Toby Keith smiles as he fields questions from the press at BMI. (Photo by John Russell)

Three-time BMI Songwriter of the Year Toby Keith remains one of the most successful musical entertainers of his time. With nearly 35 million albums sold, he has been deluged with critical praise and peer approval in the form of awards and he's consistently been one of the top-drawing live performers in the nation. His current hit single, "She's A Hottie," is featured as the only newly-produced track on his latest two-disc release, Toby Keith's 35 Biggest Hits, which compiles the smash hits spanning his career.

Local and national media outlets made themselves comfortable in BMI's conference room. (Photo by John Russell)

BMI's Jody Williams (left) presented a slew of Million-Air certificates to Toby Keith (right). (Photo by John Russell)

Pictured are (l to r): manager TK Kimbrell, CMT's Brian Phillips, Toby Keith, BMI's Jody Williams and Paradigm's Curt Motley. (Photo by Alan Mayor)

BMI President & CEO Del Bryant; John Williams; and BMI Board Chairman Jack Sander.

Saluted for a “lifetime of brilliant music and performances that have thrilled audiences throughout the world on television, on radio, in concert halls and at the movies,” Williams was recognized as an iconic composer who almost single-handedly popularized cinematic orchestral music. His music has been the lexicon of the broadcasting world for a generation, with his stunning and memorable themes spanning films such as Star Wars, Jaws, E.T. and Superman; and televisions series, shows and specials including Checkmate, Lost In Space and the Olympic Games.

Mike Post, Mac Davis, Charlie Fox, John Williams, BMI President & CEO Del Bryant, Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff.

“John Williams is truly America’s composer and conductor,” said Sander. “He has been one of the most influential musicians of our era, introducing audiences worldwide to orchestral music through his themes and scores. One of America’s greatest cultural icons, his melodic gifts helped make the films, television shows and orchestral works he created resonate across the globe.”

Bryant added, “The management and Board of Directors of BMI have chosen John for this honor because of the impact his music has made across all media — broadcast and digital — and the cultural contributions he has made as a composer, musician, conductor, television personality and philanthropist.”

Also at the dinner were renowned songwriter/artist/actor Mac Davis (“Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me,” “In The Ghetto”), legendary BMI songwriter/composer Charlie Fox (“Killing Me Softly,” Happy Days theme), Philly Soul pioneers Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff (“If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” “Expressway To Your Heart”), prolific television news theme composer Frank Gari (Eyewitness News theme) and multiple Emmy- and Grammy-winner Mike Post (Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, Law and Order). Joining BMI’s Board of Directors were NAB President & CEO David Rehr, executives and Board members of the NAB, and current and former FCC Commissioners.

The dinner has been held annually during the NAB convention since 1949, when it began as a clambake at Chicago’s Blackstone Hotel. “Over the years the event has become the senior annual meeting place of the broadcast industry,” said Don West, former editor of Broadcasting & Cable, who began attending the dinner in 1960. “Owners and executives of this most competitive industry, who spend their days and nights fighting each other for a quarter of a rating point, were as one . . . once a year. The friendships formed at the dinner extended throughout the years, if not the ages.”

Pictured at the BMI booth are (l to r): Delmarva Broadcasting Station WXCY-FM's Bob Bloom, Rushlow Harris members Tim Rushlow and Doni Harris, Delmarva Broadcasting Station WXCY-FM's Dave Hovel and BMI's Dan Spears.

BMI offered the radio industry a hearty welcome to Nashville on Thursday, March 1 with "WCRS Live!," an intimate, in-the-round showcase hosted by hitmaking machine Jeffrey Steele. Songwriter/artists Sarah Buxton ("Stupid Boy"), Pat Green ("Wave on Wave"), Mac Davis ("Texas in My Rearview Mirror") and Steele himself ("What Hurts the Most") treated the audience to acoustic performances of country radio's contemporary hits and perennial favorites.

Pictured are (l to r): BMI's Mason Hunter, Jamie Lee Thurston with BMI's Margaret Vann, Glenn Brannen and Dan Spears.

