Joan Baez, Garth Brooks, Billy Joel, Stephen Sondheim and Stevie Wonder are to receive top honours at the upcoming American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Centennial Awards in New York.

The accolade is handed out once a century to a select group of American music icons in recognition of their "incomparable accomplishments in their respective music genres and beyond".

The prizegiving will take place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on 17 November (14) at a gala celebrating Ascap’s 100th anniversary.

Ascap president Paul Williams says, "Each of our Ascap Centennial Award recipients is in a class of his or her own, as the creator and performer of songs that have touched the lives of people across the globe. It’s wonderful to be able to salute them on the occasion of Ascap’s Centennial year."