particularly cited his concern over the plight of the starving people in Somalia. Sharing his pain with the audience over the transgressions of world governments, Wonder said, was his duty as a songwriter. “The tears we do not shed we bring out in our songs,” he said.

Oddly, the first song he performed after accepting the award was one that he didn’t even write--”The Christmas Song,” by Mel Torme and Robert Wells. Sitting at the piano, Wonder turned this old chestnut into a dreamy piano-bar song, accenting its romanticism and covering it with a gentle layer of soul. A short while later, the entire cast joined him in a rousing rendition of one of his most famous, though non-topical, songs, “You Are the Sunshine of My Life.”

Before Wonder took over the show, he was feted by artists who sang some of his songs. After a warm tribute to him, Syreeta Wright belted out “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” and “If You Really Love Me.” The pre-teen group Immature delivered a crowd-pleasing comic rendition of Wonder’s first hit, “Fingertips--Pt. 2,” and a straight version of his Oscar winner “I Just Called to Say I Love You.”

Most of this long (well past three hours) but fast-moving and generally entertaining show was indeed a showcase for songwriters, with a parade of assorted composers singing one or two of their songs.

There was even comic relief, with Stan Freeman amusingly performing “Tea for Two” in a variety of styles and L.A. singer-songwriter Dan Bern doing a riotous parody of Bob Dylan. Brenda Russell’s lush rendition of her clever ballad “Piano in the Dark” was one of the evening’s highlights.

Many of the songwriters were less-than-polished singers. But the audience was respectful as some labored through their hits. Veteran writer George David Weiss struggled to hit some of the notes on songs he co-composed, including “What a Wonderful World” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” When singing “Save the Best for Last,” composers Jon Lind, Phil Galdston and Wendy Waldman didn’t do it quite as smoothly as Vanessa Williams did in her hit version.

Kevin Savigar had the right idea. When performing the two Rod Stewart hits he co-wrote with the rocker, Savigar sat at the piano while Billy Trudeau, who sounds like Stewart, handled the vocals.