The artists and songwriters featured on CRS's Friday, March 2 "New Faces" showcase bill may have be relatively new, but "auspicious" may better describe this year's round of participants. BMI affiliates snagged every coveted slot of the line-up, and Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, Jack Ingram, Rodney Atkins and Trent Tomlinson gave the packed house at the Nashville Convention Center five strong reasons to feel good about country music's present and future.

Pictured before the WCRS Live! set are (l to r): BMI's Dan Spears, Pat Green, Mac Davis, Sarah Buxton, Jeffrey Steele and BMI's Jody Williams.

Pictured are (l to r): New Faces host Kix Brooks, Rodney Atkins, BMI's David Preston, Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Trent Tomlinson and Eric Church, with BMI's Jody Williams and Shelby Kennedy.

Photos by Jerry Bailey

BMI President & CEO Del Bryant, Kris Kristofferson, and SHOF Curator Oscar Brand

The evening was full of special moments, including one from music impresario Paul Shaffer, who honored inductee Thom Bell with a medley of some of his most famous songs, including "I'll Be Around," "You Make Me Feel Brand New," "Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time" and "You Are Everything."

Inductee Will Jennings, SHOF President Linda Moran, Kris Kristofferson, Frances Preston, and inductee Mac Davis

Hal David gave the introduction to Johnny Mercer Award honoree Kris Kristofferson: "Tonight's honoree is a Rhodes Scholar and former United States Army helicopter pilot who, in 1965, resigned his commission, gave up a teaching post at West Point, and moved to Nashville to fulfill his dream of becoming a successful songwriter."

Country star Trace Adkins did Kristofferson's "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" proud and presented the honor to his old friend. Kristofferson then thrilled the packed audience with a performance of "Help Me Make It Through the Night."

SHOF Chairman/CEO Hal David, inductee Sylvia Moy, and Will Jennings

BMI composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast) came out to help induct fellow BMI affiliate Will Jennings, citing Jennings' amazing songwriting record, which includes co-writing Barry Manilow's first No. 1 smash, "Looks Like We Made It," as well as his extremely successful partnership with Steve Winwood. Broadway vocalist Linda Eder performed his blockbuster hit, "My Heart Will Go On," from Titanic.

Trace Adkins, Will Jennings, ASCAP's John LoFrumento, Paul Shaffer, Mac Davis, Lise Davis, Sylvia Moy, Del Bryant, inductee Thom Bell, and Hal David

Former BMI President & CEO Frances Preston helped induct her longtime friend, Mac Davis. "My first remembrance of Mac Davis was from a very early Nashville music festival," Preston reminisced. "I knew at that moment that Mac Davis was going to be one of America's greatest songwriters."

Thom Bell accepts his award

Davis, who signed his own recording contract in 1970, topped the charts in 1972 with his song, "Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me," and wrote the Elvis Presley classics "A Little Less Conversation," "Memories" and "In the Ghetto," which he performed to a standing ovation.

Publishing giant Allen Klein was honored with the Abe Olman Publishing Award, presented by EMI Music Publishing's Martin Bandier and Carlin America, Inc.'s Freddy Bienstock, both previous recipients of the award. Klein's close friend, Yoko Ono, sent a congratulatory letter, which Bandier read. BMI artist Gavin DeGraw then performed an amazing rendition of ABKCO artist Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come."

Kris Kristofferson performs

The induction of BMI writer Sylvia Moy and the late Henry Cosby closed the show, presented by their longtime Motown collaborator, Stevie Wonder. The pair co-wrote many of Wonder's most famous early hits, including "I Was Made to Love Her," "Shoo Bee Doo Bee Da Day" and "My Cherie Amour," which Wonder performed during the ceremony.

Mac Davis performs

Dedicated to recognizing the work and lives of those composers and lyricists who create popular music around the world, the National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The NAPM/SHOF is also devoted to the development of new songwriting talent through workshops, showcases and scholarships. BMI is a long-time supporter of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Thom Bell	Mac Davis

Bell, a two-time Grammy winner and r&b producer/composer, helped to create the "Philly Soul" sound through his work in the '60s with the Delfonics and in the '70s with the Spinners, the O'Jays and the Stylistics. He arranged a string of memorable hits, including the Stylistics' "Stop, Look and Listen" and the O'Jays classic "Love Train."

Davis found success as the composer of the Elvis hits "A Little Less Conversation," "Memories" and "In the Ghetto." He signed his own recording contract in 1970, topping the charts in 1972 with his song, "Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me."

Jennings, a Grammy and Academy Award-winning songwriter, composed wildly popular movie themes "My Heart Will Go On," from Titanic, and "Up Where We Belong" from An Officer and a Gentleman. His work also includes Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven," Barry Manilow's "Looks Like We Made It" and Steve Winwood's "Higher Love."

Moy, a Detroit-born songwriter/producer, composed Motown such classics as Stevie Wonder's "My Cherie Amour" and Marvin Gaye's "It Takes Two." She also wrote the theme songs for the TV series Blossom, The Wonder Years and Growing Pains.

Dedicated to recognizing the work and lives of those composers and lyricists who create popular music around the world, the National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The NAPM/SHOF is also devoted to the development of new songwriting talent through workshops, showcases and scholarships. BMI is a long-time supporter of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

“I was so impressed with that,” says the multi-BMI Award winner, lead singer and chief songwriter of country supergroup Lonestar. “So when I started playing guitar, I always remembered that and I wrote my first song in, I guess, 8 th grade. When I moved to Nashville, I moved there to be an artist, but also to be a songwriter.”

That beginning as a tunesmith laid the foundation for McDonald’s excellent song sense and skill, and he wrote or co-wrote 10 of the 13 songs on Lonestar’s new BNA album, Let’s Be Us Again, including the top-five title track. In “Somebody’s Someone,” solo-penned by McDonald, the singer empathizes with the loved ones of a fallen soldier. “From There to Here,” a duet with Alabama’s Randy Owen, is an epic tale of three segments of humanity: the Wright Brothers and air travel, a 50-year marriage, and, fittingly for that duo, a band’s rise from obscurity to fame. Another highlight is the #1 single “Mr. Mom,” a real-life look at an out-of-work dad gaining new respect for a stay-at-home mom’s reality.

And it’s that sort of real-life storytelling that has connected Richie McDonald and Lonestar to their fans, both with this album and throughout their career. The 1999 smash “Amazed” spent two weeks atop Billboard ’s Hot 100 chart. The six-week #1 “I’m Already There,” co-written by McDonald, was BMI’s 2002 Country Song of the Year. The multi-week #1 “My Front Porch Looking In,” also co-written by McDonald, was a 2003 BMI Country Award winner. So Richie McDonald knows from a song, as they say.

Now, McDonald and Lonestar -- Dean Sams, Keech Rainwater and Michael Britt -- demonstrate by their lives and careers that longevity comes from within. “The four of us have always had the same goals,” he says. It’s an unerring commitment to the music, to their families, and to the fans. And that focus has led them to pinnacles they dared not dream of when they got together in 1995. The dozens of accolades include CMA Vocal Group of the Year, ACM Top Vocal Group, Song and Single of the Year, and six Grammy nominations. They’ve sold 10 million records, and placed more singles in Billboard’s Top Ten Country Singles Chart than any other artist this decade.

McDonald is quick to give credit where credit is due, first to his bandmates, then to the songwriters with whom he writes the hits. And though the standard writing time in Music City is 10 to 2, he and some of his co-writers like to mix it up and write at dawn -- hence the name of his publishing company, Early Bird Gets the Word. While McDonald prefers his own little writing haven called the Birdhouse -- which is at his home, the inspiration for “My Front Porch Looking In” -- anywhere is fine, as long as he’s with a couple of those great writers. “I love it,” he nearly gushes. “Very seldom do I sit down and write a song from beginning to end by myself. My motto is. ‘Two or three heads are better than one’.”